Tindie

Solder Solar

(2 Reviews)

A simple solar powered torch kit for learning to solder and getting started with solar power.

Designed by The Curious Electric Company, Ships from United Kingdom

2017-03-27T09:18:47.548Z-PCB12_sm_1000x750.jpg

2017-03-27T09:18:47.548Z-components2_sm_1000x750.jpg

2017-03-27T09:18:47.548Z-InUse1_sm_1000x750.jpg

2017-03-27T09:18:47.548Z-InUse3_sm_1000x750.jpg

2017-03-27T09:18:47.548Z-PCB11_sm_1000x750.jpg

2017-03-27T09:18:47.548Z-PCB13_sm_1000x750.jpg

A simple solar powered torch kit for learning to solder and getting started with solar power.

Learn to Solder Solar! This is a very simple soldering kit to build a solar powered torch. The unit has a small solar panel which recharges an ultra-capacitor. There are two LEDs, one white and one...

Learn to Solder Solar!

This is a very simple soldering kit to build a solar powered torch. The unit has a small solar panel which recharges an ultra-capacitor. There are two LEDs, one white and one red, which are powered by the energy in the ultra-capacitor.

The ultra-capacitor is 0.47F which stores enough charge for around 20 mins of white light, or around 1 hour of red light.

This kit is designed as an introduction to solar power and also soldering.

This kit can also be used as a small power supply for other projects (requiring a 3-5.5V power supply). This could be used for very low power monitoring nodes.

I have run a lot of 'learn to solder' workshops with various groups and age ranges. I am very interested in renewable energy, so wanted a simple kit to get people soldering and thinking about solar to power their products.

Parts Included

This kit contains the following parts:

REF	Description	Details
C1	Ultra-Capacitor	0.47F Electrolytic
D1	Diode	1N5918
D2	LED Red
D3	LED White
R1	Resistor	330R
R2	Resistor	120R
SC1	Solar PV Panel	5.5V 30mA PV Module
SW1	Switch
SW2	Switch
PCB	Circuit board

Full design files are available on GITHUB here.

Full instructions are available here.

Rates to United States of America

Shipping Rate	First item	Additional items
Royal Mail: Standard Airmail from UK	$5.50	$3.00

Review Breakdown

Average Ratings

Product: (5.00)

Documentation: (5.00)

Shipping: (5.00)

Communication: (5.00)

Chris | Dec. 19, 2017

Cute little kit.

Bought one each as stocking fillers for my kids, plus one for me. They arrived in the antipodes in great time, well packed. Everything present and correct, and a snap to put together. Appropriately minimal instructions on the kit, because it's simple, and a handy sheet on how to solder. The only problem I had was waiting for morning for the sun to charge it up. Definitely a good buy.

Michael | May 14, 2017

Fun and useful

I bought this kit as a beginner at soldering because I wanted something useful to learn the basics of circuitry with. It was very easy to put together and the PCB feels like a high-quality board. Everything was well marked, so I had no trouble understanding how to assemble it even though it was only the second kit I put together.