Survival and Emergency Preparedness

So, I ran a test of my solar charger. I have one of these things - don't know the brand, it was a Groupon special. Couldn't resist. It was like $8 a few years ago.

https://www.amazon.com/Fone-Fuel-Solar- ... 18&sr=8-52

I have no idea what the performance characteristics are. That said, I ran it for a test this weekend.

It looks like it took~6 hrs to fully charge in the sun.
I just charged my phone from 5% to 80% in ~2.5 hrs.

Impressive? No. But in an emergency situation, yeah, I could get my phone from 5% to 30% in a few hours of sun and charge time. So it stays!

As do my two Ankehr cells!!!! One big one in the car and a small one in my main bag.

At least it worked... haven't see many small ones that are worth keeping.

I'm sure there are a LOT better ones even now. I just did a 3hr charge from zero and I'll see how much the sun juiced up my little charger.

Update: charge still pretty low...it is under the pool screen though. But still in direct light. We'll see what the next three hours bring.

Let me put this out there. For years, I have been looking for a commercial solar battery charger that would handle 8 AA (preferably) or 8
AAA or both. Most of the equipment I have, like radios, lights, animal cameras take multiple batteries. Every year, I am disappointed. So if people have that information, please post it.

Related annual search. I was trained in optics by the best. So, I have a lot of scopes/binos/monos and so forth. Years ago, I had first generation nV and before that in the 1970s, other items used by the military. I even handled Russian optics that could handle a whole football field. The problem for me is that prices have not gone down. I don't want Gen 1 or what is now called Gen 1.5. I could give inexpensive recommendations on what would handle day, range, and some night - and I keep one unit in the car trunk and another in the garage ready to go with a tripod.

SO charge test under the screens didn't go so well....