New "Survival" product for anyone who uses electronics in the woods

We're about to offer this unit for sale on our web site. We've been researching this for some time and just recently nailed down what we wanted. It is capable of running small 2 way radios and scanners as a stand alone unit, or can charge just about any device rated between 6 and 12 volts. I've been using it to charge digital camera batteries, 1.5 volt AAs (4 at a time), and for operating radios.

Jungle Charger Information Sheet

The Jungle Charger is the most compact, high output portable solar charger on the market. It was specifically designed to charge 6 - 7.5 volt systems or four 1 ½ volt batteries in remote locations. It has a 7 volt @ 250 ma output in full sunlight. It will put out less than that under other conditions but will still be charging your device. It has a built in Blocking Diode to prevent current from discharging back through the solar panel when the plug is connected and there is no light available. Two Jungle Chargers can be combined with the Junction Box (sold separately) to charge 12 volts systems or charge 6 volt systems with double amperage output.

The Jungle Charger has a DC power plug enclosed with 3 feet of cabling. The plug is a standard 5.5mm O.D. x 2.5mm I.D. and can be changed or adapted to suit the end user's needs.

The wire and plug can be placed inside the foldable hard plastic box when not is use making this the only solar charger that can do this and at the same time be able to still fit inside your pocket for easy carrying.

The solar panels are completely waterproof and weatherproof.

Size specifications: outside dimensions not including hinges and latch

Closed: (storage and carry position) outside box dimensions not including hinges and latch 2.25" x 5.88" x .688"

Opened (charge position) 5.75" x 5.88" x .34"

Jungle Charger Junction Box

The Junction Box is designed to couple two Jungle Chargers together to either increase the amperage output when connected in parallel, or increase the voltage output when connected in series. The Junction Box is capable of charging just about any small device by adapting the output plugs. When plugged into the Omni Source Universal Charger base it will charge nearly every 3.6 volt and 7.2 volt video and still camera battery on the market, including Sony, Panasonic, JVC, Hitachi, RCA, Canon, and Sharp.

Directions for 6-7.5 volt charging:

Connect each Jungle Charger into the jacks marked "Parallel Input" and connect your device to be charged or operated into the 6 volt output cord. In full sunlight this will produce a charging current of 7 volts @ 500 ma. The supplied power jack on the 6 volt cord is a standard 5.5mm O.D. x 2.5mm I.D. The user can change or adapt the plug to fit the unit to be charged being sure to observe correct polarities.

Directions for 12 volt charging:

Connect each Jungle Charger into the jacks marked "Serial Input" and connect your device to be charged or operated into the 12 volt output cord. In full sunlight this will produce a charging current of 14 volts @ 250 ma. The supplied power jack on the 12 volt cord can be changed to fit the unit to be charged, however this is a standard 12 volt charging jack.

If this Junction Box is used with solar chargers other than the Jungle Charger then it may be required to place a blocking diode within the circuit. The Jungle Charger units already have blocking diodes built in.

This photo is not that great but we will have good photos up on the site soon.

 

[Trace Rinaldi]

Awesome looking unit there Jeff... What's it cost and where can you get em? Looks like Solorex panels, very good quality... and a great idea!!


Take Care
Trace Rinaldi
www.thrblades.com

 

Trace,

All the info is here: http://www.jungletraining.com/jungle_charger.htm

Jeff

 

[RadioRayII]

Hey Jeff,

250 mA in a unit THAT size is amazing! Encapsulating them to be water tight is essential. I'm a wilderness radio nut, using long range Ham radio/Morse code to keep touch with friends when I'm out in the bush. This would be ideal. You can expect an order in the not too distant future.

>RadioRay ..._ ._

 

Ray, we played around with various units for a long time trying to get what we needed. Most of them that were small enough to carry only produced around 100 mA. Our goal was to charge digital video camera batteries which draw about 400 mA when charging on the AC charger supplied with the camera, yet still be compact enough to carry. This is the best we have come up with and still remain affordable. With two of these units hooked in parallel they're putting out 500 mA @ 7 to 7.5 volts. In full sunlight it will charge a completely dead 7.2 volt camera battery as fast as the AC charger. Two of them hooked in series puts out 14 volts at 250 mA and will run small radios and charge most small 12 volt devices or any device that can be charged from a cigarette lighter, although charging times will always vary depending on available light.

Basically, we're tired of carrying a shitload of batteries to do a 2 or 3 week trip in the wilderness. We're also looking at doing a 9 volt system which will charge 6 to 9 volt gear. This one is about 4.5 x 8.5 in size and doesn't fold up but it produces 9 volts @ 350 mA. The cost is a lot higher on this unit though due to the efficent cells. I have learned that in solar energy the smaller you go in size and still maintain efficiency the more expensive it gets.

All of this came about after the town of Puerto Jimenez in Costa Rica asked us to look into doing a radio system for them for communication from non-electrified Carate back to the police station in Puerto Jimenez.

Jeff