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/diy/ - Do It Yourself

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85764 No.85764 [Reply] [Original]

Excuse me, /diy/.

Can someone explain to me how a calculator that calls itself solar powered, and has what looks like a solar cell in it, be getting any power in any way from it?

Is it even a real goddamn cell? It's all bendy, no terminals in sight, and there's no voltage across any part of any of them.

>> No.85767

>>85764
Hilarious. Brand/model of calculator?
Assuming nameless chinese grocery store calculator until proven otherwise.

>> No.85769

>>85764
"Office central", made in China. I need a solar cell for another project I'm working on. Pretty sure I just wasted $4.

>> No.85777

I'm pretty sure you have as well...

>> No.85778

>>85769
Definitely. It's probably just some screen printed plastic. A real cell would have a glass cover. I remember looking at some Chinese Faraday flashlights a booth was selling at a festival. Knitted into the cap, under the LED was a little stack of tiny coin cells.

Get what you pay for, etc. etc.

>> No.85782

Is fake mon.

Go to a real electronics supply to get solar cells. Even your local department store should carry products with good cells, walmart for example sells lawn lights with solar cells on the top for like $5.

>> No.85786

>>85764

It's a 741 OP amp amplifying what looks like a 10mV battery, there is no solar cells in that calculator. The voltage is across the op amp input terminal and amplified thus powering the calculator.

It's fun trying to get stuff for yourself but for a proper project buy the stuff from an electronics store.

>> No.85804

>>85786
It's a 1.5V battery. Tested it on a multimeter. Nice try though.

>> No.85818
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85818

http://light.sci-toys.com/laser_interferometer

>> No.85830
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85830

>>85786

>> No.85838
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85838

>> No.85843

http://www.rskey.org/~mwsebastian/reviews/dollar_sana.htm

>> No.85854

Since we're on the subject of solar cells and solar power, I found these guys recently after doing a search for a DIY "print solar cells onto paper like MIT did" project. The company is called "Konarka" and uses photovoltaic inks printed onto plastic sheets to make inexpensive solar panels.

>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MirozECd8S8
This is a quick overview.

>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21O0tBe-Alk
the MIT tech demo of their new printed solar cells that can be put on paper, plastic, fabric, anything.

>> No.85898

as with a lot of electronics. the manufacturing plant cranks out parts piecewise. these calculator shells were probably designed to appeal to a wide variety of buyers and resellers.

the same principle can be seen in certain stock computers that dell sells. sometimes if you get a dell tower in the late phase of its availability cycle you will get one with a better processor that has been tuned downwards to the specs of whichever computer model its a part of. its just to be cost effective.