Portable Solar-Powered Study

I have moved my study from a loft area to the sunniest spot in our home, the great room (gspace) as I call it. This was quite easy in that the same equipment I use in my portable-office is utilized for my portable-study. I have conducted a series of science projects in past years from my study. One of my past science projects was a game controller for my graphing calculators. The power supply was quite simple, an AA battery.

This year I am developing a solar system to provide power for the unit as well as sellable energy for recharging batteries. Most of the parts for the original controller as well as the solar system are available at the local mall. The solar system consists of a netbook computer with microcontroller, a smart metering sub-system consisting of a CBL and TI-73, my game-controller to serve as a analog voltage distributer, a set of 10 battery powered mini-lights, a solar energy kit, snap kit FM radio, an architecture kit(for modeling roof angles) and the outdoor structure. The input is free sunlight and the output is fm radio as well as electricity for solar powered smart battery chargers.

We will be displaying the science project online with a video. The format for the video will be able to be projected from a micro projector that could be included in a real rather than virtual science fair. This project will serve as a stepping stone for a modern portable solar powered greenhouse and power supply, our next io project.


TI-73 Explorer Graphing Calculator