Overview
anybody burns home        What Anybody Needs to Build a Solar Path Light

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On the left are most of the components and tools required to build this version of a solar path light.

Tools you will need:

  • Soldering iron: about 10-20 watts
  • Solder: small diameter rosin core
  • Small needle-nosed pliers
  • Small wire cutters
  • Small wire strippers
  • Hack saw for cutting up circuit boards
  • Breadboard for testing your prototype circuits
  • A circuit design (schematic) to follow
  • Optional: a multimeter, analog or digital
  • Optional: clamp/alligator clip holder to hold stuff while you are soldering



Components you will need:

  • Small solar panel: ~ 4.4 volts output
  • One or two ~ 2 volts Light Emitting Diode(s): depends on mAh output of your solar panel
  • Two or four AA 1.2 volt batteries: depends on mAh output of your solar panel
  • Battery holder(s) for two AA batteries
  • Two MPS2222A NPN transistors
  • Two  2.2k ohm resistors (2200 ohm resistors)
  • One 10k ohm resistor (10,000 ohm resistors)
  • One 1N4001 power diode
  • Small pieces of wire to connect the parts together
  • Circuit board: cut into small squares (see photo above)


Anybody can't resist...


Head over to the Zone for more information

Helpful information: The Alternative Energy Zone has many wonderful articles about system designs and sources for electronic components:
  www.ae-zone.org

Just getting started with electronics? Be sure to read AEZ article: Jan's Paper for Beginners

If you really want to really understand this stuff... thanks to Jeff Barlow for this link:
http://www.artofelectronics.com/index.html



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www.howstuffworks.com is a great site!
Check out: How a Solar Yard Light Works http://www.howstuffworks.com/solar-light.htm