Kaito SB-1059 upgrade

Kaito SB-1059 mini handcrank radio – $12 shipped ebay

Replaced the pos 2.4v ?6?0?0? 300mAh NiMh cell with 2.7v 50F Maxwell capacitor/ protection diode
Replaced the solar cell with 2x – IXYS SLMD121H04L solar cells

Voc: 2.5v
Isc: 50mA
Vmpp : 2.0v
Immp: 44.6mA
Pmmp: 0.0892w
?: 22%

http://ixapps.ixys.com/DataSheet/SLMD121H04L-DATA-SHEET.pdf

Small, cheap radio for emergencies, but the battery is very poor, and also isn’t fit for storage. So basically when you might really need it, the battery will most likely be dead. With the supercapacitor, there is no need to maintain the charge of the cell, although with the solar upgrade, it can charge indoors from ambient light. The radio isn’t that great, but the handcrank is very good for the price.

Solar cell test was just out of curiosity, and is not a accurate way to measure the true output. The IXYS cell is much more powerful than the original, when exposed to the full spectrum sunlight. The light used was a USB powered, fan cooled Nichia 219b led.

You may also like...