USB Solar Charger

This Instructable will show you how to build a cheap and easy USB charger that charges by solar power.

You will need the following:
•An Altoids tin
•a small car USB charger
•a small toggle switch
•a rechargeable nine volt battery and a clip
•a small solar panel

Other Tools/Materials: drill, Dremel, some wire
A screwdriver, and hot glue.

Find the screw on the front face and remove it.
Take off all the casing.

Use the Dremel to cut a hole for the USB port on the side and another hole for the switch. Drill two holes in the top for the solar panel wires.

Take the ground wire from the clip and solder it directly to the strips of metal that come out of the charger. Take the positive wire and solder it to one of the pins on the switch. Then put another wire leading from the switch to the positive strip of metal on the charger. - see the pictures for help.

Mount the components into their holes and hot glue them.

Lead the two wires from the solar panel through their holes.

Solder the panel's positive wire to the positive wire coming from the battery clip. Solder the panel's ground wire to the outside strip of metal on the charger.

Let it sit in the sun for a couple hours and plug it in!

A full battery will give your iPod about 15% charge.