Building Radio Powered by Solar Energy

The project demonstrates the application of solar energy by matching the amount of power delivered by the solar panel to the amount of power required by the radio.

The radio was using 4 AA batteries at 1.5V each with 6V DC rating along with a solar panel that was rated for 4.5V and 100A. The wiring configuration inside the radio is figured out by opening the radio. If there is one positive lead and one negative lead, it will be easy to check the wiring configuration. The discovery depends on the solar panel used and the type of radio.

Two different makes of radio rated at 6V DC were tried and both worked well. These types of radios can be found with cheaper price in discount stores and chain pharmacies. They can be tried with closely matched solar panel in order to test their performance.

From the second solar radio constructed, the internal lights can be seen when taken indoors which were enough for the digital clock to be powered. Using just a 60 Watt light bulb, the panels can be used to power up the radio without any other external sources.

Rest of the project