Solar at Music Festivals

#1

Hi everyone!

Just sharing a few pics from my music festival trips this summer. Here are a few from the Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival near the Grand Tetons in WY:

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Chargin up while dancing!

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A quick shot of the setup at rest

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Setup in action by my hammock spot.

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I LOVE USB rechargeable headlamps. I just got these and they are awesome. Maybe ANKER can make one? ~400 lumens? (hint hint)

And here are some from Red Ants Pants in White Sulphur Springs, MT:

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I really like the truck & strap setup.

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A chair works too!

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And this is what the sunsets were like. No filter & no editing. :sunglasses:

So, what do you all think about about an ANKER booth at these festivals? Wouldnā€™t it be a great time to get the brand name out and sell a few panels and chargers? I know a guy that might be able to help with that. :grin:

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#2

Why do they look different color? Older one is faded less dark?

#3

One has been used heavily and the other was brand new. I won the darker one recently so it was basically right out of the box. The lighter one has about 5 months wear on it.

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#4

Two panels opens up the idea that even in weak sun, you could take one port output from each solar panel and put them both into the dual input of the Powercore II you have.

I also have two solar panels and a dual input Powercore. In my case a 26800 I got for $30

Personally I think a Powercore or Powerhouse which takes any voltage in would work better across a wider range of conditions, the issue with a regulated output is in weak sun it basically turns itself off, when an unregulated solar panel will always give some power, even at night.

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#5

Awesome picsā€¦ thanks for sharing!

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#6

Now thatā€™s the life, canā€™t beat a bit of bluegrass, sun and a few cold ones :wink: ā€¦seeing stuff like this keeps making me think of adding a solar panel to my Anker haulā€¦

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#7

@nigelhealy I really like the powercore II 20,000 dual-input thatā€™s featured in these pictures. Itā€™s got so much capacity it almost feels endless. And charging three things at once is awesome in these situations. It minimizes the time your panels spend out of the sun. I also use a couple of Astros and some smaller trade-show freebie batteries as backups, but that powercore is awesome. I also usually charge my Soundcore Boost and GoPro directly from the panel.

@ndalby Get one! I canā€™t even remember how many random people bought me a beer in exchange for a charge when they saw I had a panel :grin:

#8

Was nearly over the other side of the fence on the solar panel during the Prime Day offerings but failed to pull the trigger, wonā€™t be happening againā€¦will just have the gloomy UK weather to contend with to use :smile:

#9

I see your use trucks, in my case I use bicycles and did you know you can get lights which output USB any excess power, about 3W only but its enough with lights on to trickle charge so you finish the ride charged. Typical human output is 100W

Combine that with solar then you got power when moving and when still which is then sufficient to be fully off-grid like if youā€™re doing a long bike tour.

http://en.bumm.de/produkte/dynamo-scheinwerfer/lumotec-iq2-luxos.html

#10

Great idea.

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#11

Yeah! Iā€™ve seen those. I drive my truck to Red Ants pants because Iā€™m in charge of the recycling program there, and I use it to pick up cans and bottles and such during the festival. I bike around town a lot, so Iā€™ve definitely thought of these.

Iā€™ve also seen some flashlights (torches :grin:) that have hand cranks and such. Itā€™s not a bad idea at all.

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#12

Legs are more powerful than arms (usually).

Around here we have to be able to go without electricity for 10 days (recommended) as live near a large faultline, to allow for the house being not safe to live in, we have tents etc and most old houses are 1-storey so thereā€™s less to fall on your head, and with large front+back gardens to sleep near your property.

Solar, the like we both own, is able to recharge a large phone battery in 1-2 hours, so with two solar panels you can keep a familyā€™s gadgets charged. We have now a total of 3 LC40, 2 LC90 and 1 LC130, and about 100Ah of charged batteries (Powercore 26800, etc). The LC90 and LC130 can be recharged directly off solar, and I have a USB powered 18650 recharger for the LC40.

As the fuel may be cut we have 3 bikes which have generator powered lights, two of which have USB output sockets, and I have a 100L trailer

Iā€™d say if you can prepare for a music concert, that is a good set of kit which can handle most situations.

The Soundcore Mini has a FM radio and we have two phones with radio

With winter approaching I might write an article in this forum of where Anker overlaps independence.

#13

Maybe you should also share your holiday experience with us!:laughing:

#14

Fantastic, hope the summer is going well for everyone! So happy to read your post on music festival!:grin:

#15

Make sure to do your research when pairing this solar panel with a power bank. Some will get stuck in trickle charge mode when a cloud passes/body shadow. Iā€™ve read that Anker E7 26800mah does not suffer from this problem and will return to full charge speed once the sun is available. I am not sure why it does this if somebody could please explain.

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#16

Ok, is it just me or did anyone else wonder what are ā€œRed Ant Pantsā€? LOL. Those solar chargers sure look useful out there. One day, Iā€™ll have to pick one up.

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#17

Looks like you had a blast!

Well prepared as well I see!! :slight_smile:

always good to be prepared

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#18

HAHAHA! I guess that must sound weird from the outside :laughing:

Red Ants Pants is a company that makes workwear for women: https://redantspants.com/

They are based in this tiny town in Montana (White Sulphur Springs) where they host an annual music festival: http://redantspantsmusicfestival.com/

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Iā€™m not sure how many people are there but itā€™s many thousands:

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Iā€™ve got a pretty good arrangement where I get weekend passes for a team of ten people to come and collect recycling. We also get primo camping and a backstage pass! :sunglasses: Of course thereā€™s some work involvedā€¦

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All in all though itā€™s a great time. They have all kinds of crazy stuff wrapped in, like a beard competition and timbersports exhibitions.

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#19

Must have been a boy scout :thinking:

#20

LOL. Thanks for the clarification. Red Ants in your pants :stuck_out_tongue: