Solar charging Powerbook batteries in the wild

?Since I was using Macintosh Powerbook G4 everyday to download and edit photographs, write in my journal and send emails via our solar-powered satellite internet connection, I needed to keep charging the batteries. The problem, no electricity in remote the Omo region or the Simen Mountains. Solar was the only way to go.

After weeks of research and experimentation, my Ethiopia Solar Power equipment list included:
• 3 - Brunton Solaris 26 Foldable Solar Arrays
www.brunton.com
• 2 - Maha MH-C777Plus-II universal Charger & Analyzers
Contact Maha for list of suppliers in your area: www.mahaenergy.com
• 5 – Bunji cords to suspend the solar panels
• 2 - Powerbook batteries, which I labeled for easy identification
• Length of rope when trees or supports were far apart
• Handful of buss connectors that I filed down to fit the battery contacts

I would connect two of the Solaris units together in parallel with the provided wire connectors for more charging power. While Brunton specifications say it’s possible to connect up to three arrays, the most I ever used were two together.

Then I connected the Universal Charger to one of the solar panels.
Since the adjustable terminals on the Universal Chargers were too fat to fit Powerbook battery charging slots, I used the alligator clips that came with the Universal Charger.

??At first I tried a thin wire to connect the alligator clips to the battery, but later found filing down some buss connectors made a more solid connection. Plus, this more closely replicated the charging terminals of the Powerbook itself. I only needed one positive, one negative connection to the battery’s multiple slots. Don’t worry if the battery doesn’t indicate polarity, and surprisingly, Apple technical support could not help with the identification. The Universal Charger gives an error message when polarity is reversed.