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Mr. Buzz is a solar power battery charger in a cup. This lightweight charger uses flexible PowerFilm solar panels that charge a 2400mA battery pack, which lets you recharge any USB electronic device when the sun is out. Mr. Buzz kit is available from Gadget Gangster.

Mr. Buzz works on iPods, Nintendo DS, Zune, PS3 Bluetooth Headsets, HTC Apache and other USB portable devices that can be charged through a USB port. It takes the same time to charge the device with the solar charger as it would normally take when done the conventional way.

It takes only 15 minutes to assemble the DIY solar power battery charger in a cup, but you need to know how to solder. The tools you need for this project are soldering iron and solder, dikes and 4 AA rechargeable NiMh batteries.

The Mr. Buzz kit includes the following:

1 – Eagle 4 AA Battery Box

1 – Mr. Buzz Circuit Board

2 – 0.1uF Ceramic Capacitor

2 – 100k ohm 1/4W Resistor (Brown/Black/Yellow)

1 – USB Type A Jack

2 – 3V PowerFilm Solar Panels

Once you have all the necessary parts, it’s time to build your own Mr. Buzz, the solar power battery charger in a cup.

  1. Take the two resistors and bend the leads at 90-degree angles.
  2. Insert the resistors into slots R1 and R2.
  3. Flip over the circuit board and solder down the resistors. After that, trim off the excessive leads.
  4. Place the two capacitors into slots C1 and C2 respectively. Don’t worry about the polarity.
  5. Flip the circuit board and solder down the two capacitors. As with the resistors, trim off the excess leads but save a little excess lead for the next step.
  6. Bend the excess lead into a U shape. This will be a jumper.
  7. Insert one end of the excess lead into the NoReg hole and the other end into the middle hole.
  8. Put the USB jack into the proper place.
  9. Flip the circuit board and solder the USB jack to secure it.
  10. Connect the battery box to the circuit board. The red wire goes into the + hole and the black goes into the – hole.
  11. Place the two solar panels side by side and connect one positive side with a negative one with an excess lead.
  12. Connect the solar panels to the circuit board.
  13. Mount the solar battery charger onto a coffee cup. You can also use a soda can or a backpack.

To use your Mr. Buzz, just flip on the switch and plug in the electronic device you want to charge. It will immediately charge the device as long as you don’t switch it off.