by Dr. Jim and Mary Clary
Los Lunas, NM -(AmmoLand.com)- Anyone who has taken their cell phone into the mountains on a hunting or camping excursion has experienced low batteries or dead batteries.
If you are in the vicinity of your truck, they can easily be recharged. However, if you are not…….. well, you were out of luck. And, that could be very serious in a critical situation. With the SP56 solar panel charger, you don’t have to worry about dead batteries again…. unless you live in an area where there is no sun or you are under a perpetual overcast.
The SP56 is compact, lightweight and easy to deploy. Simply open it up, plug in your cell phone with the micro-USB cord and let nature take its course. Charging time will depend on your individual phone as well as the amount of direct light. Our tests confirmed that our Samsung 5G phones, would return to full charge in about 4 hours under normal daylight conditions. The literature that accompanies the SP56 states that it is also compatible with iPhones, Windows and Android phones.
If you have up-to-date two-way radios that also use the now standard micro-USB port, you can also charge them up. The 5.6 watt output is more than adequate for most small devices, including many tablets.
This unit now has a permanent home in our backpack, but more importantly we no longer have to worry about dead batteries in our cell phones or two-way radios
The specifications of the SP56 are:
- Solar panel power output of 5.6 watts
- USB power port output of 5V/1000mAh
- Dual solar charger panels
- Built-in USB port for changing small devices
- Weather resistant microfiber carrying case with utility pouch
- 8 Carabiner loops, includes one carabiner
- Micro-USB cable included
- Compatible with iPhones, Windows and Android phones, plus many other small devices
- Charges small devices (e.g. cell phones) in approx. 7-8 hours (4 hours for our 5G)
- Length: 6.75″ (171.4 mm)
- Width: 6.26″ (159.7 mm)
- Depth: 1.25″ (31.7 mm)
- Weight: 11.5oz (326 g)
- 2 Year warranty
- MSRP $59.99
If we had any recommendation, it would be for Olympia to include two carabiners to hang the unit (while it is open) for charging in the field. That, of course, is nit-picking on our part.
For the best price on the Olympia SP56 Solar Panel Charger, purchase on Amazon at: https://tinyurl.com/phz94m2.
We had try very hard to find something to say that would improve the SP56.
James R. Clary, Ph.D.
Contributing Editor, Guns & Shooting Online
Field Editor, Universal Hunter Magazine
Associate Editor, N.A. Muzzleloader Hunting Assoc.Mary H. Clary, B.S., R.N.
Women’s Editor, Guns & Shooting Online
Associate Editor, N.A. Muzzleloader Hunting Assoc.
Field Editor, Universal Hunter Magazine