DIY solar panel battery charger control board

Use this control board to build your own solar panel powered battery pack, so that you can power your USB (5V) powered devices by the sun at locations without mains power, e.g. for remote monitoring, time lapse photography, etc.

After you have installed your own battery, you need to activate the board with a DC adapter, otherwise, the USB output port will not have power.

The board will be provided inside a PVC plastic box which is sufficiently large to house 3x lithium cell (18mm diameter x 65mm long).

For maximum capacity, you are recommened to install 3x 3.7V lithium cell in parallel.

Specifications

• Output: Standard USB port, 5V, 500-800mA
• Input: (1) 0.9V-5V, suitable for lithium battery, NiMH, NICad, lead-acid, dry cell battery, etc. (2) 5V 3.5mm DC adapter.
• Conversion efficiency: 88% max
• Battery level indicator: 0-60% (red), 60-80% (orange), 85-100% (green)
• Includes lithium battery protection circuit

Note: You must connect to the points indicated on the photo, not the markings on the curcuit board or the battery will not have the battery protection circuit.