Been into Solar Chargers for the past 6 months. Interest in solar charges grew from wanting to be prepared for emergencies. The electronic devices that I have are powered through AA, AAA, and USB sources. Therefore, my focus was on finding a solar charger that can power one or any combination of the three. This is the review of the XTG AA and AAA Solar Battery Charger.
I was hopeful as this solar charger is supposed to be able to charge both AA and AAA batteries. Many charges do not have the ability to charge AAA batteries. In addition, the solar charger has the ability to charge devices through a USB adapter. On the positive side, this charger did appear to have some ability to charge AA and AAA batteries, could use AA or AAA batteries to charge a device with a USB connection, there is a charge indicator for either the first AA or AAA battery position, and has a red LED light that turns on when you have a battery inserted and is in the process of charging.
The negatives, however, appear to lower the rating of this device significantly. First, the solar charger was not able to fully charge some of my AA or AAA batteries. I have used Eneloops, Energizer, and Duracell NiMH batteries ranging from brand new to a several years old, but only some of them reached top-level charge as indicated by the third, yellow-green light. Instead, the batteries only reached the mid-level charge indicated by the yellow-orange light, even after a complete full day of bright sun. New alkaline batteries and NiMH batteries charged in another device provide a full charge indication. Second, the level indicators are very vague with a red for low, yellow-orange for medium, and yellow-green LED for full charge. Third, there is no indication of the battery charge being completed. The red LED will remain on, even when I put in a fully charged NiMH. Fourth is that the device appears to be poorly constructed. I bought this device in new condition, but it appeared used when it arrived. The device itself had misaligned LEDs and the battery door did not appear to fit well.
Overall, I rate this XTG AA and AAA Solar Battery Charger a 3.0 out of 5.0 stars. The charger has a good concept and some function, but does not appear to execute the job well. Furthermore, the build quality is not what I have come to expect from XTG. Better performance and build quality would have raised its rating significantly. The XTG AA and AAA Solar Battery Charger is a disappointment compared to their SOL1500 Premium Solar Charger, which I rated a 4.8 out of 5.0 starts. AA and AAA Solar Battery Charger - Charge Your Batteries Via USB or Sun Power - Features Also Include a Battery Tester and USB Output for Charging Cell Phones, iPods/mp3s, and More
Charger arrived yesterday.Seems like solid construction.Nice clean cells,no scratches.Here are the specs on the instruction sheet:Ni-MH AA 2000mah-12hr charging time for two batteries.24hrs for four batteries.Ni-MH AAA 800mah-4.8hrs for two batteries.Ni-CD AA 1000mah-6hrs charging time for 2 batteries,12 hrs for four batts.Ni-CD AA 600mah 3.6 hrs charging time for two batts-7.2 hrs for four batts.Specs also say 500-1000 cycles,which I think means alot compared to just 500 cycles,which some companies claim for their product.I put two 1900mah AA eneloop batteries in,which were discharged down to about .8 volts according to my multitester.After about six hrs of fairly strong sunlight(second week of February) the batteries tested to 1.5 volts.In my opinion this is pretty good news.I would think that in the summer time,four of the same batteries could easily be charged in a day or less.Included cable is USB A Male to Mini USB B 5 pin Male.USB A Male being output and USB Mini being input.To the other reviewer who had a problem with the charging status light not turning green,I would suggest that that feature would cause a significant increase in price.Also,if you're into all things solar,using a multitester is easy to learn and an absolute necessity.Hope this helps.
Caveat: I have not tested the solar charging features yet.
The product works as advertised, and in fact has some features not shown on the product page. You can provide USB power to other devices using standard disposable batteries (Alkaline, etc.), and can do so with only one pair of AA (rather than the full complement of four AA).
However, the battery tester is weak in that it only provides 3 different LEDs for indication (red, yellow and green) rather than some kind of meter or higher resolution indicator.
The one big disappointment is that when charging the battery (the instruction sheet says its the same whether charging via solar or USB), the unit does not give ANY indication of progress or completion. You don't know when the batteries are fully charged!
The XTG-SLRBC solar battery charger is a BARGAIN at only $25!
It gains a star simply in versatility to use any AA or AAA battery to charge a device (phone) in an emergency.
HOWever, it is a *cheap* charger, so do not get any high expectations (the "price")! If you have the money there are a number of expensive quality units, but the cost vs value of this unit put it at least on par with those those expensive ones.
PROS:
Can use any rechargeable AA or AAA battery, easy to replace wore out batteries...
... Charging of batteries can be done solar or by plugging into an USB port.
Can use regular alkaline batteries to charge cell phone, iPad, whatever.
Built in tester.
Reverse polarity protection (reversed installed batteries not charged).
CONS:
The solar cells needs over 26 hours to full charge a 4 set of AA batteries (2000mAh each, 8000 total) under full sun (small collecting area, not best solar cells)
No indicator for charged batteries (LED only shows it is charging, not very useful)
Tester only accurate for Alkaline (voltage 1.5 to 1.6V, while rechargeable is 1.3 to 1.4)
Plastic will distort on a cars dashboard (outside air OK, not in car).
Easy to scratch/mar the finish.
No handy charge estimate on the charger (it is on the packaging)
Again, the COST vs VALUE is excellent simply because compared to most other solar chargers the versatility of this one blows them away. Yes, it is full of flaws, but to make a better one would cost twice as much, to gain about 50% better performance. Under the hood (took it apart) I was impressed with the engineering. A bit crude, but does the job. It has 2 IC chips, an LM324 (Presume for charging batteries) and a SC46166 (high efficiency, and low voltage
step-up DC/DC converter, presumably for USB output). My main gripe is the red LED, because it uses what little power from sun to light it up, best not install it.
OH, and I would prefer for the USB connections on the other side (under the hinge).
All in all an impressive package for $25. - Solar Charger - Battery Charger - Backup - Charger'
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