Research and development of solar energy was big news during the 70's with the federal government giving millions in grants, and promoting innovative uses of solar technology. That all ended with the Reagan/Bush years, but it hasn't stop solar pioneers. Newspapers now write about computers and the Internet, relegating any solar news to the back pages. I'm hear to tell you that both industries had a marriage in the family.
If you own a Mac PowerBook or PC Laptop, you know one of the more frustrating things about them are the longevity of their rechargeable batteries. At the most you can get 2 or 3 hours of use. This is fine for short distance travelling, or occasional use, or you have ten backup batteries, but what happens if you're a botanist in the Rainforest away from a wall outlet (and most civilization), or looking for meteorites (and more Martians) in the Antarctic? If your batteries go dead, you're out of luck.
Now you can KISS your problems away. KISS, or 'Keep It Simple Systems,' is an innovative solar research company in Helena, Montana, that has developed a series of solar driven rechargers for laptops and PowerBooks (and most other rechargeable devices). Their Mercury II Solar System unit has a revolutionary cord/adapter system that will adapt to your particular laptop's voltage requirements. So instead of worrying about getting the right cord to fit your computer, the SmartAdapter will work with most portable computers on the market today. The Mercury II works with Apple Powerbooks and more than 60% of the PC market. A set of three cords is all you need.
The Solar unit consists of a zippered notebook style holder with two multi-crystalline solar cells manufactured by Kyocera America, one of the largest manufacturers of solar cells in the world. A short round connecting cord lies between the two solar cells.
Using the recharger couldn't be easier. Unzip the charger, slide one of the cords onto the adapter. Plug it into the connecting cord in the recharger and let the Sun charge away. It will take about twice as long as a standard wall charger to fully charge your laptop, but if you can't find a wall outlet does it matter? Depending on how low your battery is you can even work with your computer while it is recharging. A 10 foot cord comes with the unit so you can place the solar unit at the best angle, but also allow you to leave your laptop outside of direct sunshine. It is important to remember that the solar unit wants as much sun as possible but that does not apply to your laptop.
Accessories you can buy include a battery charger so you can recharge AA, AAA, C or D cells with your solar unit, up to four batteries at a time. Have a Cell phone that needs recharging? You can order a 12 volt cigarette lighter cord that fits into your recharger.
The basic Mercury II system only costs $395. Have your laptop go dead at a critical time and you will know that is a bargain price.
What do I do with mine? Well I have my Powerbook 5300 hooked up to it along with my cell phone so I can surf the Net while working, ahh, well, relaxing in the backyard. A good Sun is a terrible thing to waste :) Up here in the Northeast, we value, or should I say worship the Sun, since we don't see a great deal of it.
KISS also makes three other models of solar chargers. The Neptune, Luna, and Jupiter models use a flexible amorphous silicon cell that can be bent almost in half without damage and are scratch resistant (the Mercury model's hard crystalline cells are more fragile). The Neptune is built for Apples Powerbook 100 to 180 models and with good sunlight you can run your PB's all day without having to plug it in to AC. The Jupiter is a large single panel recharger made for recharging batteries, AA, AAA, C, or D. The Luna model is great for recharging Apple's Newton or any MessagePad.
Now you can compute anywhere! No more "I wanted to send you email from the beach, but my PowerBook died."
KISS can be contacted at 800 327 6882, or email them at solarinfo@wildwestweb.com. Their web page is http://wildwestweb.com
©1996 Don Rittner