Building something with your own hands is highly satisfying, and that's just what a Cyrus Farivar from Ars Technica found out when he took on a project to build a solar charger for his iPhone. While Cyrus had to rely on the help of a friend who was good with electronics, maybe his story will encourage you to go on and build your own solar charger for your smartphone. The project involved the purchase of four elements: the solar panel, a 'MintyBoost' device charging circuit board, a Lithium Ion battery and battery charging circuit.

Now that I've completed my first project, I feel confident in my abilities to do basic soldering and follow related instructions. I still am not 100 percent clear on what all the elements do, but Malcolm has been very patient with my sometimes inane questions. ("So, a capacitor is different than a resistor, right?")

The triumphant buiders from Ars Technica

If you want to take on a similar project, you'll need to be proficient with soldering and splicing cables, and willing to experiment with changing components like resisters etc. to get the current and voltage right for your device. Having said that, if you have something that will charge an iPhone, it will probably charge anything!

Do you have experience with solar chargers or building your own charging devices? We'd love to hear about it in the comments or even have you write up your project for us!