Solar Power Pre-Deployment To Afghanistan? 184
dAzED1 writes "My little brother is heading for training at 29 Palms as a Navy Corpsman with FMF. He gets a [Sailor|Soldier|Marine]'s pay, so while he can't afford gadgets, I can; since he'll be in a LAR unit, I was thinking of getting him a small video camera, an iPod, and some sort of solar recharger. Whatever he takes, he'll have to be able to carry in his pack, which is already going to be heavy with his medic gear. Other than the weight issue, I am having problems finding a solar recharger that doesn't get wildly differing reviews as to basic quality. He'll have plenty of sun and few clouds, but it needs to be lightweight, effective, and robust. With price not being much of a concern, what would you suggest for accomplishing this? Advice on a small robust video camera would be appreciated as well."
Foldable solar charger (Score:2, Informative)
This foldable solar charger from treehugger is great http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/01/foldable_solar.php
PowerTraveller maybe? (Score:2, Informative)
Whilst I haven't used their solar products, I do have a v1 PowerMonkey and love it. Their solargorilla product seems to do what you need:
https://powertraveller.com/iwantsome/primatepower/solargorilla/
Re:Pay (Score:4, Informative)
I just looked at it.
1399.50/month for an enlisted with 4 months of active "experience". It's not a lot of money on the surface, but it's plenty of money when you have no expenses.
$1399.50 is more money than I spend in any given month, if I exclude rent. It's much more money than I spend in any given month if I also exclude food. Given that enlisted can do both, if they wish, they're not destitute.
I'm not saying you'll ever make a lot of money as an enlisted man, but you wouldn't need to save up for "months" to buy an ipod. You'd need to save for about a week.
Re:Go for the better battery.... (Score:3, Informative)
forward light-armor recon in Afghanistan; we're talking luxury items anyway, so if it's raining...well, no juice - he'll live. Batteries are hard to get, heavy, and expensive. He generally will be away from camp, for days on end. And since he's a medic and not a Marine...he won't be point.
Re:Pay (Score:5, Informative)
Unmarried Sailors get galley rations, comprehensive medical and dental care, an annual clothing allowance (doesn't completely cover uniforms, but it's pretty close), plus any special pays for rate designation (submarines, etc). While they're at sea they receive sea pay as well. Married Sailors received a housing allowance, commuted rations in their paycheck, and all the other standard benefits.
Virtually every young Sailor I knew in submarine school had, at minimum, a video game system, decent sized TV, fancy cell phone, laptop, various games, a CD/DVD collection, and more in their barracks rooms. All without going into much unsecured credit debt, if any.
Of course, there's always a few idiots who overextend themselves, and there's always a few who are more conservative with their money (a roommate of mine finished sub school with over $20,000 in his checking account). My primary point still stands.
In any event, thank you for your service!
Re:Bling? In Combat? (Score:4, Informative)
Small solar charger (Score:1, Informative)
Small, should meet the power requirements, and is meant for travel.
5oz and 9x5 folded.
http://www.rei.com/product/770230
Re:Pay (Score:4, Informative)
Right on. When you compare military pay to the salary of the average 19-year-old with only a high school diploma, the miliary pay wins out. And that's even before you consider that food, housing, health care, and education expenses are already paid for.
My first year in active duty left me with enough money to buy a new $4,000 computer and a slew of fun electronic gadgets. And I still had more left over that I honestly wasn't sure what to do with except save. Even though I wasn't rich, I sure felt rich because everyone in my life up until that point had told me about how difficult it was to pay bills and taxes when you're an adult.
Now, if I were smart, I would have invested it and kept saving. It's not a secret that if you invest a few hundred a month, every month, you can retire a millionaire by the age of 65.
(I threw that plan out the window when I got a girlfriend.)
No solar. (Score:2, Informative)
As a recent veteran, here is what I brought which proved essential.
Black Leatherman Charge XTi, and Spec-OPS case, spare/additional bits, leatherman tool adapter, and one set of velleman security bits (30-some pieces, $15)
Spare CR2016 and CR2032 coin cells, and type 377 button batteries (should have brought more 377 and 357s)
Wavetek-Meterman VT-201 non-contact voltage detector (now only the fluke is available) (I put mine in a Spec-OPS brand case)
one of those test plugs to check 110v american style outlets
Weller Portasol refillable soldering iron, with an additional smaller tip or 2. Stay away from ones powered by lighters, as it will be hard to find any given brand, but butane is easy to source anywhere.
4-oz fine roll of solder.
small semi-flush cutters
flux pen
paste flux (must bring, digikey, mouser, etc will not send, they only deleted it from my order)
super glue. super glue. super glue. fixes anything. if you can only have one kind o' glue for a year, super glue
also, i brought a small tube of some 3m general purpose glue, not sure what kind.
3M Super 88+ better get 2 rolls, and hide 'em
Tiny, cheap multimeter and spare battery.
ordinary screwdriver, phillips and flat. bit kits are great, but they do not get into certain recesses.
3M high performance cloth, 2x. Lots of dust over there.
there is a particular plug adapter available at certain PX's that works very well and reliably. It is small, fits into a british outlet, and has an LED in the upper right corner. The rest weld themselves to the plug or jack and/or burn plastic at some point
Everything i brought was dual-voltage, so all I did was buy a 220v "universal" power strip in country where I could plug different types of plugs in to it's outlets, and it's plug was the correct style.
Also, I would recomend a sandisk sansa, *not* IPOD. Less likely to get stolen, and somewhat more reliable. Also does not need crazy software, so can be updated from most computers. Remember, I had to sustain myself for a year. Most 'pods do not last that long. I was seeing 6-8 months out of most soldier's in Iraq. Get 2-3 pairs of earphones, like those JVC gummy ones, which handle lots of sweat and different sized ears better, at a reasonable price. Available in colors, avoid pink. Will not be stolen, but not worth the hazing.
Also, have him go to PX/BX and get some slip 'n' snips, and SLIVER GRIPPER tweezers. Also available at Brigade Quartermasters, and Ranger Joes. These tweezers are the ones our medics borrowed from me about once a week before they had their supply guy get them some. Tiny, they come in a little keeper. goes in first aid kit, on keyring, whatever.
Other items i was glad to have was a good set of clothespins and string (got in country), but I brought, and had my wife replenish, some laundry detergent. Now, the military has powdered detergent, but I was able to use less perhaps 3-4 lbs in 15 months, and get actually clean clothes with 5 parts Arm & Hammer perfume and dye free detergent, 2 parts perfume and dye free oxyclean, and 2 parts 20 mule team borax. I know A&H is now available w/ Oxyclean. I did all of my own laundry (no, i was not a fobbit, yes, I worked 16-18 hours a day) but it was worth it, and good relaxation time for me. Plus, I did not care when the laundry came back, and never lost any after that. YMMV per situation, but it worked for me.
Spec-OPS Recon Wrap, 2x. Best headgear ever. serious. available to match uniform, at PX/BX
A few long-life AAA batteries, as good ones are hard to find over there.
Also, I brought an MSR (and MSR only) multi-fuel stove, 33 oz fuel bottle, Titan Kettle and mug, mugmate, and a skillet and spatula. It runs on gas, white gas, (use g-jet) diesel, kerosene and JP-8 (use k-jet, clean often, prime well with denatured alcohol if you can as JP-8 burns filthy and clogs jet). I enjoy cooking, and having a choice besides 8 entree rotation. You can do cool stuff with ramen or