OUTDOOR SOLAR LIGHTS

I have seen so many examples where the light is purely a very dim glow.
Are the LED versions any better than the ones seen on market stalls?

Solar Powered lights require enough light to charge the solar batteries. If the charging is impeded in any way, the light will be dim. I found that the LED lights take less engery to charge and stay on longer, even when we have had numerous cloudy days. Make sure you get a charging unit for the solar powered lights that can be mounted in direct sun. That means there will be a wire. Otherwise, if the solar panel is located on top of the light, you will need to be sure that the panel is exposed to light for a good portion of the day to get them charged properly.

I have seen so many examples where the light is purely a very dim glow.
Are the LED versions any better than the ones seen on market stalls?

Solar Powered lights require enough light to charge the solar batteries. If the charging is impeded in any way, the light will be dim. I found that the LED lights take less engery to charge and stay on longer, even when we have had numerous cloudy days. Make sure you get a charging unit for the solar powered lights that can be mounted in direct sun. That means there will be a wire. Otherwise, if the solar panel is located on top of the light, you will need to be sure that the panel is exposed to light for a good portion of the day to get them charged properly.

It would be so easy to build them into the frame of the glasses, and have very thin batteries in the frame too. Press a button and it gives you a little glimmer of light forward to illuminate a dark notice or see the latch on a gate. Solar chargeable.

Sounds like a little research to make the light not so heavy is all you need before you can get a patent and put out a product. That is a really wonderful idea. It could be the next infomercial phenomenon.
Good Luck!!!

Newbies with circuits, want to make a solar powered night light for my room. (inc. photoresistor)

I agree that a relay is useless. Everything needs to be very low power (i.e. use MOSFETs). Capacitors might work if you use the new "ultracapacitors", or DLC’s, which have huge capacitance and tiny leakage.
Since it’s solar powered, you’ll have a photocell. You can use this also as the light detector. When the photocell is producing current, charge your battery or ultracapacitor. When photocell voltage drops below some threshold, turn on the LED.
A simple way to go would be to use two or three photocells in series, and run through a diode to your battery/ultracapacitor. THen, run the battery/capacitor positive terminal to the source of a p-channel MOSFET, and run the drain to your LED (with a series resistor to control brightness). Control the gate of the MOSFET with the positive terminal of the photocells.
When the photocell voltage drops a few volts below the battery, the MOSFET will turn on, energizing the LED. When the photocell is .7V more than the battery voltage, the battery will charge.

Newbies with circuits, want to make a solar powered night light for my room. (inc. photoresistor)

I agree that a relay is useless. Everything needs to be very low power (i.e. use MOSFETs). Capacitors might work if you use the new "ultracapacitors", or DLC’s, which have huge capacitance and tiny leakage.
Since it’s solar powered, you’ll have a photocell. You can use this also as the light detector. When the photocell is producing current, charge your battery or ultracapacitor. When photocell voltage drops below some threshold, turn on the LED.
A simple way to go would be to use two or three photocells in series, and run through a diode to your battery/ultracapacitor. THen, run the battery/capacitor positive terminal to the source of a p-channel MOSFET, and run the drain to your LED (with a series resistor to control brightness). Control the gate of the MOSFET with the positive terminal of the photocells.
When the photocell voltage drops a few volts below the battery, the MOSFET will turn on, energizing the LED. When the photocell is .7V more than the battery voltage, the battery will charge.

are you talking about the whole panel or just the LED? if it is just the LED then go to Radio Shack or similar electronics store and find a similar LED. make sure it is the same color (of course) as well as the same size. most LEDs electrical specs are the same when you have matched those two things.

Make sure the LED is put in the circuit the same way – polarity does matter.

if it is the entire panel you will have to contact the manufacturer.

are you talking about the whole panel or just the LED? if it is just the LED then go to Radio Shack or similar electronics store and find a similar LED. make sure it is the same color (of course) as well as the same size. most LEDs electrical specs are the same when you have matched those two things.

Make sure the LED is put in the circuit the same way – polarity does matter.

if it is the entire panel you will have to contact the manufacturer.

I’m interested in purchasing some LED icicle-style light strings to go around the house and was thinking it would be nice if they were solar powered to cut back even more on energy consumption. I’ve seen icicle-style LED strings with a regular a/c plug and single-strand LED lights attached to a small solar panel on a garden stake but no solar powered icicle-style LED strings. Is there an easy way to get both the solar power feature AND the style LEDs I want? The icicle-style LED strings draw about 5w each and I’m not sure how many I’ll need, probably 4-6 strings. Thanks!

Those LED lights use so little power, I’m afraid there is not much to be saved by powering them off solar. If solar was all you had, then it might be worth tinkering, but I’d say just plug them in to the wall, and if you’re not using them, turn them off.

If I shined a light on the solar cell to start the LED light, will it keep running, are there different solar cell sizes to choose from.

For a time. Of course, the solar cell is not 100% eefficient, so it will eventually lose enough energy from the system (not absorbed light, waste heat, resistance, etc) to not allow the LED to function.

Depends on the resistance used. Four LEDs can put out a lot of light, but if the application is for a light that is supposed to last all night, they won’t have enough power to make them that bright.