OUTDOOR SOLAR LIGHTS

I want to extend my WiFi so I can sit at my pond and surf the net while fishing, However its around a corner and below a hill. SO I was thinking of having a repeater connected to two cantennas. I have a car 12 volt Solar Panel, it has an LED light that pulses when it sends electricity to the car cigarette lighter. It can be found at harbor frei&ht. I also have some 12 volt batteries that go into backup UPS. Any Ideas how I would hook up the repeater to the batteries, and convert the 12 volts to the needed 5? The repeater would need one amp. I can solder and have a very basic understanding of electronics. I’d love a kit or something. I would put the repeater and the batteries in some sort of container to protect from rain. Anyways, thanks ahead.
I have some old pc power supplies, I wonder if I can strip what I need from them since, they have 3, 5 and 12 volt dc out. hmm.. Thanks
UPDATE: I found a decent instructable that show how. Thanks everyone.

You can buy a voltage regulator that will do what you want with a very simple circuit. Here’s an example:

http://www.fairchildsemi.com/ds/LM/LM7805.pdf

Sounds like a fun project. Good luck!

Do you lock away chairs and tables. Do you bring solar lights indoors. Do you make sure the pond fish are okay..Do you feed the birds ( Not tuppence a bag) poll on behalf of the PWC

We did some tidying up in the garden yesterday….swept some leaves, mulched some plants, pruned back etc., and today we’ve got the aches and pains to show for it! lol

Is there anything like a portable Solar Power Box that will power normal devices useing 110v, with standard three prong plug?

I have a few items in my back yard (well pump, pond pump, spot lights) that need to run on normal power, the products that I have found available that run on solar standalone do not really meet the needs that I have.

I was hoping to make a solar box of sometype; Would it be practical to make one with the top of the box being a solar panel and inside containing the battery, converter… with outlets on the side? how big would the pannel need to be? or should i just continue useing the power off of the grid?
How big of a solar panel and battery would I need to run aprox. 1200W – 1500W a day?
Would a compact wind turbine possibly work?

It would be much cheaper and more reliable to continue to use power off the grid.

i would like the following to run off of the solar power:

1) automatic lighting (dusk to dawn)
2) waterfall pump (switch)
3) possibly a ceiling fan

Solar powered pond pumps are not yet perfected. Often they work for a very short time and more times, they do not work at all. Run your pump off a 12 volt battery or regular electricity.

I built a pond and didn’t want to run power to it. I bought a solar fountain but it’s not getting enough light and when it does, the fountain’s not that strong.

I did the same thing…and didn’t want to bury a power line so I just ran an outdoor extension cord to it and covered it with the mulch in the garden.

a solar pond has a distribution of salt concentration..such that..the lower laer of water does not rise up….this water…can be heated..upto..a 100..celcius..and..can be used…..i want ppl to suggest..me….some ideas..to..construct a workin model….i want it..to be low cost…and easily constructable……..and..thn…gud enuff…to produce electricity to…light a small bulb..!!..u can..hav more info at this site abt the…solar ponds…www.solarponds.com

Low cost and solar ponds do not really go together. They are usually very big, need a lot of salty water, and a lot of expensive equipment to get the useful energy out of them. If you want do a demonstation model or a small science experiment, here is a good way to do it:
Keep two things in mind 1) maximized surface area= more energy collected. 2) Minimize energy leaving the pond

Here is my version of a "Super Enhanced Solar pond"

Picture a small baby pool. Now super-insulate the bottom and sides of it with styrofoam. Paint the bottom of it with flat black paint. Fill it half way with saturated salt solution. Fill it a quarter of the way with clear lamp oil. The last quarter of the way is an air-gap. Over the top of the pool place a sheet of thin clear plastic. Make sure the plastic does not dip into the oil.

This arrangement will capture almost all of the heat energy of the light that falls on it. The oil is an insulator and it helps keep the hot salt water from rising to the top, since the oil floats on top.

Now you need to get the energy out of it…..

I would suggest small stirling engines with their power shaft rigged to a small generator or alternator. Some of them spin at 90 rpm just on the heat of a cup of coffee. Have the hot side of the stirling engine inside the bottom of the pool. Have the cold side in the cool air, or a pool of shaded, cold water.

This small pool, 6 ft in diameter, with an appropriate stirling engine will light a lot of small light bulbs and maybe a few big ones too.