topic Re: Solar Panel Charging in Arlo Pro

Solar Panel Charging

Spyder76 — Mon, 07 Aug 2017 18:10:54 GMT

Has anybody purchased a 6w-5v USB solar panel for their Arlo Pro camera's yet. This item for~$20, other that not being outdoor ready really looks like it would be an inexpensive option for continuous charging.

Re: Solar Panel Charging

Arlo-Man — Mon, 19 Dec 2016 15:00:00 GMT

Deleted.

Re: Solar Panel Charging

manofice — Mon, 19 Dec 2016 15:20:54 GMT

Got a link? I don't believe their official solar panel has been released.

Re: Solar Panel Charging

Drake3287 — Mon, 19 Dec 2016 18:22:27 GMT

He's just sharing a look-a-like model for a cell phone. Arlo say's it's panel will be out in the next couple of months. What's interesting is this solar panel is $20. and the Arlo one is going to be something like $50. Big difference for basically the same thing.

Re: Solar Panel Charging

TomMac — Mon, 19 Dec 2016 18:39:28 GMT

Well, who's going to be the guinea pig?

Can say from my experience with solar panels, they easily put out a higher voltage than spec'ed esp with a low load...

In almost all my cases required some form of controller to prevent damage to batteries.

( not knowing how the Netgear unit is designed )

Re: Solar Panel Charging

manofice — Mon, 19 Dec 2016 21:06:46 GMT

It's a shame netgear ended their product test and review program. I would have loved to test their solar panels for them!

Re: Solar Panel Charging

JamesC — Mon, 10 Jul 2017 15:39:43 GMT

NETGEAR does not advise the use of third party accessories (like the one mentioned above) with your Arlo Pro system as they are not designed specifically with Arlo in mind.

The NETGEAR solar panel should be available early 2017. For more information, see here: How can I use the Arlo Solar Panel?

Update: The Arlo Solar Panel is now available, for more information, see here: Arlo Solar Panel (VMA4600)

JamesC

Re: Solar Panel Charging

Arlo-Man — Wed, 21 Dec 2016 04:07:58 GMT

AKA: Netgear does not advise paying less for the same product from another company.

Re: Solar Panel Charging

jguerdat — Wed, 21 Dec 2016 13:21:32 GMT

Of course, you/I have no idea if the products are comparable.

Re: Solar Panel Charging

manofice — Wed, 21 Dec 2016 14:10:42 GMT

I would just wait and see what they release. If their similar in power spec's, give it a shot if you're willing to ruin your camera. But it might not ruin it and it might work. I would just wait to see what they release and see the specs of it.

Re: Solar Panel Charging

TandLelectronic — Thu, 22 Dec 2016 23:24:51 GMT

I just got my solar panel from Walmart.com. It is made by Moultrie. I also got a USB female to 5.5 female cable off of amazon.

The solar panel is 3.75 square and put out 6v. I hook it up to my meter and it showed a peek of 9v when held directly infront of a incandescent 40 watt clear round vanity bulb. At night it put out 1v. During the daylight hours it showed 7v. In the end the solar panel volt is determine by the intensity of the light source.

This I believe this setup will work perfectly with the pro, but now I am trying to make it work with the regular camera. I will report back as soon as I get it all setup.

Re: Solar Panel Charging

Wizliz — Thu, 22 Dec 2016 12:09:33 GMT

Hi, very interesting project!

I have four Arlo cameras that i use with rechargable CR123 batterys at 2300mAh/each. However I am getting a little fed up with climbing the ladder to change batteries every two weeks in winter time... So i would love to be able to connect solar panels to them even if it means that i have to drill a hole in the outer case and then solder on some sort of connector.

Looking forward to your next post.

Re: Solar Panel Charging

TandLelectronic — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 13:41:38 GMT

The rest of my parts should be in today! At this time the batteries that came with my camera is down to 17% the camera was installed two week ago in the frigid climate of Ohio over the past weeks.

Question...Has anybody had experience with the arlo skins? I am trying to figure out how to mod the camera so that it is still somewhat water resistance. Plan is to run the cable through the skin and not have to mod the camera by drilling a hole....thinking that the skin can hold the battery door close....any ideas.

Re: Solar Panel Charging

TandLelectronic — Sun, 25 Dec 2016 14:57:42 GMT

Project working as plan. I will post result as the days move on to weeks and months hopefully.

Re: Solar Panel Charging

manofice — Mon, 26 Dec 2016 01:19:59 GMT

So the panels work well??

Re: Solar Panel Charging

DaveWoj — Mon, 26 Dec 2016 01:22:49 GMT

This has been discussed at length.

I have run mine for over a year with alligator clips and no problems

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Arlo/Easy-to-take-camera-apart-and-solder-leads-to-power-camera-using/td-p/968204

Re: Solar Panel Charging

TandLelectronic — Fri, 30 Dec 2016 16:06:52 GMT

DaveWoj wrote:
This has been discussed at length.
I have run mine for over a year with alligator clips and no problems
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Arlo/Easy-to-take-camera-apart-and-solder-leads-to-power-camera-using/td-p/968204

Question....are you using solar power? If so, how is the energy stored for night use? But if you are using a power suppy I understand.

UPDATE...We had a cold spell again with some sunny days and the rechargeable are holding steady. I still haven't drill a hole in the camera. I need to do more research on where to place my leads....front two slots or back two slots since it is a snug fit when all four battery are installed. As I need batteries to carry the camera through the night and prolong cloudy days.

Re: Solar Panel Charging

DaveWoj — Fri, 30 Dec 2016 18:33:25 GMT

No solar panel just ac power. I don't believe it's possible to run the original arlo off solar.

Re: Solar Panel Charging

TandLelectronic — Fri, 30 Dec 2016 20:21:33 GMT

Thanks for the clarification of whether your setup was solar or not. I am currently using my Arlo camera with a solar panel. I also have a Arlo Pro that I am going to do the same. The Pro has a micro usb port for charging that I can connect my solar panel too. Also, are you using a 6V or 12v power supply to power your camera?

By the way your female plug extending from your camera is what I am using to connect to the solar panel that I got from walmart.com. It is a 6v Deluxe solar panel made by Moultrie that extends battery life of feeders.

Re: Solar Panel Charging

DaveWoj — Fri, 30 Dec 2016 21:19:44 GMT

I am using a 6V 2 amp power supply.