Nerd gear

Right now the one serious piece of electronics I'm packing is my phone (HTC Incredible). I'll embarrass myself if I fawn too hard over technology, but here it goes...what else would I need? Maps? Music? Internet? Camera? And, um, telephone? Check check check. What a country.

All that computing power comes at the expense of battery drain, of course. So here's the plan. I found these USB-rechargeable battery packs:



I actually ended up with one of them and one of the older generation, which was disappointing because it didn't have the LEDs that show how much charge is left. Not a big deal, the actual battery seems to work fine.

These guys will charge from a USB connection, just like the phone. When I have a wall outlet available, I can plug in my AC adapter, and charge up these batteries. Each one should be good for almost 2 full phone charges. I plan to keep the phone off or in Airplane mode most of the time, so one full charge should get through a few days. Between the phone battery and the two packs I hope to have one week's worth of power.

I understand your concern. What happens if I can't get to an outlet? Here's where things get good:



That's right - a solar panel with a USB output! The panel is spec'd for 7 watts. I'm sure that real conditions will never see that, but the phone only takes 2.5 watts while charging...decent light should get me that. It's also foldable and has attachment loops, so I can fasten it to the top of the rack in the back and keep it plugged in to one of the batteries. A full day of halfway-decent sun should be enough to charge it up.

I've played with both the panel and the batteries so I have pretty high confidence that they'll be all I need. If they fall short I still have a few options:

• Take extra care to find wall outlets. At campgrounds, during lunch, etc.
  
• Get a hand crank charger. Probably not feasible to use this to keep the batteries charged, but would guarantee me SOME power in a pinch.
  
• Wheel-mounted generator. They sell little generators that spin when they make contact with the spinning wheel. I stayed away from this because I don't want the extra drag, and they'll wear out the tire a little faster (a legit concern for a long trip). Even using this only when going down hill should generate a ton of power.
  

Anyway, that's my nerd gear and how I'll be keeping it powered. Glayvin!