• ****review of mmp8

  By Mike on 06th Sep 2011 of: 12W Folding Solar charger MMP8

  I have had the MMP8 from select solar for just over a year now, came back on their site today and noticed no reviews so thought Id comment seeing as it is still working nicely.
  
  I use it for charging my Iphone, AA and AAA batteries, my bike GPS garmin computer and an eco media player MP4 (like one at a time, its not that good - lol). We had to sort a special lead to connect the Iphone and I started with a smaller panel which was no good for the Iphone but Fran and the Peeps at select solar were very good at sorting this out for me and getting over these teething problems in some style. The other devices I use just work using the USB connection from the panel.
  
  Whilst the the MMP8 solar panel is charging it charges these devises at the same rate to that as if I plugged them in at the wall socket or at the PC USB. So getting a bigger panel doesnt charge any quicker, just means that its more likely to be able to charge during less favourable sun conditions. This also means that unscrupulous manufacturers might claim that their much smaller panels are capable of charging your Iphone or your 5V devices and they are right. They just didnt mention to you that you had to hold their panel pointing directly at the sun an hour either side of Midday in the sahara desert to get it working.
  
  For use in the UK I think that this is a good size solar panal to get for your 5V USB/ mobile phone sized devices. In direct sunlight you can hang the panel vertically inside your house window or leave it outside on the ground and either of these angles relative to the sun will suffice for it to charge. If you spend a minute or so in the back garden setting it up more carefully so that it is angled correctly towards the sun then it will continue to charge effectively through most clouds if the sun is relatively high in the sky. Its still practical to charge in the winter aswell as summer but your angle is of course always slightly less favourable.
  
  Thats the key point here in the UK, theres nearly always clouds passing in the sky so if you skimp and use a smaller sized panel to charge a device like an Iphone it will just never complete charging as on average it loses charge more often than it gains charge.
  
  With the MMP8 its relatively simple to work out whether it will function for charging your 5V device, If the weather looks good enough to hang the washing out then your device will probably charge nicely if you angle the panel to the sun for a couple of hours, If those clouds look a bit darker as if they might be rain later then dont bother.
  
  The panel is pretty durable, I have used it maybe 40-50 times and it still seems as good as new. Still confused about what panel to buy - phone these select solar people up, honestly, they probably have nothing better to do that to chat to you and they went to some trouble to make sure my kit I bought from them worked well for the purposes I intended and not just for the purpose of them getting my money. Strangely enough they seemed to know more about solar power than the people at the local "gadget " store - lol.

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