MintyBoost Instructions and Solar Questions

[joec85]

Hello,

I am very new to electronics but I want to make this kit for my girlfriend's birthday. I wanted to ask if the instructions included in the kit were detailed enough for a beginner? Is there any way I could see a sample?

Also, I found another online tutorial to make a charger like this that uses a solar cell to recharge the rechargeable batteries. All it did was connect the solar cell and battery holder wires together before attaching them all to the USB circuit board. Can I do that with the Minty Boost kit as well with the solar cell I already bought?

[adafruit_support_bill]

The instructions for all our kits are on-line. The MintyBoost is probably our most popular "beginner's" kit. The instructions and documentation are here: http://www.ladyada.net/make/mintyboost/

For solar charging, we recommend using a Solar Charger. Simply connecting the solar cell in parallel with the batteries usually works well at noon on a cloudless day. But it will not be very effective in less than ideal solar conditions. For a detailed explanation, read the "Design Notes" section of our USB/DC/Solar charger tutorial. This tutorial also shows how to connect the charger & solar cell to a MintyBoost.