I don't know about physically adding a solar charger, if that's what you mean, but you can use a USB solar charger with it. It plugs into the charging port just like any other charger. Here's the one I use when camping: Anker 15w Solar Charger @ Amazon. There's also a 21w panel available, but I've had my 15w one for about 2 years and it works great. It can be used to charge a battery bank, gps, phone, etc.
I did a big chunk of the PCT with this solar charger (modified by cutting off most of the fabric and extra pocket) and no batteries. Was pretty light and there were times I had power when my friend's powerbanks were running out.
I have one of these:
It works well in full sunlight. It is best to use the solar charger to charge a power bank and then charge your phone with the power bank.
I don't know how it works in a car, I only used it when hitchhiking. What I mean is I don't know how it would be in a hot car window or whatever.
Don't buy any of the small powerbanks with little solar panels that sell on amazon, they fucking suck, they take days to charge.
If I were you I would just get some power banks and find a good place to charge them rather than relying on the sun.
>Hand crank USB charger.
For a few more dollars get the hand crank usb charger with radio and weather radio and flash light. I have seen some good enough ones at walmart for about 40 dollars.
I have a solar charger that will charge a phone or battery bank with sunlight:
Do not get anything smaller or cheaper, they will simply be useless when you actually need it. (I tested them all and wasted a bunch of money on garbage products while I lived on the street, the one I linked is battle tested, back when I bought it the price was three times higher so it's a good deal now).
I have this one https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012YZXMZS/ and had a couple ~20k power banks. Seemed to work well. I never had a power issue (probably wouldn't have even needed to charge up the power banks) but granted this was summer.
Biggest benefit of a case is it also offers impact protection. I carried mine on hikes through slot canyons and I was glad I didn't have to worry as much about my camera getting banged up. But double bagging to keep it dry isn't a bad idea otherwise.
I have this one:
I would reccomend using it with a portable battery pack. Charge the battery pack and use the battery pack to charge your device.
Anker claims their Powercore 20100 is 72 watt hours (pretty close to your estimate of 15 amp-hours at 5 volts or 75 watt hours!).
2 hours of charging per day for 4 days is 8 hours. 72/8 = 9 watts, on average, delivered from your solar panel to your phone.
I bet this one https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Charger-PowerPort-iPhone-Galaxy/dp/B012YZXMZS/ could get you ~9W and it's the same weight as the Powercore 20100.
I have to say, I was skeptical of your thesis when I started this comment, but now I'm on board.
This is the solar charger I had in mind. Yeah you can get those thin glowsticks for a few dollars per 100. I feel like 5-10 of those would be as bright as the water activated light with the benefit of you have a ton, they're even cheaper so you aren't tossing 8$ away every time you use one, even easier to use, can be easily used to mark locations, people, hazards, but they do have their own set of issues like being easier to accidentally activate if stored wrong.
I got this one, seems to work decently for charging my battery packs when off grid. It uses SunPower solar modules, which are generally considered the highest efficiency. It's more than your $30 price budget, but Anker is a good company with good quality products.
https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Charger-PowerPort-iPhone-Galaxy/dp/B012YZXMZS/ref=zg_bs_2407762011_6
I would ask to send you one of these but seeing as the almighty state has limited the state cattle to working 2 days a week, for the good of the revolution donchakno, it would probably take 3 months to get it delivered to you... if ever.
I second this, I also have an anker solar charger, this one:
It will charge your device but I would recommend getting a portable battery bank and charging that with the solar and then charging your device.
>There are power banks with solar panels built in, but they can’t be charged while you’re active such as hiking, also the panels tend to be not powerful enough to give it a meaningful charge within a reasonable timeframe.
I also agree with this, there are a lot of cheap portable power banks with solar on amazon but they take days to charge because the panel is so small.
If I were you, I would get the anker solar charger and several power banks, portable power banks have gotten so cheap that there is no reason not to buy several, you can get a 9000mah bank for about ten bucks if you shop around, make sure you study a little about capacities and your device capacities and charge them fully before you head out. There are even flashlights that double as a power bank, I got one at walmart for 10 bucks on sale. Buy the anker solar charger on amazon but you should buy power banks at a retail store because there are so many sketchy sellers on amazon especially when it comes to capacity claims. Don't go to a sporting goods store to buy a power bank, there stuff is extremely overpriced, walmart is fine, (walmart retail store, not walmart online).
Also, consider charging time on higher capacity battery banks, a higher capacity bank will take a lot longer to charge. Don't get a 30,000mah bank just because of the bigger number, that just means it takes three fucking days to charge. What I bring with me is my solar charger, four ~6000mah battery banks and a four-port wall charger, (to take advantage of opportunities at regular electricity). You can charge four smaller batteries simultaneously, and essentially, four times faster than one big battery. And having multiple batteries will have a safety margin kinda built in, (the chance that all four will fail or become damaged is pretty slim).
Definitely bring a powerbank and universal surge protector. I have the ones below.
I also brought a solar panel (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012YZXMZS), but I have reliable enough electricity at my site that I gave it to another volunteer who doesn't. It is a life saver for her.
As for language, don't worry about it. Luganda is the largest language group, but you could very easily be placed in a region that speaks another language. Swahili would be good to learn, but again that depends on where you get placed in Uganda.
The language program here is pretty good. Everyone in my cohort passed the requirement. I'm sure that you will too :)
If you have any other questions feel free to DM me.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RVUIXOC (surge protector) https://www.amazon.com/MAXOAK-50000mAh-Portable-Charger-External/dp/B00YP823NA (powerbank)
Just wanted to share my strategy which, for me, is a good combo of reliability and light weight: I'm using an Anker 15w solar panel in combo with a Power Add 5000
I've tested the duo together, the power bank and the solar panel together work great, the panel isn't too heavy (12.5 oz) and fills my Power Add in the course of a day. The Power Add 5000 is just the right amount for my purposes, (~2 phone charges) and as a safety back-up in case there's no sun, also it is pretty light and compact (~4 oz).
I also have a kindle. Kindles do not require much, depending on which one you have, one full charge can last you a month.
15w solar panel (12.5 oz) https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Charger-PowerPort-iPhone-Galaxy/dp/B012YZXMZS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493231892&sr=8-1&keywords=anker+solar+charger
Power Add 5000 (4 oz) https://www.amazon.com/Poweradd-Slim-Ultra-compact-Portable-External/dp/B00MWU1GGI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493232359&sr=8-1&keywords=Power+add+5000mah
I don't think you have seen this panel by Anker:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012YZXMZS/
It feels quite durable and charges quickly.
http://www.amazon.com/2-Port-Charger-Anker-PowerPort-iPhone/dp/B012YZXMZS
With this and the other battery pack, I can use my iPhone the continuously for two weeks in filtered light. I'd say given that I'm at a pack weight of 9 lbs, the usefulness is perfect. It's 11.5oz and I also have a PowerCore 20100 which is 12.6oz, so 1.5 pounds in total.
I have the Anker version of this one, I've had it since 2017 and it still works like a charm.