I just tested my freeloader solar panels with a multi-meter. It's not a particularly sunny day but in full sunlight, and pointing at an optimum angle to the sun, one panel was generating 59.5mA at 6.38V so with two panels that would be 0.759VA (6.38*0.0595*2, and that's 0.759W using a power factor of 1.
59.5 + 59.5 = 119mA (The panels are rated to total at 120mA, so this is very close, and this is May, not even proper summer yet), so with an internal battery of 1000mA it would take 8.37 hours of full sunlight to fully charge the battery, though that is ideal conditions with full sunlight all day, and the panels tracking the sun! The manual says 5 to 10 hours in sunny conditions.
The sun just went in and I now get 14.1mA at 6.05V, which shows how much difference direct sunlight makes. 1000mA / (14.1mA*2) = 35.46 hours to full charge under cloud. So, don't expect a full charge off the freeloader every couple of days if its cloudy! What are your expectations? All the reviews saying it won't charge are useless unless you provide the relevant information. e.g. have you removed the thin plastic film from the panels? Did you do the first couple of charges via USB to condition the battery? Were the panels behind glass? How many days were you charging them for? Was it sunny? Were the panels south facing? How many hours per day were they in sunlight for?
The separate battery pack/torch is not well designed in my opinion. The AAA converter is rubbish as has been said. It's fiddly and the metal clip in the AAA piece keeps popping out. the battery cover is flimsy and doesn't fit easily. However for charging AAs it ok. The plastic cover for the usb connector is a waste of time, and you don't need it anyway.
Note that I am not comparing Freeloader to other chargers. I don't have any others to compare it to.
If you order from some places you do get the new IPOD connector included for free.
As I write this the Freeloader is happily charging a pair of AA batteries after having spent several days sitting on a west facing internal window sill behind double glazing. No the red charging light doesn't go out after 5 minutes, if yours does the internal battery wasn't charged up enough or is faulty and needs replacing.
To test the effect of charging behind a double-glazed window (Freeloader tell you windows affect charging time significantly due to most windows doing UV filtering), I'll just go and measure the readings either side of the double-glazed window.
The window is currently fully shaded and is west facing, it's now cloudy, and the panel was flat so I could touch the contacts without moving the panel. The actual values aren't relevant here, just the difference. With the window closed I got 1.8mA and with it open I get 2.9mA, so about about a 40% drop in current with the window closed. So a rough estimate would be that my windows cause a doubling in charge time.
As for charging up external devices, before saying it only adds 2% to your phone or whatever, firstly are you 100% sure the charger is fully solar charged? Test this by connecting the Freeloader to the USB and see if the charge led goes green quickly. If it doesn't you didn't get enough charge from the panels first. Then check what the battery mA rating is in your device. If it's 2000mA for example, you will only get a 50% charge from the a full internal Freeloader battery, so if you need a 100% charge you'll first need to charge some AA's off one Freeloader charge-up, then charge the Freeloader again, then charge the device off the Freeloader internal battery, and then via the battery pack.
Why such a long post? I'd hate that people were put off solar charging because of a few comments that provide no context to the use of the charger, and in some cases demonstrate that people haven't spent the time to understand the facts about solar charging. For example the Freeloader charging light won't ever go green when charging via solar. The manual actually tells you that, as it keep trickle charging the battery via the panels even when it's full. If you charge off USB it does go green, but that's because USB delivers more power, so it's a warning as you are not supposed to leave the Freeloader charging on USB overnight as you can damage the battery if you leave it connected for ages.
I suspect 95% of the dissatisfaction is because people haven't charged their Freeloader enough before trying to charge devices, and they aren't charging their Freeloader enough because they aren't charging it under the right conditions and so mistakenly expect a full charge when they aren't using it correctly. And as for complaining about it never fully charging because you don't get a green light - please try reading the manual more carefully!
So, the Freeloader does deliver to it's rated specification. I work in IT and there's a common saying for many IT 'problems': It's not a hardware problem, it's a wetware one, i.e. the user.
If you are going to spend the time to write a comment trashing a product at least first spend the time to understand the parameters within which it's designed to work and if you aren't going to follow those parameters, don't moan about it 'not working'.
EDIT: Because one obsessive Freeloader reviewer has questioned my review, here's a link to video showing a Freeloader panel generating around 48mA even though it wasn't a very sunny day. About 80% of the stated 60mA per panel. He claims Freeloaders can't generate more than 9mA per panel even in bright sunlight, so took offence at my review, so I decided to back up my review with some proof.
http://s292.photobucket.com/albums/mm13/solarspider/?action=view¤t=freeloader.flv
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