Got a pile of scrap? Start with the good stuff first – old solar panels from a broken streetlight or a decommissioned kiosk are worth a shot. Look for a good 12V battery that’s still got a decent charge; a car battery can hold a lot if it’s not totally fried. Grab a cheap USB inverter or a simple bridge rectifier if you’re hand‑soldering, and some thick copper wire for the connections. Cut out any big rust spots on the panels, wipe them clean, and stick the panels on a sturdy frame that you can tilt toward the sun. Use a diode on the battery side so the charge doesn’t run back into the panels at night. If you can’t find a charge controller, a simple 12V regulator will keep the battery from over‑draining. When you’re wiring it all up, keep the runs as short as possible – every inch of wire loss cuts your output. Tape up any exposed connections with that duct tape, but double‑check for shorts. If you can, test the system with a multimeter before you start a full run. Measure the panel voltage in the sun and the battery voltage after a few minutes; if it’s not rising, either the panel is dead or the wiring’s bad. That’s the quick playbook. Happy hunting, and watch out for those rust‑filled scrap heaps, they’re a lot like the rest of the world – a mess if you don’t handle them right.