I, too, have printed these off. I am putting together a survival notebook and these will go into it. Thanks!

VERY INTERESTING !! I have printed both articles for future reference. Thanks for taking the time to post this information.

I wanted to clarify the simple version and why I built it [it works]. Many years ago I saw a diagram in a magazine of a simple solar water collector that NASA had designed for use by astronauts should they ever be marooned in a desert area. I was fascinated and tried it. You have to be darn careful when putting the condensation sheet on top of the lined hole, that dirt does not get into the collector. I put about five long plastic straws together in lieu of plastic tubing and they work equally as well although maybe not as sturdy. I taped the straws together with plain old cellophane tape.

Here is a design for a larger solar distillator. Seems simple enough.

http://www.thefarm.org/charities/i4at/surv/sstill.htm

Now here is the concept of the one I built years ago. It definitely works and is more simple in design:

http://www.desertusa.com/mag98/dec/stories/water.html