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Hand Recharged iPod Shuffle
randomErr writes "In one for the first article on the new O'Reilly MAKE magizine we see how to recharge your iPod with a crank. The "Torronesque" project was based on the idea of coming up with a project and buiding it even if it has no immediate purpose. Imagine getting a little power charge every time you press a key or open your phone or laptop."
It was patented in 1999 (the keyboard idea). here.
main(c,r){for(r=32;r;) printf(++c>31?c=!r--,"\n":c<r?" ":~c&r?" `":" #");}
I heard of this like 2 years ago (or more) for cell phones. They had a charger that you could crank by hand, a mini solar charger you could put on your dashboard or roof of your car, and a fan that sat on the outside of your car. Admittedly I don't remember the company, but this is really old news.
The preceding message was based on actual events. Only the names, locations and events have been changed.
come on, this is a bit nifty, but not slashdot material, this should be on hackaday not on slashdot.
so, there could be new ways to power porn-visual devices, eh?
press a key or open your or phone laptop
What the heck are you even talking about?
I know its been done before, but I've never seen a laptop with click powering, I would find this useful as the mashing of the keyboard I do when the battery runs out would actually be productive. :)
Plus, this is especially cool in the case of an iPod. Think about it, fill it and its good, forever. No pluggin in for power, just a little crank once in a while and shes good! I would be more impressed with movement power, like those expensive watches. Don't even need to remember to crank, just to stay alive!
I didn't RTFA, but these are my thoughts.
Frylock: "We should have cloned twenties, Jackson wouldn't have given a fuck."
THEN BREAKFAST WILL BE COMPLETE !!! MWAHAHAHAHA !!
StupidChildren...the reason jesus is crying
... it would be nice to get some info on what exactly is being used in the circuit, but it seems pretty simple to me. You can see a vreg chip behind the alligator clips. My guess is the venerable 7805. The generator therefore has to supply upwards of 6V for dropout headroom. You'd probably want to add a couple of filter caps before and after the vreg too.
That really turns my crank.
I don't mean to be an old crank, but I really don't think my pockets will fit this.
When you have to make your own power, you're less inclined to crank up the volume on that iPod shuffle.
The only problem is you can only listen to alternative music on it.
I'll need someone to give me a hand with this.
Looks like a fine prodcut, but how much will they charge?
Hopefully no more than an arm and a leg! I'll need at least one arm.
No fair, it's my turn!
Does this mean the iPod shuffle uses the ARM processor?
Tip your waitresses folks, they're good people! Try the buffet! I'll be here all week!
Don't forget!! For this to work, you first need to place a special sticker on the Ipod Shuffle!
Now all the inventor needs to do is to invent some sort of electric machine that will turn the crank for you. You could take a motor, and put it in some sort of project box, with some wires coming out of it to plug into the wall, and some sort of arm to turn the crank on the cranking machine...then when you want to recharge your iPod Shuffle, plug it into the crank, and mate the crank with the crank motor, and then plug the mottor into the wall. Then you have the benefits of hand-cranking, without all the manual labour.
Genius! I'm going to go an apply for a patent on this one for sure!
Yaz.
or phone laptop
I know Slashdot's a geeky site but when we're speaking in English, could we please make an effort to avoid Polish Notation? A correct rendering of the above would be "phone or laptop" :-)
Cheers,
AC
"What are you *doing*?"
"I'm, uh, charging my iPod. Yeah, yeah, that's the ticket..."
I swear, if "Zonk" actually read that submission, he must have been on crack to miss the errors. I mean, come on:
..."
... or maybe both.
"In one for the first article
and
"...press a key or open your or phone laptop."
So, in conclusion, either Zonk doesn't read the submissions or he is an idiot
Anyone with a freshman's level circuits class knows this is lame.
Now all the guy needs is a spring loaded crank, with self regulating unwinding. I seem to recall a mechanical crank for an emergency radio/light that takes a few turns, but unwinds with regulation depending on the power requirements of the device.
This would be particularly neat if the guy could make a USB dock with one of these mechanically regulated spring loaded cranks.
AFAIK humans are really bad at regulating their power output, electrochemical (super-capacitors/batteries) storage is very inefficient, but electromechanical (spring loaded) storage is exceedingly efficient. Chock one up for the clock-work makers of old!
We all know that LiON batteries have limited recharge cycles (~1000). Imagine that you will open doors four times per day, then your iPod Shuffle will die in one year. Keep in mind the operating cost....
Just imagine all the energy they have in their right hands(left for southpaws).
We could send several shuttles to mars with all that energy
a subscription-based slashdot without the herd mentality and GNAA trolls.
Seriously, between the BBC news site and Makezine there's nearly everything slashdot story contributors deep link to.
"It's not your information. It's information about you" - John Ford, Vice President, Equifax
Nothing new. Move along. Clockwork Radio The man himself
I know cell phones are getting ridiculously multipurpose lately but thats just silly.
Nobody has a head big enough to put their ear at the top of the screen and their mouth on the touchpad.
Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress at this period in history.
Instead of a crank, why doesn't someone get two balloon-like objects, fill one up with liquid, then stick them together with a turbine thing in the part that connects the two? Then, to generate power, simply squeeze the balloon containing the liquid, then repeat for the other one. Combined with a capacitator of some sort, it should be a faster way to generate power...
Or so I think.
Founder of Mirror Moon - Tsukihime Game Trans
I have one. I sometimes wonder if this could power the tv I'm watching when I'm using it.
To hell with the IPod hand recharger, I want to know more about this 'phone laptop'.
Is it anything like this: http://www.forbes.com/2002/01/03/0103tentech.html.
The number of recharge cycles is measured on a nominal 'deep' discharge/recharge cycle. Partial top-ups and discharges don't count as a full cycle, and are recommended with LiIon due to the lack of a 'memory effect.' Apple have a good page explaining this.
The greater problem with LiIon is that they loose about 20% capacity per year from the date of manufacture, irrespective of whether they are used or not.
So that's what the other hand is for..
breast option?
Okay... I'll do the stupid things first, then you shy people follow.
[Zappa]
Instead of a crank, why doesn't someone get two balloon-like objects..
;-)
Looks like someone is still thinking about the current poll
heh
http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/portable-media/ipod /handcranked-ipod-shuffle-034884.php
Whats happening to Slashdot? If I wanted to read day old gizmodo entries I'd go to gizmodo!
Si Hoc Legere Scis Nimium Eruditionis Habes
Is the battery life that bad that you actually need to recharge it by hand. My MiniDisc goes 50 hours on a single AA, and it has moving parts. It's amazing how long the battery lasts.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
Please never add this technology to my Nintendo DS.
I only ever stop playing it when the battery runs low, and if it's powered by my frantic button mashing, then it's entirely likely that *I* will be the first device to run out of power.
ideally in ideal circumstances on an ideal day when everything is perfect in the world, new batteries such as those in the ipod and laptops can be partially charged all the time and work fine. however, that's the ideal theoretical situation, and doesn't really happen. most ipod users will have their battery crap out after a year to a year and a half mainly because of partial charges, because you have to recalibrate it which few do. charging a cell phone when you open it or whatever might be an immediate payoff... but not long term when you have to buy a new battery.
on Boing Boing... two days ago... that happens alot around here eh?
I picked up a little hand crank charger for a mobile phone and it works yes
but it takes at least 10 minutes cranking for 2 minutes phone on time.
nice toy but to all intents a waste of time and a little money
on the otherhand a small wind generator supplying a lead acid battery that you could later hook up to your battery powered device. not such a bad idea, mount it in your garden, balcony doubles as a bird scarer. might even be able to power your garden lights too.
or use it to charge a spare battery pack or two.
someone must be making something like this.
Blarney Quality Restaurant, Plants
No purpose or usefulness?
e ntors/page8. htm
Tell that to Trevor Bayliss, inventor of
the wind-up radio for Third World countries.
Used in Africa where people can't afford batteries.
http://www.design-technology.info/inv
And it is common to find wind-up torches in UK
shops.
Imagine if everytime you hit a speed bump in a mall parking lot or at a toll booth gate, etc., the "bump" depressed just enough to turn a generator and then reset for the next car. Imagine how much electricity could be generated if one of these were placed in the right spot on a California road, with a *sea* of cars moving...much more regularly than the wind and easier to harness than the tides.
I realize there are limitations to these "speed bumps," because they could only be placed where a vehicle was going fairly slow...but heck, isn't that what speed bumps are for?
Anyone want to start a company and get some VC? Heck, someone might hit the lotto just by patenting this and selling the patent to a power company (who would really probably want this to never see the light of day).
Usurper_ii
Ron Paul
Imagine getting a little power charge every time you press a key or open your phone or laptop.
That'll teach you to press a key or open your phone or laptop.
And imagine all the energy wasted by deceleration/acceleration of the vehicles you are targeting...not to mention wear and tear on said vehicles. Probably not even close to making it worthwhile.
But when can I get one of those little bicycle light generators with the proper interface to recharge the shuffle ? Heck, with a different interface, I could recharge the cell phone at the same time.
This msg is brought to you by the letter 'W'.. for Worthless Wuss
To listen to Slashdot, you'd swear that the only MP3 player in existance is the fucking iPod. Lots of us don't buy in to Apple's MP3 players.
How about some alternate coverage for a change? Neuros completely open sourced their firmware. There are people out there already making their own builds and adding on their own features (like FLAC, file browsers, and cool features like "car mode" which will power down the device when you shut your car off).
But heck, here on slashdot it's iPod 24/7. Apple monopoly == good, Microsoft monopoly == bad, right?
Comment removed based on user account deletion
in japan, you can buy little AA battery powered chargers at any conveinience shop. i'm surprised the rest of the world hasn't followed their lead.
Gosh, you mean like the wear and tear on said vehicles EVERY TIME YOU HIT A SPEED BUMP. That's why you put them in the same places you would put a speed bump...where you would want someone to slow down anyway.
Ron Paul
..if the iAnus port was available for the Shuffle... Imagine getting a little power charge every time you pumped the iAnus port.
Well if you give youself said shuffle you may indeed get something else straight.
Seriously, though, I love the idea; I have a deep hatred for "single-use" non-rechargeable batteries. I just wonder if the iPod explodes if it's mastu^H^H^H^H^Hcharged too much with this.
You can hold down the "B" button for continuous firing.
Yet another no substance Apple© Slashvertisement(TM).
Come on, crank powered stuff isn't anything new, and doesn't warrant a story just because someone did it with an Apple branded mp3 player. In fact, the only reason this is getting on here is because it is another chance to plug an apple product, otherwise the submission would have been ignored.
Kind of like that one story, with title about downloading something(it was the universe or something science related) to an Apple branded mp3 player when you could have done that with any mp3 playing device.
Is slashdot becoming the Stuff That Was Posted On BoingBoing Days Ago site?
Imagine getting a little power charge every time you press a key or open your or phone laptop.
Do we talk in reverse polish notation nowadays?