Horse-powered laptop
p2pnet.net News:- It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the sun will eventually be one of the primary sources of power for p2p-on-the-move.
And indeed, “gadget lovers are using solar panels to power their toys in the remotest places – like Mt. Everest, altitude 29,029 feet,” says a Reuters story here, going on:
“In the wilds or on the road, solar panels that fold into notebook-size cases are charging everything from notebook computers to cameras and Palm Pilots. And bikers and backpackers have been testing systems, “many of them homemade contraptions that include a few batteries wired together to provide current for laptops that will last a few hours”.
Yep. Well, Howard Saether and Janja Kovacic are way ahead of them. They have horse solar power
“Because we have a camcorder and a laptop, we needed something to charge batteries while traveling in the countryside.” they write on The Long Riders’ Guild here.
“We bought a flexible solar panel and a 12 Volt motorcycle battery.
“We place the solar panel on top of the packsaddle, so it charges while we are traveling!
“Our solar panel is a flexible Uni-Solar USF-11, 10.3 W. It measures 400×550 mm. and weighs less than 1 kilo (about 2 pounds).
“The battery is a a YUASA NP7-12, 7.0 AH. It is sealed, rechargeable and weighs less than 2 kilos (about 4 pounds).
“We have a snap-connection between the solar panel and the battery, and from the battery, it goes to two lighter plug outlets.
“We can charge the batteries of the camcorder without having the solar panel connected. But when we want to charge the computer we need to have the solar panel connected, so it charges at the same time. If we use the computer while the solar panel is connected, it provides sufficient power so we don’t use the computer batteries at all!
“After a while we also bought a 12 Volt, 9 watt fluorescent light bulb, and that is our biggest luxury. No more messing with kerosene or candles. We use the excess solar power for light in the tent at night.
“At night we have sufficient light for as many hours as we want. More importantly, the 9 watt light bulb illuminates as well a normal 60 watt bulb, which is even enough to break camp and saddle the horses at night!”
June 7th, 2004 at 5:00 am
That rocks. Please provide technical details, and even more cool links to other sites showing do it yourselfers how to construct items like this!!!
If I owned my home, I’d be pasting these panels on the roof and buying up deep cycle forklift batteries, which apparently have a long life and excellent charge (from what I’ve read on other sites).
The future is in “people power” where you and I can disconnect from the grid, or at least “wean off the grid” by lowering our overall costs and the pressure on big companies to power the grid during peak seasons – and thus brown out, like last year – saving money and time and maybe even lives in the process!
Most of all, it’s so hacker-esque! Sweeeet!