Potenco’s Pull-Cord Generator

Published by rodfather on September 15, 2007 01:17 pm under Environment, Gadgets, OLPC, umpc

If you’re following the OLPC, you may have noticed the nifty pull-cord generator seen with it. Amazingly, it can generate up to 20W average peak power. That’s easily enough to charge small devices such as cell phones and iPods, and may be just enough to charge my Tekkeon MP3400 battery.

Here are the specs:

Compact: 2.5? high x 3.5? diameter
Lightweight: 14 oz.
Efficient: 20W peak average power
Quiet: 59 dB at 1 foot, <50 dB at 5 feet
Rugged: Water, dust and drop resistant
Smart: Automatically adjusts to your fitness and energy level
Ergonomic: Uses a variety of muscle groups

If you are interested in charging devices using natural energy, I’d check out Steve ‘Chippy’ Paine’s Solar UMPC blog. He just finished his Solar UMPC Tour which was a great success.

EDIT:
Found a YouTube video.