Mechanical:

Rotor: The rotating part of an alternator, generator, dynamo or motor.

Stator: The stationary part of an alternator, generator, dynamo or motor.

Electrical:

Armature: The power-producing component of an alternator, generator, dynamo

or motor. In a generator, alternator, or dynamo the armature windings generate the
electrical current. The armature can be on either the rotor or the stator.
Field: The magnetic field component of an alternator, generator, dynamo or
motor. The magnetic field of the dynamo or alternator can be provided by either
electromagnets or permanent magnets mounted on either the rotor or the stator.

Because power transferred into the field circuit is much less than in the armature circuit,
AC generators nearly always have the field winding on the rotor and the stator as the
armature winding. Only a small amount of field current must be transferred to the moving
rotor, using slip rings. Direct current machines necessarily have the commutator on the
rotating shaft, so the armature winding is on the rotor of the machine.
n electricity generation, an electrical generator is a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical
energy. The reverse conversion of electrical energy into mechanical energy is done by a motor;
motors and generators have many similarities. A generator forces electric charges to move
through an external electrical circuit, but it does not create electricity or charge, which is
already present in the wire of its windings. It is somewhat analogous to a water pump, which
creates a flow of water but does not create the water inside. The source of mechanical energy
may be a reciprocating or turbine steam engine, water falling through a turbine or waterwheel,
an internal combustion engine, a wind turbine, a hand crank, compressed air or any other
source of mechanical energy.

There is probably one thing that we can all agree on: the worlds energy reserves are not
unlimited. Actually that's not strictly true, there is a near unlimited supply of energy
coming from the sun but we are pretty bad at converting it into useful energy. Look
around and ask yourself how much things will change in the near future. It is pretty
certain that we will run out of gas in your lifetime. Quite when it will happen is up for
debate but a guess of around twenty years would probably be pretty close. That's not long
considering that, certainly in the UK, a good portion of houses have only gas powered
heating and cooking.
We have, in all likelihood, gone to war in Iraq to ensure a steady supply of oil for the next
twenty to thirty years but even if we can get exclusive access to that oil, and that's
unlikely, it's a rather sort amount of time before people start getting cold and hungry.
Make no mistakes, when the oil runs out the western culture will collapse and we will be
sent hurtling back to the middle ages. Starvation will become a real problem, medicine
will become scarce and transport will be by your own two feet or not at all.
The UK currently has around sixty million people. Without oil it could support maybe
twenty million but probably less because there will be no oil to power farm machines, no

fertilizer to grow strong crops and no herbicides or pesticides to keep the weeds and
insects at bay. We will be sent back to a pre-industrial revolution world with no hope of it
ending.
Winter will be the worst time for us because there will be nothing to burn. The first
winter with no gas or oil will see every tree cut down for firewood even though burning
unseasoned wood is nearly pointless. Our houses will start to fail as there will be no
materials to maintain them with and rats will breed in their masses because we can't
transport out waste away. Basic raw materials like wood and steal will become valuable
commodities because we won't be able to produce them ourselves but they won't last
anywhere near as long as we are used to because we won't have lacquers, paints and
varnishes to protect them with.

Solving the Energy Problem

William Schreiber
Global warming is now almost universally accepted as a serious problem caused by
human activity mainly burning fossil fuels that demands strong remedial action as
soon as possible. Past events, such as the temporary boycott by some of the major
petroleum producers in the 70s, showed that the US also has a national security problem
related to both price and availability of one of our main energy sources. This note is
intended as a contribution to the effort to devise a comprehensive solution to all aspects
of the energy problem.
Many others have also recognized various aspects of the problem and the need for a rapid
response. I have found that most workers in this field have not completely defined the
problem, but nevertheless have some favorite solutions to be exclusively pursued.
When I began my engineering education long ago, I was lucky enough to have had the
tutelage of experienced engineers, not scientists. They all said (preached, actually) that
the indispensable first step in devising a solution in the real world was to define the
problem.
Non-rechargeable batteries are widely used but they cause environmental damage.
Alternatives include: USB power from computers, solar power, hand cranked power,
recycled old mobile phone chargers and fuel cells. Rechargeable batteries and
supercapacitors are also more environmentally friendly and are described in separate data
sheets.

Whats the Problem?

People in the UK use about 680 million batteries every year (about 21 batteries per
household), producing 20-30,000 tonnes of domestic waste. Batteries can contain highly
toxic heavy metals such as cadmium and mercury. When the battery casings corrode
these heavy metals leak into the ground and contribute to soil and water pollution and

endanger wildlife. Cadmium, for example is toxic to aquatic invertebrates and can bio-

accumulate in fish. Electronics is the area in

Design, Engineering & Technology (and in
education overall) that makes the greatest use
disposable batteries and we should be actively
looking for alternatives.

of

What are the Alternatives?

Many people have access to a computer with a USB socket. This can be used to power
electronic systems and to refresh rechargeable batteries and supercapacitors. Solar panels
convert sunlight to electrical energy. A hand crank can power a dynamo to produce
electrical energy. Fuel cells are relatively expensive. They use hydrogen as a fuel to
produce electricity.
The notes below explain how each of these alternatives to disposable batteries can be
used.

USB
The USB port of a computer provides a reliable 5V supply able to source 100mA. This is
sufficient to power small electronic systems or to recharge batteries or supercapacitors.
The connections for series A plugs (generally used at the computer end of a USB wire)
and sockets are:
Connections on the plug at the end of a USB cable

Connections looking into the plug at the end of a USB cable and the device socket on the
computer

Pin Name Description

1

VBUS +5 VDC

D-

Data -

D+

Data +

GND

Ground(0V)
From the table above, as you look at a USB port on a computer (assuming the visible
metal connectors are underneath (as shown above right) the left-hand connector is +5V
and the right-hand connector is GND (0V). As we are simply using the USB port as a
power source, we can ignore the data lines (connectors 2 and 3).

PCB designed to fit into a USB

Veroboard cut to fit into a USB socket, viewed from the component
side
socket
None of the major suppliers of components to schools seems to stock the cable end USB
connectors. However, the 0.1 spacing between the tracks on Veroboard (stripboard) is
the same as the spacing between the connectors on the USB socket and Veroboard is
just the right depth to slot into the connector. The same result can be achieved using
tracks of the correct width and spacing (0.3) on a PCB.
The USB port can supply up to 100mA and is protected against short circuits.

Solar Power
Solar cells convert light energy to electrical energy. They can be used to power small
electronic systems or to refresh rechargeable batteries or supercapacitors.
The Rapid 42-0240 produces an output of up to 3V and 100mA.

The MUTR EL1 006 produces an output of up to 4.4V and 90mA.

The circuit on the left can be used to

recharge a battery (or a supercapacitor)
using a solar cell. The diode allows
current to flow in only one direction.
This prevents battery power discharging
through the solar cell when light levels
are low. There is a voltage drop of about
0.6V across the diode.
It is important to be aware of safety issues before recharging batteries.
To find the actual current output of a solar cell you need to experiment with a multimeter.

Hand-cranked Power
Hand-cranked power can be used to recharge commercial radios, torches, phones etc.
However the core winding units to achieve this dont seem to be available to education
users.
An interesting approach using LEGO components to create a charger for devices
powered by USB is described at Instructables.com
LEGO hand-crank from Instructables

Web links

Battery waste and recycling

Electronics and the environment
USB connectors
Rapid 42-0240 solar panel data sheet
Fuel cell primer video
How fuel cells work
Low temperature Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cells

Return to list of datasheets

Originally, a hand crank was used to start engines, but it was inconvenient, difficult, and
dangerous to crank-start an engine. Even though cranks had an overrun mechanism,
when the engine started, the crank could begin to spin along with the crankshaft and
potentially strike the person cranking the engine. Additionally, care had to be taken to
retard the spark in order to prevent backfiring; with an advanced spark setting, the
engine could kick back (run in reverse), pulling the crank with it, because the overrun
safety mechanism works in one direction only

The modern starter motor is either a permanent-magnet or a series- or series-parallel

wound direct current electric motor with a solenoid switch (similar to a relay) mounted
on it. When current from the starting battery is applied to the solenoid, usually through a
key-operated switch, it pushes out the drive pinion on the starter driveshaft and meshes
the pinion with the ring gear on the flywheel of the engine. Before the advent of keydriven starters, most electric starters were actuated by foot-pressing a pedestal located on
the floor, generally above the accelerator pedal.
The solenoid also closes high-current contacts for the starter motor, which begins to turn.
Once the engine starts, the key-operated switch is opened, a spring in the solenoid
assembly pulls the pinion gear away from the ring gear, and the starter motor stops. The
starter's pinion is clutched to its driveshaft through an overrunning sprag clutch which
permits the pinion to transmit drive in only one direction. In this manner, drive is
transmitted through the pinion to the flywheel ring gear, but if the pinion remains

engaged (as for example because the operator fails to release the key as soon as the
engine starts), the pinion will spin independently of its driveshaft. This prevents the
engine driving the starter, for such backdrive would cause the starter to spin so fast as to
fly apart. However, this sprag clutch arrangement would preclude the use of the starter as
a generator if employed in hybrid scheme mentioned above; unless modifications are
made.
This overrunning-clutch pinion arrangement was phased into use beginning in the early
1960s; before that time, a Bendix drive was used. The Bendix system places the starter
drive pinion on a helically-cut driveshaft. When the starter motor begins turning, the
inertia of the drive pinion assembly causes it to ride forward on the helix and thus engage
with the ring gear. When the engine starts, backdrive from the ring gear causes the drive
pinion to exceed the rotative speed of the starter, at which point the drive pinion is forced
back down the helical shaft and thus out of mesh with the ring gear.
A crank is an arm attached at right angles to a rotating shaft by which reciprocating
motion is imparted to or received from the shaft. It is used to change circular into
reciprocating motion, or reciprocating into circular motion. The arm may be a bent
portion of the shaft, or a separate arm keyed to it. Attached to the crank by a pivot is a
rod, usually called a connecting rod. The end of the rod attached to the crank moves in a
circular motion, while the other end is usually constrained to move in a linear sliding
motion, in and out.
One application is a human-powered crank, which is used to manually turn an axle as in a
bicycle crankset or a brace and bit drill. In this case a person's arm or leg serves as the
connecting rod, applying reciprocating force to the crank. Often there is a bar
perpendicular to the other end of the arm, often with a freely rotatable handle on it to hold
in the hand, or in the case of operation by a foot (usually with a second arm for the other
foot), with a freely rotatable pedal.

Hand Crank

The unit is light weight (2.5 lb), portable, low cost ($10-$20) and can be used to recharge
single cell batteries at from 1-3.5 amps. It can be made from a cordless electric drill in a
primitive environment. The simplest way of how to make a hand crank DC generator
using a standard 12, 14.4 or 18 Volt Cordless drill from Harbor Freight Tools. With no
modification hook an alligator clip jumper to the two charging terminals (on the bottom
that the battery plugs into). See picture below. Note that when a 14.4 Volt drill is laid
down pointing to the left then the upper terminal is most likely to be the plus and the
lower terminal the minus for these units.
When one holds down on the variable speed trigger switch, the crank handle will began
to rotate slowly acting like a drill. Grab the handle with your other hand and crank faster
in the same direction it is turning (trigger switch still held down). If an amp meter is hook
in series with the generator then one can tell when it changes from running as a motor to
becoming a generator and begins to charge the battery. The current flow will change sign
going from "-" to "+" (or vice versa) on the meter. The forward and reverse switch works
as normal and allows one to crank in the opposite direction to charge the battery while
holding the trigger switch closed.
If you have an unknown drill then hook it up one way and see how many amps you get
when cranking vigorously. Then hook it up the other way reversing the polarity of the
wires and compare the amps using an amp meter in series with a one celled rechargeable
battery (NiMH or NiCad). One way will charge the battery the other way will bring the
charging current to near zero and it will become hard to crank. Use the polarity that
charges the battery. The procedure outlined above gives the basic way you can check any
cordless drill to see if it is a permanent magnet motor and wired such that will work as a
DC generator.
Determining switch setting for 18 Volt drill: Wire or tape the trigger variable speed
switch wide open or all the way held down. Look at the top of the battery for the plus and
minus. Hook up a dc volt meter according to the polarity that the battery was hooked up.
If one lays the drill pointing to the left then the upper terminal is positive and the lower is
negative. Now give a twist clockwise to the chuck with your hands (no crank). Watch the
voltage reading and the sign plus or minus then give a counter clockwise twist and note
the sign and voltage. Also note how hard it is to turn. Pick the direction that gives the
most voltage and is easiest to turn. Note the "L" or "R" switch setting. I found that for
this 18 volt drill when "R" was set that a counter clockwise turn was best and gave a
correct polarity as the battery hook up. In like manner when "L" was set then a clockwise
turn worked best.
Warning: With the trigger switch wired or tape closed, one can not leave it
connected to a battery without a diode to keep it from draining the battery.
Incremental improvements can now be made. Use a 6-10 amp external diode in series
with the jumper wires (wired in the direction of the current flow). If one stops cranking
the drill as a generator it will not continue to turn as a motor. The diode bocks the battery
flow. One can then tape or wire the trigger switch in the full ON position. This approach

produces a hand crank battery charger that in a pinch could easily be reversed and still
used as a drill again. This reversal can be done by taking the diode out of the circuit and
un-taping the trigger switch and plugging in the battery pack. Note: Be sure to lock the
drill into direct drive mode (locks out the ratchet screw torque gear arrangement). Chouse
a cordless drill that has a high figure of merit or highest ratio of input voltage to RPM.
The 12 volt/500 RPM and 14.4 volt/550 RPM have a ratio of .024 and .0262 respectively.
Note that the 14.4 volt unit is slightly more efficient than the 12 volt unit. The 18 volt
runs at 900 RPM and this gives a ratio of .02 which is not as high as the other two but not
that far off.
The 12 Volt drill item 47156-5VGA currently sells for $9.99 with keyed chuck and the
14.4 volt drill item 4285-1VGA currently sells for about $15.99. The 18 volt item 901208VGA sells for about $19.99. The 12 Volt units are currently the lowest cost but after
testing are the least desirable (harder to crank). The 14.4 Volt tests as most efficient with
the 18 volt units coming in second due to ease of cranking (lower gear ratio) with
resulting lower output power. I recommend using the "Keyed chuck" type drill instead of
the hand tighten type. It is a bit cheaper and the hand crank can be tightened a bit tighter
so it doesn't come loose while cranking. In actual fact either will work. So use what you
have available.

MAKING AN ELECTRICAL
GENERATOR
The very simple generator described below is primitive but shows the basic operation. It
has been deliberately left as simple as possible so that there is maximum scope for using
it in imaginative designs and inventions. It can therefore form the basis for a more
complex device as shown a little further on.
The generator is made from a coil of wire (about 1000 turns) wound around the last 3 cm,
or so, of a large nail. When a spining magnet is placed near to the device it induces a
voltage into the coil and this can then be used to light a bulb (or better still an LED see
end for details) - generation of electricity can therefore be simply demonstrated.

Diagram of simple generator

Step 1
Make up two cardboard circles about 3cm in diameter (1-2 mm thick). Carefully pierce a
hole in the middle of the circles. Find a large (10-15 cm long, 6 mm wide) clean (unrusty)
nail having a large head. Thread one of the circles onto the nail and push right up to the
head.
Step 2
Cover the last 3-4 cm of the nail with a single layer of insulation tape (leave the nail head
uncovered). Push the second circle onto the nail but only so far as the insulation tape.
Add more tape onto the other side of the circle to fix the circle in place. You should now
have a ready made 'spool' on which to wind the coil.
Step 3
Obtain some thin insulated copper wire (say 25m or so of 30SWG, aprox. 0.3mm
diameter) leave about 20-30 cm free and start to wind turns onto the insulated part of the
nail between the two circles. Wind 1000-1500 turns (the exact number does not matter
much and will depending on how neat you can get them on before they spill over the
restraining cardboard circles). Leave another 20-30 cm free at the end and then cut the
wire. Tape up the whole assembly so that the wire does not come undone.
Step 4
Take the free ends of the wires and scrape off the insulation. Wire them to a bulb or to an
LED. Bring a magnet close to the head of the nail and while holding it about 5mm or so

from the head rapidly move the magnet from side to side. The Bulb or LED will light
showing generation of electricity !!

HOW A GENERATOR WORKS

A generator works by a magnetic field inducing a voltage into a coil of wire. Important
points to note are that the voltage increases as the number of turns of wire on the coil, the
size of the coil and the strength of the magnetic field increases. The magnetic field (or the
coil) needs to be in constant motion to produce/induce the electricity into the coil. This
can be done by moving the magnet or by moving the coil - the effect is the same. The coil
(or the magnet) needs to move in such a way that the coil continually passes through the
magnetic field.
The Iron nail is also important in our simple generator as it tends to concentrate the
magnetic field. As the coil is wound around the nail it tends to draw in more magnetic
flux into the area of the coil which boosts the overall efficency of the device and
increases the voltage that is produced.
The type of wire in the coil is also important. For example, thick wire means there will be
less power loss, but the down side is that the coil will get very large when a great number
of turns is needed. In a practical generator some trade off has therefore to be found
between the size of magnet, coil and the wire.
AC or DC
This simple generator is called an AC generator. This means that the voltage appearing at
the two wires alternates between + and -, and - and + each time the magnet makes a
complete revolution. As a result the generator can light a bulb or an LED without you
having to worry about which way round the connections need to go (as they are
effectively reversing all the time anyway). However, this simple generator is not good for
running radios, calculators or other devices that need a direct current (DC) that is
produced for example from a battery. You can have fun though connecting up speakers to
the generator output, as you can hear the electricity alternating - but please don't use your
parents best Hi-Fi Speakers !, try using walkman type headphones etc.

A MORE ADVANCED GENERATOR

The photo below shows a simple hand cranked generator I built which used two of these
nail-generators wired together (to give twice the power). This way both the N and S face
of the magnet are used at once. One needs to get the wiring between the coils correct
otherwise the voltage will cancel and you won't get any power from the gen! The coils
are wired one after the other rather than one across the other (ie. a series circuit rather
than in parallel). A simple wooden gear system was used so that you can comfortably
generate electricity without having to turn the handle too fast.

A simple two nail generator with hand crank

Close up of the generator

PERHAPS THE SIMPLEST ELECTRICAL GENERATOR IN THE WORLD
click here for an even simpler generator
WHAT TYPE OF BULB SHOULD I USE ?
It may seem like common sense to use as low a voltage bulb as possible in this type of
generator but actually a higher voltage bulb often works better. For example, a 1.5V
(voltage) bulb often takes 0.25 A (amp - electrical current) to light while a 6V bulb can
take as little as 0.05A. This simple generator can only supply a relatively small current
(say 0.05-0.1A) and so consiquently the higher voltage bulbs tend to work better. By the

way an LED (light emitting diode) works really really well in this design because they
take very little current (about 0.01A). LED's can be obtained from Tandys or Maplins
(almost any sort will do) or scrapped from an old radio or toy that contains one.
Click here for information about LED's
WHAT TYPE OF MAGNET SHOULD I USE ?
In general the stronger the magnet the better. Eclipse make all sorts of magnets and are
generaly avaliable from most hardware stores. The 'crank handle' generator descrobed
above used a E825 Eclipse magnet. Its is well worth trying other types of magnets but
you might have to devise other ways of spinning the magnets to make sure the magnetic
field is changing in the correct way with respect to the coil. Good generators can be made
from button, bar, hourseshoe and cylindrical magnets - its just up to your imagination !
PARTS LIST AND TOOLS
Cardboard from a cereal box for example
Iron nail with head (1/4" (6mm) diameter, ~6" (15cm) long)
Reel (aprox. 25m) of enamelled copper wire (30 SWG or ~0.3mm diameter)
E825 Eclipse Button Magnet
Torch bulb (6V, 0.06A) and holder or better still an LED
Hand drill (standard toolbox type)
Most of these parts can be obtained from a DIY store or from electronic shops such as
Tandy or Maplins.
Books and articles:
Advanced Physics, Tom Duncan, 4Ed., John Murray, ISBN 0 7195 5199 4
nice section on generators and electricity.
Ideas for further work:
1) try varying the number of turns. Is it always true that the voltage goes up with number
of turns for this simple gen ? What happens when the coil gets so large that mots of it is
no longer very close to the nail ?
2) can you find a better iron former than a nail ?
3) how about trying other forms of energy to power the rotating magnet, eg. wind power,
wave power (for example see the section building your own windmill)
goto 'build your own windmill'
4) can you build-in a moving switch to make the voltage direct (DC) instead of
alternating (AC) - this is called a commutator
5) can you use the nail-coil (without the magnet) as a 'search' coil for detecting magnetic
fields ? Try putting the nail-head coil near to a speaker playing load music, does the LED

flash with the music ?

NOTE: never go near to mains powered devices of any kind with this apparatus

(...or :How I learned to stop looking for a wall socket and start cranking)
UPDATE december 5th, 2005, I can now charge my ipod with my bicycle as well! :-)

first of all, this is the magic flashlight, here in Holland its sold as perfectmate dynamo
flashlight, but Im sure this is one of those products which all of a sudden are all over this
planet

it comes with this socket for charging a mobile phone or something else (btw my phone
takes 6V instead of 4.2)

it gives a rather splendid light by the way

...with its 5 leds

of course I had to open it to see whats actually inside this thing.

I bought a USB-extension-cable (simply because they are cheap and that way I only had
to solder one side )

...and later on, I bought these parts for making a voltage-regulation-circuit

I gathered all this information from the topics at hackaday.com:
how-to: usb battery
how-to: usb battery v2

so, this was my laboratory for the weekend

I tried all kinds of different setups, here for instance, its a zener-diode of 5.1v + 100 ohm
resistor and a diode (to make sure the current doesnt flow the other way around (that is,
from the ipod to the flashlight))...

...and it all seemed promising, but my ipod remained dead

..so in a last desperate attempt, I removed all the voltage-regulation-logic, so only a

diode, for making sure the current goes the right way, remained

courtesy hardwarebook.net

and heres the pin-out for a USB-plug

...this setup gave a cool 5.8V, significantly higher than the 5V USB-power normally is,
but like I said, this was becoming one last attempt I must say I gambled a little here
according to ipodlinux.org there should be a Linear Technology LT4055 USB power
controller/Li-ion linear charger inside my 1G ipod mini and even though I couldnt find
specs of it, I gambled that it could take 5.8V instead of 5V so my choice was between
getting it to work or frying my ipod
(make sure to read my update at the bottom, after this I made yet another cable)
time to put it all to a final test (this has taken almost all of my weekend, so its about
time!)

Well, this ipod looks empty

...this is the last screen you see before it goes totally dead

time to start cranking!

...this is the first sign of life you see (this is not an animated icon, but a static one)... once
in a while it tries to boot the ipod (with the apple-logo showing) but in the beginning it
kept falling back to this icon so I had to crank some more!

woohoo! it gathered enough power to boot my ipod!

(this happened after appr. 30 minutes of cranking and several attempts of my ipod to boot
in between but not succeeding in that)

...then it seemed it found its way, cause I could stop cranking and it kept charging (there
are batteries in the flashlight, so those are discharging)... it kept charging for appr. 5
minutes and then this animated charge-icon became static (which I guess tells me it
doesnt charge anymore)... time to check up

YAY! not one, but two (2!!!) stripes on the battery-icon (and two numb hands of
cranking)
well, Im a little sarcastic here, and I didnt test it but I guess this is something like 30?
minutes of music? ...which isnt even that bad imho

To be honest, I did go wrong on the amount of cranking I thought would be involved

On the flashlight-packaging it says 1 minute of cranking gives you 30 minutes of light, but
I didnt think it through how little current 5 leds take so it can very well be that the
cables I made earlier, with a zener-diode to make sure I wasnt going over 5.1 volt (check
the hackaday-topic I mentioned earlier if you want to know about that), would also work
but at that moment I thought I did something wrong. Well, this setup works (yay!), but
with a lot of cranking involved, so I have to be quite desperate for some tunes and miles
away from another possibility to charge it, before I crank power my ipod this way but
hey, it is possible! (and for me, that was the point of doing all this)
usable or not this is going into my bag for sure and I can always use the flashlight to
make my ipod sock look a little scarier...

This setup worked for me, but I really can not tell you or guarantee you this will work for
you also you are risking your ipod with this!!!

Somehow, the 5.8V this setup was giving, bothered me and kept me from putting this
project away as being finished so I continued a little until I would be satisfied with it

So, I came up with this a 5.1V zenerdiode to make sure the current wouldnt go over it,
a resistor to make sure it doesnt short-cut and a diode to make sure the current flows the
right way (all from the how-to: usb battery v2)
Please tell me its a work of art :-)

Aaah, this looks good

Wow, it still looks good after I jammed this circuit inside the enclosure of the plug (a
fresh one, I didnt want any tape on this I-do-it-one-more-time-cable)

And yes!!! we have a charge-icon on the ipod!

...a little closer

So, this wraps it up now I have a nice cable, which also quite safely could be used on
anything that uses USB-power besides this ipod so what shall we hand crank power
today? (oh, and be my guest doing that) :-)

Even if your telecom operator gives you cellular coverage all the way into the heart of a
tropical rainforest, it won't mean a thing if your mobile phone runs out of power. Here's a
product that will address that problem: the Hand-Crank USB Power Charger sold on the
National Geographic online store.
If your mobile phone can be charged using USB, it'll probably work with this. The idea is
simple--plug in your phone and start cranking. You'll probably work up a sweat just
trying to get one call.
This device costs $39.95 and includes adapters to fit most Motorola, Samsung, Nokia,
and LG phones. For those using brands not listed here, getting a third-party USB charger
for your phone will probably do the trick, too. The Hand-Crank USB Power Charger even
comes with an AC adapter so you can deposit power into the device when you have
access to a power outlet--that'll help save you a few turns of the handle when out in the
field.