Home
| Calendar
| Mail Lists
| List Archives
| Desktop SIG
| Hardware Hacking SIG
Wiki | Flickr | PicasaWeb | Video | Maps & Directions | Installfests | Keysignings Linux Cafe | Meeting Notes | Blog | Linux Links | Bling | About BLU |
Scott R Ehrlich wrote: > If the computer/laptop comes with a battery, I'd remove it to ensure > it is peddle-powered only. So you want it to crash any time the peddle generated voltage drops below the operational threshold? (Which could be quite often, unless you plan on building a filtering circuit made from one or more super caps.) That sounds impractical to me. If you want to be green, recharge the battery from your cycle. If you want to provide peddle incentive, run just the laptop's backlight from the generator voltage. With that aside, what you're looking for is just a matter of hunting down a suitable DC generator or alternator and mechanically attaching it to the cycle, while running its output through an appropriate regulation circuit (which may not even be needed on a well designed laptop). An automotive alternator might be an option, but it'll be big, bulky, and require a more complex circuit. I've seen small, portable hand-crank generators on the market lately intended for light tasks like recharging cell phones. If one of those produces adequate current to drive the backlight, that might be the cheapest/simplest option. Otherwise I'd pay a visit to some of the online merchants of electronics surplus. -Tom -- Tom Metro Venture Logic, Newton, MA, USA "Enterprise solutions through open source." Professional Profile: http://tmetro.venturelogic.com/ -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.
BLU is a member of BostonUserGroups | |
We also thank MIT for the use of their facilities. |