Wind up Radio with Built-In Torch

[snow hope]

Horses die, so obviously cars are more sustainable.

I didn't realise cars could reproduce. Are they hermaphrodites, or do you get male and female ones?

For goodness sake John, have you learnt nothing living in your vehicle, they do it overnight!

[JohnB]

Horses die, so obviously cars are more sustainable.

I didn't realise cars could reproduce. Are they hermaphrodites, or do you get male and female ones?

For goodness sake John, have you learnt nothing living in your vehicle, they do it overnight!

That's what it was. I put the rocking down to it being a windy night, when it was actually my van getting up to nocturnal naughtiness .

[featherstick]

Horses die, so obviously cars are more sustainable.

I didn't realise cars could reproduce. Are they hermaphrodites, or do you get male and female ones?

For goodness sake John, have you learnt nothing living in your vehicle, they do it overnight!

They're a virus-like life-form that take over their host and adapt it to their requirements. Symptoms include obesity, anger, breathlessness, inability to walk more than 50 metres, and the irrational fear of bicycles, which are cars' main predator species.

[JohnB]

They're a virus-like life-form that take over their host and adapt it to their requirements. Symptoms include obesity, anger, breathlessness, inability to walk more than 50 metres, and the irrational fear of bicycles, which are cars' main predator species.

Not if you live in them. Having to tidy stuff away and wash up before going out in it, is a good incentive to walk, cycle or use the bus. And it's starting to have that effect on me .

[the_lyniezian]

Beria, you are a very silly person.

Candles do have a tendancy to burn down and that's it, all gone...

...unless you keep bees and make your own with the wax? (I suppose you might use tallow but I hear that's rather messier and smokier?)

Electric lights on t'other hand can last as long as the batteries and LEDs last, though I suppose new candles can be made more easily.

You're just as silly.

Horses die, so obviously cars are more sustainable.

That's not so brilliant an analogy.

In the past, when people dependedon such things for lighting, some of the very poor couldn't even afford proper candles, having to do with a wick in a holder, presumably soaked in something to make it burn better.

In these days of mass prodiction- and perhaps oil, I don't know quite how they source candle wax- I would imagine candles are easy to come by, but once your stockpile is all burned out, then what?

Horses, on the other hand, are not made on the production line. (Though they still need feeding, and in these days of growing food scarcity...)

[Guest]

EDIT

[emordnilap]

Candles do have a tendancy to burn down and that's it, all gone...

...unless you keep bees and make your own with the wax? (I suppose you might use tallow but I hear that's rather messier and smokier?)

Electric lights on t'other hand can last as long as the batteries and LEDs last, though I suppose new candles can be made more easily.

You're just as silly.

Horses die, so obviously cars are more sustainable.

That's not so brilliant an analogy.

That's right.

I was just trying to match the silliness.

[the_lyniezian]

I looked into the wind-up/clockwork radio/torches issue.

The key seems to be in the way the power is generated. In the cheaper versions, (wind-up) you crank the handle which recharges the batteries, however on the good ones, (clockwork), the crank actually has a mechanism that slowly releases the power by turning a small generator inside constantly until the winder is fully released.


"About 60 turns of the handle fully energises the spring, powering the radio for six to eight minutes. A clutch mechanism ensures that the handle is turned in the right direction without moving the gear/pulley system. The potential energy stored in the spring is then converted into kinetic energy to drive a generator, which in turn powers the radio circuit."

So if you want a decent one that won't need rechargeable batteries that can conk out over time, get a "clockwork" radio and not a "wind-up" one.

http://www.design-technology.org/Baylis.htm

Do check them carefully though because I've just seen an ad for a Baylis radio with rechargeable batteries inside!

http://www.ecodigital.co.uk

Seems quite interesting, but the question is where you actually buy those particular models? They don't seem to be showing up from a quick Google.

EDIT: Also, I'm pretty sure even clockwork wears down over time... where's the real advantage there? Easier to reproduce the offending dud parts that to reproduce a rechargable battery?

[the_lyniezian]

Moreover, when I actually come to any sort of product information, it's a repair guide to a product which basically "isn't supported anymore" and the only repair advice is "replace the radio". So much for being environmentally friendly- surely manufacturing replacement parts is less energy and matierial-intensive than building a whole new radio?

http://www.freeplayenergy.com/customer-service/faqfpr1

[adam2]

I looked into the wind-up/clockwork radio/torches issue.

The key seems to be in the way the power is generated. In the cheaper versions, (wind-up) you crank the handle which recharges the batteries, however on the good ones, (clockwork), the crank actually has a mechanism that slowly releases the power by turning a small generator inside constantly until the winder is fully released.


"About 60 turns of the handle fully energises the spring, powering the radio for six to eight minutes. A clutch mechanism ensures that the handle is turned in the right direction without moving the gear/pulley system. The potential energy stored in the spring is then converted into kinetic energy to drive a generator, which in turn powers the radio circuit."

So if you want a decent one that won't need rechargeable batteries that can conk out over time, get a "clockwork" radio and not a "wind-up" one.

http://www.design-technology.org/Baylis.htm

Do check them carefully though because I've just seen an ad for a Baylis radio with rechargeable batteries inside!

http://www.ecodigital.co.uk

Seems quite interesting, but the question is where do you actually buy those particular models? They don't seem to be showing up from a quick Google.

EDIT: Also, I'm pretty sure even clockwork wears down over time... where's the real advantage there? Easier to reproduce the offending dud parts that to reproduce a rechargable battery?

If society collapses to the point that simple batteries cant be made, then I doubt that small cogs and gears or other parts would be available.

I would buy a basic radio that uses mains or battery power, preferably D cells.
Grid electricity is very cheap in the small amounts needed for a radio.
In case of power failure use D cells, a dozen cells should give hundreds of hours use.
If planning for the long term, then either use industrial nicad cells charged by PV, or an external battery.
Basic zinc carbon cells existed long before the oil age, and could still be made after the oil age. If society collapses past that point then there probably wont be any broadcasts to receive.

If all else fails, then making batteries is not that hard, a true doomer should have a stock of the materials.

[featherstick]

http://www.toughstuffonline.org/

Check these guys out. They distribute solar radios and lights to disaster zones. The radios can take a regular D-cell, or a D-cell solar adapter. The kit is very robust.

[phobos]

Easier to reproduce the offending dud parts that to reproduce a rechargable battery?

What you need is a Reprap

http://reprap.org

[Tawney]

I’ve read this thread and am considering the options. What do other people have right now to keep their radios/torches/lights going in preparation for possible black outs?

My old wind-up radio was never much good and now has packed up completely, but maybe the technology has much improved these last 10 years or so? I’m also interested in something I can use to recharge my mobile.

I have some rechargeable batteries that I could use in a torch or radio. I also have a couple of lamps and lamp oil.

[the_lyniezian]

I’ve read this thread and am considering the options. What do other people have right now to keep their radios/torches/lights going in preparation for possible black outs?

My old wind-up radio was never much good and now has packed up completely, but maybe the technology has much improved these last 10 years or so? I’m also interested in something I can use to recharge my mobile.

I have some rechargeable batteries that I could use in a torch or radio. I also have a couple of lamps and lamp oil.

I've the radio I mentioned earlier (built-in light and mobile charger, but no plugs that fit either of my phones), a wind-up lantern that goes dim after a few minutes no matter how much I wind it, and at least one torch (two, but one is knackered). Also got one of those small solar-powered battery chargers which is rubbish. I suppose after a year on a particular windowledge, the batteries will bemore than adequately-chrged, though...

I've also a mobile-charging device which charges from a single AA battery, only works on The New Phone What I Don't Use mind.

[2 As and a B]

I have one similar to this, although mine has FM, AM and (I think - I've never used them) 2x SW on that slider. Works fine. I have to wind to get power for the radio but the torch still works as new.



http://www.ethicalsuperstore.com/produc ... e-charger/