How to Build a Hand Powered Laptop

There is a fast paced race to a green future in all areas of technology. While all of these advances are great, most of them are expensive. There is also the fact that no one has really come up with a way to power our must-have gadgets in an eco-friendly way. Whether you are trying to get juice for your laptop or any of your other devices, there is a way you can do it. A hand powered generator for your devices is actually quite simple and effective. There are two different methods you can use. The first method will create a generator for any single device, while the other will create a universal charger that can power anything that can plug into a wall outlet or car charger. This may sound like an expensive way to recharge, but all of the pieces are well under $5 each and the generator can be found for less than $20.

The first thing you will need to do is decide which type of charger you want, universal or single device. The parts list is different for the two, so you will need to know which one prior to shopping. The first thing you will need to get is the generator. There are two different styles for this. One is a hand powered generator. These are a crank style handheld device. There is another style that is foot powered. These are similar to sewing machine or guitar pedals that you continuously step on it to produce the power. Both of these can be found in several different stores, but may be easier to find online. Arbor Scientific has a nice and cheap hand crank generator for sale. This one has an outlet for the power and a nice clear shell if you want to watch it work. Once you have the generator, you will need to get the power cords to connect the generator to your device. The plug in wires are available to fit the output of the generator. You will also need the connection for your device. If you are going to hard wire this into your device's charger, you will not need anything else. If you want a universal charger, you will need the wall or car outlet to plug into. Another option you will have is to set up a power storage unit. This will be a series of batteries that will hold the charge and keep you from having to crank as often. This is a less portable option, but a little more convenient.

Once you have all of the parts, you can get started. You will need to connect the generator to the power source, your device charger, or the outlet. This can be done by either soldering the output wires directly to the charger of your device or the outlet. If you are connecting to a power storage unit, there are usually contacts that you can wire directly into. Red is positive, black is negative. If you are wiring directly to the charger, you can strip the cord that goes to the outlet and twist the wires together. You will need to wrap these in electrical tape or a plastic wing nut. This will keep the wires from being exposed. Exposed wires can cause you to get shocked or short out your device. If you use electrical tape, do not be afraid to use a lot. Even if you use the wing nut, you will still want to wrap everything in electrical tape to make sure your device is safe.

That is all there is to this device. It is very simple to build. Even if you have little experience with electrical wiring, the pieces usually come with a wiring diagram that is easy to follow and will show you exactly where to connect the wires. The two connections are the only ones needed. You may want to borrow or purchase a lead tester to make sure it is hooked up correctly before plugging your device in. You can use this to check the output of your generator and if you have the wires going to the right connections.

If this still sounds a little beyond your mechanical capabilities, that is okay. There are many people that can not build this device. Whether it is a time factor or the inability, this project is not for everyone. That is why there is a pre-built version on the market. It is a little more costly than building one, but not by much. For about $30 you can get the USB charger that has tips available for most mobile devices. You can find this one at Ant Online. No matter which version you decide to go with, you can easily take all your mobile devices into the "green scene". With everyone wanting to conserve energy and some money, this is a great way to power all of your small devices.