Hack?

yeeah...

Some of the more critical parts used for the sewing machine mobile phone charger include the cap from a bottle of WD40 and my elastic hair band, both used to turn the motor.

We finally made the voltage regulation circuit by buying a Rs50 car charger off the street and ripping it apart. Hawkers accost us every day, when we are stuck in traffic, trying to sell us these Nokia car chargers.... who knew they would ever be useful!

So it seems like one of these things could be hackable out of parts available even in relatively small villages...

The hack is a success!

Finally, today, we were able to charge a mobile phone with the sewing machine hack that we threw together this week.

We'll post more pictures, but using about $5-$10 worth of electronics and parts we bought off the street, we were able to convert a footpowered sewing machine into a dynamo that generates a 6Volt 250 Milliamp charge--appropriate for charging mobile phones.

We don't know if this will ever get out of the lab, but we do know that there is a footpowered sewing machine in nearly every village in India, that there is a lot of unmet demand for electricity, people can charge Rs5 per charge, and that the poverty line in India is Rs10.

And not that I'm advocating child labor, but it is a reality, and with this, a kid could make Rs5 per hour while reading a book or doing homework. Just an idea.