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MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless can charge their phones

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Re: MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless can charge their phones

#91

Post by rzzzt »

nimos wrote: post #89
mcpackieh wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> USB hand crank Are any of those actually effective for charging a phone? I used to have a hand cranked radio, but radios built for this only need a minuscule amount of power. Does anybody have real experience using one of these to charge a phone? How long does it take?

iPhones charge at 20watts. Doing that sustained by hand is probably fairly tiring but would be trivial wattage for say biking. From my experience the hand crank radio's would be pretty futile for charging a phone. There are some charging specific devices out there that can generate decent power. https://www.amazon.ca/Powerhouse-Watt-Hand-Crank-Generator-Q...

There was a video a few years ago in which a professional cyclist is connected to a generator (bike included) and their continuous power output was around 100 W which they could maintain for a few hours. But it would be unreasonable to expect this amount of exertion from an untrained person.

Edit: weeeelll. I'm either thinking of a different one or completely messed up the numbers and duration: https://youtu.be/S4O5voOCqAQ

Re: MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless can charge their phones

#92

Post by snovv_crash »

rzzzt wrote: post #91
nimos wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

iPhones charge at 20watts. Doing that sustained by hand is probably fairly tiring but would be trivial wattage for say biking. From my experience the hand crank radio's would be pretty futile for charging a phone. There are some charging specific devices out there that can generate decent power. https://www.amazon.ca/Powerhouse-Watt-Hand-Crank-Generator-Q...

There was a video a few years ago in which a professional cyclist is connected to a generator (bike included) and their continuous power output was around 100 W which they could maintain for a few hours. But it would be unreasonable to expect this amount of exertion from an untrained person. Edit: weeeelll. I'm either thinking of a different one or completely messed up the numbers and duration: https://youtu.be/S4O5v…

Yeah, pro cyclists can put out 400W for an hour. The 20W it takes to charge a phone is less effort than walking, it's honestly the bare minimum a grandma puts into a bike to get it to roll down the road.

Re: MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless can charge their phones

#93

Post by nimos »

rzzzt wrote: post #91
nimos wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

iPhones charge at 20watts. Doing that sustained by hand is probably fairly tiring but would be trivial wattage for say biking. From my experience the hand crank radio's would be pretty futile for charging a phone. There are some charging specific devices out there that can generate decent power. https://www.amazon.ca/Powerhouse-Watt-Hand-Crank-Generator-Q...

There was a video a few years ago in which a professional cyclist is connected to a generator (bike included) and their continuous power output was around 100 W which they could maintain for a few hours. But it would be unreasonable to expect this amount of exertion from an untrained person. Edit: weeeelll. I'm either thinking of a different one or completely messed up the numbers and duration: https://youtu.be/S4O5v…

Assuming my exercise bike wattage is accurate I think most decently fit people could average 100 watts for an hour with a bit of sweating but not like, full on panting. 20 watts is low enough that it's awkward to generate that little power in terms of speed/resistance.

Re: MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless can charge their phones

#94

Post by fullspectrumdev »

tomstuart wrote: post #53
spaintech wrote: post #26

While I applaud the intent to bring the issue of homelessness to the forefront of the media, I feel like this project is more about gaining self attention for the project rather than solving the issue all together. The ~20GBP for the 18650 or 27500 batteries, the probably ~5GBP of the PCB needed, ~15GBP for the chain hardware and magnets, you are looking for a >40GBP to put this together, you can today get a <10GBP U…

It’s a student project, so the primary intent is to do the work necessary to graduate.

It’s from CSM, a fairly well regarded art college, so you are right on the money.

You see a lot of interesting projects like this come from art colleges - technically quite neat, with a “social message” or theme, but usually not going to translate well to the real world.

That being said. I could see myself actually using something like this in a pinch.

Re: MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless can charge their phones

#95

Post by fullspectrumdev »

tgsovlerkhgsel wrote: post #24

Are there no libraries or homeless shelters where they could charge either a phone or a power bank? This seems more like an art project than a practical solution.

Shelters in the UK have a pretty bad rap in some cities (including London) among the homeless.

Also yes, it’s an art project by an art student at CSM (an art college).

Re: MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless can charge their phones

#96

Post by fullspectrumdev »

serpix wrote: post #3

A wall socket can be found just about anywhere, if you really need power quick there are fast charging powerbanks.

Not my experience in London tbh. It’s hard to find a power outlet somewhere that you don’t need to pay some sum of money to spend time in. Which makes it a problem for the homeless.

Re: MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless can charge their phones

#97

Post by fullspectrumdev »

Eumenes wrote: post #88

homeless have iphones?

Yes.

Just because you become homeless, doesn’t mean you lose every single item you own.

A phone is one of the more useful/valuable possessions for a homeless person - you need some kind of internet/telephone device to engage with the services that can help you, for navigation, etc etc

Re: MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless can charge their phones

#98

Post by demandingturtle »

WarOnPrivacy wrote: post #74
dazc wrote: post #65

Most homeless people in the UK will be aware that they can charge phones in any public library. Also, most will have access to some kind of facility where they can also do stuff such as charge phones, have a shower and do laundry. If you present to the local authority as homeless you will usually be directed to a local charity that has these facilities. You will, likely, stay homeless but there is some basic help out…

> Most homeless people in the UK will be aware that they can charge phones in any public library. ..have access to some kind of facility to charge phones, have a shower and do laundry. You describe a different universe from US homelessness. Here there might be a tiny bit of religious outreach but the public (therefor public services) tends to lean toward hostility.

[dead]

Re: MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless can charge their phones

#99

Post by kmeisthax »

keep_reading wrote: post #90
mcpackieh wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> USB hand crank Are any of those actually effective for charging a phone? I used to have a hand cranked radio, but radios built for this only need a minuscule amount of power. Does anybody have real experience using one of these to charge a phone? How long does it take?

I have an emergency radio / USB-C battery combo thing with like 5000mah and the math on the hand crank says I'd have to crank it continuously for like 48 hours to charge it. It's completely useless. I'd die from exertion just trying to charge it if I was stranded.

You don't need to crank the whole 5000mAh, you just need to crank enough for your phone to get a phone call or two out, and that's assuming the battery wasn't already charged prior.

Re: MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless can charge their phones

#100

Post by mynameisvlad »

kmeisthax wrote: post #99
keep_reading wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have an emergency radio / USB-C battery combo thing with like 5000mah and the math on the hand crank says I'd have to crank it continuously for like 48 hours to charge it. It's completely useless. I'd die from exertion just trying to charge it if I was stranded.

You don't need to crank the whole 5000mAh, you just need to crank enough for your phone to get a phone call or two out, and that's assuming the battery wasn't already charged prior.

I mean, sure, the person you replied to wouldn’t but if this was your primary method of charging your device, as the original comment suggested, then you would need to crank the whole 5000mAh. Multiple times, since I assume you’ll want your phone charged more than twice.
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