If you’re out in the wild and off the grid, but need to charge your phone, the most obvious way to do so is with a solar PV panel. Lightweight, flat and with no moving parts, they are easy to store and take on a hike. But obviously they don’t work in the dark, so what should a hiker do if they want to charge their devices at night? If you are in a very windy place, this solution is for you: a portable wind turbine that folds down to the size of a 2 liter soda bottle.
A turbine light and compact enough to be carried in your backpack for several days.
Almost all of the parts are 3D printed in PLA, and while ABS or PETG would have been sturdier, the current design seems to hold up well in a moderate breeze.
The core of the generator consists of a stepper motor with a rectifier bridge and a capacitor to create a DC output. Maximum power output is rated at around 12W, which should be more than enough to charge a few batteries overnight.
All the parts are available as STL files on the project page, so if you’re looking for some wind power to power your gadgets on your next camping trip, you can build one yourself.
A project to make wind power almost as easy to use as solar power.
If you are interested in this project, you can find the full instructions here: hackaday.io
