CCAT pedal powered TV

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CCAT Pedal Powered TV

Background

The pedal powered tv/vcr was designed and built by Bart Orlando for display at CCAT's pedal powered lab in 1998. The components include a Schwinn recumbent exercise bike, a 1800 rpm - 24v permanent magnet generator and a Panasonic 12v-color tv with a 13" screen. The generator is driven by a fan belt which wraps around the outer circumference or the bike's 15"diameter - 40lb flywheel and the 4" diameter pulley on the drive shaft of the generator. The generator is mounted on the underside of a wooden pedistle that the front end of the bike rests upon. The relative sizes of the flywheel and pulley determine the range of voltage the generator can deliver, which is between 0 - 20 volts. The exact output voltage is determined by how fast one pedals. The optimum voltage, based on ease of pedaling effort seems to be approximately 15 volts while pedaling at 90 rpm. There is no battery used in this system. Electricity flows directly from the generator to the panasonic tv/vcr, which has been operated this way for five years without damage to its circuitry (11 years as of 2009).Taken from Bart Orlando[1]

Opportunity Definition

Who:

This project is designed to help us as students learn creative uses for appropriate technology, but also is designed to be a powerful educational tool for CCAT. The people involved with the project will be John Hackett, Thorin Somers, Bart Orlando, and our various other resources of information.

What:

This project entails not only fixing the pedal powered TV/VCR but also diagnosing what the problem is and how to improve the project.

Why:

We believe that the pedal powered bike can be a powerful educational tool for future generations that shows humans power to innovate and create new technologies. Secondly we believe this project could be useful in a practical sense for an alternate way to create energy for a home.

When:

Time is now.

Where:

The research and design of this project is to be done on campus at its current location of CCAT and also off campus at designated working stations.

Literature Review

This is a review of the available literature pertinent to the comprehensive pedal powered TV/VCR system at CCAT.

pedal power basics

Pedal power is the transfer of energy from a human source through the use of a foot pedal and crank system. This technology is most commonly used for transportation and has been used to propel bicycles for over a hundred years. Less commonly pedal power is used to power agricultural and hand tools and even to generate electricity. ^[1]

pedal power concerns

Short paragraph on the concerns.^[2]

Types of pedal power

Some applications include pedal powered laptops, pedal powered grinders and pedal powered water wells. Some third world development projects currently transform used bicycles into pedal powered tools for sustainable development. The articles on this page are about the many wonderful applications for pedal power technology. </http://www.uwsp.edu/cnr/wcee/keep/Resources/Teaching_Resources/HandsonResources/PedalPower.htm>

Type 1

Type 1 composting is a system that utilizes..... Make sure to include description ^[3], advantages and disadvantages, and/or have a comparison matrix.

Type 2

Type 2 composting is a system that utilizes..... Make sure to include description, advantages and disadvantages, and/or have a comparison matrix. ^[4]

Type 3

Type 3 composting is a system that utilizes..... Make sure to include description, advantages and disadvantages, and/or have a comparison matrix.

Designing interpretive materials

According to ______ interpretive materials for composting should include....

References