Designed and Built by Bart Orlando
FA info icon.svg Angle down icon.svg Project data
Authors Bart Orlando
Location Arcata, California
Status Deployed
Instance of Pedal powered generator
Pedal powered home appliance
OKH Manifest Download

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 of 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 pedestal 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.

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Part of CCAT pedal powered innovations
Keywords human power, pedal power, electricity generation
SDG SDG03 Good health and well-being, SDG07 Affordable and clean energy
Authors David Lopez Jr.
License CC-BY-SA-3.0
Organizations Campus Center for Appropriate Technology (CCAT), Cal Poly Humboldt
Language English (en)
Related 0 subpages, 4 pages link here
Aliases CCAT pedal tv/vcr
Impact 483 page views
Created June 12, 2008 by David Lopez Jr.
Modified January 29, 2024 by Felipe Schenone
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