On yesterday’s update, I said I had gone out for “supplies for a wind turbine I plan on building next week”. I have since scrapped that idea, for a number of reasons. While wind turbines are possible to build, there are a few things that make them less than suitable for urban areas: first off, large buildings block wind incredibly well: while we have access to the large red and white antenna tower, the people who need these computers do not. Secondly, should a strong gust of wind come about, we would have to use the alternator to brake (that’s brake as in, a speed reducer, not break as in catastrophic failure), which adds another level of complexity to the project. If the wind turbine were to fail due to high winds, it could either burn the alternator out or even shatter the blades made of PVC-pipes. I couldn’t live with myself after receiving an email politely informing me that a strong storm broke one of the turbines I left in Nepal, sending shards of heavy-duty plastic down to the unassuming masses below. Yikes. For that reason, I present a project which also uses the alternator, but is much more realistic.
We will remove the rear tire (not the rear wheel itself) and put a rubber belt over the tire and around the alternator. When someone rides the bicycle (which will be suspended off the ground, so operation of it will be similar to an exercise bike), the gear system will still spin the rear wheel, only the rear wheel will also be spinning the alternator, generating up to 40a at 12V. This will charge a deep cycle car battery in one hour, giving around 40 hours of usage per charge. Here’s hoping it all goes according to plan, tomorrow we will get a bigger belt, and if we have time, build the metal stand to keep it off the ground, remove the tire and replace it with the belt.
Other than that, today Shyami and I went out for a walk. Here are some photos we took.
Here's a portrait Shyami took.
Shyami showing the photo he took to the storekeeper.
...he even showed it to the storekeeper's wife. He's really proud of the photos he takes.
We met these three bros. They excitedly told me they were on their way to see their girlfriends. I later saw them on the corner with said girlfriends. I gave a big thumbs up and they laughed.
One thing I haven't mentioned yet is the dogs: they are everywhere!
This is Shyami's photo. I think it is excellent.
Shyami always surprises me when I hand him a camera.
Another Shyami abstract.
Once we got home (around 6:00PM), Muni and Nani left to go to a friend’s house. To kill some time, Shyami and I fixed the chain on the bicycle (which Ram, Muni and I reattached wheels to earlier today) and we invented the first annual Kathmandu Invitation Downhill Biking Tournament — KID B.T. It is a treacherous 7′ course with a total change in altitude of around 1.5′. Here are some pictures from the thrilling race, which ended with Shyami posting scores a few milliseconds faster than me, winning the championship with a time of 2.53 seconds.
Goin' up to the Shyami in the sky...
That’s all for now.
Charles
I was born in London, England. At the age of ten, I moved to Hong Kong, which opened up a whole new part of the world: Asia. Since then, I have enjoyed traveling to different locales around the world. Having graduated from High School, I am taking a gap year to work on a computer project in Nepal, and later a cultural immersion trip in Ghana. This is the blog I am using to keep the world notified. 