Wind up radio (without battery)

Provision of wind up radio in villages

Are you the first or want to be first corporate to make a village communication proof without electricity or batteries.





There was a time when people thought radio is outdated but it thriving because of FM band.  It is still most economical and reliable medium of communication, entertainment and education particularly in far flung rural villages.  

The two constraints are the availability, accessibility and affordability of electricity or the batteries, particularly during the period of natural calamities.  That brings back the focus on the human power used for such a long time in running mechanical watches.  The same concept is now available and used successfully.

Wind up radios are excellent example of eco friendly technology and have continued to be popular ever since Trevor Baylis invented them.  Now different companies are producing their own versions of the wind-up radio. 

In 1993, Trevor watched a program about the spread of AIDS in Africa, which observed that in many regions radio was the only available means of communication, but the need for batteries or electricity made them too expensive or too difficult to access. There was a need for an educational tool that did not rely on electricity.     In his workshop at home he experimented with a hand brace, an electric motor and a small radio. He found that the brace turning a the motor would act as a generator that would supply sufficient electricity to power the radio. The addition of a clockwork mechanism meant that a spring could be wound up and that as the spring unwound the radio would play. His first working prototype ran for 14 minutes on a two minute wind. Trevor had invented a clockwork (windup) radio!     In 1997, the new generation Freeplay Radio 2 rolled off the production line in South Africa. Smaller and lighter than the original model, the new radio would run for up to an hour with a thirty second wind. 

Wind up radio benefits the environment, never run out of power, no throw away batteries to replace and is powered by you.  It meets the need of communication during natural calamities/ power breakdowns