African Windmill Phone Charging Innovation

• Without wind, there was no light on calm nights, prompting the need for a car battery to power the windmill.
• The windmill was used to charge mobile phones, inspired by the business model of charging phones in markets without electricity using long extension cords.
• In bigger African cities like Nairobi and Kinshasa, stalls powered by extension cords offer services like phone charging, photocopying, and printing during frequent blackouts.
• The windmill's Dynamo produced 12 volts, insufficient to charge a phone requiring 220 volts, leading to the need for a Step-up Transformer to boost power.
• A Step-up Transformer works through Mutual induction, where voltage from one coil induces a charge in another, increasing the overall voltage, a concept demonstrated by Michael Faraday in 1831.- The primary coil required 200 turns while the secondary coil needed 2000 turns for the experiment.
• The inventor connected Dynamo wires to the primary coil and wired the secondary coil directly to a phone charger.
• The inventor built a plug using an AC outlet from an old radio to charge phones, which attracted many people.
• To charge a car battery with AC power from the Dynamo, the inventor used diodes or rectifiers found in radios.
• The inventor used car bulbs instead of incandescent bulbs for lighting due to the different power requirements.
• The lights in the house were connected in a parallel circuit, ensuring that if one bulb burned out, the others would still work.
• The inventor built a light switch using bicycle spokes, iron strips, and flip-flop buttons, following a design from books.
• The inventor faced challenges with the quality of wires, using scrap yard materials which led to sparking issues.
• A circuit breaker was created using electromagnetic coils, a lollipop magnet, and a tripwire to prevent overloads.
• The inventor faced safety risks with a malfunctioning windmill chain causing injuries and had to find solutions using pulleys and belts.
• By using a belt system with pulleys, the inventor solved the windmill chain issues and improved efficiency.

Explore the innovative approach of using a windmill to charge mobile phones in African cities during blackouts, including the use of a Dynamo, Step-up Transformer, and unique design solutions. Learn about the challenges faced and solutions found by the inventor in this remarkable project.