[danielf]

Originally Posted by scastle

As well as Dilli's faraday torch, there is a company called freeplay that markets a range of wind-up products such as torches, radios and mobile phone chargers. I don't know about the other products, but the radios are good..

http://www.freeplay.net/

I heard about those. They are being put to good use in developing nations (where lack of power is more than just a nuisance).

The Freeplay Foundation recognised a need for alternative energy sources amongst the worldââ‚ƚ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s poorest communities. As a result of this need, the Freeplay Foundation was founded in 1998 by the Freeplay Energy Group (FEG) as an extension of the groupââ‚ƚ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s commitment to development and empowerment.

The Freeplay Foundation is committed to providing innovative, affordable and practical energy solutions to ensure sustained access to information via radio. The Freeplay Foundation seeks new applications for Freeplay's unique wind-up and solar powered technology and makes those applications real and tangible, as evidenced in the Lifeline radio. After extensive fieldwork, the Freeplay Foundation believed there was an urgent need for a radio designed specifically for the humanitarian sector. The idea for the Lifeline radio was born - a robust radio that can be operated easily by adults and children alike, heard by groups of up to 40 and powered by either wind-up or solar-powered energy. Just 24 months after the concept paper for the Lifeline radio was written, the first radios were delivered to Burundian refugees living in refugee camps in Tanzania.

from: http://www.freeplay.net/website/corp...foundation.php