- #1
s09
- 25
- 0
Hi all,
Sorry if this is an incorrect part of the forum.
Living a relatively sedentary lifestyle, consuming a Western diet, living in an area where drivers see pedestrians/cyclists as moving targets to run over and after packing on a few pounds, it got me thinking. I'd like to (as a side-project) make a small device that can provide power while I'm sitting and pedaling. Here are some requirements that I'd like to have:
* Balance the load. I can plug in my computer in one end and have a connection to a live outlet at the other. The idea being that I won't lose power to my box whenever I stop pedaling. If I do pedal, then I simply use less energy from the grid.
* I need some way to keep track of how much I'm generating in terms of watts.
* I need to be able to sit at a regular office chair (at home) and pedal away.
* Ideally, the amount of pedaling I do will proportionally increase the amount of juice I generate and that I can vary the resistance (and increase the amount of power production) as I build up strength and can produce even more power.
Like I said, this is a side-project. And I'd like to say that I'm a complete n00b to electronics (some exposure at work, some things that I picked up over time), so I'd like to cover that part first. Any books or tutorials out there that some of you might know of?
I realize that this will take me months of on and off effort before I can even have a prototype with half of the previously mentioned requirements, but I don't expect this to be easy :) .
Sorry if this is an incorrect part of the forum.
Living a relatively sedentary lifestyle, consuming a Western diet, living in an area where drivers see pedestrians/cyclists as moving targets to run over and after packing on a few pounds, it got me thinking. I'd like to (as a side-project) make a small device that can provide power while I'm sitting and pedaling. Here are some requirements that I'd like to have:
* Balance the load. I can plug in my computer in one end and have a connection to a live outlet at the other. The idea being that I won't lose power to my box whenever I stop pedaling. If I do pedal, then I simply use less energy from the grid.
* I need some way to keep track of how much I'm generating in terms of watts.
* I need to be able to sit at a regular office chair (at home) and pedal away.
* Ideally, the amount of pedaling I do will proportionally increase the amount of juice I generate and that I can vary the resistance (and increase the amount of power production) as I build up strength and can produce even more power.
Like I said, this is a side-project. And I'd like to say that I'm a complete n00b to electronics (some exposure at work, some things that I picked up over time), so I'd like to cover that part first. Any books or tutorials out there that some of you might know of?
I realize that this will take me months of on and off effort before I can even have a prototype with half of the previously mentioned requirements, but I don't expect this to be easy :) .
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