ambys

Are the T-Rocks sold for sure? If not, let me know. ambys

What exactly do you need to host? I might be able to help you out if it's low-budget/small project.

I need a decent lens and zoom, so that just won´t cut it.

You're not making this any easier! But thanks. Come to think of it I can probably get good P/S shots from my buddies and take care of the dSLR shots myself.

According to my calculations, assuming 100% efficiency of converting gravitational potential to electrical energy, for a 70kg climber rapping at a speed of 0.5m/s would be 300Watts. In reality you would be doing well to get 10% efficiency, so 30Watts for the 120seconds you are rappeling. With this I am assuming you will be charging some sort of battery. What did you say you wanted to power with this? This doesn't include the extra energy you expend humping some dynamo up a climb. Also, I should point out you could generate more power by burning your turds. 30 W is a fair amount. Even at 10% efficiency then, 30 W at 2 minutes would pull in as much power as a 1W solar panel in full light left out for an hour. I don't have any particular device in mind that I want to power, but presumably a battery charger would be nice. Thanks!, ambys I would expect only on a "seige style" expedition could you justify bringing a dynamo or solar panels (or other battery charger) over a few extra batteries. I'm not sure that I agree. I don't know exactly what you mean by "seige style," but a panel like the SolarRoll offers a few advantages over extra batteries. First of all, if you have a group of say, 10, people, a panel is a lot lighter weight than everybody bringing extra batts. Second, on longer trips, extra batts can accumulate and go bad. Not only are you stuck carrying them after using them, but 4 weeks in even new batteries may not be "full." Rechargeables, on the other hand, can be refreshened on a bright day, and you only have to bring minimal extras. Lastly, if you have items that need Li-Ion batts, like a sat phone, then extras will far outweigh a panel. ambys

That's a *very* nifty idea, but I have to wonder how much weight the additional framework adds to the pack: Is anybody aware of whether or not bags like these are on the market yet?

The other option I'm weighing is a high-torque crank-generator that could be spun by attaching a walking stick or ski pole. I'm still looking into how "lightweight" it could be though.

The problem is that I'm located in New York.

I have the SolarRoll 9 and it does the job well, but by the time you add the weight of the panel, the vehicle adapter, and the individual cords necessary to connect to things, it weighs a good pound and a quarter to pound and a half. Something lighter and perhaps more efficient would be great. As far as gear, I'd use it to power my camera, my headlamp and a GPS data logger.

According to my calculations, assuming 100% efficiency of converting gravitational potential to electrical energy, for a 70kg climber rapping at a speed of 0.5m/s would be 300Watts. In reality you would be doing well to get 10% efficiency, so 30Watts for the 120seconds you are rappeling. With this I am assuming you will be charging some sort of battery. What did you say you wanted to power with this? This doesn't include the extra energy you expend humping some dynamo up a climb. Also, I should point out you could generate more power by burning your turds. 30 W is a fair amount. Even at 10% efficiency then, 30 W at 2 minutes would pull in as much power as a 1W solar panel in full light left out for an hour. I don't have any particular device in mind that I want to power, but presumably a battery charger would be nice. Thanks!, ambys

Sweet deal, thanks! If I buy those, can I just take them to a shop and have them mold them for my boot? Does anybody know what I can expect to pay for said service?

Bill, Thanks for the reply (I'll look into the specifics of what you mention; I'm aware of thermoelectric generators but I have not seen that such implementation). As far as getting "something for nothing," you're absolutely right that that isn't quite the case. Cyclists absolutely have to put out a bit of extra power when the generator is added. However, the key (hope) is that you can minimize the extra energy that needs to be exerted in order to take advantage of energyy that is already being spent, and I do suspect that that's possible. Perhaps for that reason the dynamo is not the best analogy. However, I do believe that my original contention is possible. With every step you take, for example, you're hitting the ground with a given force. Wouldn't it theoretically be possible to capture some of that force mechanically, lessening the force exerted directly into the ground, thus not violating the law of conservation of energy?

I was just wondering if this went anywhere, and if so, are your results/findings publicly available? --ambys

I'm looking into devising a means to generate electrical power by utilizing excess energy that we naturally expend while mountaineering. For example, cyclists have learned to affix generators to their tires in order to generate electrical current to power their lights; the generators merely capture the pedaling energy that the cyclists are already expending. Really, I'm trying to find out what an analog might be in the world of mountaineering. Given the bulk of solar panels and the weight of crank chargers, it's not always practical to generate electrical energy in the backcountry. However, if there were a way to capture energy that was already being exerted, it might make charging cameras, GPSs and the likes a lot more practical and easy. Here's where you guys come in. What aspect of mountaineering do you feel makes you expend the most mechanical energy? Specifically, what mechanical actions do we mountaineers routinely take whose energy could perhaps be captured and stored electrically? To give you an idea of what I mean, here are my thoughts so far: 1) Placing a device at the bottom of a backpack so that the up-and-down momentum from walking pushes against a mechanical generator. 2) Placing a device between the front of the ankle and the inside of the boot, so that the flexing of the ankle as we walk charges a mechanical device. 3) Placing a mechanical generator inside a walking stick, so every time we push it against the ground, it generates some charge. Unfortunately, my ideas don't quite generate enough energy to make efficient use of; however I'm convinced that there is some activity that is just waiting to be taken advantage of, and I'm very interested in developing a prototype and trying it out this summer. Please share any thoughts you might have! And mods, if this is the wrong place for this thread, then please feel free to move it accordingly. I know it isn't the perfect fit for this forum, but I wasn't sure where else it would belong. --ambys

Alright, it looks like I'm going to have to do this via Mail Order and ship my boots to have the liners fit for them. Does anybody know of a good, reliable place who will do this for me? Thanks, ambys