Elenco Green Projects - Manual (Page 72)

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Project #118 Hand Radio
Solar Fan
Mount the solar cell (B7) on the pivot
stand as shown, and place it in sunlight or
near an incandescent lamp. The meter
(M6) measures the voltage produced.
Press the switch (S2) to turn on the fan
(the M4 motor), you may need to give it a
push to get it started. The meter shows the
voltage is much lower now with the solar
cell running the fan.
Install the battery eliminator connector into
the battery compartment in the FM radio.
Connect the red and black snap wires to
the circuit as shown. Plug the earphones
into the radio and place them earphones
in your ears. Turn the volume knob
clockwise to turn on the radio.
Turn the hand crank (HC) to run the radio.
Press the scan button several times to see
if you can receive any radio stations.
The electricity produced by your hand
crank is free and does not make any
pollution. Your radio can also be used with
normal non-rechargeable “AAA” type
batteries, but these would need to be
replaced regularly.
Project #117
The solar cell cannot produce as much current as the fan needs, so the
voltage drops.
The same thing happens with water. A pump might push water through
a narrow pipe at high pressure, but if you connect the same pump to a
much larger pipe, the pressure drops because the pump can only push
so much water.
5V
You can take this
radio anywhere
without worrying
about batteries, but
you may not get
good reception
everywhere.