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On the Spring Meeting, we did some experiments with different types of dynamo-powered USB ports: Once with a high-dropout DC-DC convertor, once with a low-dropout DC-DC convertor, once with a Zener diode, once with a step-down convertor (an old one, I don’t know which model it is, it cost around 10 €) Once with a double 3300 µF capacitor for boost (as described here), once without Once with a silicon rectifier, once with one made of Schottky diodes We connected these regulators to a Shimano DH-3N30 hub dynamo, and connected a 10 Ω resistor that should simulate the charging device (500 mA at…

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The light When I cycle with luggage, I usually have a box on my rack that I can use for stuff that needs to stay dry but easy to access. I particularly use it for electronic devices, there is a small solar panel on it and it is connected to the dynamo charger (more about that below). On the box, there is also an old high-vis that I cut up and wrapped around it for more visibility in the night or in tunnels. On my rack, I have a back light that is powered by the dynamo, but when I pull…

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On the Biketour in 2015, one very noticeable change compared to the Biketours before was that suddenly many people came with a smartphone. In the years before there had been maybe one or two people among a group of up to 50 who had a GPS or smartphone with them, but now there were even some days where no one followed the route of the scouts, because in every small group of cyclists, there was at least one who was using GPS navigation on their phone. One side-effect was that people needed to charge their phones all the time, and whenever…

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