Should you ever find yourself on that proverbial desert island and you want to fire up your iPod and while away the hours until help arrives (hopefully), you're in luck. The world's first Steampunk iPod charger is here.
A rather inventive fellow named Thomas recently got the bright idea to hook up a Lego Technic Motor to a Jensen #75 steam engine via a rubber band to make a crude generator. (These are things you should look into if you're plannig on an extended stay on that desert island.)
From there, Thomas built a 5V regulator circuit and soldered in a female USB connection to power any USB device. Since he wanted to use it to charge his iPod, he put in a diode and a .5 amp fuse to provide some circuit protection. (Pretty smart, huh? Go ahead and way it - it's genius!)
As you can see from the video below, the finished product works like a charm.
Good one, Thomas. Somebody give this guy a job in the Energy Department. (Thanks, Steampunk Workshop.)
