Mintyboosts for Hurricane Sandy in NYC

[arielariel]

Hey guys - I am an occasional maker and more often community organizer who is doing a ton of work with regards to Sandy response. So much of NYC is out of power - I wonder if Mintyboosts would be useful/efficient one-time chargers to get down to the people in need for their phones, etc. In this weird post-POTS land we live in, a lot of people are completely out of touch/standing on line endlessly to charge their phones.

I am thinking the best way to distribute would be to get made kits to CAAAV, which is doing amazing work on the LES/Chinatown in NYC.

This is just a rough idea - I am working with a friend of mine who is ITP-connected to see if there are any willing solderers with supplies. Totally excited and open to folks with other ideas.

xo
-Ariel Federow
(you can hit me up on FB: http://www.facebook.com/arielspeedwagon

[pburgess]

At the individual scale, I think it's a good idea...anyone can fit a MintyBoost and a few sets of alkalines in a drawer or bug-out bag and be prepared for a few days' down-time. But I'd have some doubts how scalable that is, needing one device per person, and with every Duane Reade quickly depleted of batteries that are also in demand for flashlights, radios, etc. And then all the waste after the fact...

At the community scale, I think a fleet of something like the Pedal-a-Watt (or equivalent) might make better sense. It's a 12V system, but there are easy means to step this up or down. A reasonably healthy adult should have no trouble charging 20 (maybe even more) phones at a time...those who are able could take turns. Can keep going 24/7. And these could be easily transported and relocated where needed on the same bikes that will produce the power. Just a thought!

[john444]

Hi Arielariel & Burgess,

I like your idea of the power-failure phone-charger and the concept of the Pedal-a-Watt.
However, for my personal use a Solar/LiPo-charger/Mintyboost might be more practical for me.
I believe I shall get the parts for this setup and an Otterbox with my next order.

Thanks for the suggestions, John