01 Dec Occupy Austin Wants to Go Off Grid & Needs Your Help
Volunteers involved with Occupy Austin have started to formulate some of the alternatives that people have been really itching to see. The Occupy Austin IT Sustainable Power working group has finalized a design for a power generation station that could be implemented at City Hall (or any occupy location). It consists of solar panels and bicycle-style generators. The idea is that this system will allow the occupation to power the Freedom Tower (invented in Austin orginially and shipped out to other occupations to supply a constant internet connection), Livestream equipment, and any other various electronics off-grid.
This sustainable power system is another project that would be easily mobilized anywher in the country. They are designing it to be as modular as possible, with the possibility of scaling up and accepting various other power sources, not just solar and pedal. This combined with the Freedom Tower and Livestream equipment can ensure that there cannot be a blackout (power or media) at any occupation. This news is incredibly exciting considering the recent crack downs in Philly, LA and many other places.
"Description:
The OA power station will be a self-sustaining system for generating electricity on-site at an occupy-style camp. The system will be used to permanently power the Freedom Tower (which provides wifi at the OA site), maintain Livestream equipment, and charge other personal electronics on-site. The prototype of the design consists of solar panels and bicycle generators as inputs to a battery bank. Outputs will be going to the Freedom Tower, dedicated Livestream equipment charging stations, and a general purpose DC/AC inverter. See the schematic for the power station design for more information.
Parts List:
The following parts are needed to build the prototype power station system designed by the OA IT team. Parts are ordered according by priority, meaning that parts with priority 1 are needed sooner than those with priority 2. Approximate prices are listed for the priority 1 parts, which are the most expensive. The rest of the parts are much less expensive and prices will vary much more.
Parts will be crossed off of this list as they are received or purchased, so please contact the Power Generation working group if you are planning on donating a part, as we will hopefully be receiving donations from multiple sources and don’t want to receive more than we need. Quantity needed is listed in parenthesis, and will be updated as parts are received.
Equivalent parts are gladly accepted, as long as the buyer knows that the part will be suitable as a substitute. The one exception here are the batteries, which work better if they are all the same model.
Priority 1 parts:
(1) Instapark MPPT-60 Solar Charge Controller – ~$250
(4) Optima Bluetop D31m Deep Cycle Marine Battery – ~$210/ea
(3) MNS 300 Watt DC Generator – ~$220/ea
(1) Cobra CPI 1575 12VDC/120VAC Inverter – ~$100
Priority 2 parts:
(3) Bicycle pedal/hub assemblies (including pedals, crank arms, hub, and one chain ring)
(3) Bicycle seats with seat post
(3) Bicycle handlebars
Housing for electronics and batteries, or misc. construction equipment to build one
Priority 3 parts (relatively cheap and probably easier for the build team to purchase, but donations for these parts are still gladly accepted):
Wood panels for bicycle generator flywheels
U-Channel metal for bicycle generator flames
(5) Block diodes (CPT50130 or equivalent)
(~10) Automotive fuses and fuse holders (~10A, 12V)
(~5) On/off switches (~15A max)
AWG16 wire
This is a project that would be easy to click in with, would provide anyone willing to skill share with a learning opportunity, and could make a huge impact on the lives of those putting themselves out there to stand up for our democracy and freedom. If you would like to help please contact Alan Viosca at 214.629.5401 or alanviosca@gmail.com.
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