A couple of Xmas gift ideas I've seen got me thinking. I've noticed radios and flashlights advertised that get their power not from batteries, but from the user generating power by hand-cranking. Would this be sufficient power to power up the computer when you have a dead 12V battery? Could, for example, the flashlight be modified by soldering a couple of wires to the terminals, with alligator clips on the other ends for attaching to the 12V? If so, this seems like a near-ideal, inexpensive solution to the Prius dead/low battery problem, about which we've seen so many alternative solutions used and proposed. If it would work, anyone want to go into business with me marketing a simple hand-crank "generator"? The flashlights (at True Value) sell for $9.99.
I doubt you'd be able to generate enough current. The beauty of the hand crank flashlights is that they use LEDs and require very little current to operate.
More importantly, the flashlights are usually less than 6V, and a crank type puts out an unregulated voltage that varies all over the place. You want to boot up the computers with that? Best is the portable boosters, that have a battery inside. They put out a nice 12VDC without spikes etc., are inexpensive and relatively small. Or just make sure you turn off the car and close all the doors when you leave it.
Well, a hand crank solution would, in theory, work... however, you'd have to sit there a long while cranking on the thing to charge up the battery enough to start the car. personally, i'd rather wait inside the restaurant or my house or where ever for AAA to show up.
