Dynamo Hand Crank - USB Device Charger

Dynamo Hand Crank - USB Device Charger. Such a long name for something that doesn't really meet its mark. Yes, I had the privilege of testing this "miracle" of an invention which apparently claims that you can charge any USB device without breaking a sweat - not true.

The hand crank costs little over $3 on eBay and is quite portable in size. It has an LED indicator, female USB port and comes with a lanyard. (excluding USB charging/data cable) 

In theory, if you connect a USB device and give this dynamo a go you will literally see life (electricity) being injected into your device. But that is not always the case. I tried it on 2 smartphones. A BlackBerry 9700 and a Samsung Note 2 both failed to charge. So I tried it on my Chinese made Android (ICS) tablet and strangely enough, it WORKED. It  began charging as per normal, with every turn of the crank.

What I understand is that this dynamo generates anywhere between 6 to 6.3 volts of current depending, on the speed of oscillation/crank that you provide. What a USB device needs is a mere 5 volts of power. There could be a possibility, that some devices are smart enough not to respond when wrong voltage is supplied - just a theory of mine.

I gave that theory a go too. I connected a 5 volts Regulator (a regulator keeps the current at a constant voltage that you require, so in this case 5v) to the dynamo and gave it a good spin. Lo and behold, what I get? Same results. It did nothing for the smartphones despite all the tweaking and meddling.

So in my opinion, this product will only work on some devices and not all the latest gadgetry.  Certainly, good for dated cell-phones and or Chinese tablets but not for everything USB. If you do come with a working solution then please feel free to drop us a line and until then, keep on charging - the regular way, via a wall-socket!


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