So I re-wired it - Tim Allen

Has anyone ever taken apart a vibrating toy and played around with it?

I had a girl tell me once that she turned one of her toys from a DC power source to an AC power source (i.e. batteries to wall socket).

Anyone ever try this or thought about trying it?
(I wouldn't suggest doing it because of the whole death by electrocution thing) less

If you use a power supply that has a transformer and you mount the power supply away from anywhere that could get wet it would be pretty safe. You'd have to keep the duty cycle of the vibe in mind, though, but I've though about doing the mod a couple times. You wouldn't have to worry about batteries, then. less

Has anyone ever taken apart a vibrating toy and played around with it?

I had a girl tell me once that she turned one of her toys from a DC power source to an AC power source (i.e. batteries to wall socket).

Anyone ever try this or thought about trying it?
(I wouldn't suggest doing it because of the whole death by electrocution thing) less

I know My Man wants to take apart toys to confirm how they work. (He is an engineer, so he thinks he knows, but always wants to SEE.) I have yet to let him destroy any of our toys this way.

He is building a Wind Power Generator, and he was joking (I think) that "You could power your pleasure toys with this, when I get it running." THEN he went into the whole how to go from D/C (which the generator will make) and run my A/C Wahl on it......and went on and on, and then I fell asleep. less

Yep. He bought a commercial wind turbine. It looks like a HUGE fan, (the span is as big as I am tall) and you place it high on a pole, and then connect it to, uh, I think a transformer, and a battery, and something called a "divert load" for the power you can't use and can't store (this is very important to have, I am told) and a bunch of other "mad scientist" stuff that I am not privy to. Then, the wind blows it makes free power for you! WHen the wind isn't blowing, your power is taken from the battery storage bank.

We are going to generate at least some of our own power this way. I wanted to do solar, but My Man is not a "passive" sort of man in any way (nerd joke, solar power is considered a "passive" form of power, because there are no moving parts......I think that's why. Wind power is considered non-passive, I think that's what it is called.) and he is facinated by machines and feels strongly about using as little fossil fuel as possible.

We expect the first turbine and battery bank up and running by the end of the summer.

He has a buddy who has several acres and actually makes SO much power with his bank of wind turbines that he SELLS POWER BACK TO THE POWER COMPANY! Now, that is sticking it to the Man. (not My Man, THE Man, the white rich guy in a suit who makes our lives miserable. ) less

I would be fun. The power doesn't' actually go DIRECTLY from the turbine to the equipment. That would be a disaster! But, in reality, the unit has a modulator on it, so the voltage, amperage and eventual "intensity" of the power is always the same when it exits the unit. If it didn't you'd have serious power fluctuation issues as the wind waxes and wanes. It's one of the reasons you need a Divert Load unit, among other reasons. The need to modulate the power is also one of the reasons the units are on the expensive side. The better the modulation, the most consistent the power. Plus, the power is stored in batteries and then used, the turbine doesn't actually SUPPLY power directly to equipment. It would burn out a piece of equipment in a second, if a gust of wind picked up.

What we will do is to store the power in batteries, and then use it according to our needs, after hooking it up to our home supply.

It's a nice thought, though. My Wahl just hooked up to the turbine. One gust of wind and I'd be in the hospital, though, and with my luck IF it worked this way, the wind would die down just before I came. Luckily, it's more controlled than that. less