I've had an idea for years, but haven't been able to pull it all together, and figure I'd put it up, and see if there any thoughts or suggestions that might get it done.

I've seen a lot of plastic drink bottles, cut to spin in the wind. Made a few, tried adding a small motor and led, but not enough torque. Was hoping to use less specific, and commonly discarded materials, to keep it simple and basically free. Something even small children could easily put together, with only a little help from adults. Also kind of wanted the LED(s) to rotate with the drink bottle, figure it would be more visually appealing.

How would I go about making a lightweight generator, that would proved enough voltage/current to get decent light out of the LED, but not enough to destroy it in high winds.

It wouldn't be a problem to buy parts initially, and work later to replace them with parts hand made or scrounged. Ultimately, this is about recycling, having a little fun, and sparking a little interest in free energy and electronics.

 

You might look for an old dynamo used to generate power for bicycle lighting. It won't take much to turn and it will make plenty of juice to light up a few LEDs. The new ones aren't cheap, but there's a lot of old ones out there.