HOMEMADE BATTERY
| In the radio shown in the photos, we use a 1.5 volt battery (in this case a small "N" cell, but you could use a "D", "C", "AA", or "AAA" cell just as easily). |
| The radio will work with battery voltages as low as 1.1 volts, or as high as 1.8 volts. The current needed is very small -- only 3 milliamps. This tiny amount of electricity is easily obtained from homemade batteries, or small commercial solar cells. |
 Click on photo for a larger picture |
| One simple homemade battery is just a piece of crumpled aluminum foil in a stainless steel bowl of vinegar and salt. The foil is kept from touching the bowl by a piece of paper tower or newspaper. |
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| The stainless steel bowl and aluminum foil must not touch one another. You can get higher voltage by connecting the bowl of one battery to the aluminum foil of the other battery (this is a series connection). |
| The radio needs between 1.1 volts and 1.8 volts to operate. But it also needs at least 0.1 mulliamps of current. The specifications say it needs 3 milliamps, but as you can see in the photo, we are using only 0.15 milliamps, and the radio has very nice volume. |
| The voltage is determined by how many bowls you have. The current is determined by how much surface area the bowls and aluminum foil have. Using bigger bowls and more foil will produce more current. |
 Click on photo for a larger picture |
| The bowl is the positive wire, and connects to the radio where the red wire from the battery holder went. The aluminum foil is the negative side of the battery, and connects where the black wire from the battery holder connected. |
| You can see the alligator clips attached to the battery holder if you look at the larger photo (click on the small photo). |
| You can try soft drinks, or lemonade instead of the vinegar. The salt usually helps a lot though. Some people power their radios with beer. Depending on the beer, you may need more than three bowls. Adding salt to the beer will keep it from disappearing into curious bystanders. |
