MTF – Week 1: Musical Potato Power

Firstly, I find this semester's forum project and the experiments with the Victorian Synthesiser hugely exciting and inspiring. Secondly, I have a major problem with batteries becoming landfill.

To the upside; we are extending the life of and utilising obsolete technology which would otherwise be(come) hazardous landfill by stripping 'found' objects of their most hazardous bit: electronic components … and having a lot of creative fun in the process. No doubt evolving some truly unique electro-musical hybrids.

First up, I had images of solar panels from calculators wrapping my instrument housing. Calculate how many panels and how much sunlight = 9 volts and go for a solar instrument that can be played in sunlight forever. Or at least until it crashes or the sun goes down! Then there was the 12 volt solar panel.

The limitations of this idea are:

1/ I would need to find a co-operative improvising ensemble willing to play to the dictates of the instrument (ie: possibly outdoors, but as days get longer I might be able to power it from a window), or;

2/ stick to the idea of trying to generate as much power as possible from interior lighting and calculator panels with rechargables as backup.

I ran some of my ideas past Stephen and Christian and they have stipulated point 1, I point 2. So, these are my pre-requisites:

1/ Must be playable indoors; and

2/ Rechargable batteries are an absolute desperate measure last resort.

Potatoes, wind-up, hamsters, solar, shake-n-charge, steam (self powered hydro pump, fuel cell?). Much experimentation afoot. I had a quick look in Dick Smith's, the toy shop and off to the obsolete technology shop Friday. A composite powered kalimba (thumb piano) is looking promising (positive/negative female plugs on housing for whatever power generator) and can't wait to start experimenting … all solar calculators accepted by me from this day forth … unless I go with steam!

Tonight I create a Victorian Synthesiser powered only by potatoes. Stay tuned.

Check out this site and do the Potato Boogie! (1)

Many thanks to Christian for the potato power lead and everything else and to Stephen for the hamsters in wheels (eager hamsters are hard to come by) and the clock-work ideas ...

Haines, Christian. "Electro-Instrument Building." Music Technology Forum, July 26, 2007.
Tomczak, Seb. " Electro-Instrument Building." Music Technology Forum, July 26, 2007.
Whittington, Stephen. " Electro-Instrument Building." Music Technology Forum, July 26, 2007.

1/ " 500 Pound Potato Battery". http://latteier.com/potato/. Accessed August 1, 2007.

* Endnote: For anyone interested, I have posted a short blog on batteries and their use in my Extra Curricular blogs which you'll find in the list on the left of screen. Darren.