/:16 Would you want to use a hand-crank to charge your phone every single day? Definitely not. But hardware hacker Ben Heck's clever hand-crank mobile charger could certainly come in handy in those more survivalist moments in your life.


Heck doesn't offer a lot of details, but if you've got the electrical and soldering know-how and a hand-crank flashlight (the one he's using looks very similar to this $10 model), his crank-charger is a really fun and clever idea. If nothing else, it'd be great to have something like this in your go-bag for emergencies (ranging from "ah bummer, my phone's dying and I don't want to wait an hour to get home to check my email" to "oh crap, I'm lost in the middle of nowhere and my cellphone just died"). And, of course, if you don't feel like going the DIY route, you can also just pick up a crank charger that supports charging USB devices.


Hand Cranked Android Charger [via Make]