[HN Gopher] Sri Lankan teenager builds solar-powered tuk-tuk fro...
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       Sri Lankan teenager builds solar-powered tuk-tuk from scraps
       [video]
        
       Author : iqtidar
       Score  : 53 points
       Date   : 2021-08-15 19:16 UTC (3 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.bbc.co.uk)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.bbc.co.uk)
        
       | terramex wrote:
       | Previous discussion from 12 hours ago:
       | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28186992
        
       | mastrsushi wrote:
       | I swear I had this idea when I was 14.........but I didn't make
       | it..................and I live in the first
       | world..................
        
         | system2 wrote:
         | I don't know your age but finding a solar panel when you were
         | 14 probably was not as easy as today. Storage of the vehicle is
         | probably the biggest challenge too.
        
           | kube-system wrote:
           | You've been able to get hobby solar cells at places like
           | radioshack for as long as solar calculators have been around.
           | Since the 80s, at least. But the price per watt to do
           | something like that back then would be insane.
           | 
           | https://i.pinimg.com/originals/45/b6/9f/45b69f8d1639dbcbd8a8.
           | ..
        
       | spiritplumber wrote:
       | we made one out of an Ape 50 shell some time in the 90s (because
       | we were given a bunch of mismatched solar cells for free). I
       | think it showed up in the local paper. Cute.
        
         | wehnsdaefflae wrote:
         | "cute"... what are you criticizing exactly?
        
           | spiritplumber wrote:
           | I'm not, I still think it's a cute idea.
        
       | squarefoot wrote:
       | Those solar panels are mounted in a way to get the worst possible
       | efficiency (aside making them facing down). I'm very skeptical of
       | the outcome, or maybe they're incredibly oversized for the task
       | so that even a couple of them getting a fraction of the sunlight
       | can make the vehicle work. If he mounted them on the roof they
       | would work a lot better by taking more direct sunlight, and he
       | would save a lot of money by using just one or two for the same
       | performance. Kudos to the kid for actively making stuff though;
       | most of his western peers would waste all day tapping on a phone
       | while he is using his brain to solve problems.
        
         | whydoineedthis wrote:
         | Don't you think he has them on the roof as well? While not
         | optimal, he will get some power no matter what direction he's
         | facing, and that may be enough for the small task. Sri Lanka is
         | ridiculously sunny.
        
       | rocky1138 wrote:
       | I'd love to get a bit more information on it, such as range,
       | charging times, battery chemistry.
        
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       (page generated 2021-08-15 23:00 UTC)