Here's an article that has more details and a video. https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/homemade-wind-power...

So they are using the motors from the printers as generators.

You still need to rectify the voltage to store the energy in lead acid batteries, losing precious voltage in the diodes. I wonder how they get the >13V to charge the batteries.

Power output is probably <10W average.

Maybe harvesting diodes and capacitors from the same e-waste.

Are the motors AC or DC? Even if DC, you’ll need diodes to avoid turning the generator into a motor.

Since they were only talking about a few hours of light at an “equivalent” of 45 watts, sounds like a 5 watt LED.

If they keep it really simple, they just charge at a really low rate as long as there’s some wind and throw away the rest of the power.

On the: >Are the motors AC or DC? part, I believe all printers I've taken apart in the last decade used DC motors of some sort (with the odd stepper thrown in).

Interesting, and very cool.

This would never have been possible without the Internet. One might have found stuff like this in the Whole Earth Catalog, but it would likely never have reached these people.

On the other hand, one could say the same about drone attacks by ISIS, or the recent one against President Maduro. And that approach will likely become commonplace.

Necessity is the mother of invention (and cell phones are so ubiquitous they probably have at least one or two with internet).

You will see more of this as the worlds trash piles up. There's value to be had in there for the poor and destitute (not saying this is good or bad, it just is).

what broken printers are for?

My guess would be that they use the motors as generators.