{"id":10435,"date":"2014-08-03T14:03:59","date_gmt":"2014-08-03T18:03:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=10435"},"modified":"2014-08-03T14:17:23","modified_gmt":"2014-08-03T18:17:23","slug":"the-etow-humanalight-now-at-universal-radio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/08\/the-etow-humanalight-now-at-universal-radio\/","title":{"rendered":"The ETOW HumanaLight now at Universal Radio"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you’ve been an SWLing Post<\/em> reader for long, you probably know that I’m the founder and director of Ears To Our World (ETOW)<\/a>, a charity\u00a0built on the belief\u00a0that\u00a0access to information is access to education.<\/em>\u00a0And that access is achieved, of course, via radio: \u00a0self-powered radios distributed to schools and communities in remote, impoverished\u00a0regions throughout\u00a0the world. \u00a0ETOW is my passion; we see tangible results come from this practical, simple mission.<\/p>\n

Even if you’re familiar with ETOW, most likely you’ve never heard of the HumanaLight because it’s a new product, and we haven’t been selling it for long. If you’re interested, click here to find out…<\/p>\n

What is the HumanaLight?<\/h2>\n

\"HumanaLight-Front\"<\/a><\/p>\n

At ETOW, we receive feedback from the teachers, children, and communities where we regularly work; through them, we\u2019ve learned how important the little LED lamp on our self-powered radios is, especially in\u00a0communities that live largely or entirely off-grid. \u00a0At the same time,\u00a0because there is often a glut of used-up batteries (and other trash) in the communities we serve, I wanted to find a way to recycle this waste product.<\/p>\n

I realized this might be a good opportunity for an innovative LED flashlight that would offer longevity, shining longer than flashlights that can be purchased locally. Inspired by the Joule Thief<\/a>, a simple flashlight circuit that cleverly allows light to be produced from a depleted or “dead” AA battery, I wondered if the design could be made even more <\/em>efficient, and even easier<\/em> to build…perhaps easy enough for a school-age child to build?<\/p>\n

I contacted ETOW volunteer engineer, Gregory Majewski, who immediately set to work on the HumanaLight project. His goal: to make a bright, highly-efficient LED flashlight that could be easily built from common, inexpensive electrical parts, and powered by\u00a0either new (or used)\u00a0batteries. And what did this talented engineer\u00a0deliver? The\u00a0HumanaLight.<\/em><\/p>\n

Greg’s HumanaLight design was astonishing: it produced light\u2013continuously,<\/em> meaning, without being turned off at all\u2013for two full weeks<\/em> on a depleted cell. A fresh battery yielded four full weeks<\/em>\u00a0of usable light. The original\u00a0HumanaLight prototype (affectionately known as\u00a0the “TrashLight”) could be built on most anything, including scraps\u00a0of wood or plastic. This design, now used in the field,\u00a0requires no soldering whatsoever and can be built almost entirely\u00a0from recycled components. \u00a0Moreover, it can be sold, and the profits reinvested in local schools, health clinics, and other crucial services.<\/p>\n

In 2011, I presented this light at the IEEE’s inaugural Global Humanitarian Technology conference<\/a>, where it generated much interest.<\/p>\n

The HumanaLight Kit<\/h2>\n

This year,\u00a0with the assistance of another volunteer engineer, David Cripe (NM0S), we set about\u00a0the\u00a0creation\u00a0of a simple HumanaLight kit that we can offer for sale\u00a0here in North America, in order to apply the proceeds to ETOW’s\u00a0mission. \u00a0School children, makers, experimenters, and hobbyists of all stripes will all find this a fun kit to assemble\u2013and a useful light in times of emergencies.<\/p>\n

Ears To Our World, and those we serve, are very much in debt to our volunteer engineers who made this possible. Many, many thanks to Gregorgy Majewski for developing and designing the original HumanaLight circuit;\u00a0he put many hours into testing this amazingly efficient circuit and bringing it to fruition. We also heartily thank David Cripe (NM0S) for designing the HumanaLight circuit board and kit. \u00a0And\u00a0David’s design makes this kit affordable and functional, too, in support of the light’s original purpose.<\/em><\/p>\n

If you would like to purchase a HumanaLight kit\u2013and support Ears To Our World\u2013please purchase at Universal Radio<\/a>. \u00a0Thanks!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you’ve been an SWLing Post reader for long, you probably know that I’m the founder and director of Ears To Our World (ETOW), a charity\u00a0built on the belief\u00a0that\u00a0access to information is access to education.\u00a0And that access is achieved, of course, via radio: \u00a0self-powered radios distributed to schools and communities in remote, impoverished\u00a0regions throughout\u00a0the world. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,554],"tags":[178,218,3149,3148,3150],"class_list":["post-10435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-slightly-off-topic","tag-ears-to-our-world","tag-etow","tag-etow-humanalight","tag-humanalight","tag-joule-thief"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-2Ij","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10407,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/08\/etows-humanalight-featured-on-hamnation\/","url_meta":{"origin":10435,"position":0},"title":"ETOW’s HumanaLight featured on HamNation","author":"Thomas","date":"August 3, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I would like to give a hearty\u00a0shout-out to the good folks at HamNation, via Leo Laporte's TWiT network, for so prominently featuring Ears To Our World\u2013and ETOW's\u00a0new HumanaLight kit!\u2013in the latest episode. This year\u00a0at the Dayton Hamvention, I was pleased\u00a0to meet\u00a0George Thomas (W5JDX), who produces the\u00a0excellent \"Solder Smoke\"\u00a0series of instructional\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"hn600","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/hn600.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":18820,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/05\/stop-by-our-new-booth-sa0359-at-the-dayton-hamvention-next-week\/","url_meta":{"origin":10435,"position":1},"title":"Stop by our new booth SA0359 at the Dayton Hamvention next week!","author":"Thomas","date":"May 13, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"For the sixth year in a row at the Dayton Hamvention, fellow volunteers and I will be representing the charity Ears To Our World (ETOW). I always enjoy meeting\u00a0SWLing Post readers who stop by our booth\u00a0to introduce themselves. Note: New Booth Location We've been moved to a new table this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Hamvention-2016","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Hamvention-2016.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Hamvention-2016.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Hamvention-2016.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Hamvention-2016.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":25445,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/05\/going-to-the-hamvention-stop-by-our-booth\/","url_meta":{"origin":10435,"position":2},"title":"Going to the Hamvention? Stop by our booth!","author":"Thomas","date":"May 1, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"For the eighth\u00a0year in a row, fellow volunteers and I will be representing the charity Ears To Our World (ETOW), at the Hamvention\u00a0now in Xenia, Ohio. Note that this is the first year the\u00a0Hamvention will take place in Xenia--a major change for the largest amateur\u00a0radio convention in the world. Please\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Hamvention-Inside-Exhibits-53-576x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Hamvention-Inside-Exhibits-53-576x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Hamvention-Inside-Exhibits-53-576x1024.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13171,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/05\/going-to-the-dayton-hamvention-stop-by-our-booth-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":10435,"position":3},"title":"Going to the Dayton Hamvention? Stop by our booth!","author":"Thomas","date":"May 10, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"For the fifth year in a row at the Dayton Hamvention, fellow volunteers and I will be representing the charity Ears To Our World (ETOW). I always enjoy meeting\u00a0SWLing Post readers who stop by our booth\u00a0to introduce themselves. For the third year in a row, we will be at booth\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Hamvention","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Hamvention.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Hamvention.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Hamvention.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":37395,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/05\/going-to-the-2019-hamvention-stop-by-booth-6510\/","url_meta":{"origin":10435,"position":4},"title":"Going to the 2019 Hamvention? Stop by booth 6510!","author":"Thomas","date":"May 15, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"For the tenth year in a row, fellow volunteers and I will be representing the charity Ears To Our World (ETOW), at the\u00a0Hamvention\u00a0now in Xenia, Ohio. You can find us at\u00a0booth 6510. (Click here for a map.) I always enjoy meeting\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0readers who stop by our booth\u00a0to introduce themselves! 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