Party Vibe

@parrotfish 399755 wrote:

this looks quite cool – charger using wifi energy…

RCA Airnergy Charger Lets You Charge Devices With Wi-Fi

Except Ofcom limit the power of a wifi network to about 0.1 W ERP

A mobile phone needs about 4W to charge it…

It has been done but isn’t very efficient.

Some years ago a farmer near Droitwitch (where the massive BBC Radio 4 transmitter is kept) decided to light his barns for free by attaching a coil of electric wire to some fluorescent lamps – this drew enough electricity to light the lamps.

he eventually ended up getting a visit from some somewhat cross chaps from the BBC and the DTI/Ofcom – who made him dismantle this contraption (on pain of being arrested for abstracting electricity) as people were driving past his farm and their car radios were losing signal as it was all going into his lamps.

if someone foolishly introduced this RCA device into a wifi shared area the exact same would happen and they would soon enough be ejected once people noticed all their other gadgets had lost network connectivity. they’d be better off putting a solar cell on it…

@parrotfish 400273 wrote:

Good point – although it was showcased in the states – do they have a regulator like ofcom?

they do, its called the FCC but their interference regs are less stringent than the EU. That said the EU did harmonise wireless regulations 10 years ago which makes sense for those travelling with portable wireless devices and avoids hassle with Customs..

I expect the “local blackspot” issue is why this device has never made it to market, ironically the RCA trademark is owned by a French company which makes a lot of other radio comms equipment (including military, maritime and public safety kit) and should be well aware of EU regulations…