We all know the up and down motion of our suspension is just wasted energy (or at least we do now that I just said it)
. Anyway, Darin posted a while back about
Tufts University electromagnetic shock absorber. It sounds like this shock absorber has a reasonable shot at completely eliminating an alternator unless you drive on roads of glass (haha, yeah right). So, how can we use their fancy design and make a cheapo DIY version? Lets get some ideas out there. This sounds like a good area to look at for 'free' energy.
My idea is to use a device similar to one of those shaker flash lights. You would mount a magnetic post somewhere on your A-arm and that would go up and down with the suspension travel. The coil could be mounted on an arm that is attached to the frame. The up and down motion would generate some electricity and it could be fed to charge the battery. I'm not sure on the specifics of how the shaking motion actually produces electricity, so you'll have to excuse my ignorance there. However, those shaker lights are cheaper than dirt, so I'd think we can make something up and keep it on the cheap.
What can you guys think up?