Santa was good to me last year

Over two years ago, I wrote about an amazing radio, the only clock work radio in this world. It was inspired when Trevor Baylis was watching a BBC television show on the spread of AIDS in Africa. The program expressed the need for more public education and the best way of doing that in Africa was through radio. However, radios require electricity and batteries and these two commodities are hard to obtain in rural Africa.

Baylis was struck by the need of a more convenient source of power for communications and immediately set to work in his workshop. After four months, he produced a working prototype based on simple mechanical engineering principles; a hand crank winds a powerful spring (a maximum of 55 turns), which drives a gearbox. This in turn powers a small generator that supplies electricity to the radio. Turning the hand crank for just 25 seconds generates enough power for 30 minutes of constant AM or FM.

Baylis found difficulty in obtaining a manufacturer for his invention. Companies like Marconi Phillips were contacted without success and Baylis became discouraged and frustrated by the lack of interest in his project. Strangely, television played an important role in the invention when Baylis appeared on the BBC show Tomorrow's World. The show attracted the attention of a British accountant who wanted to help. He tried the idea on a business partner in South Africa, who then received funding from the Liberty Life Group, a South African foundation that invests in projects and gives some of its profits to worthwhile causes that make a social difference. Liberty Life decided to fund a group of organizations for the disabled if they, in turn became involved in the radio scheme.

After funding, the next step was to turn the Baylis prototype into a manufacturable product. They journeyed to rural South Africa and asked the people there what they thought of the idea. The also had the Bristol University electronic engineering department study the original radio and they made some technical changes that improved the sound output. To his credit, Baylis did not let his inventor's ego get in the way of the suggested modifications.

It was now long before 150,000 radios a month were produced at a modern factory in Cape Town, South Africa, by a workforce composed of mostly disabled people. The feedback was positive and it received public Support from President Nelson Mandela and many agencies, including the Red Cross and the United Nations.

The first effective large-scale use of the radio occurred in Eritrea where, after 30 years of war, the lines of communication were slow to be restored. Britain's Overseas Development Administration donated FreePlay radio to Eritrea's ministry of education for use at educational listening centres to people all over the country. The British government sent 5,000 radios to isolated parts of western Croatia where most of the elderly stayed behind after the fighting. It was and is their only source of communication, which gives them access to valuable information about such things as the dangers of unexploded land mines in the area.

Although the radio was developed primarily for developing nations, it should also be of interest to Canadians. It is useful anywhere electricity is not available, such as on the beach, on picnics and when you are camping or gardening. It is also a perfect emergency radio for use during power outages and natural disasters.

Since the materials used in the radio are totally recyclable, environmentally-conscious consumers should be pleased. Those of us who are concerned about the social and ethical ramification of our purchases will also be pleased to know that sales of the radios not only help the South African economy, but they also create jobs for hundreds of disabled South Africans. And if those weren't reasons enough; for every 100 radios sold, FreePlay Radio automatically donates 12 radios to developing countries

The FreePlay radio is considered a success. Winning four major design awards did not satisfy Baylis and he isn't finished inventing. The exciting thing about the radio is its potential for future applications including laptop computers and flashlights.

Early marketing was carried out in British Columbia, but now you may purchase this self-powered and solar radio at you local Home Hardware store.

This self-powered radio is battery and electricity free; winds in seconds and plays up to an hour; plays continuously on solar power; has quality sound and plays anytime, anywhere. Check it out on www.freeplay.net.