Ben Heck Helps Boost Battery Life for Android Phones with a New Kinetic Motion Wind-Up Charger in the Latest Episode of element14's 'The Ben Heck Show'

CHICAGO, Jan. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- element14, a collaborative social community and electronics store for design engineers and electronics enthusiasts, and modding guru Benjamin J. Heckendorn, a.k.a. Ben Heck, present an action-packed episode of "The Ben Heck Show" for the modding- and DIY-inclined, featuring a kinetic motion-inspired wind-up charger for Android phones and a Rapid Pinball Prototyping System (RPPS) for Ben's latest pinball creation.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110124/CG34403)

"Have you ever noticed that there never seems to be a charger around when you need one – I sure have," said Ben Heck. "In this latest episode, I look at kinetic motion to create a portable cell phone battery charger in the event you're ever lost on a deserted island and need to call for help to get rescued."  

Ben uses two simple, affordable items– a wind-up LED flashlight and micro USB adapter – and morphs them into a portable, wind-up battery charger for Android phones. Later it's back to pinball wars as Ben constructs a custom RPPS gaming cabinet with fellow modding friends that allows users to rapidly fire new shots. Ben rounds out the episode with a complete overhaul of an old, non-working LCD screen and turns it into a perfectly functioning monitor.

"Ben's latest project is a great example of how a little mod-like thinking, some DIY energy, and affordable electronics components can create useful, everyday gadgets," said Alisha Mowbray, senior vice president of marketing, element14.  "The wind-up charger gives Android users an easy and affordable way to ensure they always have a ready-to-use cell phone, whether they're on the road without a car charger, on a long camping weekend, or stuck at the airport."

Show fans can enter for a chance to win the kinetic wind-up charger featured on the episode as well as submit project suggestions for future episodes.

About "The Ben Heck Show"

"The Ben Heck Show" is a bi-weekly online television series dedicated to the science, art and mindset of system and hardware modders with a global audience of design engineers, students and electronic enthusiasts (e.g., tech geeks). Each episode spotlights Ben's mods of popular electronic devices while educating viewers on the underlying technology powering each of Ben's featured projects, and offering his unique insight regarding hardware modification techniques, tools and design tips.  Sponsored exclusively by element14 and produced by leading Internet TV network Revision3, the show continues to gain support from loyal fans with over 1,000,000 views since its debut in September.

About element14

element14 is the first collaborative community, research portal and store for design engineers and electronics enthusiasts. The website provides product data, design tools, technology information and top brand components to seamlessly facilitate the design process; users can consult industry experts and collaborate with peers around the globe. element14 is sponsored by Premier Farnell plc (LSE: pfl), a leader in multi-channel distribution and specialty services for electronic design engineers, trading throughout the Americas (Newark), Europe (Farnell) and Asia-Pacific (element14). The company has group sales of 795.3m pounds Sterling and over 4,100 employees globally.

SOURCE element14