is there a way to make a model wind turbine? i want to use it to charge usb devices.

I want to make a small wind turbine to charge a small battery and use a 5 volt 7805 regulator and charge usb devices. i have completed this instructable:

im pretty sure i can upgrade it to just be rechargeable by wind energy.
Thank You so much for taking the time to read this and please if you have anything to say any ideas, questions, etc. email me at

you could use a 12v stepper motor to generate the electricity because if you use the 7805 regulator your input voltage needs to be 1-2 volts higher than the output voltage, as for turbine design you could a savonius wind turbine because it is easy to build and because it is a cylinder shape it dosent take up mutch space but is still efficent!!! just google it and there are lots of results, you may want to use a smoothing capicitor between the regulator and your usb device to smooth the "noisy" power supply also if you want it to be more efficent you could use a smaller voltage motor and use the mintyboost circuit ( which can be found on instructables)!!! hope this helped and good luck!!! cm
Any small DC permanent magnet motor can be used as a wind turbine generator as long as the wind blows hard enough to turn the turbine.

For very small applications like your I would suggest a 5 or 10 watt solar panel and 12 volt battery would be better as wind is fickle but the sun shines almost every day.

A simple hobby wind turbine can be made by taking a small rc style dc hobby motor and using an old box fan blade as the turbine. Turn the fan backwards when mounting on the motor.

The body and tail can be made from pvc pipe and plastic. You can attach a steel dowel through the body at the center weight poit and then install it into a 1 inch piece of steel pipe outside.

As the wind blows against the tail the turbine will turn into the wind and you should see the blades start turning. Keep the turbine attached to the batteries or it will free spin and burn up the motor or wreck the fan.

You do not need a power controller as long as you monitor the battery and do not let it over charge. Just take take the turbine out of the wind when batteries are fully charged.

You will need to step up or step down the power to match the amps of your USB device.

Hope this helps!

For ideas on off grid solar and wind power see my website:

Kiteman5 years ago
There are lots of wind turbine projects on the site - just pick the one you like best.
It takes a decent amount of energy to charge a cell phone...I don't know if we're talking model here. I'd say you're better off putting something in the air with at least a 1' diameter.