# Twtxt is an open, distributed microblogging platform that # uses human-readable text files, common transport protocols, # and free software. # # Learn more about twtxt at https://github.com/buckket/twtxt # # This is an automated Yarn.social feed running feeds v0.1.0@2b75e86 # Learn more about Yarn.social at https://yarn.social # # nick = low-tech-magazine # url = https://feeds.twtxt.net/low-tech-magazine/twtxt.txt # source = https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/feeds/all-en.atom.xml # avatar = # description = # updated_at = 2022-03-06T14:57:12Z # 2021-10-04T22:00:00Z **How to Build a Low-tech Solar Panel?**
George Cove, a forgotten solar power pioneer, may have built a highly efficient photovoltaic panel 40 years before Bell Labs engineers invented silicon cells. If proven to work, his design could lead to less complex and more sustainable solar panels. ⌘ [Read more](https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2021/10/how-to-build-a-low-tech-solar-panel.html) 2021-05-10T22:00:00Z **How to design a sailing ship for the 21st century?**
It is surprisingly difficult to build a carbon neutral sailing ship. This is even more the case today, because our standards for safety, health, hygiene, comfort, and convenience have changed profoundly since the Age of Sail. ⌘ [Read more](https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2021/05/how-to-design-a-sailing-ship-for-the-21st-century.html) 2021-03-27T23:00:00Z **Urban Fish Ponds: Low-tech Sewage Treatment for Towns and Cities**
In the mid 20th century, whole cities’ sewage systems safely and successfully used fish to treat and purify their water. Waste-fed fish ponds are a low-tech, cheap, and sustainable alternative to deal with our own shit — and to obtain high protein food in the process. ⌘ [Read more](https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2021/03/urban-fish-ponds-low-tech-sewage-treatment-for-towns-and-cities.html) 2021-11-01T23:00:00Z **Fascine Mattresses: Basketry Gone Wild**
Around the 17th century, the Dutch started reinforcing their dykes and harbours with sturdy mats the size of football pitches – hand-woven from thousands of twigs grown on nearby coppice plantations. These reinforcement structures were weighted with rocks and sunk into canals, estuaries, and rivers. ⌘ [Read more](https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2021/11/fascine-mattresses-basketry-gone-wild.html) 2021-12-01T23:00:00Z **The Printed Website: Volume III & The Comments**
The printed archives of Low-tech Magazine now amount to four volumes with a total of 2,398 pages and 709 images. ⌘ [Read more](https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2021/12/printed-website-third-volume.html) 2022-01-19T23:00:00Z **The Revenge of the Hot Water Bottle**
Imagine a personal heating system that works indoors as well as outdoors, can be taken anywhere, requires little energy, and is independent of any infrastructure. It exists – and is hundreds of years old. ⌘ [Read more](https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2022/01/the-revenge-of-the-hot-water-bottle.html) 2022-03-05T23:00:00Z **How to Build a Bike Generator with Control Panel**
We built a pedal-powered generator and controller, which is practical to use as an energy source and exercise machine in a household — and which you can integrate into a solar PV system. We provide detailed plans to build your own, using basic skills and common hand tools. ⌘ [Read more](https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2022/03/how-to-build-bike-generator.html)