Today K-TOR announced the release of the second generation Pocket Socket hand crank generator, the Pocket Socket 2. The Pocket Socket 2 incorporates the learning from long term testing and customer feedback since the launch of the original Pocket Socket.

“The Pocket Socket has been a successful product for K-TOR,” comments founder Ken Torino, “We have customers all over the world using our hand crank generator in a wide range of environments and it’s been fascinating to witness the places our products have been and the purposes they have served.”

New packaging, labels, materials, and molded grips are just a few of the updates that have been made to this second generation Pocket Socket. A yellow color scheme for the label and rubber band match the primary use of this product in emergency situations. Also visible to the customer, the top and bottom of the case has been patterned to make it easier to grip.

Other, less visible, updates include a newer stronger polycarbonate plastic, a stronger power train and improved electronics.

The patented technology inside the Pocket Socket 2 and all K-TOR portable generator products enable the efficient conversion of human energy into a 120 volt power source. A 124% increase in blackouts annually in the US in recent decades has left more and more Americans looking for a backup power supply for when the grid goes down.

K-TOR believes no one should have to be without access to electricity. Our portable, affordable, human powered generators feature a standard outlet interface that provides alternative, backup and emergency power to a wide range of compatible devices.

The Pocket Socket 2 retails at $64.95 and is available online at www.k-tor.com.

K-TOR was recently ranked by Amazon.com as a Top Holiday Seller for the 2012 holiday shopping season. Sales of the K-TOR Pocket Socket hand crank generator were amongst the top 25% of all Amazon sellers, an indication of the product’s widespread appeal.

In addition to the Top Holiday Seller ranking, K-TOR’s customer satisfaction was 97% positive which earned an A+ rating.

Thank you to all of you who have left positive feedback on our K-TOR Amazon Store or on our product page. We are dedicated to providing you with a positive customer experience and a versatile, dependable product.

On January 29, 2013, K-TOR was issued US Patent 8,362,628 B2 for the invention of a Portable Power Generator. The patent contains novel technology found in K-TOR products including the Pocket Socket hand crank generator and Power Box pedal power generator.

The recently issued patent contains 22 claims that identify the innovations featured in the portable power generator. The uses of high voltage DC at standard AC voltages as well as the use of standard AC interfaces are just a few of the groundbreaking features found in K-TOR products.

The issuance of this patent is an important milestone for K-TOR and validates the years of R&D it took to bring this technology to market.

K-TOR founder Ken Torino will be heading to Orlando, FL later this week for the 2012 International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) Annual Conference and Emergency Managers Expo (EMEX).

The IAEM Annual Conference provides a forum for current trends, topics and information about the latest tools and technology in emergency management and homeland security.  Emergency managers, homeland security officials, first response coordinators, private industry risk managers, contingency planners and many more will be in attendance as this year’s 60th Annual IAEM Conference & EMEX.

K-TOR will be exhibiting at EMEX as well as attending the conference.  The K-TOR booth number is 441 and its location is identified in the picture above.  This will be the first emergency preparedness expo K-TOR has exhibited at and the company is looking forward to exposing the emergency management community to their products.  During the expo K-TOR will be conducting live demonstrations and at 1pm each day the company will raffle off a free Pocket  Socket at their booth.

A critical tool in emergency preparedness, K-TOR generators provide an instant source of electricity via a standard electrical interface.  In an emergency situation, access to power or electricity can be scarce or non-existent.  Powering critical electronic devices such as phones, lights and radios, K-TOR generators are an essential preparedness item.

About IAEM

The International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) is an international organization dedicated to promoting the goals of saving lives and protecting property prior to and during emergencies and disasters. IAEM is a non-profit, educational organization established in 1952 with more than 5,500 current members. Members are local, state and federal government emergency management/homeland security professionals; private industry/security executives; military; non-profit, healthcare; volunteer disaster planners; and others.

In our recent blog post we mentioned that the Pocket Socket can be used an educational tool.  Today we will dig into that subject a little deeper by reviewing an energy efficiency experiment you can do with your Pocket Socket, at home or in the classroom.

What You’ll Need:

• 1- K-TOR Pocket Socket
• 1- Lamp (remove lamp shade)
• 1- 60 watt incandescent bulb
• 1- 13 watt cfl bulb (60 watt equivalent)
• 1- Light meter (optional)
• 1 – Heart rate monitor (optional)

1. Plug the lamp into the outlet on the K-TOR Pocket Socket hand crank generator.
2. Screw the 13 watt cfl bulb into the socket.
3. Start spinning the generator at 2 rotation per second to generate full power. The bulb will light.
4. If using heart rate monitor or light meter measure data points before subject starts generating power and at various intervals while subject is generating power.
5. Unscrew the 13 watt cfl bulb from the socket and screw in the 60 watt incandescent bulb.
6. As in Step 3, spin the generator at 2 revolutions per second to generate max power.
7. If collecting data, record data as done in Step 4.

This experiment is a hands-on lesson in energy efficiency.  It enables those who conduct this experiment to feel the difference in work required to power a standard light bulb vs an energy efficient (CFL) light bulb. It also gives them a physical appreciation for the amount of work required to do something as simple as power a light.  The incandescent bulb is much harder to crank and won’t reach full brightness since it exceeds the power rating on the Pocket Socket.  It would take more than five Pocket Socket’s working together to power this inefficient technology.

Conversely, the energy efficient CFL bulb is relatively easy to power continuously at full brightness because of advanced semiconductor technology embedded in the bulb which makes it operate more efficiently. In fact, the CFL bulb puts out the same amount of light as the 60watt bulb while only consuming 13 watts.  Similar technology enables modern electronic devices to consume relatively little energy; although we typically come from the perspective that our devices use a ton of power since the batteries are always running low. The reality is that you could charge two iPhones with less energy than it takes to power the 13 watt cfl bulb.

Share your data with us on facebook and twitter! Stay tuned for another educational experiment next week.

Our recent blog posts have had the common theme of discussing various uses for the Pocket Socket.  Today we continue that discussion by highlighting two uses for our generators that are not as heavily discussed or marketed – educational and medical.

Educational uses for the Pocket Socket include hands-on learning about electricity and energy efficiency.  There are a variety of different demonstrations that can done in the classroom or lab by students of all ages which teach about electricity generation and energy efficiency.  Additionally, our generators can be used to help students with science and engineering projects.  We posted up an example of one such project earlier this summer when we highlighted the Sprocket Socket project.

Medical applications for the Pocket Socket include use in physical therapy and as a power supply for medical devices.  We have heard from patients undergoing physical therapy that integrating our hand crank generator into their exercise routine can provide extra motivation, inspiration and drive.  The action of generating energy and helping the environment provides additional incentive to rehabilitate for these patients.  Other customers have brought the Pocket Socket on hiking and camping trips to provide backup power to their medical devices should they run low.  Multiple customers have reported success using the Pocket Socket as a backup power source for their CPAP machine, an effective treatment for patients with certain types of sleep disorders.

What do you use your K-TOR generator for?  Let us know on Twitter and Facebook!

When a customer buys one of our generators, they could have a wide variety of uses in mind. Due to their portable, versatile design and universal compatibility, our hand crank generators can go with you anywhere in the world – and they have.

Where customers have gone with the K-TOR® Pocket Socket is indeed amazing.  From Safari’s in Africa to multi-year Peace Corps assignments in remote areas, this generator has been tested and tried in extreme environments.  Expedition’s have used the Pocket Socket in remote areas including the Himalayas of Nepal and the Amazon region in South America.  It is also in use on many long range hikes, including those currently on the Pacific Crest Trail.  One team even brought one on a sailing trip around the world!

Our products are in use by civilians and military personnel all over the world in all kinds of environments.  With so many people, in so many places, using the same product for so many different things, it’s hard to justify not having your own Pocket Socket.

If you have an interesting story about when or where you used your Pocket Socket, be sure to share it with us on Twitter and Facebook.  If you have a picture even better! We would love to share your experiences with others to inform them of the various uses for our generators.

When we developed the Pocket Socket, our first generator, we had modern electronics in mind.  It was designed to be a general purpose generator with a standard interface; this way we knew it would be forward compatible with products in the future that didn’t exist when the generator was being developed.

Tablets are a good example of one such product. When the iPad came out our generator was already on the market.  We bought an iPad to test it with our generator and it worked like a charm.  The standard outlet interface on K-TOR generators meant we didn’t need any special tips or adapters to connect to Apple’s newly released product. Since almost every modern electronic device comes supplied with a 120v wall outlet charger that draws ~10 watts or less, the Pocket Socket is compatible with almost every modern electronic gadget.

This wide range of compatibility with our hand crank generator is further extended with the Power Box, our upcoming pedal power generator. Being able to pedal for long periods of time with the Power Box allows it to be used for more than limited/emergency use – it become a source of extended power. This extended cranking ability coupled with a higher power rating means the Power Box can be used to charge 12 volt batteries. Add an inverter to the battery and almost anything that the Power Box can’t charge directly can now be operated via the battery.

Upon the release of the Power Box we’ll update the website with more information regarding the advanced charging techniques listed above.

Being portable, lightweight and versatile, our generators work in many different scenarios.  To better understand just how useful these generators truly are, consider their two primary uses:

Emergency/Backup Power (On-Grid)

We never expect the power to go out, sometimes it just does.  Sever weather, natural disaster, and service equipment failure are just a few of the reasons the power may go out.  Most of the electronic devices we use today (phones, tablets, radios, flashlights, gps, etc.) can be powered by a K-TOR generator.  Next time the power goes out, don’t be in the dark.

Primary Power Source (Off-Grid)

Wether you are heading off-grid for an afternoon, day trip, weekend camp or a full on expedition, K-TOR generators provide vital access to power once off-grid.  Many times we leave the grid and don’t realize it.  A car breakdown in the wrong place can leave a person stranded with nothing but their cell phone battery to rely on.  The Pocket Socket is small, light, and portable enough to store in a glove box, emergency kit, under a seat – almost anywhere!

Customer feedback including interactions on our Twitter and Facebook pages let us know what people are using our products for and what they think of our generators. We’d love for you to tweet us or comment on the Facebook page, let us know what you might or already have used a K-TOR generator for.  Next week we’ll highlight two additional uses for our generators, stay tuned!