Popular Science ran an article on cheap, efficient wind turbines in their August 2007 issue. In the article they detail a variation on two types of vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT) called the Lenz2 Turbine (a self-starting VAWT that is relatively inexpensive, quiet, and efficient turbine).
They also link to an "open source" horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT) made from (amongst other things) a re-used treadmill motor as the generator.Though I'd like to make the Lenz2, I just happen to have an old treadmill motor, so I'll probably start there, then run the power into a car battery that I just have sitting around, and then charge all my gadgets via the power generated by the wind.
Thoughts? Advice?