:lol: Thats some good engineering there...

__________________
Jeff
To the optimist, the glass is half full.
To the pessimist, the glass is half empty.
To the engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

i finally combined my data collection program with the output screen you see here..can you say PC storage scope.!!
the output you see here is from my generator connected through a diode bridge , through a 1 ohm resistor to a light bulb .. so essentially it is a current wave, whose magnitude is proportional to the current through the light bulb..
i havnt scaled it yet , i am thinking of putting all the data on another screen, have not decided yet..anyway it looks cool , i think ..

parts list :

MCP3004 A/D converter w/ SPI serial interface.
my PC I/O board , schematic available here http://www.electro-tech-online.com/v...r=asc&start=90
Pascal programming language

priliminary specs:
60 uSec / conversion
20 uSec calculations
80 uSec total convertion time , thats 12,500 convertions / sec.. lol its an old machine running dos and pascal :roll:
the 3004 is capable of 200,000 convertions/sec

Attached Images

current_wave.jpg (11.4 KB, 1057 views)

 

the plan is to use another channel of the ADC to scroll the data back and forth , with a varible resistor..i have allready scrolled the data in one direction .. but then i have to stop the program and change the sign of my scroll value, to get it to go the other way..i should use a new procedure to get my scroll value..
the plan is to get it to move in the positive direction with values of 512 to 1023.. increasing in speed the higher the value..
and to move in the negetive direction from 511 to 0 increasing in speed the LOWER the value..i'm not sure how i'm going to do that yet.. :roll:
oh i've also got to set boundries , to prevent scrolling past the end of the array..

 

well i have done some experimenting with the generator again..mostly playing around with the PC storage scope .. anyway this is why i made it , because i needed a way to see which armature wasnt as good as the rest, and to find out why..
the first pic shows that the main peaks alternate every two ,thats when two magnets are over one armature at the same time..
That peak in the center of the first pic , has a little dip in it..i should be able to fix that..but i have'nt identified which armature it is yet
The blank spot in the second pic is where i shorted out one armature.. whats interresting about that pic is the peak that is supposed to be to the left of the blank spot , isnt much of a peak, i know which armature that is, its the only one of eight that was wound with thicker wire , ie less turns per same cross section area..and given that my wind generator may never see the speed that the propeller wind generators see , i may have to replace that one ..
needless to say i got the program and the ADC working satisfactorally although if anyone knows Pascal and is familiar with graphics viewports i could use some help with that ..
oh the wind speed indicator is doing well , it has been very windy tonight and it is spinning like .. well ..really fast..

Attached Images

	generator_output_1.jpg (13.7 KB, 990 views)
	generator_output_2.jpg (12.9 KB, 988 views)
	generator_output_3.jpg (14.6 KB, 988 views)

 

i forgot to mention that , the way i was able to see each individual armature was , i took all the magnets off of the rotor except two..
otherwise all the peaks would all be similiar..

 

Eh WillB,
hello mate, eh that wind anemeter that you posted some time ago really interests me as my place is so hilly I want to find the best possie for a wind generator. do ya reckon you could post a schematic of it for me please so I can build one and give it a whirl so to speak. By the way your work on the wind turbine stuff has me reading for hours and it's great to see this post keeping on going and when I can finally get started this post should be the biggest this forum has seen.

Cheers Bryan1

 

sure , i'll see what i can come up with..you mean the hall effect switch part? or the whole thing..?

 

Hi WilliB,
Yea mate the whole thing. I've just finished a 3 month shutdown working 12 hour days and my minds still a bit ..... well after a few ales.
Anyways I've got my lathe and mill up and working so now I can start to make a few things and get the ball rolling.

Cheers Bryan1

 

ok you got it ..what kind of lathe & milling machine do ya have?

 

O'kies the lathe is an old classic it's a flat bed but it aint been used for over 50 years, it's an old toolroom lathe 4' betwwen centres with a screw cutting gearbox and the mill is a Hardinge bridgeport which is a vertical mill with a 48" bed. And the best part is I used to own a machineshop and I still have all the machining tools and a box full of truck bearings suitable for wind genny's.

P.S. If ya onlinw Willi PM me so we can 'ave a yak

 

Bryan i pm'd ya back .. check yer messages..

 

ok ..the first step in making a good wsd (wind speed detector) is the bearing. I started with a cheapo radio shack motor pic3..and attached the armature to a 3/4" dia stick.. then i attached the nylon bearing (pic1) to the can..

Attached Images

	1_27_2005_9_37_pm_02.jpg (20.2 KB, 937 views)
	1_27_2005_9_20_pm_0002.jpg (20.9 KB, 937 views)
	1_27_2005_9_37_pm_0002.jpg (28.2 KB, 937 views)

 

pic3 is the bearing hot glued to the center of the can..
then i attached three tuna cans to the center can with small sheet metal screws as in pic2..
in pic1 i attached a cone to the back of each can..
pic2 also shows the center hole inside the can..and three HDD magnets for balance and to trip the hall effect sensor..

Attached Images

	1_27_2005_9_04_pm_0001.jpg (21.2 KB, 935 views)
	1_27_2005_9_04_pm_0005.jpg (21.4 KB, 933 views)
	1_27_2005_9_04_pm_0002.jpg (15.6 KB, 933 views)

 

Pic1 is the hall effect switch which i got from a PC power supply fan..
thats it at the top, with the three prongs comming out of it ..
the three solder connections at the bottom right of pic1 , are where the fan windings connect to the circuit board..this is the output of the circuit..The middle one has a normally high output and goes low when a magnet passes close enough to it..
If you connect the red wire to 5V , the black wire to ground ,the output is 0 to 5 V ..

Attached Images

	hall_sensor_178.jpg (16.7 KB, 931 views)
	1_27_2005_9_14_pm_0001.jpg (25.0 KB, 930 views)
	1_27_2005_9_20_pm_0007.jpg (12.0 KB, 930 views)

 

instead of a tuna can anemometer i have made a tuna head anemometer .. taking the shape from the very hydrodynamic tuna ..
it works very well.. it even has ball bearings so the slightest whisper of a breeze starts it moving..
Next i have to figure how to count the JUST the tranitions of the hall effect switch..as it is now i am able to count the number of times it is IN transition.. i am sure it is just an if then statement

Attached Images

th_202.jpg (18.0 KB, 873 views)