August 2003 Newsletter
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This circuit is a combined full wave rectifier and voltage doubler.
I discovered this circuit while experimenting with florescent tube drive circuits,
it is probably is an old idea but it works well. The circuit will reduce
turbine cut in speed by about 50% providing a small current at low speed
but charging at normal speeds is not reduced but actually improved over the
standard bridge rectifier arrangement. In consistent light wind conditions
a significant amount of extra energy could be collected per day. JULY TECHNICAL GROUP MEETING The meeting began at 8.10pm with Robert beginning proceedings
by welcoming everyone along. Eventually 26 people were in attendance which
was quite a good number considering the weather. Ken gave the first demonstration of the night using a microwave
oven transformer that had the E and I laminations separated with the help
of an angle grinder. He said that he has used this as a variac, varying the
voltage by adjusting the amount the I laminations cover the E laminations.
Ken gave a demonstration, with the aid of Peter, of how little power is needed
to create a significant magnetic field by connecting a AAA battery (1.5 volts
or less) across the winding of the transformer. Peter could not separate
the two sets of laminations, in fact he lifted the transformer
off the table by holding onto the I laminations. Ken mentioned that you should
always use a diode across the coil to kill any back EMF when the battery
is disconnected before it kills you! We were then treated to a talk on electrochemical etching and pulse
jet motors, both of which are subjects that Ken has an interest in. Ken etches
petal valves made from steel for pulse jet engines, the basic process being,
take a clean steel sheet, paint both sides with enamel paint, scribe the
shape required removing the paint, then place in a bath of saline solution.
(1 tablespoon salt / 1 litre of water) Finally an electric current is applied
(20 volts @ 2amps) with the positive connected to the item to be etched and
the negative connected to a stainless steel scourer pad laying in the bottom
of the saline bath. This is left for 10 minutes up to an hour until the etching
is complete. I brought along a batteryless torch that I
have constructed. Shaking the torch causes a rare earth magnet to pass through
two coils which charges a super capacitor. A switch then allows the capacitor
to discharge into a high brightness LED. On average about 30 seconds of shaking
gives about 15 minutes of bright light. I have discharged it once to a level
of light that was really dim and this took about 2 hours. I hope to write
an article for the next newsletter with the technical details for anyone who
wants to build one along with suggested improvements to get more light for
less shaking. I also talked briefly on the new Hope Valley hydroelectricity
generator being installed by SA Water, recovering energy from water already
flowing in pipelines from Ansteys Hill.
George then spoke about welding spatter and a device that is spun by the welding gas and creates an oil mist which stops the spatter from sticking to the job. A vortex spin atomises the oil so George suggested that this same process could maybe be used for petrol. Ron was next and as usual came up with some interesting things,
beginning with glasses with blue LEDs fitted to them. He made
these after hearing that exposure to blue light for two hours per day helps
you sleep. He also mentioned that he has converted all the audio tapes onto
MP3 format - thanks to Ron for all the hours he has spent doing this. Finally,
Ron displayed a solar collector that he had recently bought. It has a very
large surface area, with a hole at one end and an 85 watt fan at the
other so that the air which passes through the unit can be blown into a room
via ducting to heat it. George added that this type of solar heating can
be incorporated into the structure of a house and used to heat a low temperature
phase change material which is then used as thermal storage. Finally Randal gave a demonstration of his voltage doubler
circuit along with a good description of how it works. He suggested that
this circuit could be used to boost the output of a wind generator
so that useful power could be obtained at lower wind speeds. The information on solar water heating is from. http://www.thermo-dynamics.com/solar_boiler.htm The Solar Boiler is designed for automatic daily and year round operation. A non-toxic glycol solution in the solar collectors eliminates winter freezing problems. A photovoltaic module regulates the proper daily operation of the Solar Boiler and the solar loop circulator turns on only when the panels are hot enough to heat the solar tank. As one of Thermo Dynamics' new generation of solar products, the Solar Boiler makes solar energy economically available to your family's needs. It's an investment in reliable performance. You have our name on it! http://www.thermo-dynamics.com/solar_boiler.htm From: http://dragonet.com/fhp/indexX-225.html The Enviro-Gen 12 Saltwater Generator: An Ideal Power Source for Boaters, Campers, etc . What is it?? The simplest answer would be that this is a wet-cell battery that uses seawater instead of acid. This answer is technically incorrect, however, since a battery merely stores electrical energy put into it via a battery charger. The Enviro-Gen® generates its own electricity once the seawater is added and a load is placed on the unit. That's right, if there's nothing plugged in and operating, there is no voltage produced and no depletion, so this isn't a 'one-time shot'. You can use the Enviro-Gen for several hours, then dump out the water and rinse the anodes in fresh water and put it back on the shelf. Oh, the Enviro-Gen also has an indefinite shelf life and, unlike batteries, is unaffected by hot weather or engine room conditions. What are some typical uses? Anything you'd normally use battery power to operate can be operated by the Enviro-Gen. You can, for instance, operate a CD Player (9V), lighting (1.5-12V), a radio (6V), navigation gear (12V), and other items simultaneously using 'universal' converters. The duration of operation is dependent upon the electrical load placed upon the unit. With a minimal load a set of anodes will last up to 100 hours, with the unit rated at 40AmpereHours. A 5 Amp sump pump, for instance, could deplete the anodes in 8 hours if running full time. Primary uses include: Main source of DC power for sailboats without generators, for lights, navigation, and communications. As a back-up source of power for boating, camping, hunting, or emergencies. As a light-weight, small footprint alternative to wet-cell batteries. For use in life-rafts and emergency shelters. The Enviro-Gen 12 Saltwater Generator: An Ideal Power Source for Boaters, Campers, etc . What are some of the advantages over traditional wet-cell batteries? Weight --- The Enviro-Gen weighs under 3.5 pounds without water, at least 90% less than most wet-cells. Size --- The Enviro-Gen is a tidy 5 1/2" X 9 1/2" unit which will fit virtually anywhere. Flexibility --- Ever wanted to use a battery only to find it DEAD? We all have. Normally you'd need access to both a battery charger and an AC power outlet. With the Enviro-Gen, so long as you have water and salt available, you can have DC power. You can also hook several of these units together to accomodate heavier loads, longer duration, or both. Shelf-Life --- Years! You can put an Enviro-Gen in your boat, life raft, or emergency shelter and leave it for years, secure in the knowledge that it will work when needed, assuming you've kept it free of saltwater (the anodes come packed in a waterproof case to assist in this). Environmental Concerns --- There's a good reason for this unit's name, it's not only GREEN in color, it's GREEN in operation. The only thing produced by the anodes' depletion is a harmless magnesium-salt which can be safely poured back into the ocean or even back into a city's water supply! Also, since the anodes are all that need replacing, there's not a lot of battery cases to put into land-fills. Cost --- The Enviro-Gen is now available at an introductory price to get units out there in use and spread 'the word'. Once these first 1,000 units are sold, the price will go back to where our marketing folks tell us it should be. Suffice it to say that, at a mere $99.95 for the unit and two sets of anodes, it is a bargain. Our government/military sales department have cited a much higher price for these units built to mil-spec, and that competition alone should drive the price up soon, so act today! Safety --- Imagine you're out to sea, doing a little tweaking on your batteries. Suddently the boat takes an awkward roll or shudder and the battery overturns. Now you have a caustic acid spill to clean up, as well as the potential for getting acid on your clothes, skin, and (worse yet!) in your eyes! WIth the Enviro-Gen you'd just have a little saltwater to clean up, no potential for harm to your clothing or your body. http://dragonet.com/fhp/indexX-225.html So, how do I get one? It's Simple! You can order online via our secure server (VeriSign Security) by clicking on the button below, order by phone or Fax by calling toll-free 877-427-0220, or sending your check for $99.95* US plus $7.50 shipping to: F.H.P. 1236 Ginger Crescent Virginia Beach, VA 23456 ASTRO MEETING JUNE 13th 2003 PETER'S PAGE The meeting was started at 8:13 by Robert, who introduced Robert Warne as the guest speaker for the night. With visual aids, Robert Warne described the founder of Grundfos Pumps, Poul Due Jansen (1912-1977) and his quest for the most efficient and advanced pumps in the world. Grundfos (meaning ground-water) invests or the initial cost of the pump itself, 10% service costs over its life and 85% running cost over its life cycle. Robert added that Grundfos spent a lot of money and effort in the design of pumps and controls to reduce this huge running cost by factors up to 50%. He said that new titanium pumps were replacing the 316 stainless steel pumps and even though they were twice as dear, the efficiencies far out weighed the additional cost over the pump's life cycle. The fastest pumps ran up to 24,000rpm at 400 Hz, utilizing onboard micro frequency controllers with a host of sensors to protect and regulate them to optimum efficiency. There is a wide range of Grundfos pumps available for all types of needs. There is centrifugal, radial impeller, mixed flow (or semi axial), solar, submersible and a host of other types. They run from 30 volts to 300 volts DC and 90 volts to 260 volts AC, which makes them very versatile. For more information, please look up the Grunfoss internet site at http://www.grundfoss.com. Robert N thanked the Guest Speaker for his excellent presentation and then opened the general meeting. Peter...started the ball rolling with an article from the local newspaper stating that the "Mars Bars” recipe was to be changed so as to exclude the presence of hydrogenated oils, as they are now considered a health risk. RobertN...gave a short talk about a video on the Beck protocol and how to use Beck devices properly. More information is available at http://www.sotainstruments.com Jan...stated that Robert had agreed to be a partner with him in the manufacture of the "Gravity Wheel". Jan also gave a fascinating demonstration of a device that climbed up and down a piece of plastic water pipe as it was rolled either clockwise or anti-clockwise. Dino...said that he had been talking to Davershon about Bi-Field Meters. There are four different types and one of the types could detect the presence of humans through walls. Dino also demonstrateda new type of very high definition and intensity video projector. He had just received it from the USA. It was an1840 HDTV with a contrast ratio of 2000:1. Instead of the normal LEDs it used a myriad of tiny flip up mirrors that projected each pixel from a very high intensity source. The picture quality was startling and the blackrendition unbelievable. He projected rain forest images across the ceiling and down the back wall (about 40 meters away) with incredible effects, even in quite bright lighting conditions. See http://www.infocus.com for more information. Ken...gave a short talk on a document that he had found on the internet listing dozens of free energy devices and projects that had all seemingly turned out to be either duds or scams. The list went back for decades. Robert concluded the meeting, stating that the next meeting was to be a practical experimenter's one. Cheers PeterP |
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ASTRO Home Page http://astrosa.8k.com |
Peter Patterson email peterastro@hotmail.com |
Ken Kranz (Newsletter and Web Page)
email kwk@airnet.com.au Phone 08 83872845 |
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DISCLAIMER: All information given in this newsletter is for educational purposes only. No claims are made on or for the validity or correctness of the material provided. ASTRO S.A. Incorporated accepts no responsibility for any mishaps or accidents incurred by any persons utilising this information. |