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Forum Index : Electronics : Turbine Performance
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dereksoftstuff Newbie  Joined: 14/11/2010 Location: United KingdomPosts: 30 |
Daniel Very professional looking build - is it flying ? What sort of winds do you get there - nice scenery. Like the bananas in the garden ! The 8 channel ADC just connects to the microcontroller using the SSI bus (4 wires). It adds 8 analog inputs to the system. Probably use this one :- ADC |
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| DanielCV Newbie Joined: 10/05/2011 Location: Cape VerdePosts: 19 |
Hello Derek, "Very professional looking build - is it flying ?" Yes it is - just have a look, I uploaded some more photos here. In this location I get only low winds up to 7 m/s, mostly around 4 m/s. This generator was calculated / built to get most of these low winds. However some kilometers from here, there are speeds around 10 m/s and I am just waiting to get my "Turnigy" Wattmeter and so I can put the windturbine there and make some more measurements, as my Multimeter just can handle up to 10A, I cannot measrure right now in winds more then 7 m/s. By the way I am now planning a bigger version: 3,6 m diameter wooden rotors, and a 3kW generator built in the same style as the small one. With the 8 channel ADC this looks very good !! By the way I just found this topic here - does this device also fit for the Wind Doctor ? I am counting days to be able to start with the Wind Doctor !! Best regards, Daniel |
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| dereksoftstuff Newbie Joined: 14/11/2010 Location: United KingdomPosts: 30 |
Daniel That looks a bit dangerous to me - installation in the air ! Your home looks idyllic - are you off-grid ? Yes, you can use whatever hardware you want for the volt/current sense circuits. The thing to remember is the connection to the ADC of the microcontroller is 0 -> 3V. Make sure that your connection ALWAYS stays in that range. |
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| DanielCV Newbie Joined: 10/05/2011 Location: Cape VerdePosts: 19 |
Derek, yes it was a little dangerous, but fortunately itīs a small generator and small turbine. The problem is there is no space to get the mast up with installed turbine. No, I am not off-grid and I have ADSL :) Hoping for your next video release and arrival of my components for Wind Doctor ! I am sure I will soon share my results and ideas with you ! Stay in contact ! Best regards, Daniel |
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| Xmaswiz Regular Member  Joined: 14/04/2011 Location: United StatesPosts: 69 |
Has anyone done an update for the software linked in this post for the new maximite? Santa Maria, CA. Noel |
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| DanielCV Newbie Joined: 10/05/2011 Location: Cape VerdePosts: 19 |
Hello Derek, finally I have all the parts here !! 
Now one question: on the Microcontroller, how to transfer the demoUI to it ? Do I need to first install: 1- UnxUtils ? 2- Sourcery G++ ? 3-StellarisWare ? If so, what would be next step ? Sorry, I am completely new to this, so your help is very much appreciated ! Best regards, Daniel |
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| dereksoftstuff Newbie Joined: 14/11/2010 Location: United KingdomPosts: 30 |
Daniel You don't need any of that stuff (that's for developing your own software). Program microcontroller firmware :- 1) run LMI flash programmer on PC (will be on your CD or free download microcontroller flash programmer ) 2) programmer : configuration -> select lm3s6965 eval kit 3) programmer : program -> select the .bin file from me (erase all flash, reset MCU, offset 0) 4) Programming flash takes about 1 minute -> LED should be blinking -> ready to go ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------- run eUI program on PC with ethernet connected :- 1) see video for config options 2) remember to put your SD card into the microcontroller 3) connect a few wires to microcontroller and view data (see video) 4) Post some videos of your system's performance 
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| DanielCV Newbie Joined: 10/05/2011 Location: Cape VerdePosts: 19 |
Thanks for help ! Firmware seems to be running together with software on PC - but strange it shows some realtime values for Volts and Amps, even if still nothing is connected...!? Tomorrow I am going to connect the anemometer and the current sensor and the turbine speed sensor. Still not very clear about how to calibrate the anemometer... I will follow your video for this purpose :) For the Windturbine RPM Measurement, I decided to try a bicicle tachometer system instead of the Hall sensor which I find very difficult to handle... By the way, the IC for the current sense measurement - can I solder it normally to the little SMD board I bought for it ? Is it very sensible for too high temperature when soldering ? Did you already think about displaying the TSR directly ? This value is very important to know about how the blades perform, if they go into stall, etc. It would be perfect having TSR displayed in a separate graph, calculated from Windspeed and Turbine rpm, with a given blade diameter. Last question: How can I change the Ethernet IP of the Microcontroller ? Best regards, Daniel |
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| dereksoftstuff Newbie Joined: 14/11/2010 Location: United KingdomPosts: 30 |
Daniel Good stuff - off and running ... You'll need to connect your analog wires up to something (or ground) they are floating at the moment. There will always be a little bit of noise in any system, and the eUI will show you all of your systems good and bad points! Soldering is ok, just lots of care, and do it quickly. TIP - that works for me -> use a VERY SMALL (avoid pins) blob of glue to stick in position first. Then solder. TSR is displayed in the windspeed bins chart. Are you suggesting something else? A real-time TSR display perhaps (per second)? Blade info is part of config. Can not change microcontroller IP address - it's fixed at present. I think your anemometer is pre-calibrated -> so adjust the calibration factor of the eUI until the speed outputs are the same. I assume you have a program that runs on the PC that displays your anemometer speed, so comparison should be easy. |
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| DanielCV Newbie Joined: 10/05/2011 Location: Cape VerdePosts: 19 |
Hello Derek, thanks for your very useful help ! I see your circuit showing ground and +5V connected by a 0,1 uF Capacitor, is it Pin 01 and 02 where I put connect this, right ? Humm, but makes no sense, as the power 5V comes from USB port... !? Also, using your anemometer with the hallswitch differs from my configuration, where I have an anemometer with two cables as output I assume they are analog: + and GND, and the hallswitch has a digital out... please point me in the right direction for how to connect my anemometer in my case, and if the UI can read this, etc. Yes, my suggestion ment a realtime TSR and history TSR so we can see behaviour of blades under load, etc. Also, as I metioned before, I have a KTY temp sensor in my stator - how should I connect this to the microcontroller and is there a possibility to show realtime temperature and history also ? Best regards, Daniel |
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| dereksoftstuff Newbie Joined: 14/11/2010 Location: United KingdomPosts: 30 |
Daniel 1) The power does indeed come IN to the microcontroller from the USB cable. The microcontroller kit has both 5V and 3.3V SUPPLY (OUT) pins - i.e. you can power your IC's with them, as well as lots of GROUND (GND) pins. The circuit I think you are refering to is showing 2 wires coming from the microcontroller (5V pin and a GND pin) attached to a Hall sensor. The manufacturer recommends the capacitor connected across the 2 wires (5V and GND) near the sensor for stability. Note each of the pins is labelled on the kit (PCB) 1 .. 60. You can reference the eval kit datasheet if you want more info on the pins. pin1 = 5V supply pin2 = GND etc. So you connect your wires (red 5V, black GND normally) and attach your sensors as required. Best to use a breadboard at first to plug your wires together. 2) anemometer - reed switch - this is NOT an analog input to the microcontroller. It is a DIGITAL input -> each revolution makes a pulse (0v -> 5V -> 0V square wave). The microcontroller counts these pulses and calculates the speed. Use a SPEED PIN on the microcontroller for connection. So if you have 2 wires on anemometer, one is connected to 5V and the other is connected to a SPEED pin. A simple test is to connect the 5V wire and monitor the other wire on a multimeter (dc), as you turn the anemometer faster the voltage should increase -> more pulses ... If you have an oscilloscope, then you can see the pulses. 3) TSR - there is already a history TSR in the windspeed bins (as well as Volts, amps and power). You can display the real-time windspeed and turbine speed in the Turbine-RT display. So it's not a great leap to TSR from these. Could add a TSR display as well, not sure whether it would add anything though. What would you want to do with it? 4) Yes to all of these with v3 of software ... |
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| DanielCV Newbie Joined: 10/05/2011 Location: Cape VerdePosts: 19 |
OK, thankyou, now everything is clear except: In your video there is also a capacitor around the Microcontroller and with a 10k Ohm resistor between 5v and the speed port ... so I assume itīs the same capacitor which appears twice in that circuit and not two capacitors and I have to use this resistor also between 5V and dig out of my anemometer ? Or is it only needed for the hallswitch you use ? Could I use also a 12k Ohm resitor (I do not have a 10k now)? The circuit I refer to is on your second video on minute 7 and 52 seconds. |
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| dereksoftstuff Newbie Joined: 14/11/2010 Location: United KingdomPosts: 30 |
Daniel I don't think you need the resistor if you have a reed switch anemometer. There are 2 capacitors - one for Hall sensor, and just a general one for microcontroller. The latter is not really necessary, but just good practice for your breadboarding. If you connect your anemometer to 5V pin, and a speed pin, and view the Turbine-RT display for turbine2 (anemometer in config), you should see some speed data when you turn the anemometer. Make sure that the speed pin you choose matches the PC config for turbine2 (speed pin id = 1 -> 3). |
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| DanielCV Newbie Joined: 10/05/2011 Location: Cape VerdePosts: 19 |
Hello Derek, I just connected the anemometer directly to the MC: one wire to 5V and the other to the speed port. It shows up crazy values. Also noted, that if I just put a blank cable into the speed port and nothing more, it shows also very strange values. Maybe I need to connect GND ? How to connect it ? I tought the USB port gives GND already ? Or maybe just soldering the 0,1uF capacitor between ground and 5V on the MC outbou pins 01 and 02 ? Thanks for help again ! |
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| dereksoftstuff Newbie Joined: 14/11/2010 Location: United KingdomPosts: 30 |
Daniel Well at least you're getting some values
I need to see what you are seeing. Send me a video capture of your test. Use camstudio to record your screen and zip and email me (30secs+ is enough - keep size small). If you send me a Private message here we can exchange emails. Could you supply a link to the anemometer you are using. In your video - open the config and show me the anemometer details - num magnets, id, calibration factor, rotor diameter etc. Forget the USB, capacitor and GND stuff - not related. |
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