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Forum Index : Electronics : PicAxe charger questions
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| domwild Guru  Joined: 16/12/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 873 |
Hi, A few simple electronics questions re Glenn's charger as i am intending to order the parts for it: 1. What sort of a wattage should the resistors be as one seems to have a choice of 1/4, 1/2 or 1 Watt? 2. The precise capacity of the caps as per the schematic seems to be impossible to get for some of the caps judging by the Jaycar catalogue; does it matter if I choose a 100V cap instead of a 63V cap?? Is it always better to choose the higher voltage if it is not available at the lower voltage? 3. Am I correct im guessing that the plus/minus sign indicates electrolytics and in all other cases I am free to choose other types of caps? A few cents certainly do not matter, I am not trying to build it at absolutely minimum cost. Thanks. Taxation as a means of achieving prosperity is like a man standing inside a bucket trying to lift himself up. Winston Churchill |
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Gill Senior Member  Joined: 11/11/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 669 |
G'day Dom, The display Glenn uses is on special at TrickyDickies @ $12-98 for the moment. See Silicone Chip add. I plan to build one too but am being naughty and modifying Glenns design to PWM. I think his arrangement of switching both battery and dump load suit this method. Could go to stepping regulation if I can't get it right as there are two output pins spare. Are you into programming these Picaxe? I have no experience so would like someone to bounce my code mods off. For resistor wattage, it would be .25w unless other wise specified. Glenn's hall sensor substitute can be got from Farnell's. I'd have to dig up their catalogue No. if you need it. From what I see, capacitor values and types are not critical to this circuit, your approach is ok. The only electro I see is on the supply side to the 5v reg, I would be comfortable with a 36v there. Send me an email if u like. was working fine... til the smoke got out. Cheers Gill _Cairns, FNQ |
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| domwild Guru Joined: 16/12/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 873 |
Gill, Thanks for reply. I believe you are looking at an earlier charger, which uses the LED you mention and a Hall sensor. Glenn has since come up with a PicLog charger, which uses a PC to catch the data and there is no more Hall sensor but a voltage drop via a resistor measures Amps. My questions refer to the newer charger Version 2. I am new to Picaxe programming and am receiving help from several kind contributors. I do not think it is polite to pass those names on but I am sure you can get help based on your request. There is also the Picaxe forum; address is in your Picaxe documentation. Regards, Taxation as a means of achieving prosperity is like a man standing inside a bucket trying to lift himself up. Winston Churchill |
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| Gill Senior Member Joined: 11/11/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 669 |
Sorry Dom, But was looking at the current page on this site. http://www.thebackshed.com/windmill/charger1.asp What is the address for the new stuff please? was working fine... til the smoke got out. Cheers Gill _Cairns, FNQ |
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Gizmo Admin Group  Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
Hi Guys. Dom, yeah Gill is right, 1/4 watt resistors are fine. And with any electrolytic cap, the voltage rating is the max safe voltage that cap can run at. Gill is right in that a 35v cap would be fine. What I should do in future is put together a component list for my electronic projects, would clear up any confusion. Gill, Dom is referring to the PicLog here, its a logger, but if you choose you can sacrifice one input reading ( wind speed ) as a output to control a Mosfet, switching a dummy load or relay across the batter as a simple but effective regulator. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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| domwild Guru Joined: 16/12/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 873 |
Gill and Glen, Thanks for the replies. By the way, Glenn, when I googled Fieldlines re "Modified square wave" vs. "Pure Sine" I came across the message to take the caps out of the fluoros. It appears a modified square wave can only drive resistive loads even if the current rating would be adequate for motors. Motors seem to get too hot as the wave form "confuses" them. I do not want to burn out a small fridge! Correct me if I am wrong! The dealers sell them, though, for motors of all kinds. Heard of a trick to find out if a UPS or inverter is pure sine or not. Take the cheapest DMM, which is not RMS and measure the AC voltage. If it is about 180VAC, then the inverter or UPS is modified sine wave. I wonder if my Sola power conditioner will give me a better wave form if my UPS happens to be modified sine???? Taxation as a means of achieving prosperity is like a man standing inside a bucket trying to lift himself up. Winston Churchill |
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