Alt-BEAM Archive
Message #00842
To: beam@corp.sgi.com
From: Steven Bolt sbolt@xs4all.nl
Date: Tue, 23 Feb 1999 09:32:57 +0100 (CET)
Subject: [alt-beam] Re: emulating solar panel with battery, WAS: your mail
On Mon, 22 Feb 1999, Enci wrote:
> >> hello there... i have a stupid beginner;s question.. suppose i take a
> >> photovore's circuit, now if i remove the solar panels n replace it with a
> >> battery source, would teh circuit still work as normal?
> >
> >Only if you put an appropriately sized resistor between the battery
> >and the circuit. There is something about that on
> >Linkname: BEAM Robotics Tek - The SunEater Series
> >URL: http://people.ne.mediaone.net/bushbo/beam/suneater/suneater.html
>
> A simpler and easier method is to use your bench top power supply.
> Assuming you have a current adjust, turn the current down putting the power
> supply into a curent limiting mode.
My psu is not at all bad, but I can reliably adjust de current
limit only to the nearest couple of mA, not uA, and Solar Engines
have to deal with the uA range. Moreover, this turns it into a
current source. A solar panel gradually supplies less current as
the storage cap voltage rises, something you can fairly well
emulated with a resistor between psu and Solar Engine. A resistor
allows you to use an expensive psu, but also a cheap, more or less
fixed source like a couple of batteries.
Simple tools win here, I'd say.
Best,
Steve
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# sbolt@xs4all.nl # Steven Bolt # popular science monthly KIJK #
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