Alt-BEAM Archive
Message #10782
To: alt-beam@egroups.com
From: "Jonathan Smolders" beamrobotics@hotmail.com
Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2000 21:26:30 PST
Subject: [alt-beam] Solarroller problem
Hi,
I Recently built a solarroller using a 1381 Solar Engine. I am using a 4700
uF capasitor and a 5.5 volt solar cell (the panasonic one from solarbotics)
The problem is the motor doesn't turn the wheel. The wheel is hooked up to
the moter by gears. The gears aren't jamming and it turns easily when you
move the wheel so it's not stuck on anything. It looks like the motor isn't
getting enough power or something. I could hear the 1381 trying to fire
(going "click, click, click") but it was firing so fast that I thought I
needed a bigger capasitor (so there would be more power to the motor for
longer. I didn't have a bigger capasitor so I wired several caps in series
(and parallel because I forgot which one would double how many uF it was in
total) and it still didn't work. The motors fine, I tested it with a 1.5V AA
(a fresh Everready). Does anybody know whats wrong (or what could be wrong)?
Any info would be of great help.
Thanks,
Jonathan Smolders
beamrobotics@hotmail.com
______________________________________________________
10783 Thu, 24 Feb 2000 16:56:11 +1100 [alt-beam] Aquabot Propulsion beam@sgiblab.sgi.com Elmo I have been tinkering with an aquabot idea for a while but am interested in an
alternative method of propulsion ( I mean you dont see any propeller driven
fish in nature and she has had a lot longer than any of us to come up with an
energy efficient design).
I have been watching the solenoid thread with interest and thinking about
making a squid type squirter. I figure you can charge you cap take a deep
breath of water in and then when you fire, squirt it out the back to get you
moving.
Making a fish type flipper could be another interesting design, one that might
lend itself to the microcore systems.
So does anyone else have any ideas on other ways to make an aquabot move?
Elmo....the head scratcher.
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