Tiny Generator?

On 19 Dec 2006 03:32:05 -0800, with neither quill nor qualm, " snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com" quickly quoth:

These are also fun to watch.

On Tue, 19 Dec 2006 05:10:13 GMT, with neither quill nor qualm, "Tom Gardner" quickly quoth:

Light is one thing (9v batt, resistor, single LED), but why in Hell do you need music/video/sonar out on a wilderness trip, Tom?

Yuckin' Fuppie sportsmen; I swear.

This just in from

...Fuel cell technology has been in development for over a decade, and the first practical models are arriving to replace generators. This year, some troops got a 20 pound device, about the size of a briefcase, that put out 200 watts, and could be used to recharge batteries. But the 2007 models will be much smaller (half the size of a brick, but lighter)

It sounds that after years of "real soon now", small fuel cells are happeneing. Just don't ask what the first ones cost.

I saw a small fuel cell unit for sale at the Annapolis Boat Show. About $3K and the size of a briefcase. Runs on methanol and can output 50 watts which is only enough power for a few lights and a VHF radio but it does look like some are coming on the market.

I wonder too A weedwhacker engine governed to run at less than max speed might last quite a while, though.

That reminds me of the "device" I saw a data sheet on about 20 yrs ago. It was a thermoelectric powered radio made in Russia. It used a fairly large thermopile with manny fins for the cold junctions and a kerosene "lamp" type heat source. wonder if any of them are still around? ...lew...

I've seen photos of kerosene lamps with lots of series connected thermocouples near the flame which produced light plus enough juice to power a small radio. I believe they were first used in Russia.

But, I wouldn't suggest following the Ruskies lead and making your own nuclear powered thermocouple generator like the ones used to power SOME lighthouses and remote weather stations.

Think about how easy it must be for terrorists to get their their hands on materials from which to make dirty bombs, jeez!

Jeff

I'd think of a small 12v gel cell and a small solar panel. The GC won't start your car but it would handle charging AA and your cell phone. You didn't mention what the weight of all the chargers are going to add to the weight of your kit.

I have a car cell charger and my NIMH AA/AAA charger takes a 12 input so both would work off of a gel cell.

You have to keep in mind that the gell cell in relation to the capacity of your cell phone and AAA charger has much greater AH capacity and of course will be fully charged before you go out into the bush.

The solar panel will help preserve the charge on the gell cell.

Now if you are trying to run a laptop out in the bush, I gotta ask why?

How long do you stay out at a time?

Wes S

I've seen a fan recently that is built on the same principle. It sets on the top of a wood stove to circulate heat. I think it sells for about $120.00 US.

I've got a black and Decker "electormate 250"

It's basically a 12 volt gel cell, with a built in dc-ac converter. It has a built in light that will run for many hours from the battery. I can run my laptop on it for about 2 hrs using the AC plug, and I can jump start my car with it. I can charge the battery from the cigarette lighter on my car, or with alligator clips on my car battery, or from 120 volt power supply. It would be very easy to keep it charged with a solar cell if your needs weren't very high. It weighs about 15 lbs I'd guess.

But these isotope generators are for uninhabited areas, and not heavily shielded. So any terrorist who has his hands on one... is one less to worry about.

Would that were so....But:

That's not the way I read the article. It sounds like the original protective shields are designed to let people be safely near them.

Bad guys knowledgeable enough to construct dirty bombs would probably figure out a way to shield themselves from the radioactivity while they took the original shielding off the generators to get the nasty stuff out.

However, I did read a story a few years ago about a couple of country bumpkins who stumbled onto one of those things in the middle of a Russian winter and stripped the shielding off so they could warm themselves with the heat produced by the radioactive material. Needless to say, they didn't survive long.

Jeff

Jeff, I saw that webpage, scary stuff.

Well, the DVD and laptop might be a bit over but sonar's a must and Clasical music or Jaz while playing Dominos and sipping Single Malt is pure heaven.

Never had a laptop in the bush but there's usually one day in 5 that the weather is bad. The laptop would let me write, read, design etc. Just a thought, I can do without. We usually go 10-14 days, depending if we can get our schedules to agree. With internet access, don't know how, we all could stay longer and telecommute.

Bob Pease of National Semi wrote about how he solved this problem. He has a regular column in Electronic Design. It is easy enough to find stuff by Pease with an internet search, but I was unable to find the column on how to generate electricity in the bush. Maybe someone else here knows how to find it. I strongly suspect the column was written about a dozen years ago.

Dan

On Tue, 19 Dec 2006 21:32:42 GMT, with neither quill nor qualm, "Dave Lyon" quickly quoth:

I saw those in the Lee Valley catalog and wondered if Robin had started selling swamp land, too. ;)

On 19 Dec 2006 17:05:09 -0800, with neither quill nor qualm, snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com quickly quoth:

OhmyBuddha! What if some terrorist finds an old warehouse full of these lab sets. We're goners fer sher!

Solar panel! Add an inverter if you need the 110 volt.

Cheers Trevor Jones