Seeing as we have been discussing Large Generators I thought this post to the ATIS group might be of interest. Can you imagine being in the pub & someone says "Who's Farted" Someone else replies "It's only that soldier's deisel running"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following article appeared in today's "The Age" newspaper by Gary Barker and might be of interest to engine enthusiasts - "Modern soldiers carry kilograms of batteries for almost every item of their high-tech battlefield equipment - battlefield Internet notebook computer, night-vision goggles, GPS navigation set, laser rifle sight, radio and chemical warfare detector. A Melbourne (Aust) high-technology engineering company believes it can replace the batteries with a tiny, near-silent diesel generator, small enough for a soldier to wear on his belt and powerful enough to run all his equipment. Miles Partridge, managing director of Tectonica, Australia, a small high-technology engineering company based in West Melbourne, said a working prototype was being developed, but was still about a year away. With US, British and other armies all struggling with battery problems, the potential for Tectonica's "Generette" looks enormous. In Iraq, for example, the US military uses two tonnes of radio batteries a day. Each battery weighs one kilogram, is not rechargeable, costs $US100 ($A139) and lasts a day. Disposing of spent batteries can also cause problems. Stephen Thomas, Tectonica's business development manager, said yesterday the diesel generator was about the size of a model aircraft diesel engine but more sophisticated and quieter. He believed it was the only device of its kind in the world. "We are miniaturising a high-performance modern diesel engine, right down to direct fuel injection, electronic control, multiple valves, ceramic liner, overhead cams - the whole works - in a machine weighing less than a kilogram, including its fuel," he said. "The engine is tiny, a single cylinder with a bore of about one centimetre, generating about 25 watts at around seven volts," he said." For pics see -
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-- Dave Croft Warrington England