Author Topic: I need help from a professional  (Read 2199 times)

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Offline Matt4328Topic starter

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I need help from a professional
« on: February 03, 2014, 09:34:29 AM »
I need the advice of a professional. I have a design at the moment (it's somewhere between Johnny 5 and darwin). My biggest problem is going to be battery power. Do you think it would be possible to wire a "wind up torch" powered by a dc motor to recharge batteries.
With use of a voltage tester I hope to be able to control the dc motor to cut off.
Thank you
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Offline jwatte

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Re: I need help from a professional
« Reply #1 on: February 03, 2014, 11:07:06 AM »
With the correct voltages, yes, you can charge batteries using any power source, be it a wind-up-torch or solar cell.
In general, you'll need an efficient switching DC/DC converter to generate the appropriate input voltage from whatever your power source is.
Also, if the batteries are Lithium-based, you need a battery management circuit to avoid over-charging (and over-discharging) as well as balancing if you have multiple cells.
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Offline CJAlbertson

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Re: I need help from a professional
« Reply #2 on: February 04, 2014, 10:59:43 PM »
Quote from: Matt4328 on February 03, 2014, 09:34:29 AM
I need the advice of a professional. I have a design at the moment (it's somewhere between Johnny 5 and darwin). My biggest problem is going to be battery power. Do you think it would be possible to wire a "wind up torch" powered by a dc motor to recharge batteries.
With use of a voltage tester I hope to be able to control the dc motor to cut off.
Thank you

The problem is that you just can't generate much power with a small hand crank.  And then you have the problem of converting the voltage it does make to hat the battery needs.   
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Chris A. in So. Cal.

Offline jwatte

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Re: I need help from a professional
« Reply #3 on: February 05, 2014, 11:00:07 AM »
Quote
The problem is that you just can't generate much power with a small hand crank.

That can be compensated by using a longer charging (and cranking) time.
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Offline Roman505

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Re: I need help from a professional
« Reply #4 on: February 05, 2014, 03:10:48 PM »
... and a longer crank handle :)

(and correspondingly heavier generator load)
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