Monthly Archives: June 2010

Turn your old PC fans into mini wind generators

pc fanHere’s a great project that you can do either to experiment with wind turbines or to generate some energy! While the amount of energy produced is not overwhelming, this project can sure get your brain moving in the right direction.

The best thing about this project is that you probably already have everything you need lying around:

  • Thick plastic bottle
  • Old PC fan, bigger the better!
  • A few feet of small wire
  • A piece of wood about 1.5″ square and around 20cm long
  • Two lengths of steel tubing that slide inside of each other, about 1/2″
  • 6 Schottkey diodes
  • Epoxy
  • Super Glue
  • Zip ties
  • An old CD

You can find the full instructions including video here: http://www.instructables.com/id/Upcycle-your-old-PC-fans-into-mini-wind-generators/

If you want to have a kid-friendly wind turbine kit that already has all the pieces you need, we sell one of those. Our kits come with full instructions and all the materials needed to try your hand at creating a source of renewable energy – a wind turbine. The kit also comes with different experiments you can try with your wind turbine once it’s assembled. Great project for summer for the kids!

Keeping up with the newest smartphones

Buy a smartphone in May, chances are that you can buy a bigger – better – upgraded – faster – prettier – cooler phone in June. It’s been that way for years with PCs and notebook computers so why should the smartphone market be any different?

I’m still waiting on my backordered HTC Incredible, but we already have 3 of them in service on our plan.They’ve quickly become the all-time favorite phone at West Florida Components. Powered by a 1GHz processor, these phones are fast! Other favorite features are the 8MP camera, the GPS and the large touch screen. We’re already watching and waiting to see what other gee-whiz features will be added on to this Android-based phone in V2 but we all agree the single biggest improvement they could make to this phone would be an improved battery. Then we won’t have to close down unused apps to preserve battery life.

One thing is for sure: by the time my backordered HTC Incredible finally arrives, the next ‘gotta-have-it’ phone will already be available. That gives me another 2 years to figure out which phone I just have to have next!

What is a wind turbine?

A wind turbine is a rotary device that draws energy from the wind. This is different from a windmill, which draws energy from the wind but that energy is directly converted into mechanical energy used by some sort of machinery. Wind turbines are converted into raw electricity.

There are two main types, horizontal and vertical axis, of which the horizontal axis is more common. What are the differences between these two? Horizontal-axis turbines have the main rotor shaft and generator at the top of the tower. Horizontal axes must be pointed into the wind in order for them to work properly. However, the structure of the blades facing the wind also gives them a great angle of attack, which is the angle at which they have contact with the wind. This insures that the blades will be very efficient when converting wind to energy. Vertical-axis turbines are basically the same, except the axis is vertical, and they have the advantage of not having to face the wind.

Wind turbines are made up of three main components, the rotor component, generator component, and structural support component. The rotor component makes up about 20% of the cost, and consists of the blades. The generator component makes up 34% of the cost, and consists of the electrical generator, the control electronics, and usually a gearbox component for converting the low speed incoming rotation to high speed rotation which is better for generating electricity. Finally the structural support component makes up about 15% of the cost and consists of tower and rotor yaw mechanism.

Installing wind turbines can be a great way to save money on your electrical bills and create your own energy. They can be bought pretty inexpensively or you can even build your own and get the supplies to do it for even cheaper. If you are interested in building a basic wind turbine to see how it works, you should buy an educational wind turbine kit to get you started.

Application information for Allen Bradley resistors

Allen Bradley resistors are one of the best sellers on the West Florida Components web site with good reason.

The following information has been compiled to aid in the everyday selection and application of Allen-Bradley hot molded resistors. The statements should be helpful in evaluating the use of all types of AB hot molded resistors in broad general terms, and are not to be interpreted to be precise or exact.

A comprehensive list is made of the standard normal resistance values in their available tolerance categories, the rated continuous working voltages for all hot molded types, the part numbers, and color codes – all information provided for all values from 1 ohm to 100M ohm, taking into account the available range of values for each type (as of 1985).

Allen Bradley Resistors

Allen Bradley Resistors

1 – Low value resistors exhibit less change due to humidity, temperature and voltage than high value resistors.

2 – Resistance changes due to increase in moisture content are always positive.

3 – Resistance changes due to humidity are temporary, and, in the case of Allen Bradley resistors, are reversible.

4 – Change of resistance which has occurred due to humidity may be essentially eliminated by conditioning the resistor at 100°C or by dry storage.

5 – The effects of humidity may be minimized by operating the resistor with as little as 1/10 rated wattage load.

6 – Resistance change due to load life is permanent and usually ultimately negative.

7 – Resistance change due to load life can be minimized 1% – 2% in many thousands of hours by 50% derating period. The same result can be attained by limiting the maximum operation surface temperature of the resistor underload to 100°C. Permanent resistance changes as a result of storage of temperatures below 100°C are negligible, even for extended time periods.

8 – Resistance change due to soldering is positive and may be permanent if the resistor has excessive moisture present in its body. It can be greatly minimized if resistors are dry at the time of soldering.

9 – The temperature characteristics of Allen Bradley resistors is positive above +80 and below -10.

10 – The temperature characteristics of Allen Bradley resistors is negligible from -10°C to +80°C.

11 – The voltage characteristic (negative) and the temperature characteristic (positive) of Allen Bradley resistors tend to cancel one another in an Allen Bradley resistor in an average operating conditions, where both significant voltage and elevated temperature are present.

12- The heat sink to which a resistor is connected affects its rating. Resistors operated in multiple should be derated unless adequate heatsinks are provided.

13 – The quality and reliability of Allen Bradley resistors is the same for, and independent of, any resistance tolerances shown on the resistor.

14 – Years of accumulated experience have shown that Allen Bradley hot molded resistors are unequaled for uniformity, predictable for performance, appearance, and freedom from catastrophic failure. Allen Bradley resistors are made by an exclusive hot molding process on automatic machines developed, built, and used only by Allen Bradley. There is such complete uniformity from one resistor to the next, million after million, and long term in-circuit performance can be predicted with usable accuracy. When used according to published ratings and recommendations, Allen Bradley hot molded fixed resistors will not open circuit nor exhibit erratic changes of resistance value. They are probably the most reliable of all electronic components.

This information was taken in part from the Allen-Bradley corporation reference book dated 1985.