Search found 76 matches

by Smoke_Maker
Sun Oct 30, 2011 3:28 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Safety in photovoltaic roofs feeding the grid ?
Replies: 7
Views: 3583

Re: Safety in photovoltaic roofs feeding the grid ?

I'm not a lineman and I'm not sure this is true, but I have been told that the power company approved DC to AC inverter looks at line voltage several times a second to make sure the line has not gone dead (tree branch), if sync and line voltage is OK it continues to output to the grid. This sounds l...
by Smoke_Maker
Sun Oct 30, 2011 3:05 pm
Forum: Reader Projects
Topic: Fiber optic light fixture
Replies: 17
Views: 27462

Re: Fiber optic light fixture

dacflyer, I think that is the way to go, I would need one light sensor in the upper part of the light tube and one in the room. The upper light sensor lets it know it is working with sunshine. The lower light sensor will adjust the dampener in the light tube to keep it from being to bright. When the...
by Smoke_Maker
Thu Oct 27, 2011 6:38 pm
Forum: Reader Projects
Topic: Fiber optic light fixture
Replies: 17
Views: 27462

Re: Fiber optic light fixture

Thanks for the reality check, and one of my sayings is that there is nothing I can think of that hasn't already been thought of already. This is my attempt of simplification, Light tubes really are the simplest way at present, as fiber optic is not there yet. I could blame this on home builders for ...
by Smoke_Maker
Tue Oct 25, 2011 6:02 pm
Forum: Reader Projects
Topic: Fiber optic light fixture
Replies: 17
Views: 27462

Re: Fiber optic light fixture

It was just an idea I was talking about with a friend to use fiber optic, there was a project going on at the university doing just the same thing he said, but the problem they were having was melting the box where the filters were, too much heat. Solar tubs are hard on a multi-story house, I know t...
by Smoke_Maker
Sun Oct 23, 2011 4:09 pm
Forum: Reader Projects
Topic: Fiber optic light fixture
Replies: 17
Views: 27462

Re: Fiber optic light fixture

The idea is to focus the sunlight on the optics and have the light come out in a room where it is needed in a multi-story house. Heat is going to be a problem, I wounder if the fiber optic glass would handle the heat better?? Anyway it would be a good idea to strip some of the heat out of the sunlig...
by Smoke_Maker
Fri Oct 21, 2011 8:19 am
Forum: Reader Projects
Topic: Fiber optic light fixture
Replies: 17
Views: 27462

Re: Fiber optic light fixture

Sorry Dacflyer, it was late and I refereed to the wrong project. I did a goggle search and learned a lot about fiber and plastic fiber. I found a place that sells plastic fiber by the foot, I couldn't find any on ebay. I wounder if it will handle the heat of the sun ?? Vern, you really do think out ...
by Smoke_Maker
Wed Oct 19, 2011 5:42 pm
Forum: Reader Projects
Topic: Fiber optic light fixture
Replies: 17
Views: 27462

Re: Fiber optic light fixture

Thanks Vern, I watched about a half dozen video and it makes my project look very complicated.

I got the solar panels in the mail and I'm waiting the chip.
by Smoke_Maker
Tue Oct 18, 2011 5:46 pm
Forum: Reader Projects
Topic: Fiber optic light fixture
Replies: 17
Views: 27462

Re: Fiber optic light fixture

dacflyer, Your right, I was thinking of a large bundle of fibers and a sun tracker is a must. I have 1 solar tube now and it works great but this is my attempt to do a step up from the solar tube. I want to make a bundle of fiber optics act like a light bulb. This project will take time and a lot of...
by Smoke_Maker
Tue Oct 18, 2011 5:23 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: electric flyswatter turned battery desulfator?
Replies: 5
Views: 9258

Re: electric flyswatter turned battery desulfator?

dacflyer, thanks for that, I just got up off the floor LOL.


I tried desulfering batteries but didn't get any useful batteries out of it. I used rectified 240 volts with a light bulb in series.
by Smoke_Maker
Mon Oct 17, 2011 4:10 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: How do they do that?
Replies: 7
Views: 3838

Re: How do they do that?

Robert, you got it. The meter has gears to change the numbers when the water flows and one of the gears has a embedded piece of metal to trip the pulse sensor.
by Smoke_Maker
Sun Oct 16, 2011 6:22 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: How do they do that?
Replies: 7
Views: 3838

Re: How do they do that?

[quote="Janitor Tzap"] I looked at the battery spec's for the Firefly water meter. The Lithium Battery has a maximum life span of 12 to 15 years. Thus, They are expecting the mechanical part to wear out, or be replaced long before the battery dies. 12 years :lol: they lie, they lie, they l...
by Smoke_Maker
Sun Oct 16, 2011 7:08 am
Forum: Reader Projects
Topic: Fiber optic light fixture
Replies: 17
Views: 27462

Fiber optic light fixture

The idea here is to build a light fixture that uses sunshine through fiber optic to light the room and in the same fixture a dimable light bulb that will keep light output constant. I was thinking of a parabolic mirror with a sun tracking unit with the optics going to a ceiling pocket light, the roo...
by Smoke_Maker
Sun Oct 16, 2011 6:50 am
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: How do they do that?
Replies: 7
Views: 3838

Re: How do they do that?

Goggle Firefly water meter, they have a small battery inside that last 8 years in most cases, people used to walk from house to house reading meters now the water company drives by the house slowly with a special antenna on top of the vehicle and the meter wakes up every second and transmit a low po...
by Smoke_Maker
Fri Oct 14, 2011 11:58 am
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: I did not know this...
Replies: 1
Views: 1816

Re: I did not know this...

That is very interesting, thanks for the link. And I did not know this, until I took apart a new part at work to see how it worked ( I void Warranties) "PROFET". http://www.infineon.com/dgdl/Datasheet_BTS555.pdf?folderId=db3a304412b407950112b436f494671e&fileId=db3a304412b407950112b436f...
by Smoke_Maker
Tue Oct 04, 2011 5:52 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Starting a project, solar powered night light
Replies: 29
Views: 19864

Re: Starting a project, solar powered night light

OK, I rolled it together, do you think I should put a zener on the solar panel??

http://www.national.com/pf/LM/LM78L05.html#Overview

http://www.linear.com/product/LTC4060
Solar night light 2
Solar night light 2