Mofidying car computer to speed switch
Mofidying car computer to speed switch
(OP)
Hi:
I have a windmill which requires a speed-switch for grid conection at 1200 rpm generator speed. Due to various wind conditions, a rapid on and off switch is required. Since commercial switches are very expensive, is it less expensive to modify a computer for the same task? From which cars would used computers be most suitable? Many features such as crank sensing and rpms for gear-shifting are already present in the micro controller.
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Windbug
I have a windmill which requires a speed-switch for grid conection at 1200 rpm generator speed. Due to various wind conditions, a rapid on and off switch is required. Since commercial switches are very expensive, is it less expensive to modify a computer for the same task? From which cars would used computers be most suitable? Many features such as crank sensing and rpms for gear-shifting are already present in the micro controller.
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Windbug





RE: Mofidying car computer to speed switch
You will probably (surely) not get access to the chip. And if you do, you do not have the source. And if you, by any insanely incredible chance, ever find the source - do you have the development system for that chip? And last - if you have that, you would not ask a question like this.
Better buy a Basic Stamp or something similar and do it from scratch. Even better, one of the programmable relays - I have used Siemens LOGO! (yes the "!" is in the name). That will not cost you more than a couple of hundred USD.
Gunnar Englund
www.gke.org
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100 % recycled posting: Electrons, ideas, finger-tips have been used over and over again...
RE: Mofidying car computer to speed switch
RE: Mofidying car computer to speed switch
I suggest for less than $100.www.jkmicro.com> or less than
$200.- <www.bagotronics.com>
Both are PC compatible, small cards you can program in
FORTRAN, any flavor of interpreted or compiled BASIC,
PASCAL, several versions of "C" etc,,etc...
No computer can directly switch your generator -- you
need power relay which can be driven by smaller
relay or electronic driver.
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Please read FAQ240-1032
My WEB: <http://geocities.com/nbucska/>
RE: Mofidying car computer to speed switch
RE: Mofidying car computer to speed switch
Still, thinking that a "car computer" (which one? motor control, cruise control, climate control, brake control, emission contro or any other?) can be modified is not very realistic.
I do a lot of onechipper programming and I would never dream of trying anything like that. I would buy a Propeller ProtoBoard from Parallax. It costs like 25 dollars and is a wonderful platform for any custom computer application, even has composite video and VGA output and also inputs for PS/2 mouse and PC keyboard. And fast - eight 32 bit processors running at 80 MHz each. A total of 160 MIPS (32 bit MIPS, that is) on that little dirt cheap board! Love it!
It is huge overkill for an application like this, a massacre really. But at that price, I use it for anything, even if it is only some "blinking lights".
Gunnar Englund
www.gke.org
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100 % recycled posting: Electrons, ideas, finger-tips have been used over and over again...
RE: Mofidying car computer to speed switch
RE: Mofidying car computer to speed switch
But given the effort that's required to hack an EEC into doing what you want, it's easier to start from a deveopment board like Gunnar suggests. I.e., the EEC-IV does not have a connector that says 'grid here' and another that says 'windmill here'.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Mofidying car computer to speed switch
Keith Cress
Flamin Systems, Inc.- http://www.flaminsystems.com
RE: Mofidying car computer to speed switch
Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com
RE: Mofidying car computer to speed switch
Just go with a pic or stamp. I'm sure you can even find some code blocks that count pulses to start with.
Or try this;
http://www.scoraigwind.com/circuits/index.htm
I don't understand your rapid on-off switching statement. Wouldn't you just connect once you hit a certain minimum average wind speed??
RE: Mofidying car computer to speed switch
Keith Cress
Flamin Systems, Inc.- http://www.flaminsystems.com
RE: Mofidying car computer to speed switch
RE: Mofidying car computer to speed switch
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Mofidying car computer to speed switch
I'd expect to see that being exploited all over..
Keith Cress
Flamin Systems, Inc.- http://www.flaminsystems.com
RE: Mofidying car computer to speed switch
RE: Mofidying car computer to speed switch
The power electronics to drive the field is unusually large when compared to a standard synchronous machine: converters for double fed machines typically handle about a third of the overall machine rating.
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Sometimes I only open my mouth to swap feet...
RE: Mofidying car computer to speed switch
Thanks for all the answers. As my initial question implies, you probably realize I am not an electronic technician. The idea of a car computer was only a thought. I will now engage in the various boards you mentioned. In the meantime some questions came from you which I can definitely answer.
1. Any ac motor driven over its design speed will turn into a generator and also will be in sync with the 60-cycle
system. The ac motor with a capacitor between L1 and L2 can then be used on a single-phase system either as a motor or a generator. In the motor mode, it will not self-start. Giving the shaft a push either left or right, it will then run as a regular motor.
Re: Injuring a lineman during a power loss is not possible because the stator needs to be energized from the line to produce power.
I need a speed switch because between motor and power production there are very few revolutions involved. I observed during a windspeed drop my mill went into a motor mode, resulting in the mill turning away from the wind and walking around its own axis. The mechanical switch I built
was not fast enough to rectify the situation.
Thanks again for you suggestions,
Windbug
RE: Mofidying car computer to speed switch
For anything below about 5kW (maybe even larger) I would consider using a PM generator with a battery bank and then use a grid-tied inverter to connect the utility.
For a direct connected unit I've often though that using back-to-back SCR's in the power connection with the gating circuit triggering the SCR's at the proper times should only allow power flow in one direction. Would make a good automatic switch that doesn't allow any motoring and catches all the generated power. However, you would have the extra losses of the constantly operating gating circuit...
RE: Mofidying car computer to speed switch
Basler,
Woodward,
Altronic,
Crompton,
Dynalco,
Engineering Concepts Unlimited,
We have also used AB MicroLogix PLC's ( 1000's, 1100's and 1200's )on their high speed inputs with a hall effect speed transducer over a chopper wheel or gear.
I am sure there are other manufacturers of electronic speed switches, and other manufacturers of PLC's that can also do what you want. I'm not so sure for a device like a speed switch I would build my own, don't think the cost savings would be worth the potential problems.
Hope that helps.