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Experiments with Renewable Energy - End of Life — Parallax Forums

Experiments with Renewable Energy - End of Life

LawrencLLawrencL Posts: 49
edited 2006-08-25 16:14 in Learn with BlocklyProp
Hi Parallax:

Is the Experiments with Renewable Energy being revised for a second edition or is being dropped entirely?

Thanks,

Lawrence

Comments

  • Matt WhiteMatt White Posts: 60
    edited 2006-07-08 19:23
    I sure hope Parallax revises it (and brings the cost more inline with the other education kits). It's a great subject and I would have bought it except for the $179.00 price tag.
  • Aristides AlvarezAristides Alvarez Posts: 486
    edited 2006-07-10 15:11
    Hello Laurence and Matt,

    Experiments with Renewable Energy kit is being discontinued. We were forced to do this since the core parts we include in this kit were discontinued by their respective manufacturers. We learned our lesson and we don’t have plans to generate any other educational material based in kits sold by other companies. Next time we will base the kits in raw parts that can be replaced easily. This should also help to keep the retail price down to our standard values.

    Other Stamps in Class kits could also be partially affected since we are moving all the kits to RoHS compliance. In the case of other kits we are finding generic RoHS replacements or, in the worst cases, we may have to revise or remove a section from the book.

    We are always listening to your feedback so I would like to hear from you how you are using the Experiments with Renewable Energy kit in the classroom. Which parts of the book you or your students enjoy more? Is there any part or experiment that you never use/build?

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    Aristides Alvarez
    Education and Technical Support Manager
    aalvarez@parallax.com
    Parallax, Inc. www.parallax.com
  • LawrencLLawrencL Posts: 49
    edited 2006-07-10 21:29
    Hi Aristides:

    I'm the one that asked the original question.

    I have not use the kit, but I did read through manual.

    The battery charger experiment seemed to be just for NiCads.

    I would like to see chapters for NiMH and L-ion as well.


    Thanks,



    Lawrence
  • manxstampmanxstamp Posts: 57
    edited 2006-08-17 15:30
    I hope that the concept of a kit based around renewable energy principles is not forgotten and something similar is made available at some future time. In Europe in particular, renewables are the hot political topic in the energy debate, as fossil fuels run out, and teaching students how such sources can be used will be important. The rise of electric and hybrid vehicles underlines this importance.

    For the present, looking at the parts kit for the SIC Module, the solar energy parts are similar, if not the same, as those in some educational kits for children. The BS2 and BOE are obviously obtainable from Parallax, the electronic bits are off-the-shelf standard and the only tricky component is the vertical·wind turbine generator. Can Parallax give any guidance about sourcing this part? The third-party manufacturer may have stock and the legislation for reducing lead content does not apply to hobbyist's home-brew equipment, only to commercial products.

    It seems a tremendous shame that, after all the hard work done by the author of this excellent SIC book, that the projects cannot continue to be done by hobbyists getting the parts independently.

    John

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    Manxstamp,
    Isle of Man, British Isles
  • Aristides AlvarezAristides Alvarez Posts: 486
    edited 2006-08-17 16:18
    Hello John,

    For now you can buy the original turbine for this kit:

    http://www.parallax.com/detail.asp?product_id=556-28144

    Once we run out you can probably still find similar versions in the market. If you Google "Educational Three phase turbine kit" or something like that, you could find a replacement or instructions to make your own from scratch.

    I hope this helps.

    Regards,


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    Aristides Alvarez
    Education and Technical Support Manager
    aalvarez@parallax.com
    Parallax, Inc. www.parallax.com
  • manxstampmanxstamp Posts: 57
    edited 2006-08-17 19:58
    Thanks - I have ordered one! I have downloaded the text and can obtain the other components, having found an educational solar power kit which has the same photocells and other parts as the SIC kit.

    John



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    Manxstamp,
    Isle of Man, British Isles
  • manxstampmanxstamp Posts: 57
    edited 2006-08-25 14:06
    Just an update on building your own Experiments with Renewable Energy Kit. This is particularly for those individuals, like me, and schools that are disappointed that this SIC kit has been discontinued, although I understand the reasons Parallax took the decision, which must have been difficult for them after investing a lot in the development.

    The solar energy parts (solar cell array, connectors, electric motor and fan) are still easily obtainable from other educational 'solar energy' kits. I even found an identical·kit on eBay! The wind turbine generator is the tricky one, although, as stated above, Parallax has a small stock left (fairly costly though and heavy for shipping). An alternative is a small educational·'normal windmill' type three phase generator; I've seen one·on eBay with attachable·rectifier and experiment kit·from China which could be adapted.

    The Parallax parts (BOE, BS2, servo etc.) are easily obtained. The ADC0834 is still around, although all old-fashioned DIP configuration ICs are getting more difficult to source (Parallax lists it, and I've got some from BGMicro.com, for example). The AAA NiCads and battery holder can be widely sourced.

    The text is downloadable (get plenty of paper and a duplex printer if you want a manageable size printed version!).

    I look forward to working through this course and recommend others to try the same approach. Renewable energy principles are going to·be very important in the future and, before investing in commercial systems for your own supply, a grasp of the theory will be useful. The above route can be used by schools and colleges looking to run this program.

    John

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    Manxstamp,
    Isle of Man, British Isles
  • BeanBean Posts: 8,129
    edited 2006-08-25 15:21
    Just a note, most stepper motors make good AC generators. I don't think it will produce 3-phase power though. I would assume it would have 4-phase (as you would drive it as a motor). I'll have to hook one up to a scope when I get the chance.

    Bean.

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    Cheap 4-digit LED display with driver IC·www.hc4led.com

    Low power SD Data Logger www.sddatalogger.com

    "You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think" Christopher Robin to Pooh
    ·
  • Bruce BatesBruce Bates Posts: 3,045
    edited 2006-08-25 16:14
    Bean -

    Here's an interesting bit of AC generation or AC phase transformation triva which I always found rather interesting. Once you have or can generate (just) two phases properly, any (greater) number of phases can be derived from that merely, with transformers and possibly power capacitors.

    Unfortunately, I don't suspect you'll have much luck generating 3 phase power from a stepper motor. As I remember, each phase must have it's own separate armature. That's not to say that two (or three) mechanically linked steppers couldn't generate 2 or 3 phase power (respectively), so long as the armatures are electrically and magnetically separate or isolated

    An easier bet might be to use the existing three phase output of a surplus syncho-resolver!

    DO let us know how you make out though.

    Regards,

    Bruce Bates

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