For a class in school I want to generate an AC signal.
The project is modelling a wind turbine. We will probably drive the input using a drill.
I'm going to need about 10 models. I am only wanting to show the very basics. The signal then needs to be processed, that bit I can handle.
Can someone give me a link to a suitable component to produce the ac voltage on ebay?

thanks

On 24/10/2012 14:29, misterroy wrote:
For a class in school I want to generate an AC signal.
The project is modelling a wind turbine. We will probably drive the input using a drill.
I'm going to need about 10 models. I am only wanting to show the very basics. The signal then needs to be processed, that bit I can handle.
Can someone give me a link to a suitable component to produce the ac voltage on ebay?

thanks

Car alternator with the rectifier removed.

On Oct 24, 2:29*pm, misterroy wrote:
For a class in school I want to generate an AC signal.
The project is modelling a wind turbine. We will probably drive the input using a drill.
I'm going to need about 10 models. I am only wanting to show the very basics. The signal then needs to be processed, that bit I can handle.
Can someone give me a link to a suitable component to produce the ac voltage on ebay?

thanks


Don't schools have things like signal generators any more?

--
Halmyre

On Wednesday, October 24, 2012 2:29:20 PM UTC+1, misterroy wrote:
For a class in school I want to generate an AC signal.

Can someone give me a link to a suitable component to produce the ac voltage on ebay?

There are numerous ways to do it, and you most likely won't need to buy anything. Give us a bit more clue about your requirements


NT

On 24/10/2012 14:29, misterroy wrote:

For a class in school I want to generate an AC signal.

What sort of frequency, mark to space ratio and shape?
CMOS 555 is hard to beat for simplicity and ease of use.

The project is modelling a wind turbine. We will probably drive the input using a drill.

What? Any cheap electric motor will do then.
Or scrap 12v fans extacted from old PC chassis.
Then they can get a feel for how much work it is.

I'm going to need about 10 models. I am only wanting to show the very basics. The signal then needs to be processed, that bit I can handle.
Can someone give me a link to a suitable component to produce the ac voltage on ebay?

thanks

Draw the waveform you want and it can be done.
BTW Daquarta can generate arbitrary waveforms on the PC even when the
evaluation as an oscilloscope/spectrum analyser runs out.

http://www.daqarta.com

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

"misterroy" wrote in message
...
For a class in school I want to generate an AC signal.
The project is modelling a wind turbine. We will probably drive the input
using a drill.
I'm going to need about 10 models. I am only wanting to show the very
basics. The signal then needs to be processed, that bit I can handle.
Can someone give me a link to a suitable component to produce the ac
voltage on ebay?

thanks

An electric motor should work (I think)!

In article ,
misterroy wrote:
For a class in school I want to generate an AC signal. The project is
modelling a wind turbine. We will probably drive the input using a
drill. I'm going to need about 10 models. I am only wanting to show the
very basics. The signal then needs to be processed, that bit I can
handle. Can someone give me a link to a suitable component to produce
the ac voltage on ebay?

My first guess would be an old bike 'dynamo' - the type that is friction
driven from the tyre wall.

--
*I believe five out of four people have trouble with fractions. *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Wednesday, October 24, 2012 2:58:02 PM UTC+1, John Benn wrote:

An electric motor should work (I think)!

Magnet rotating inside coils? You could make such a thing or a car alternator should do it. ISTR that you need the 12V supply to make the rotor coil into a magnet & the ouput is regulated by controlling the rotor voltage. I'm sure you'll find details on Google, or someone more electrically minded will advise.

Someone's dad will have a spare alternator in the shed. Guaranteed.

On Wed, 24 Oct 2012 06:29:20 -0700 (PDT), misterroy wrote:

For a class in school I want to generate an AC signal.
The project is modelling a wind turbine. We will probably drive the
input using a drill.

Not blowing on a fan of some sort? The shaft of which has a small magnet
attached and couple of coils close to it arranged such that the magnet
poles induce a voltage/current in the coil.

Filch ideas from:

http://store.kidwind.org/more-kits/g...kits-and-parts
http://www.miniscience.com/projects/KITWG/

Get the kids to build them.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Wednesday, October 24, 2012 3:13:04 PM UTC+1, Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Wed, 24 Oct 2012 06:29:20 -0700 (PDT), misterroy wrote:



For a class in school I want to generate an AC signal.

The project is modelling a wind turbine. We will probably drive the

input using a drill.



Not blowing on a fan of some sort? The shaft of which has a small magnet

attached and couple of coils close to it arranged such that the magnet

poles induce a voltage/current in the coil.



Filch ideas from:



http://store.kidwind.org/more-kits/g...kits-and-parts

http://www.miniscience.com/projects/KITWG/



Get the kids to build them.



--

Cheers

Dave.

The steps go from:
the wind turning the blades to ac generator to ac signal to rectifier to battery to inverter to bulb.
Its only the generation I need help with.
I like this approach http://store.kidwind.org/more-kits/g...arts/simplegen but an ac motor would be a neater solution and it would be possible to mount the blades. The turbine has to generate an AC signal.
I have stepper motors in the room and am about to look into using them.
thanks

On 24/10/2012 15:31, misterroy wrote:

I have stepper motors in the room and am about to look into using them.
thanks


Stepper motor on a small pulley, toothed belt/elastic band and a large
driven pulley one with a handle and you are in business. Also educates
them how much work it would be to light a even an LED by hand!

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On Wednesday, October 24, 2012 3:38:34 PM UTC+1, Martin Brown wrote:
On 24/10/2012 15:31, misterroy wrote:



I have stepper motors in the room and am about to look into using them.

thanks





Stepper motor on a small pulley, toothed belt/elastic band and a large

driven pulley one with a handle and you are in business. Also educates

them how much work it would be to light a even an LED by hand!



--

Regards,

Martin Brown

stepper motor works a treat. Sorted

On Oct 24, 2:30*pm, Phil wrote:
On 24/10/2012 14:29, misterroy wrote: For a class in school I want to generate an AC signal.
The project is modelling a wind turbine. We will probably drive the input using a drill.
I'm going to need about 10 models. I am only wanting to show the very basics. The signal then needs to be processed, that bit I can handle.
Can someone give me a link to a suitable component to produce the ac voltage on ebay?

thanks

Car alternator with the rectifier removed.

Hah. Not a sine wave. Armature is specially modified.

On Oct 24, 2:29*pm, misterroy wrote:
For a class in school I want to generate an AC signal.
The project is modelling a wind turbine. We will probably drive the input using a drill.
I'm going to need about 10 models. I am only wanting to show the very basics. The signal then needs to be processed, that bit I can handle.
Can someone give me a link to a suitable component to produce the ac voltage on ebay?

thanks

A 13 amp socket. Obviously

Martin Brown wrote:
On 24/10/2012 15:31, misterroy wrote:

I have stepper motors in the room and am about to look into using them.
thanks


Stepper motor on a small pulley, toothed belt/elastic band and a large
driven pulley one with a handle and you are in business. Also educates
them how much work it would be to light a even an LED by hand!


That reminds me of an awful display at our local windfarm visitor centre.
(Whitelees). There's a hand cranked bicycle wheel that lights up a number
of halogen capsule bulbs (about 60W each at a guess).

When spinning fast (for virtually no effort), you can light up 4 or 5 of
these bulbs. What's that supposed to teach?

Tim

On 24/10/2012 16:51, Tim+ wrote:
Martin Brown wrote:
On 24/10/2012 15:31, misterroy wrote:

I have stepper motors in the room and am about to look into using them.
thanks

Stepper motor on a small pulley, toothed belt/elastic band and a large
driven pulley one with a handle and you are in business. Also educates
them how much work it would be to light a even an LED by hand!

That reminds me of an awful display at our local windfarm visitor centre.
(Whitelees). There's a hand cranked bicycle wheel that lights up a number
of halogen capsule bulbs (about 60W each at a guess).

When spinning fast (for virtually no effort), you can light up 4 or 5 of
these bulbs. What's that supposed to teach?

Idiots designed the display.

It is incredibly educational to have a fixed bicycle/excercise bike and
a dynamo rigged so that it can drive either no load, a fluorescent,
small radio or an equivalent brightness incandescent lamp. A 100W lamp
is a fair amount of effort to sustain for any length of time. You can
keep it all low voltage by appropriate choices of component.

Did it once for an Xmas lecture. Also the hand powered one with an LED.
Kids switched unused lights off for at least a fortnight afterwards!

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

Tim+ wrote:
Martin Brown wrote:
On 24/10/2012 15:31, misterroy wrote:

I have stepper motors in the room and am about to look into using them.
thanks

Stepper motor on a small pulley, toothed belt/elastic band and a large
driven pulley one with a handle and you are in business. Also educates
them how much work it would be to light a even an LED by hand!


That reminds me of an awful display at our local windfarm visitor centre.
(Whitelees). There's a hand cranked bicycle wheel that lights up a number
of halogen capsule bulbs (about 60W each at a guess).

When spinning fast (for virtually no effort), you can light up 4 or 5 of
these bulbs. What's that supposed to teach?

Nothing, unless the wheel controls a switching unit and they admit it.

Lighting 200 watts of electrical bulbs is a reasonably major effort
using human musclepower on its own. Now, if they had a switch to connect
some halogen bulbs, CFLs and LED lights all with the same light output,
*that* would make a good point.
--
Tciao for Now!

John.

In article
,
harry wrote:
On Oct 24, 2:30 pm, Phil wrote:
On 24/10/2012 14:29, misterroy wrote: For a class in school I want to
generate an AC signal.
The project is modelling a wind turbine. We will probably drive the
input using a drill. I'm going to need about 10 models. I am only
wanting to show the very basics. The signal then needs to be
processed, that bit I can handle. Can someone give me a link to a
suitable component to produce the ac voltage on ebay?

thanks

Car alternator with the rectifier removed.

Hah. Not a sine wave. Armature is specially modified.

Not a sine wave, no. 3.

--
*Everyone has a photographic memory. Some just don't have film*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Wednesday, October 24, 2012 3:07:32 PM UTC+1, Onetap wrote:

Someone's dad will have a spare alternator in the shed. Guaranteed.

On second thoughts, the diodes that change the Ac to Dc are inside the alternator,
so a working alternator wouldn't give you AC.

The diodes get fried if you try to jump-start a car with a flat battery, so that
someone's dad will probably have a car alternator with fried diodes in his shed that you can modify to get the AC out.

The PC fan sounds like a good plan. You could stick two together and power one to spin the other. Or it to the back of a PC and run it from the fan in that.

wrote:
On Wednesday, October 24, 2012 3:07:32 PM UTC+1, Onetap wrote:
Someone's dad will have a spare alternator in the shed. Guaranteed.

On second thoughts, the diodes that change the Ac to Dc are inside the alternator,
so a working alternator wouldn't give you AC.

The diodes get fried if you try to jump-start a car with a flat battery, so that
someone's dad will probably have a car alternator with fried diodes in his shed that you can modify to get the AC out.

The PC fan sounds like a good plan. You could stick two together and power one to spin the other. Or it to the back of a PC and run it from the fan in that.

The only problem being that PC fans are normally turned by DC brushless
motors which don't work as generators.

The simplest way to get a reasonably pure AC voltage mechanically is to
use an old-fashioned bicycle dynamo, which is actually a single phase AC
generator. Try Halfords or your local bike shop. If you want to do some
advanced teaching, you can use them to show how the changing impedance
of the winding with frequency due to its inductance gives a self
regulation effect, assuming the right constant load impedance.

Car alternators can be used to demonstrate multi-phase generation, if
you remove the rectifying diodes and feed DC power into the rotor. They
are normally 3 phase internally.

--
Tciao for Now!

John.

On 24/10/12 14:29, misterroy wrote:
For a class in school I want to generate an AC signal.
The project is modelling a wind turbine. We will probably drive the input using a drill.
I'm going to need about 10 models. I am only wanting to show the very basics. The signal then needs to be processed, that bit I can handle.
Can someone give me a link to a suitable component to produce the ac voltage on ebay?

thanks

bet a cheap brushless motor from somewhere - model aircraft type. That
gives 3 phase AC


--
Ineptocracy

(in-ep-toc-ra-cy) €“ a system of government where the least capable to
lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the
members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are
rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a
diminishing number of producers.

In article ,
wrote:
The diodes get fried if you try to jump-start a car with a flat battery,

Where on earth did you get that daft idea?

--
*I must always remember that I'm unique, just like everyone else. *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

misterroy wrote:
For a class in school I want to generate an AC signal.
The project is modelling a wind turbine.

So, you're one of these lefty/greeny Guardian-reading schoolteachers who
are brainwashing our children into believing all the global warming
******** are you?

Windmills my arse.

Bill

On 24/10/2012 19:20, Bill Wright wrote:
misterroy wrote:
For a class in school I want to generate an AC signal. The project
is modelling a wind turbine.

So, you're one of these lefty/greeny Guardian-reading schoolteachers
who are brainwashing our children into believing all the global
warming ******** are you?

Windmills my arse.

Bill

Bill,

You are leaping to conclusions. The experiment, if done well, would show
that windmills are not the answer.

--
Rod

wrote:

The diodes get fried if you try to jump-start a car with a flat battery,
Mine don't seem to.

Bill

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
misterroy wrote:
For a class in school I want to generate an AC signal. The project is
modelling a wind turbine. We will probably drive the input using a
drill. I'm going to need about 10 models. I am only wanting to show the
very basics. The signal then needs to be processed, that bit I can
handle. Can someone give me a link to a suitable component to produce
the ac voltage on ebay?

My first guess would be an old bike 'dynamo' - the type that is friction
driven from the tyre wall.

Or a hub dynamo.

Bill

On Wednesday, October 24, 2012 7:20:39 PM UTC+1, Bill Wright wrote:
misterroy wrote:

For a class in school I want to generate an AC signal.

The project is modelling a wind turbine.



So, you're one of these lefty/greeny Guardian-reading schoolteachers who

are brainwashing our children into believing all the global warming

******** are you?



Windmills my arse.



Bill



On Wednesday, October 24, 2012 7:20:39 PM UTC+1, Bill Wright wrote:
misterroy wrote:

For a class in school I want to generate an AC signal.

The project is modelling a wind turbine.



So, you're one of these lefty/greeny Guardian-reading schoolteachers who

are brainwashing our children into believing all the global warming

******** are you?



Windmills my arse.



Bill

No, I'm pretty pro nuclear and anti feed in tariff.
I try and give them a propaganda free view, but that is not what I am supplied with.

On Wednesday, October 24, 2012 5:38:29 PM UTC+1, John Williamson wrote:

On Wednesday, October 24, 2012 3:07:32 PM UTC+1, Onetap wrote:

Someone's dad will have a spare alternator in the shed. Guaranteed.



On second thoughts, the diodes that change the Ac to Dc are inside the alternator,

so a working alternator wouldn't give you AC.



The diodes get fried if you try to jump-start a car with a flat battery, so that

someone's dad will probably have a car alternator with fried diodes in his shed that you can modify to get the AC out.



The PC fan sounds like a good plan. You could stick two together and power one to spin the other. Or it to the back of a PC and run it from the fan in that.



The only problem being that PC fans are normally turned by DC brushless

motors which don't work as generators.



The simplest way to get a reasonably pure AC voltage mechanically is to

use an old-fashioned bicycle dynamo, which is actually a single phase AC

generator. Try Halfords or your local bike shop. If you want to do some

advanced teaching, you can use them to show how the changing impedance

of the winding with frequency due to its inductance gives a self

regulation effect, assuming the right constant load impedance.



Car alternators can be used to demonstrate multi-phase generation, if

you remove the rectifying diodes and feed DC power into the rotor. They

are normally 3 phase internally.



--

Tciao for Now!



John.



On Wednesday, October 24, 2012 5:38:29 PM UTC+1, John Williamson wrote:


On Wednesday, October 24, 2012 3:07:32 PM UTC+1, Onetap wrote:

Someone's dad will have a spare alternator in the shed. Guaranteed.



On second thoughts, the diodes that change the Ac to Dc are inside the alternator,

so a working alternator wouldn't give you AC.



The diodes get fried if you try to jump-start a car with a flat battery, so that

someone's dad will probably have a car alternator with fried diodes in his shed that you can modify to get the AC out.



The PC fan sounds like a good plan. You could stick two together and power one to spin the other. Or it to the back of a PC and run it from the fan in that.



The only problem being that PC fans are normally turned by DC brushless

motors which don't work as generators.



The simplest way to get a reasonably pure AC voltage mechanically is to

use an old-fashioned bicycle dynamo, which is actually a single phase AC

generator. Try Halfords or your local bike shop. If you want to do some

advanced teaching, you can use them to show how the changing impedance

of the winding with frequency due to its inductance gives a self

regulation effect, assuming the right constant load impedance.



Car alternators can be used to demonstrate multi-phase generation, if

you remove the rectifying diodes and feed DC power into the rotor. They

are normally 3 phase internally.



--

Tciao for Now!



John.



On Wednesday, October 24, 2012 5:38:29 PM UTC+1, John Williamson wrote:


On Wednesday, October 24, 2012 3:07:32 PM UTC+1, Onetap wrote:

Someone's dad will have a spare alternator in the shed. Guaranteed.



On second thoughts, the diodes that change the Ac to Dc are inside the alternator,

so a working alternator wouldn't give you AC.



The diodes get fried if you try to jump-start a car with a flat battery, so that

someone's dad will probably have a car alternator with fried diodes in his shed that you can modify to get the AC out.



The PC fan sounds like a good plan. You could stick two together and power one to spin the other. Or it to the back of a PC and run it from the fan in that.



The only problem being that PC fans are normally turned by DC brushless

motors which don't work as generators.



The simplest way to get a reasonably pure AC voltage mechanically is to

use an old-fashioned bicycle dynamo, which is actually a single phase AC

generator. Try Halfords or your local bike shop. If you want to do some

advanced teaching, you can use them to show how the changing impedance

of the winding with frequency due to its inductance gives a self

regulation effect, assuming the right constant load impedance.



Car alternators can be used to demonstrate multi-phase generation, if

you remove the rectifying diodes and feed DC power into the rotor. They

are normally 3 phase internally.



--

Tciao for Now!



John.

I have an old dynamo in the shed, knew it would come in useful, (looks like today is someday). I'll put it on the scope at work tomorrow.
ta

On Wednesday, October 24, 2012 6:02:32 PM UTC+1, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,

wrote:

The diodes get fried if you try to jump-start a car with a flat battery,



Where on earth did you get that daft idea?

Where do you think?
From trying to jump start a car with a totally knackered battery. I've done it dozens of times before, this was the only time I've had a problem; new alternator required.

I looked into it and found a web page about alternators with external diodes for use in light aircraft. Apparently flicking off one of the isolators (battery I think) required in an aircraft would wreck the diodes in a conventional alternator.

On Wednesday, October 24, 2012 7:31:00 PM UTC+1, Bill Wright wrote:
wrote:



The diodes get fried if you try to jump-start a car with a flat battery,

Mine don't seem to.



Bill

Mine didn't either for the past 30 years. I THINK the essential difference was this battery was totally US and I didn't know it.

On 24/10/2012 14:29, misterroy wrote:
For a class in school I want to generate an AC signal.
The project is modelling a wind turbine. We will probably drive the input using a drill.
I'm going to need about 10 models. I am only wanting to show the very basics. The signal then needs to be processed, that bit I can handle.
Can someone give me a link to a suitable component to produce the ac voltage on ebay?

thanks

Have you still got the Nuffield kits we used all those years ago to make
electric motors? Make one with more than the usual number of coils, and
you should be away.

Andy

On Wed, 24 Oct 2012 18:01:20 +0100, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

The diodes get fried if you try to jump-start a car with a flat
battery,

Where on earth did you get that daft idea?

A lot of modern car User Manuals warn against jump starting but not the
reason(s) why it is not recomended.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Wednesday, 24 October 2012 14:29:20 UTC+1, misterroy wrote:
For a class in school I want to generate an AC signal.

The project is modelling a wind turbine. We will probably drive the input using a drill.

Brushless motor. Under a tenner from eBay. It's a 3 phase alternator, just like you might use for a real wind turbine. Then 6 diodes give you a bridge rectifier and DC output.

Otherwise almost any sort of fixed coil and a whirling rare earth magnet.

You can even make your own wind turbine. A crude 3' diameter (flat plywood or Correx plastic blades) makes a workable demo. Use the Tim Piggott design (search the web for a US site building them with Volvo 240 front hubs). You can make a simplified version of this in a CDT class - use a bike hub or similar, especially if you can get one with a disk brake.

On Wed, 24 Oct 2012 19:23:43 +0100, polygonum wrote:

On 24/10/2012 19:20, Bill Wright wrote:
misterroy wrote:
For a class in school I want to generate an AC signal. The project is
modelling a wind turbine.

So, you're one of these lefty/greeny Guardian-reading schoolteachers
who are brainwashing our children into believing all the global warming
******** are you?

Windmills my arse.

Bill

Bill,

You are leaping to conclusions. The experiment, if done well, would show
that windmills are not the answer.

No, the experiment will show that windmills can work, but only if you
have a drill of approximately the same size as the windmill.

On 24/10/2012 22:44, Jules Richardson wrote:
On Wed, 24 Oct 2012 19:23:43 +0100, polygonum wrote:

On 24/10/2012 19:20, Bill Wright wrote:
misterroy wrote:
For a class in school I want to generate an AC signal. The project is
modelling a wind turbine.

So, you're one of these lefty/greeny Guardian-reading schoolteachers
who are brainwashing our children into believing all the global warming
******** are you?

Windmills my arse.

Bill

Bill,

You are leaping to conclusions. The experiment, if done well, would show
that windmills are not the answer.

No, the experiment will show that windmills can work, but only if you
have a drill of approximately the same size as the windmill.

Indeed. Windmills do work in one sense of "work".

--
Rod

In article ,
scribeth thus
On Wednesday, October 24, 2012 3:07:32 PM UTC+1, Onetap wrote:

Someone's dad will have a spare alternator in the shed. Guaranteed.

On second thoughts, the diodes that change the Ac to Dc are inside the
alternator,
so a working alternator wouldn't give you AC.

The diodes get fried if you try to jump-start a car with a flat battery, so that
someone's dad will probably have a car alternator with fried diodes in his shed
that you can modify to get the AC out.

Umm .. why should jump starting a car with a flat battery fry the
alternator diodes?...


The PC fan sounds like a good plan. You could stick two together and power one
to spin the other. Or it to the back of a PC and run it from the fan in that.


--
Tony Sayer

In article ,
Bill Wright wrote:
My first guess would be an old bike 'dynamo' - the type that is
friction driven from the tyre wall.

Or a hub dynamo.

I'd say the type I mentioned easier to mount on something and drive with
an electric drill?

We are talking about a school teacher so need to keep things as simple as
possible. ;-)

--
*The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
Onetap wrote:
Where on earth did you get that daft idea?

Where do you think? From trying to jump start a car with a totally
knackered battery. I've done it dozens of times before, this was the
only time I've had a problem; new alternator required.

That was probably why the battery was flat...

I looked into it and found a web page about alternators with external
diodes for use in light aircraft. Apparently flicking off one of the
isolators (battery I think) required in an aircraft would wreck the
diodes in a conventional alternator.

With the engine running?

--
*He's not dead - he's electroencephalographically challenged

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article o.uk,
Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Wed, 24 Oct 2012 18:01:20 +0100, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

The diodes get fried if you try to jump-start a car with a flat
battery,

Where on earth did you get that daft idea?

A lot of modern car User Manuals warn against jump starting but not the
reason(s) why it is not recomended.

My BMW with boot mounted battery has contacts on the engine specifically
for jump starting.

--
*When companies ship Styrofoam, what do they pack it in? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 24/10/12 15:31, misterroy wrote:
On Wednesday, October 24, 2012 3:13:04 PM UTC+1, Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Wed, 24 Oct 2012 06:29:20 -0700 (PDT), misterroy wrote:

The steps go from:
the wind turning the blades to ac generator to ac signal to rectifier to battery to inverter to bulb.
Its only the generation I need help with.

Just get a cheap brushless motor.

e.g.

http://www.micronradiocontrol.co.uk/...ml#hx-10g-2000

rotating magnets round a fixed three phase winding.

Like to be driven at many thousand RPM for decent voltage tho.


I like this approach http://store.kidwind.org/more-kits/g...arts/simplegen but an ac motor would be a neater solution and it would be possible to mount the blades. The turbine has to generate an AC signal.
I have stepper motors in the room and am about to look into using them.
thanks



--
Ineptocracy

(in-ep-toc-ra-cy) €“ a system of government where the least capable to
lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the
members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are
rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a
diminishing number of producers.