Network Tethering
There were some issues with network access today at the 10bitworks so i shared my G2 phone’s network access by putting it in hotspot mode (Settings > Wireless and network > Tethering and portable hotpsot). This feature is part of an update that was recently pushed to G2 phones over the air (OTA). The other feature is an app called Wifi Calling. It allows you to use any wireless access point to route your calls. Useful for me since TMobile’s coverage sucks at my house. Anyways, the portable hotspot was pretty snappy and shared amongst three users. There were a couple times when a page or video didn’t load but a refresh quickly brought up the content.
Deep Cycle Batteries
A couple weeks ago i was at a Dr. Paul Grange class where we built a Windmill 12V generator using mostly scrap parts. The build instructions and sample blades are at the space for you to take a look at. Today we started looking for some the materials online, pricing them, and determining if we need a ’65 chevy alternator or just any alternator. The ’65 chevy model has a built-in voltage regulator. Its unknown what other alternators have one as well. I am thinking i should just ask our auto repair neighbor if they have scrap parts they’d like to donate.
Another important piece for the generator is a 12V battery for storing the power. A deep-cycle battery is preferable so we took the battery out of an unused UPS and found that even though the UPS input and output is 120V, the internal battery is 12V lead-acid. Does this mean its a deep-cycle battery that can be used for the windmill generator? Maybe so but i don’t think it can give us a long term power output, if the wind was still or mostly calm for about 20 minutes or so, anything hooked up to that may die. It’s a 10 or 15 minute battery backup only. Nope, we’re likely gonna have to use a car, golf cart, or RV/Marine battery.
However, there are dangers of spilling lead-acid or overcharging a deep-cycle battery and causing a dangerous explosion! In this video, Patrick Norton and Roger Chang of Systm, show how to safely replace the small battery in an UPS with one and even two car batteries!
I think we can definitely apply their technique to the windmill, substituting the Windmill for the UPS.
Telephone Bug Kit, completed?
Finally, we finished up the telephone bug kit and now we need a 9V battery and an FM radio to test it out. When we think its working we can try connecting to a telephone or other audio signal and putting it to the real test. One thing: the last component we had to solder was a 100pF capacitor. All we had was a 103pF. We soldered it on and are hoping for the best. Anyone know if this was a dumb idea?