To run anything powered by solar power, efficiency sure becomes an issue. We are not talking BOSOZ or the like.
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Wich circuits do you guys have in mind?
I have found some 7.5V solar chips that ive been playing around with for a while, but again efficiency is an issue. 1mA is all of a sudden a big unit!!
Magura
¨
Wich circuits do you guys have in mind?
I have found some 7.5V solar chips that ive been playing around with for a while, but again efficiency is an issue. 1mA is all of a sudden a big unit!!
Magura
SY said:
Thanks, SY - happines is a warm gun! according to Mr. Lennon.
For me being able to recognize an english spelling problem almost makes my day!
Bending to the dust
If you come by, you can have a scotch (Oban - 14 year - bought directly at the destillery this summer)
You ARE making a joke at the ending of your reply, right?
- please be kind to a newbie!
I'll try not to be off-topic anymore, but I won't promise
Jørn
The solar-powered MC stage sounds like an absolutely great idea. With only the minor reservation that a very low current source, even in a situation where the current draw is low (1-2mA) will probably sound not very powerful. How possible is it to get 20-30mA max current at 8-10v? Is efficiency around 1-2%?
Bear in mind that any variation in the light will show up as a variation in the output of the solar cell. I once did a rough bandwidth test on a solar cell and found it to be far wider than I'd expected. Sorry, don't remember the actual figure--this was years ago. It might not be a bad idea to use caps to shunt high frequency noise and such to ground.
Dust falling through the light beam is to be avoided.
This begs the question: How good is the power supply for those light bulbs? Now, the filament is going to smooth out some of the higher frequency trash, just by...what shall I call it, thermal inertia? Once the filament's hot, it will remain hot for a finite amount of time, even if the power drops entirely. A sort of low pass function, at any rate.
But...
If you want to get neurotic about it, the light bulbs will also inject noise, just by the random nature of the heated molecules. Thermal noise can be a booger to deal with. Ask any tube guy. Again, caps (at least, and perhaps a regulator) are indicated.
The sun? Definitely going to need caps. Else what will you do when a cloud drops your output voltage to 10% of design value? Yes, you could use solar cells to charge batteries, but then you're flipping coins as to whether AC or solar is better for the environment, because it'll be the batteries that you're actually working with.
For some reason, I'm thinking that they've got solar cells up into the teens of percent efficiency now, with the very best ones up into the twenties. Can't remember where I read that, so I may be wrong.
Grey
Dust falling through the light beam is to be avoided.
This begs the question: How good is the power supply for those light bulbs? Now, the filament is going to smooth out some of the higher frequency trash, just by...what shall I call it, thermal inertia? Once the filament's hot, it will remain hot for a finite amount of time, even if the power drops entirely. A sort of low pass function, at any rate.
But...
If you want to get neurotic about it, the light bulbs will also inject noise, just by the random nature of the heated molecules. Thermal noise can be a booger to deal with. Ask any tube guy. Again, caps (at least, and perhaps a regulator) are indicated.
The sun? Definitely going to need caps. Else what will you do when a cloud drops your output voltage to 10% of design value? Yes, you could use solar cells to charge batteries, but then you're flipping coins as to whether AC or solar is better for the environment, because it'll be the batteries that you're actually working with.
For some reason, I'm thinking that they've got solar cells up into the teens of percent efficiency now, with the very best ones up into the twenties. Can't remember where I read that, so I may be wrong.
Grey
I saw the light. No more darkness, no more night
And no measurements it seems...................
"I once did a rough bandwidth test on a solar cell and found it to be far wider than I'd expected. Sorry, don't remember the actual figure--this was years ago."
You sound like a politician giving a deposition.
The bandwidth of what exactly........ Did you vary the frequency of the light? Did the dog eat your note book for this one also? How big a cap should one put across a solar cell? What is their impedance and how does it vary with light intensity? Does the voltage drop with light intensity? I guess all that info was in the note book......... have you even considered putting some of all this data you collect on the computer where you can find it again someday.
Why not go to Radio Shack and buy one and actually measure something before posting vague and unverifiable advice.
And no measurements it seems...................
"I once did a rough bandwidth test on a solar cell and found it to be far wider than I'd expected. Sorry, don't remember the actual figure--this was years ago."
You sound like a politician giving a deposition.
The bandwidth of what exactly........ Did you vary the frequency of the light? Did the dog eat your note book for this one also? How big a cap should one put across a solar cell? What is their impedance and how does it vary with light intensity? Does the voltage drop with light intensity? I guess all that info was in the note book......... have you even considered putting some of all this data you collect on the computer where you can find it again someday.
Why not go to Radio Shack and buy one and actually measure something before posting vague and unverifiable advice.
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