Be that Nature or Man Made*
For the last year+ I have basically live-streamed life at 60hz frame rate. Youtube leaves a lot to be desired as a platform, so here I am back at the ol’ WordPress site. A site like this is very easy to set up and not very expensive… maybe $1/day. If you want to know how to do it just ask.
I did make it out into the Ocean yesterday. I currently use a low-cost wetsuit that zips up the back. When I go regularly we use a suit that comes overhead and zips across the chest. For me – a 4/3 – that is 4mm thick in your core and 3mm thick at the extremities.
We augment with booties, hoodie, and helmet. ONWARD.
We live in the middle of the Monterey Bay. We have 2 harbors, 3 depending on how you count. I am at the Santa Cruz Harbor. Up the way by the Power Plant there is Moss Landing. If you keep going you get to Monterey.
It is only tens of miles how the crow files from here to Monterey… but it is not something that many pass. If they do, they do it once and never again. We get very large swell, thick fog, nasty wind, and… you can readily die in the short voyage.
I will make that Voyage
So… lets get our 12V systems up to a reliability standard I can tolerate
That is how I will be taking the system out to the Boat today. I also have some much smaller 10W panels that are about 1sqft. Those are 12V and wired in series we would produce sufficient voltage to charge (24V where 18V is minimum). I cover the same topics over and over… so stop by every once in a while if you want to learn more.
Above are pet birds. They dont mind welding, angle grinding, compressors, racket, pulling things out from under them. FYI you are on a BLOG, not a concentrated source of answers so if you are in a big hurry…. move on.
PAUSE
I just got fired then re-hired for the 4th time in 2 years. WTF.
RESUME
I have lost my place in the story. I will dump the videos I prepared here.
BELOW
Using a Fluke 87V Max to prove that our Cell Balancing technique results in perfect balance.
BELOW
Discovering that the 50mA (0.050A) medical grade BMS balance current has not yet balanced the last pack. This is likely because the cells were not pre-balanced and the pack has not rested on charger for any period of time.
The BMS does perform
- Cell Level LVC cutout
- Cell Level HVC cutout
- Short Circuit Protection
- Over-Temp Lockout
- Balancing WHEN fully charged
BELOW
I demonstrate the activity of bringing back into service a very old but very reliable piece of gear. This is a Sorensen DCS 60-18E from the 90’s. That is now a 30 year old supply. I bought all of these USED for PARTS
- Replaced the output caps
- Replaced the main AC caps
- Replaced the main fan
- Reverse Engineered the design
… so, if you have time to waste… this is 20min of a man showing you how to take something NON-FUNCTIONAL to FUNCTIONAL.
I explain in the video things like scrubbing the PCB with Simple Green to clear away electrolyte from burst electrolytic caps, cleaning with 99% ISO, etc. I can get full rail to rail performance out of this piece of gear that is older than most of the people I work with.
-Schindler