Hi all, (Also posting to DC-404 )
I've been thinking of building a switched reluctance motor to experiment with coils and magnets. An SR motor uses a stator with fixed coils which switch on and off to drive a magnetic rotor. It does not require brushes, but does require a sophisticated switching, sensing, and drive system for the coils. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switched_reluctance_motor http://www.fleadh.co.uk/srm.htm Frankly, I don't know when I'll get this done, since even a small spool of magnet wire at Frys is $ 25, and I have a limited number of $ 25 chunks to spend. But, I'm trying to come up with a plan that won't bankrupt my small discretionary fund. In any case, while searching for a way to drive the coil system, I decided it would be cool to use a microcontroller, rather than a set of dedicated logic or an fpga, etc. That way, I can alter the operation of the machine in software and tweak it. I need to generate pulses measured in uS, not mS. I'm gravitating toward the Raspberry Pi, which I've been attracted to for some time anyway. This device has all the neat user interface elements of a computer, networking, at least a certain amount of general purpose I/O (GPIO) capability, the ability to run various OS's, and the ability to be programmed in many different languages. It also runs with a basic clock speed of 700 MHz, which should easily be able to handle pulse trains in the uS range, possibly as many as 8 pulse trains. I found a really cool magazine on the store shelf and bought a copy. It's Raspberry Pi Geek magazine. It's all about what you can do with the Pi. They publish 6 times / year. The content is fascinating, but the magazine is expensive, with a news stand price of $ 16. You can get a subscription in print or digital for $ 60. But, the better deal is to get the print subscription then add the digital on for $ 8. They're on issue 6 now but have a "catch-up" deal where you can order issues 1-3 for $ 30. Strangely enough, the issue I found at Frys is issue 4. http://www.raspberry-pi-geek.com/ By the way, this magazine, issue 4, has an article that looks interesting about running a RISC OS in the Pi, as opposed to a Linux variant. If I get a Pi, I'll probably start out with Raspbian, since that's what the introductory books seem to recommend. Also, my experience with Ubuntu should be helpful in understanding the system. Anyway, I thought I'd pass it along. If you've had experience with either this magazine, or with these types of motors, or using the Pi for controlling things, please share it. Sincerely, Ron -- Sent from my Android Acer A500 tablet with bluetooth keyboard and K-9 Mail. Please excuse my potential brevity if I'm typing on the touch screen. (PS - If you email me and don't get a quick response, you might want to call on the phone. I get about 300 emails per day from alternate energy mailing lists and such. I don't always see new email messages very quickly.) Ron Frazier 770-205-9422 (O) Leave a message. linuxdude AT techstarship.com _______________________________________________ tech-chat mailing list [email protected] http://lists.linuxmoose.com/mailman/listinfo/tech-chat
