CLOSE. But, ... Remove the diodes completely from an alternator. Select
pulleys for correct ratio, and simply maintain a steady engine speed to
provide 3600 RPM at the alternator shaft. Now you have 60Hz 3 phase
power. Adjust the voltage, and run minis and mainframes.
You'll need to drive where there is little traffic to maintain that
constant engine speed.
English hobbyists may need to adjust for machines that don't like 60Hz.
And running a mini in a mini might be a bit cramped, and not allow enough
room for a proper raised floor.
BTW, use of "Dual terminal" batteries helps a little; when the terminals
that connect the "engine" to the battery corrode, your "accessory" device
is then connected to the battery only, as opposed to being connected to
the "engine" only.
It is also possible (and has been done!) to isolate the auxiliary
batter(ies), and switch between multiple batteries, so that your
"accessory" device is never connected to any part of the vehicle other
than an isolated battery, while another battery is being
charged. Although I would expect that the switch over,
when the current battery is low, would certainly be noisy.
On Thu, 12 Oct 2000, R. D. Davis wrote:
> It seems that the obvious solution is being overlooked. Modify the
> radiator so that it has about a 2" to 3" hole in the middle (which
> will require some welding so that the core doesn't leak. Add an
> additional transmision-oil cooler, and a few other cooling accessories
> to compensate for the slightly diminished cooling capacity of the
> radiator. Now, if necessary, remove a similar sized area from the
> grill, etc. Having done that, you can add an extension to the
> crankshaft (you'll probably need a new, custom, harmonic balancer as
> well) that can be attached to a heavy-duty generator... just duct-tape
> it to the roof when not in use.
Well, a REAL classic already HAS that access for use with the starting
crank.
Or, if you have a classic 4x4, consider just running it all o
There, now you can power anything
> from a C64 to a large minicomputer from your car... of course, if you
> want to use it while driving, you'll need to weld the generator to the
> front end of the car (so you'd better have a heavy, solid, frame) and
> duct-tape the computer to the roof. I recon one could easily run a 6'
> rack of PDP-11 equipment this way during long highway drives. You
> might want to put reflectors on the generator if you do this and plan
> to drive at night.
For the sake of visibility, you might want to place all rack mount
equipment BEHIND, not in front of, the driver.
--
Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin_at_xenosoft.com
Received on Thu Oct 12 2000 - 15:56:52 BST