PicoTurbine Mark 8.3 Generator Field Controller Kit Based on a design published in Home Power magazine by Richard Perez. Used with permission. Reprint of original article included with kit. An easy-to-build project for experimenters based on the popular Home Power magazine article. Kit contains all parts needed for construction of this project.! WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD - Small parts, wire. Not for children under 4 years. Page 1
THESE PLANS ARE PRESENTED IN AS IS CONDITION. BY USING THESE PLANS YOU HOLD HOME POWER MAGAZINE, PICOTURBINE.COM, XIBOKK RESEARCH, AND ALL MEMBERS, INVESTORS, EMPLOYEES, AND OWNERS OF THOSE ORGANIZATIONS HARMLESS FROM ANY DAMAGES ARISING FROM THE USE OF THESE PLANS OR THE RESULTING MACHINES. IN NO CASE SHALL PICOTURBINE.COM OR XIBOKK RESEARCH BE LIABLE FOR ANY INCIDENTAL DAMAGES. THESE PLANS ARE NOT WARRENTEED FOR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Revision 1.0B, November, 1999 www.picoturbine.com Copyright 1999 PicoTurbine.com. All rights reserved. PicoTurbine.com is a wholly owned subsidiary of Xibokk Research. Reprint of Home Power magazine article Build Your Own 12 VDC Engine/Generator from issue HP42 August/September, 1994 is used with permission. Copyright 1994 Richard Perez. All rights reserved. Page 2
Instructions for Building the Mark 8.3 Field Controller Materials Included in the Kit Check your kit to ensure that you have all the parts listed below. QUANTITY PART NAME PART DESCRIPTION 1 NE555 IC 8 Pin DIP integrated circuit marked NE555 1 8 pin DIP socket For NE555 IC 1 LM723 IC 14 Pin DIP integrated circuit marked LM723 1 14 pin DIP socket For LM723 IC 1 MJE2955 transistor 3 pin TO-220 package marked MJE2955 1 Heat sink For MJE2955 transistor, clip-on 1 2N2222A transistor Transistor marked: 2N2222A 1 1N5400 diode Large diode, marked:1n5400, D2 3 amp diode in circuit diagram 2 1N914 diode Small diode, transparent and red color. Marked: 1N914, but very small print, hard to read. 1 SPST switch, 5A 1 50K potentiometer Marked on underside: B50K 1 1.0K potentiometer Marked on underside: B1K 2 Red binding post Universal binding post accepts banana plug, wire, etc. 2 Black binding post Universal binding post accepts banana plug, wire, etc. 3 LED One red, one yellow, one green 2.1 µf capacitor Small, blue, disc capacitor marked:.1 2.01 µf capacitor Small, tan, disc capacitor marked: 103 1.001 µf capacitor Small, tan, disc capacitor marked: 102k 1 10 µf capacitor Small electrolytic capacitor marked: 10µF 4 1K resistor Marked: brown black red gold 1 2.2K resistor Marked: red red red gold 2 3K resistor Marked: orange black red gold 2 4.7K resistor Marked: yellow purple red gold 1 100 Ω, 10 watt Large white ceramic rectangular, marked: 10W 100 Ω resistor 6 feet hookup wire 4 feet of white wire is used for general connections, 1 foot of red and 1 foot of black are included for positive/negative color coding. If you have purchased the optional Enclosure Package, you will also have these parts: QUANTITY PART NAME PART DESCRIPTION 1 Perfboard Copper clad perforated board for soldering components 1 ABS enclosure box ABS plastic enclosure box with see-through lid If you are missing any parts, send email to: support@picoturbine.com Tools You Will Need You will need the following tools: Soldering iron, 25 watts or less is recommended Rosin core solder, 60/40 Wire stripper and wire clipper Needlenose pliers or similar are helpful for soldering and securing leads to components. Drill and 1/16, 1/8, 1/4, and 5/16 drill bits, for use in drilling holes for switch, s, and potentiometers in the enclosure. Page 3
Electronic Component Review This kit is meant for adults who have built at least simple electronic circuits before. This section reviews electronic component nomenclature so you can easily match up the correct pins of the components with the circuit diagram in the attached article. Diodes and LEDs Diodes have a black band on one side which marks the cathode. LEDs have a short lead and a long lead the short lead is the cathode. The following illustration shows how the diode and LED would be matched with a circuit diagram: Flow permitted in this direction + - 2N222A Transistor The 2N222A transistor is a cylinder. Three leads come out of the base. One lead has a small metal tab next to it. That s the emitter. The illustration shows how an underneath view of the transistor matches with a typical circuit diagram. 2N2222A (bottom view) collector collector base tab base emitter emitter MJE2955 Transistor The MJE2955 is an NPN power transistor in a TO-220 package. Pin designations are shown in the diagram below. The hole at the top is used to attach certain types of heat sink. The heat sink supplied with your kit is a clip-on variety and does not require a screw. Also note that the shiny metal back of the transistor, including the part with the hole, is tied to the collector, so be sure neither the heat sink nor the back touches any other wires or components. base collector MJE2955 (front) emitter Base Collector Emitter NE555 Timer IC The NE555 timer is an 8 pin IC. You are provided with a socket for this IC. The pins are numbered, and the numbers are used in the circuit diagram. The case has a notch on one end. Looking from the top, the numbers are shown in this diagram. 1 8 2 NE555 7 3 (top) 6 4 5 Page 4
LM723 Voltage Regulator IC The LM723 voltage regulator is a 14 pin IC. You are provided with a socket for this IC. The pins are numbered as shown in this diagram, and the numbers are used in the circuit diagram. Again, look for the notch on one end to orient the chip as shown in the diagram when counting off the pin numbers. Drilling holes in the Enclosure 1 2 3 4 5 6 LM723 (top) 14 13 12 11 10 9 7 8 If you have purchased the optional enclosure package, you need to drill holes in the plastic to accommodate the two switches, five s, and two potentiometers. The picture below shows a suggested layout for these parts, and the actual size templates shown below can be used to easily mark the enclosure for drilling. Use caution when drilling plastic. While drilling, it is possible for the plastic to bind with the drill bit and spin rapidly around, possibly causing injury. We suggest that you clamp the box down and do not hold it with your hand directly while drilling. Top Side Template (for on/off switch) 1/4" bit for switch shaft Bottom Side Template (for potentiometers) 5/16" bit for main pot shafts 1/8" bit for small metal holding tab Left Side Template (for input from 12 volt battery, or some other source of 11 to 16 volt DC power) 5/16" bit for shafts RED BLACK Right Side Template (for output to alternator field) 5/16" bit for shafts RED BLACK Page 5
Hints for Building the Circuit The following ideas can be helpful for layout, and for building the circuit from the attached Home Power article. When laying out the circuit, it is helpful to place a long bare wire (tinned) along the bottom edge of the circuit board for use as the common ground. Another similar wire can be placed over about three quarters of the board length at the top right edge (when looking at the back) of the board for the input positive side of the circuit. These wires can be held by the perf board holes by simply weaving them through the holes and twisting and soldering the ends to make a tight fit. The 1N5400 diode leads are too large to fit through the circuit board holes. You will have to drill out the holes using a 1/16 drill bit. Also, do not trim the leads from the 1N5400 diode, in our example layout below we let these leads span the entire board from top to bottom. The long leads should be sufficient to heat sink the diode. Connect switches and potentiometers after finishing other parts of the circuit. Connect wires for the inputs and outputs to the circuit board only at first. Do not solder these wires to the s until last (after running some tests), because the s must be placed in the project box prior to soldering, and it will be difficult to make corrections to the circuit once it is soldered to the s and in the box. Although the article does not specify the color of the LEDs, we have provided 3 different colors: red, yellow, and green. We used the red LED for the left-most one on the circuit diagram, the yellow LED for the middle one, and the green LED for the right-most one on the circuit diagram. If you did not purchase the optional enclosure and you use an enclosure without a clear see-through cover, you should drill holes for the 3 LEDs so they are visible. It is suggested that you use the red and black wires to color code the positive (red) and negative (black) connections between the circuit board and the input and output s. It gets a little crowded around the ICs. Use bits of stripped wire covering to insulate leads from components like diodes or capacitors on the connection side of the board to avoid short circuits. Circuit Layout Example The following photographs of the component side and connection side of a sample project perforated board can be used as a sample layout for the circuit, although other layouts are certainly possible. Component Side To red input To red output To black input To black output 1K Pot 50K Pot Page 6
Connection Side To output red Common positive wire To input red To output black Common ground wire To input black 50K Pot 1K Pot Using the Article The magazine article attached contains the circuit diagram and instructions for using the Mark 8.3 Generator Field controller, along with other technical information. Page 7