BETS1
BEAM Engine Test Stand 1 -- Mycroft2152, April 2003



Building & Using BETS1
BETS 1 Test Results


Building & Using BETS1


"What is the best solar engine?" is one of the first questions asked by most BEAMers. But "best" means different things to different people. End use, parts availability, cost and efficiency are all components of "The Best Solar Engine." End use, parts, and cost are easily determined -- but "Efficiency" has been difficult to measure. A number of circuits have been posted (thanks Wilf) showing how to increase efficiency and optimize the design. But hard data is not available documenting circuit efficiency.

The purpose of the BETS1 project has been to develop a way to compare the relative efficiency of solar engine designs, to measure the effects of any 'tweaking', and to optimize circuit design.

The requirements were:

  • Generate a number related to the SE performance
  • Easy to use
  • Simple to build
  • Inexpensive (cheap)

Relative performance can be measured by counting the rotations of the motor. The idea being that when more power is sent to the motor, a higher number of rotations results. There are a number of tachometers and counters commercially available -- but they are large, and expensive, and are definitely not BEAMish.

Fortunately, in most junk boxes, there is usually an old computer mouse. Under the hood, there is a slotted disk that is rotated by the mouse's movement and a photo interrupter circuit to send the motion information to the computer. Software in the computer interprets this information and moves the curser on the screen accordingly.

front
BETS1 Front View (click to enlarge)

side
BETS1 Side View (click to enlarge)

Building BETS1

  1. Increase the grip between the axle and the slotted wheel by adding a small rubber tire. The rubber tire from the Solarbotics Solar Racer works great.
  2. Mount the motor/ tire so that it will spin the slotted wheel. Glue guns are pretty handy here. Trim away any plastic necessary for a good fit. Make sure the axle spins freely.
  3. Done!

 

Using BETS1

  1. Download and run "Mouse Clocker" from the web (www.downloads.com). It's a simple and fun program that measures the distance the mouse moves on the screen. As the author, Ryan Dupont, says: "See how long it takes for your mouse to circumnavigate the earth!"
  2. Unplug your mouse and plug in BETS1. Start your solar engine! The revolutions will be displayed as distance traveled.
  3. When finished, unplug BETS1 and plug your mouse back in.

 

Hints / Tips

  • Motor positioning is critical. You need good 360 degree contact between the tire and the slotted wheel. But with minimum pressure. Too much pressure can overload the motor and not let it spin.
  • You may need to shield BETS1 from room light. Some photosensors used in mice can be blinded by too much light.
  • Mouse Clocker measures the distance the cursor travels across the screen. You will need to manually move the cursor back to the starting point when it reaches the edge.
  • You can adjust the sensitivity by changing your mouse speed. Slower speeds require more revolutions to travel the same cursor distance. Try it with your regular mouse. Remember, you are measuring relative performance, so keep your mouse speed constant during testing.
  • Since there are two slotted wheels, you can install two different motors.
  • Start your cursor in the middle of one edge of the screen. You can then watch the movement.
  • When testing, discard the first measurement. Then use an average of the next five or ten measurements.

 

Summary

BETS1 is cheap to make (do you have a spare mouse handy?) and simple to use. Plug BETS1 into the mouse port, let the beam engine run and get the distance. At last, a hard number for the performance of the beam engine.

Preliminary test results are on a subsequent page.



Thanks to Wilf for the idea of converting BETS1 into a non-contact measuring device by using an optical mouse.

Building & Using BETS1
BETS 1 Test Results


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Page author: Eric Seale
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