Subject:
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Re: New Pitsco Catalog
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.robotics
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Date:
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Sun, 28 Jan 2001 16:04:03 GMT
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Viewed:
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513 times
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> there's a LEGO solar panel available. Is this a new product? I was under
> its mA output (in direct sunlight) is? I also noticed a LEGO capacitor.
While I can't see it being used for Lego, given the current required
to run the motors, I have built solar powered vehicles which use a
solar cell and a high-value/low voltage capacitor. These are
frequently sold under the (improper) designation "solar robots" or
"micro-bots". The solar cell is used to charge the capacitor and, when
a threshold is reached, a transitor is used to dump the stored energy
into a motor to power the vehicle. It is important to note that the
motor in question is frequently a pager motor (from a vibrating pager
- about $2) and as such has very low torque and is therefor not likely
to find itself used in Lego. These cars charge in about 30 to 45
seconds (less in US where the radiation angle is higher) and run for
about 3 seconds (but coast afterward - good for a total of about 10m
on clean, sealed concrete). They are deliberatly built to be
light-weight and are quite fast. They also serve as a good science
experiment on the conversion of light into motion and on the
limitations of solar powered cars and solar power in general, hence I
can see how it might have made it into the Pitsco catalog, but I can't
see it showing up in Lego sets unless lego plans on releasing a
high-efficiency, low power motor and some sort of controller brick.
Not likely.
Matthias Jetleb
VA3-MWJ
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | LEGO Solar Cell (Was 'Re: New Pitsco Catalog')
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| The solar cell is included in the LEGO Dacta eLAB Renewable Energy Set (#979681; Pitsco 2001 page 50), and is clearly pictured being used to power a standard 9V LEGO motor with internal gear reduction, in a simple tri-wheel mobile platform. The (...) (23 years ago, 28-Jan-01, to lugnet.robotics)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | New Pitsco Catalog
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| I got the new Pitsco 2001 catalog in the mail today, and noticed that there's a LEGO solar panel available. Is this a new product? I was under the impression that LEGO didn't make a solar panel. Anybody know what its mA output (in direct sunlight) (...) (23 years ago, 27-Jan-01, to lugnet.robotics)
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