Morning Wayne, ;-)) Looks like you have some pretty complex equipment/programs. Oh well, you know them inside out and I'm sure that you can modify them to do whatever you want.
Servicing factory equipment is a daunting task. I have found that usually the prints and documentation are scanty at best, and some genius has usually made extensive modifications and felt it was OK to not make any drawings of what they did... I always admire someone who can work on these sorts of things. My short-term memory was never good enough for this sort of thing. However, I have found that the electronic technician is a dying profession. Engineers will design and most everything a technician did can be done by the engineer on a computer, the boards will come directly from the board manufacturer, and defective products will be thrown away and just replaced instead of being repaired by a technician... ;-(( Ole Bob said you could run an unregulated voltage supply without controls and stop when the current reached a particular level. I have found that this makes me stop before I reach the concentration I want because I end up having too much current density for my electrodes. I wonder if this works if you use a large anode and a small cathode as he was recommending, someone said that this effectively limited the current. My auto-shutoff is set to trip at a particular voltage level. Since the system is set up to regulate the max current, when it reaches this current limit level the power supply will reduce the voltage in order to maintain that current. Since the resistance of the water is continually decreasing, the voltage will be continually reduced (automatically) in order to maintain the constant current level. For this reason, when a particular voltage level is reached, the generator is shut down. This voltage level relates to a particular resistance, or conductance, of the water and hence is related to the ppm of the colloidal silver. It's not exact, but close enough and repeatable if the conditions of the generator and cell are kept constant. I'm adding extra detail in some of these posts, not because I think you need them, (so don't take offense ;-)) but because someone else might be able to pick up what they need from the discussion. Yes, with a small amount of knowledge a creative person can do many things. Usually it is just a matter of getting the right perspective or *feel* of how things operate. Dan -----Original Message----- From: Wayne Fugitt [mailto:cwfug...@earthlink.net] Sent: Wednesday, September 20, 2006 2:29 PM To: silver-list@eskimo.com Subject: RE: CS>Simple Generator, ONE more component Evening Dan, >> At 12:47 PM 9/20/2006, you wrote: Thanks for the comments. >I recently made a "fancy" homemade CS maker with adjustable current >regulation and adjustable auto-shutoff. I have thought about the "Adjustable Shutoff" feature. I suppose all technicians have thought about building a sophisticated system. I know I have thought about it but never got the start impulse. I would favor using my control and data logging system. It has most of the components needed including analog inputs, digital inputs, and event counters as well as pH meters and EC meters. Most of these are in need of calibration which is not so hard when we have full control of the software. I have a configuration file that has individual fields for correction factors. I even provided for multiply scale factors and divide scale factors. Next I added a line or two of code that checks each. If both are zero, the program will not run. If no change is needed on the data, a simple ONE input into the field will leave it unchanged and let the program run. Dividing by zero is a hard task for most processors. >Auto-shutoff is really great, especially when making CS more often or >in large quantities which takes more time. This would be very easy on a computer controlled system. You could change most any data value within a few seconds due to the configuration file. One could have multiple configuration files stored in another directory and copy the one needed into the program directory. I wrote a special edit program for the configuration file. Typically I can edit this while the program is running and copy it into the program directory and the program never has to be stopped to change any configuration. > One really appreciates the >convenience of being able to leave the setup alone to finish on it's >own. Having the ability to vary current and shut-off level allows one >to do so much more with various electrode and cell geometry. I understand. That part would be fun with the computer controlled stuff, yet very simple. Usually what I do when I want a new application for my program is to simply make a new copy, then start to take a few things out and add a few lines here and there. This is a 10,000 line C program I worked on over a 5 year period. The data logging is icing on the cake. It will even write a C binary file and a DBF file, both at the same time. ( Almost the same time ) Each data channel logged can have an individual file name or be logged into the default common data file. > I still had and will have to do as you suggest, record voltage and >current levels vs. time every time I change any of the variables of the >CS maker. Once you change something, you have to know enough about the >process to figure out, once again, where you are operating and what you >are producing. Yes, this is the final proof. Being a technician for near 50 years, I have always used my current meters more than any technician I have known. Final proof of correct operation of any circuit is the current draw. No current, no work. I usually have a very good DC current meter and a 300 AMP AC current meter with me at all times. Also have a 50 AMP meter shunt for the larger DC stuff that the Fluke meter will not handle. For a number of years I serviced large Inverter system and was the factory service rep for Computer Power, Emergilite, Chloride Systems, and Hunt Electronics. Darn, what a variety of equipment. No wonder my mind is worn out. >I also put an LED in the output of my generator as an indicator that it >is brewing. It only has brightness change at the very start of the run >as it is current limited and right now I am running at about 20 ma. True, but nothing beats a visual indicator that everything is working lovely. A glance is all it takes. > I think an LED would have been useful for that cell. Yes, the eye is an amazing measuring tool. >Don't forget (less technical people), you have to get the LED connected >in the correct polarity (correct way around). One way will allow >current to flow but the reverse way will block it. It won't blow up >your circuit but it will prevent it from operating if it is in the wrong >way. True, I know I left out several things. I advise people, ........ If you have no technical knowledge, "Make friends with someone who does". Heck there is a technician of sorts on every corner these days. I think it takes 100 technicians to keep 100 non technical people working. Do you do the auto cutoff on current flow only? I firmly believe that the non technical can master the use of the diode. If they can't, they can seek help from the corner technician. I have a friend who winds starters and generators for living. He did not understand how a simple diode works. I gave him about a 15 minute short course and the next week he was finding bad diodes in equipment. Often a little help goes a long ways. Wayne -- The Silver List is a moderated forum for discussing Colloidal Silver. Instructions for unsubscribing are posted at: http://silverlist.org To post, address your message to: silver-list@eskimo.com Address Off-Topic messages to: silver-off-topic-l...@eskimo.com The Silver List and Off Topic List archives are currently down... 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