want to create a solar powered rotating display for class

[daviddschool]

I am new to this, so if I say something that doesn't make sense,
please bear with me. For my class I am teaching, I want to create a
rotating HORIZONTAL CD that is slowly turned by a motor (from a dollar
store toy). I was thinking about buying a bag of broken Solar panels
from here :
http://www.herbach.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=HAR&Product_Code=TM93GBG2360&Category_Code=SED

but if someone knows a better place to buy at a cheaper price or
better material, please let me know.

1) I wanted to buy the motor (which need 2 double AA batteries to run)
and have it spin a horizontal CD on top, like a rotating display and
connect it to the solar panels from the grab bag - but I am unsure if
this is even feasible with the material or even the motor.

2) If there is some instructions on how to do this, that would be
great or if someone could point me in the right direction, I would
appreciate it.

 

[mike]

daviddschool wrote:

I am new to this, so if I say something that doesn't make sense,
please bear with me. For my class I am teaching, I want to create a
rotating HORIZONTAL CD that is slowly turned by a motor (from a dollar
store toy). I was thinking about buying a bag of broken Solar panels
from here :
http://www.herbach.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=HAR&Product_Code=TM93GBG2360&Category_Code=SED

but if someone knows a better place to buy at a cheaper price or
better material, please let me know.

1) I wanted to buy the motor (which need 2 double AA batteries to run)
and have it spin a horizontal CD on top, like a rotating display and
connect it to the solar panels from the grab bag - but I am unsure if
this is even feasible with the material or even the motor.

2) If there is some instructions on how to do this, that would be
great or if someone could point me in the right direction, I would
appreciate it.

You've got several problems.

How much current does the motor need to start/run?
Measure it.
Toy motors are probably not designed to run on low current.
You have no idea what solar cells you're getting.
Solar cells are rated for a LOT of light. Unless you're
running it outside in direct sunlight, you won't get
nearly the current you expect.

Go buy a packaged solar panel. You can get one designed to
keep your car battery charged for about $20 at a auto parts store
or harbor freight online. It'll be rugged and save you much
hassle. And it'll have a specification, so you can determine
if it will run your motor before you buy it. And you get tired
of watching your gizmo run, you'll still have a solar panel
that can keep your RV battery charged.

 

[William Sommerwerck]

"Slowly" is another problem. Most motors turn fast. You'll need some sort of
gearing.

 

[David Nebenzahl]

On 2/6/2010 12:02 PM daviddschool spake thus:

I am new to this, so if I say something that doesn't make sense,
please bear with me. For my class I am teaching, I want to create a
rotating HORIZONTAL CD that is slowly turned by a motor (from a dollar
store toy). I was thinking about buying a bag of broken Solar panels
from here :
http://www.herbach.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=HAR&Product_Code=TM93GBG2360&Category_Code=SED

but if someone knows a better place to buy at a cheaper price or
better material, please let me know.

1) I wanted to buy the motor (which need 2 double AA batteries to run)
and have it spin a horizontal CD on top, like a rotating display and
connect it to the solar panels from the grab bag - but I am unsure if
this is even feasible with the material or even the motor.

As others pointed out, there are 2 problems you need to solve:

1. Supplying enough current to the motor.
2. Getting a gearmotor, since a raw naked motor will spin *waaay* too
fast, and probably won't have enough torque to spin your display.
(Gearing the motor down decreases the speed and increases the torque.)

Regarding the first problem, I disagree with the reply that told you,
basically, it won't work with junk/surplus solar cells. If they're cheap
enough, I'd go ahead and try them. Those little motors don't take much
current. And if you have a bunch of similar cells, you can always wire
them up in series and parallel to increase the voltage or current.

Here are some places where you can find small DC gearmotors (some of
them probably have solar cells too):

http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/category/400/Motors/1.html
http://www.electronicsurplus.com/leftnav/motors.cat
http://www.alltronics.com/cgi-bin/category/37

Good luck, and have fun with the project.


--
You were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it.

- a Usenet "apology"

 

[David Nebenzahl]

On 2/6/2010 3:42 PM David Nebenzahl spake thus:

As others pointed out, there are 2 problems you need to solve:

1. Supplying enough current to the motor.
2. Getting a gearmotor, since a raw naked motor will spin *waaay* too
fast, and probably won't have enough torque to spin your display.
(Gearing the motor down decreases the speed and increases the torque.)

Here's one small DC gearmotor that would probably work:

http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/DCM-110/MINI-RIGHT-ANGLE-GEARHEAD-MOTOR-W/CONTROL-CIRCUIT/1.html

It runs on as little as 3 volts (perhaps even less) and spins at 22 rpm
at that voltage, so they say. Plus it's cheap ($3.50). The problem with
this guy is connecting your CD to the output gear, since there's no
shaft; you could probably glue something to the gear to connect it.
(You'll have similar challenges with any motor you get, since it will
probably not have a nice CD-hole-sized output shaft.)


--
You were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it.

- a Usenet "apology"

 

[Franc Zabkar]

On Sat, 6 Feb 2010 12:02:00 -0800 (PST), daviddschool
<daviddschool@gmail.com> put finger to keyboard and composed:

I am new to this, so if I say something that doesn't make sense,
please bear with me. For my class I am teaching, I want to create a
rotating HORIZONTAL CD that is slowly turned by a motor (from a dollar
store toy). I was thinking about buying a bag of broken Solar panels
from here :
http://www.herbach.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=HAR&Product_Code=TM93GBG2360&Category_Code=SED

but if someone knows a better place to buy at a cheaper price or
better material, please let me know.

1) I wanted to buy the motor (which need 2 double AA batteries to run)
and have it spin a horizontal CD on top, like a rotating display and
connect it to the solar panels from the grab bag - but I am unsure if
this is even feasible with the material or even the motor.

2) If there is some instructions on how to do this, that would be
great or if someone could point me in the right direction, I would
appreciate it.

Why not just gut an old CD/DVD player?

Remove the CD/DVD loader mechanism, and wire up the tray and spin
motors to a solar panel array via a bank of switches. You could use
the existing wire harnesses.

- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.

 

[Michael A. Terrell]

David Nebenzahl wrote:

As others pointed out, there are 2 problems you need to solve:

1. Supplying enough current to the motor.
2. Getting a gearmotor, since a raw naked motor will spin *waaay* too
fast, and probably won't have enough torque to spin your display.
(Gearing the motor down decreases the speed and increases the torque.)

Regarding the first problem, I disagree with the reply that told you,
basically, it won't work with junk/surplus solar cells. If they're cheap
enough, I'd go ahead and try them. Those little motors don't take much
current. And if you have a bunch of similar cells, you can always wire
them up in series and parallel to increase the voltage or current.

How are you going to connect the broken pieces? Most of the surplus
like this I've seen had no solder terminals. only a few of the larger
pieces still had terminals. They want $10 for surplus. You can buy a new
12 V 1.5 W panel for $20:

<http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=44768>

Here are some places where you can find small DC gearmotors (some of
them probably have solar cells too):

http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/category/400/Motors/1.html
http://www.electronicsurplus.com/leftnav/motors.cat
http://www.alltronics.com/cgi-bin/category/37

Good luck, and have fun with the project.

--
You were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it.

- a Usenet "apology"

--
Greed is the root of all eBay.

 

On 6 Feb, 21:02, daviddschool <daviddsch...@gmail.com> wrote:

I am new to this, so if I say something that doesn't make sense,
please bear with me.  For my class I am teaching, I want to create a
rotating HORIZONTAL CD that is slowly turned by a motor (from a dollar
store toy).  I was thinking about buying a bag of broken Solar panels
from here :http://www.herbach.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=H...

but if someone knows a better place to buy at a cheaper price or
better material, please let me know.

1) I wanted to buy the motor (which need 2 double AA batteries to run)
and have it spin a horizontal CD on top, like a rotating display and
connect it to the solar panels from the grab bag - but I am unsure if
this is even feasible with the material or even the motor.

2) If there is some instructions on how to do this, that would be
great or if someone could point me in the right direction, I would
appreciate it.

How slowly? If 1 rpm will do, get a cheap clock and connect the CD to
the second hand. If you need it a bit faster, mount the CD on a ball
race and drive it from the rim with a little bit of rubber tubing on
the motor shaft.

Google will find motors designed to be solar-powered.

Chris

 

[Sylvia Else]

On 7/02/2010 7:02 AM, daviddschool wrote:

I am new to this, so if I say something that doesn't make sense,
please bear with me. For my class I am teaching, I want to create a
rotating HORIZONTAL CD that is slowly turned by a motor (from a dollar
store toy). I was thinking about buying a bag of broken Solar panels
from here :
http://www.herbach.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=HAR&Product_Code=TM93GBG2360&Category_Code=SED

but if someone knows a better place to buy at a cheaper price or
better material, please let me know.

1) I wanted to buy the motor (which need 2 double AA batteries to run)
and have it spin a horizontal CD on top, like a rotating display and
connect it to the solar panels from the grab bag - but I am unsure if
this is even feasible with the material or even the motor.

2) If there is some instructions on how to do this, that would be
great or if someone could point me in the right direction, I would
appreciate it.

I trust the point of this display is to show how little power solar
cells produce.

Sylvia.