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Tags: august 1997, btu, car fact, cd rom, decade, design contest, don lancaster, equivalents, fuel cells, gases, gasoline, hydrogen car, musings, new tv, pic chips, related resources, typewriter, universities, water powered car,Pages: 6
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Created: Thu Sep 18 13:07:38 1997
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Don Lancaster's
PIC chips now on CD ROM
Tech Musings Hydrogen car fact and fancy
A brand new TV Typewriter!
Fuel cells and related resources
Decade's BOB-5L design contest
August, 1997
omebody on the net has just you have net deliverable BTU gains Your gases can then be collected
S invented a water powered car.
They were loudly bemoaning
the fact that nobody noticed.
Repeated contacts to universities and
talk shows were totally ignored, as
in the process. Your fuel might be
competitive only if and when those
gains are quite large.
Whenever you allow for "gasoline
equivalents" for such things as labor,
and compressed for further use.
The reaction is...
2H20 2H2 + O2
This is a nearly reversible reaction.
were newspaper letters and magazine true costs, and interest, I know of no Tremendous amounts of energy are
inquiries. Why, even Detroit wasn't proven process for making alcohol consumed in going from left to right.
showering them with megabucks. that comes even remotely close to an Tremendous amounts of energy are
Golly gee Mister Science. energy breakeven. liberated in going from right to left.
I was left with the feeling that they Let alone ending up economically Because of cell heating and related
simply had not done their homework. competitive. side reactions, more electrical energy
There are lots of very good and very Similarly, hydrogen usually comes input to your cell is always required
bad things about hydrogen powered from the electrolysis of water. Using compared to the energy returned.
cars. And in fact, there has been a that highly energy intensive process You might have seen that recent
new hydrogen storage discovery that shown in figure one. expose and criminal prosecution of a
could end up rather interesting. So, it You first make the water conduct. major pseudoscience hydrogen scam.
might be a good time for my... Perhaps by adding a weak acid. Then As usual, the culprit started off with
put the water into a "U" shaped tube plain old bad labwork that was not
Thoughts on Hydrogen Power and apply a dc current. Your current even wrong. Combined with wishful
Hydrogen powered vehicles have dissociates the H2O water by way of thinking plus "too good to be true"
some rather obvious advantages. The electrolysis, liberating oxygen gas at results that got out of hand.
energy density by weight of hydrogen the positive or anode side and twice Other hydrogen production ploys
is three times better than gasoline. as much hydrogen at the negative, or apply steam to existing hydrocarbons
Hydrogen can power a fuel cell and cathode side. or use water to oxidize sodium. Since
thus might "beat" the thermodynamic
Carnot efficiency limitations on heat
engines. Possibly by a factor of two
or more. And the usual main product
from hydrogen energy conversion is
plain old water. For potential (but by
no means at all guaranteed) localized
pollution reduction. O2 H2
Hydrogen can be made anywhere, gas gas
totally trashing geopolitics. Lastly,
those low voltages and high currents
used in hydrogen production are very
much solar compatible.
But here is the downside...
Hydrogen is not a fuel I'll define a
fuel as any substance that is able to
produce net BTU's of energy at an
economically reasonable cost.
Ferinstance, assume you fill your
tractor with ten gallons of gasoline,
(+) (-)
plant some corn, and distill the corn
into six gallons of grain alcohol. You PLATINUM PLATINUM
ANODE CATHODE
could think of this process as a giant
H2O (water)
funnel. You'll pour gasoline into the
top, and alcohol dribbles out of the
bottom. The alcohol is not a fuel; it is
simply an energy transfer medium for Fig. 1 HYDROGEN IS NORMALLY PRODUCED by the electrolysis of water.
gasoline in disguise. There is no known non-nuclear process for hydrogen generation that creates
You'll produce a fuel only when more energy than it consumes. Thus, hydrogen is definitely ~not~ a fuel.
Copyright c 1997 by Don Lancaster and Synergetics (520) 428-4073 www.tinaja.com All commercial rights and all electronic media rights fully reserved. Reposting is expressly forbidden.
115.1
Tech Musings
+5v
330
+12 v
75
ground 1N4148 +
2.7 K 33 pF
8 7 6 5
chip select in NC +12 OUT NC
-
2.7 K
clock input 2044 1K
+5 v 1 µF dc level offset
data input NC - + GND video output
1 2 3 4
genlock out +
nc nc nc nc nc nc nc
+5v output +5 v
32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17
DET DAT CLK CS Q1 Q2 Q3 RST YX RX GX BX CX CIN CVX CVI 1 Meg
microcontroller
or hosting pc ROHM BU5963AS 14.3182 MHz
interface +5V SIN SX GND SEP CAP HMM CLV +IN -IN XX PDX +5V XTI XTO GND .01µ
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 22 pF
100 K 10 K 7-45 pF
nc
+5 v pll adj
+5 v
+5 v 22p 1K MV2109
hpll adj 47 K
1K 2.7 K
.001 µF 1K 1µF
video input 2.7 K +
2.49 K 220 pF +
+ 2.2 µF 1 µF .047 µF 2.2 µF
- 4.99 K 100 2200 pF .047 µF
75 +12 v
+12 v +5 v +
8 7 6 5
bottom pin source source
may connect NC +12 OUT NC -
to ground 2044 4.99 K
-10 volt source power supply +12 vdc input
1K NC - + -10
1 2 3 4 circuits
.001 µF
2.49 K
Fig. 2 THE SCHEMATIC FOR THE BOB-5L TV TYPEWRITER. 10 row x 24 character color display generates its
own NTSC baseband video or overlays an external input. Uses include PIC data displays, teleprompters, low end
titlers, large print aides, time of day, or budget point-of-purchase systems. There's an amazing variety of options.
these gobble up your input products, standard temperature and pressure their weight as hydrogen.
such processes are even more energy takes up 11,126 liters. For an utterly If verified and proven, this could
consumptive than electrolysis. laughable energy density by volume give a 20:1 density improvement. As
No non-nuclear means is currently of 3.4 watt hours per liter. much as thirty liters of hydrogen can
known to generate hydrogen that can Compared to gasoline at its 9600 be stored per gram of nanofibers! A
deliver more in energy BTU's than it wh/l or lead acid at 40 wh/l. recyclable cartridge the size and the
consumes! Thus, at its best, hydrogen One way to reduce the volume of a weight of a tank of gasoline could
can only move pollution. It can never gas is to compress it. The pressures run a car for 5000 miles.
eliminate it. And can only raise your involved quickly get horrendous, and An announcement on this ongoing
cost of energy. safety becomes a rather serious issue. development is in New Scientist for
When you talk about a hydrogen Instead, processes are sought out to December 27, 1996. Based on a fall
economy, the total production costs chemically bind hydrogen to another 1996 Boston paper at the Materials
must always be included. Total costs substance, creating a hydride. Research Society conference. Their
that are direct and indirect, obvious The best storing hydride in nature full paper should show up in Science
and hidden. is methane or CH4. Methane can store magazine "real soon now".
We saw more on electrochemisty 25 percent hydrogen by weight. And, A useful summary appears in the
last month in MUSE114.PDF and in until recently, the most promising of Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Letter for
the Tech Musings reprints. man-made carbon hydrides were way February of 1997.
on down at 4 percent or so. While this new storage scheme is
Hydrogen is quite hard to store The A new graphite nanofiber storage very exciting, we are merely talking
energy density of hydrogen gas is an material was recently announced by highly preliminary lab work for now.
outstanding 38,000 watt hours per a Nelly Rodriguez and her research Off-the-shelf products and systems to
kilogram. Compare this to gasoline at team at Northeastern University. In deliver them might be something else
13,500 wh/kg or lead acid at its 25 which some recyclable hydrides got entirely. Especially solutions that are
wh/kg. But a kilogram of hydrogen at created that store up to 75 percent of safe and economically competitive.
115.2 Copyright c 1997 by Don Lancaster and Synergetics (520) 428-4073 www.tinaja.com All commercial rights and all electronic media rights fully reserved. Reposting is expressly forbidden.
August, 1997
set set set set set set set set
not not not not not
0 0 1 used used used used used
address
msb
address
bit #6
address
bit #5
address
bit #4
address
bit #3
address
bit #2
address
bit #1
address
lsb
Typical word to set auto-indexing address for forthcoming data
set set set
super- display character character character character character character character
character character character not
0 0 0 impose
flag
color
blue
color
green
color
red
reverse
on-off
used
select
msb
select
bit #5
select
bit #4
select
bit #3
select
bit #2
select
bit #1
select
lsb
Typical data word for display screen position addresses #0 through #239
horiz horiz horiz horiz horiz horiz horiz horiz horiz horiz
not not not size size size size position position position position position position
0 0 0 used used used lines 2-10
msb
lines 2-10
lsb
line 1
msb
line 1
lsb
setting
msb
setting
bit #4
setting
bit #3
setting
bit #2
setting
bit #1
setting
lsb
Data word for control address #240
vertical vertical vertical vertical vertical vertical vertical vertical vertical vertical
not not not size size size size position position position position position position
0 0 0 used used used lines 2-10
msb
lines 2-10
lsb
line 1
msb
line 1
lsb
setting
msb
setting
bit #4
setting
bit #3
setting
bit #2
setting
bit #1
setting
lsb
Data word for control address #241
set set set set set set set set set
not not not not outline outline outline charsize charsize charsize backgnd backgnd backgnd
0 0 0 used used used used color
blue
color
green
color
red
color
blue
color
green
color
red
color
blue
color
green
color
red
Data word for control address #242
Port # 3 Port # 2 Port # 1 blink
character character blinking blinking blinking blink super- mono
data data data reverse interlace
0 0 0 output on
pin 26
output on
pin 27
output on
pin 28
charsize
on-off
outline
on-off
~vs~ blank
select
enable
select
duty cycle
msb
duty cycle
lsb
frequency
set
impose
on-off
color
off-on
off - on
Data word for control address #243
Fig. 3 ADDRESS MAP FOR BOB-5L. The low 240 locations hold on-screen display characters and their individual
attributes. The high 4 locations hold global formatting information. If incoming bit B13 is a one, the 16-bit word sets an
autoindexing address. If B13 is a zero, data gets placed into the previously set address.
Hydrogen rots metal That hydrogen invisible flame. A stunt that us fire The appeal of fuel cells is obvious.
molecule is the smallest one known. department haz mat teams use is to Beat Carnot at his own game. Flush
It thus easily diffuses through many tie a rag onto our pike pole and then thermodynamics and approach 100%
common materials. Waltzes right on attempt to "joust" with the hard to efficiency. Route air and hydrogen to
by. Worse yet, hydrogen reacts with see flame front. an electrochemical cell that directly
metals and causes embrittlement. A Do not try this at home. generates electricity. Output (mostly)
metal in contact with hydrogen for a Hydrogen storage systems should water as a byproduct.
long time tends to lose most of its be designed such that any total and Sadly, we flat out ain't there yet.
strength. Ultimately stress cracking catastrophic release of all contained Expensive catalysts are involved. The
or shattering to failure. energy is extremely unlikely. Sort of cells remain large, costly, and offer
This leads to severe safety, testing, like a flywheel that could expend its limited life. Output voltages are very
and lifetime considerations when you failure energy by tearing itself apart low. Many cells have to run at higher
are talking about a hydrogen powered rather than violently ejecting pieces. temperatures. They sometimes can be
anything. Hydrides would seem better at slow slow to start or change power levels.
release than a pressure tank hydrogen Claimed efficiencies are often fudged
Hydrogen is dangerous Even after
gas system would be. by assuming you can use your waste
you get on past the Hindenberg and
heat for something else.
Three Mile Island, this is still nasty Fuel cells are expensive Just like the
But sharply increased funding for
stuff. Uh, the flammability range of Volkswagen van heaters, "significant
next year's grant will magically cure
hydrogen in air is one of the broadest improvements" in the fuel cells have
all of this. Just ask any researcher.
known, ranging from 4 to 74 percent. been claimed every year for the past
Inside most of this range, hydrogen is three decades. And in fact have been For this month's resource sidebar,
violently explosive. demonstrated. I've gathered together a few places to
Hydrogen can burn with a nearly But my feet are still cold. go to get more hydrogen info.
Copyright c 1997 by Don Lancaster and Synergetics (520) 428-4073 www.tinaja.com All commercial rights and all electronic media rights fully reserved. Reposting is expressly forbidden.
115.3
Tech Musings
HYDROGEN ENERGY RESOURCES
Alternate Energy ElectroChem Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Ltr Natl Renewable Energy Lab
901 N Columbus Street 400 W Cummings Park Grinnell St PO Box 14 1617 Cole Blvd
Alexandria VA 22314 Woburn MA 01801 Rhinecliff NY 12574 Golden CO 80401
(800) 469-2519 (617) 938-5300 (914) 876-5988 (303) 231-7681
Am Assn for Fuel Cells Energy Research Corp International Fuel Cells New Scientist Magazine
50 Mile Street 3 Great Pasture Road 195 Governors Hwy Box 945
Greenfield MA 01301 Danbury CT 06813 South Windsor CT 06074 New York NY 10159
(413) 774-6051 (203) 792-1460 (860) 727-2348 (212) 633-7300
American Hydrogen Assn EPRI Journal Intl Jnl Hydrogen Energy Rocky Mountain Institute
216 S Clark Dr Ste 103 PO Box 10412 Box 945 1739 Snowmass Creek Rd
Tempe AZ 85281 Palo Alto CA 94303 New York NY 10159 Snowmass CO 81654
(602) 921-0433 (415) 855-2000 (212) 633-2730 (970) 927-3851
CA Selects: Batteries Fuel Cell Assn Materials Research Society SAE
PO Box 3012 PO Box 65481 9800 McKnight Rd #327 400 Commonwealth Dr
Columbus OH 43210 Washington DC 20035 Pittsburgh PA 15237 Warrendale PA 15096
(800) 848-6538 (301) 681-3532 (412) 367-3003 (412) 776-4841
CA Selects: Stress Corr. Home Power National Hydrogen Assn Science/AAAS
PO Box 3012 PO Box 520 1800 M Street NW, Ste 300 1333 H St NW
Columbus OH 43210 Ashland OR 97520 Washington DC 20036 Washington DC 20005
(800) 848-6538 (916) 475-3179 (202) 223-5547 (202) 326-6400
Ground zero on all this appears to stand-alone data display for a PIC or Plus possibly a fourth output line.
be that Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Letter. a PC or any other micro. These BOB-5L inputs are your usual
A pair of quality books include that The schematic appears in figure chip select, clock, and data lines. An
Fuel Cell Handbook by Appleby and two. Up to 10 rows of 24 characters optional output returns genlock info.
Foulkes 1989 from Van Nostrand; or per row could be either generated or When CS is low, the input data gets
the Fuel Cell Systems by Blomen and superimposed over your input NTSC transferred on your positive edge of
Mugerwa from the Plenum Press. video. An optional output fader can the clock. Data transfer could go as
There is tons of stuff on the web. be added for variable transparency. high as 2.5 Megabaud. Which might
Start off with all the fuel cell links on Although their 128 character set is process up to 150,000 characters per
www1.usa1.com/~fuelcell/electroche fixed, there's a surprising variety of second or as many as 650 full screen
m/fc_sites.html or stuff on www.get color, outline, overlay, background, refreshes per second. Far more than
net.com/charity/aha/ahafcell.html and size options. All brought about can possibly be viewed.
Two useful newsgroups here now mostly by the Rohm BU5963AS chip. There is an internal RAM memory
include sci.energy.hydrogen along Whose original intended use was as a stashing 244 words of 12 bits each.
with alt.energy.renewable VCR/TV remote display. The lower 240 words hold the screen
Plus possibly sci.chem.analytical A single +12 volt power supply at character content data. Addressing
For alternate wishful thinking on sixty mils is needed. Typically from starts with zero at the upper left and
all this, visit the Keelynet. Or any of a wall wart module. progresses rapidly left to right and
those dozens of mesmerizingly awful slowly top to bottom.
sites on the Pseudoscience web links Data Format Details The upper four control words give
page of my http://www.tinaja.com Your host computer or micro can you all sorts of fancy display options,
communicate using three input lines. by using the command set of figure
Build This TV Typewriter three. There are always sixteen bits in
Hmmm. It's deja vu all over again. a word received from the host PC or
For those of you that came in late, NEED HELP? controlling micro. Most significant
my Radio-Electronics TV Typewriter Phone or write all your US Tech bits B14 and B15 are always zero.
from their September 1973 issue is Musings questions to: Bit B13 is the mode bit. If B13 is a
widely regarded as having been the one, the rest of the bits are treated as
Don Lancaster
opening shot fired in the personal Synergetics
an address as shown. If B13 is a zero,
computer revolution. Box 809-EN the rest of the bits treated as data and
Well, there's now a brand new TV Thatcher, AZ, 85552 get entered into the previously stored
Typewriter called the BOB-5L from (520) 428-4073 or next available address.
Decade Engineering. Listing at $79 All sequential data words will auto
US email: don@tinaja.com
in quantity and double that in singles, Web page: www.tinaja.com
increment into your next available
this smallish card can provide either address. Thus, you only have to set
a genlocked overlay video or else a an address once at the beginning of a
115.4 Copyright c 1997 by Don Lancaster and Synergetics (520) 428-4073 www.tinaja.com All commercial rights and all electronic media rights fully reserved. Reposting is expressly forbidden.
August, 1997
new from
NAMES AND NUMBERS
DON LANCASTER
ACTIVE FILTER COOKBOOK
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(503) 743-3194 (908) 778-0343
INCREDIBLE SECRET
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Nicasio CA 94946 Waterbury CT 06704 up your own technical or craft venture. $18.50
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