Charles Mingus - Bottom Secret

MAKE A JOULE THIEF

http://www.emanator.demon.co.uk/bigclive/joule.htm

In the November 1999 issue of EPE (Everyday Practical Electronics), a small and intriguing circuit was published in the Ingenuity Unlimited section by Z. Kaparnik. It was a very small implementation of a typical transformer feedback single transistor invertor. The transformer was a standard ferrite bead with two windings wound on it and the circuit was using the high voltage pulse generated when the transistor turns off to light an LED from a single 1.5V battery.

This page has two variations on the original design to use the simple circuit in a useful manner.

I originally called this torch the vampire torch because it sucked the last remnants of life from a cell, but then decided to call it a Joule Thief instead because it was a catchy name and played on the fact the unit steals the last bit of energy from a cell. (Joule is a unit of energy) I guess the name has kinda stuck!

Here's the Joule thief. It's like an open PCB torch that will take either an AA or AAA battery in the holder and use whatever power is left in the battery to light a white LED.
The amazing thing about this circuit is that it will run right down to about 0.35V if left running continuously, and will often provide a week of continuous low level light from a battery that would normally be considered dead.
The level of light is initially quite high but gradually reduces as the battery voltage goes lower. However, it can still be used for reading in a dark room, even when the battery is almost completely drained.

These are the components used in the circuit, and as you can see there are very few.
One metre from the spool of enamelled wire will be used to turn the ferrite bead into a transformer, the resistor will be used to limit the feedback current to the transistor, the transistor will switch on and off about 50,000 times a second and the white LED will light.
The ferrite bead is a plain type usually sold in packs of ten or fifty. The one shown was sourced from Maplin Electronics in the UK although just about everyone does them. Don't use anything other than plain cheap vanilla ferrite, since any other type will reduce efficiency.

Take a metre of the 38swg (0.15mm) enamelled wire and fold it in half making sure that the point of the fold is nice and sharp since it will be used to thread the wire round the ferrite bead. It is important to lay the wire on evenly and pull it firmly round the form since you will need to make twenty turns of the doubled wire and it's a tight fit.
Don't worry if you make a mess of it, since the ferrite bead can be re-used and you will have lots of spare wire to practice with.
The whole process of winding the bead is the most tricky part of the project and is made slightly more awkward by the fact you are winding two coils on simultaneously.

When you pull the loop of wire through the bead be sure to carefully guide the loop through so that it doesn't twist as shown above. It's the single most likely thing to mess up your transformer, so go slowly and carefully.

When the bead is wound you should have a pair of wires sticking out each end. Crop them to about 2" (50mm) and tin the ends, then meter them to find which wires are part of the same winding and label them as above.

Here's the actual circuit (minus the switch). Building it is easy although care should be taken soldering the ferrite beads wires on the PCB. The PCB layout in the TIF file below has the windings clearly marked, and when inserting the bead be careful not to mix the wires up. The act of soldering the leads should melt the laquer off the wire, but examine the joints carefully afterwards to make sure that the solder has taken to the wire.
If you want to make one of these devices then you will find the PCB layout and foil below in TIF format. If you view the images directly they will look a bit ragged at the edges. This is because they have been scanned from a laser printed original, but when they are printed at 600DPI the image will be fine. I chose TIF because it seems to carry information that results in printing being done at the correct size. If you don't have the ability to read the TIF format on your computer then you might take a look at the Irfanview website where you can download a freeware file viewing utility.
I've added a small section of half inch scale to the file to allow you to validate that your printer is producing output of the correct size.

Click here for the track and layout of this PCB in TIF format

Here's another variant on the circuit which has been optimised for fudging together without a PCB to allow it to be inserted into an MES torch lamp base.

I mean it's REALLY small!
I used an 1/8th watt resistor for size reasons.

A standard lamp is gutted out by desoldering the end contact and gently squeezing the lamp in a vice to loosen the cement that holds the glass bulb in. You can see that the excess cement has been scraped away to make room for the little electronic module.

The module is sleeved, connected and then resined into position.

And just to prove it works, even with a button cell.......

http://www.emanator.demon.co.uk/bigclive/joule.htm

These are the components used in the circuit, and as you can see there are very few.
One metre from the spool of enamelled wire will be used to turn the ferrite bead into a transformer, the resistor will be used to limit the feedback current to the transistor, the transistor will switch on and off about 50,000 times a second and the white LED will light.
The ferrite bead is a plain type usually sold in packs of ten or fifty. The one shown was sourced from Maplin Electronics in the UK although just about everyone does them. Don't use anything other than plain cheap vanilla ferrite, since any other type will reduce efficiency.

Take a metre of the 38swg (0.15mm) enamelled wire and fold it in half making sure that the point of the fold is nice and sharp since it will be used to thread the wire round the ferrite bead. It is important to lay the wire on evenly and pull it firmly round the form since you will need to make twenty turns of the doubled wire and it's a tight fit.
Don't worry if you make a mess of it, since the ferrite bead can be re-used and you will have lots of spare wire to practice with.
The whole process of winding the bead is the most tricky part of the project and is made slightly more awkward by the fact you are winding two coils on simultaneously.

When you pull the loop of wire through the bead be sure to carefully guide the loop through so that it doesn't twist as shown above. It's the single most likely thing to mess up your transformer, so go slowly and carefully.

When the bead is wound you should have a pair of wires sticking out each end. Crop them to about 2" (50mm) and tin the ends, then meter them to find which wires are part of the same winding and label them as above.

Here's the actual circuit (minus the switch). Building it is easy although care should be taken soldering the ferrite beads wires on the PCB. The PCB layout in the TIF file below has the windings clearly marked, and when inserting the bead be careful not to mix the wires up. The act of soldering the leads should melt the laquer off the wire, but examine the joints carefully afterwards to make sure that the solder has taken to the wire.
If you want to make one of these devices then you will find the PCB layout and foil below in TIF format. If you view the images directly they will look a bit ragged at the edges. This is because they have been scanned from a laser printed original, but when they are printed at 600DPI the image will be fine. I chose TIF because it seems to carry information that results in printing being done at the correct size. If you don't have the ability to read the TIF format on your computer then you might take a look at the Irfanview website where you can download a freeware file viewing utility.
I've added a small section of half inch scale to the file to allow you to validate that your printer is producing output of the correct size.

Click here for the track and layout of this PCB in TIF format

Here's another variant on the circuit which has been optimised for fudging together without a PCB to allow it to be inserted into an MES torch lamp base.

I mean it's REALLY small!
I used an 1/8th watt resistor for size reasons.

A standard lamp is gutted out by desoldering the end contact and gently squeezing the lamp in a vice to loosen the cement that holds the glass bulb in. You can see that the excess cement has been scraped away to make room for the little electronic module.

The module is sleeved, connected and then resined into position.

And just to prove it works, even with a button cell.......

http://www.emanator.demon.co.uk/bigclive/joule.htm

ANIMOTO video for FUTURE LEARNING

Monday, September 7, 2009

Shifting Structures of Society

The Social Impacts of the Technology Revolution – Part II of Technology’s Promise

This section discussed what the author calls the “creative destruction of social institutions”.
Halal says that the issue goes beyond organizational change and needs an institutional change instead.

The hierarchical order of business, government and even families is discussed.

Halal says that the change that needed is a decentralized self-organized network of “self managed internal enterprises”.

Additionally Halal states that the profit motive, which dominates most of the corporations in the world, will have to be transformed
into a corporate community where focus will shift to the intangible knowledge assets of skilled workers, partnerships, and software.
This focus will replace over the shoulder supervision and allow innovation, creativity; entrepreneurship and overall knowledge work
will dominate. This new style of management and worker will emphasize what is produced and not where.
In this brave new configuration, leaders will listen and care rather that dictate.

I tend to agree with some of the components of the author’s perspective, I must say that it appears that it will be quite some time
(because of the nature of humans) before we shift to a more cooperative, socially responsible business and societal model.

Today’s information and media evidence points to the fact that our society’s evolution toward “science-based interdisciplinary
dialogue” is currently mired in the phase described by “group pathologies” (Christakis, 2006). This phase describes how
individuals can disrupt the work of groups through expressing negative social-emotional behaviors such as:
• Venting anger and frustration
• Perceiving the situation to be a threat to their self-interests
• Using the situation to get attention
• Following some inappropriate strategy to meet social and emotional needs

It (the shift to social responsibility) will only begin when the current privileged societal groups realize that the privileges of
the past are dinosaurs in the near and long term reality.

Monday, August 31, 2009

Platform for Future Learning

There is data that suggests that the direction of learning (post M-learning, e-learning, v-learning, t-learning modalities)
will be a blending of all learning artifacts into a ubiquitous system that uses technology to transform our immediate
environment into a realism-based setting. In this setting humans will learn more naturally and easily. The closest
example could be dubbed a "learning Holodex".

Some scholars have described this environment as "learning without reading". I don't completely share their belief,
but instead believe that the visual, immersive, environment will be the dominate delivery medium, followed by audio
as the secondary modality, with verbiage being the tertiary support component in the system.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Future innovation estimation

The use of Nanotechnology in medicine is thought to be one of the most promising uses of nanotechnology (the closet
to the robotic surgery item on our wiki list). The article did not provide a time-frame for the widespread adoption of the
technology or techniques but I will use my future prognostication skills to say the time-frame will be within 20 years.
The scientists in the article are working on detecting Coronary Heart Disease in the early stages. The proposed process
will make use of three types of nanostructured probes:
a)molecular beacons
b)semiconductor quantum dots
c)magnetic nanoparticles

These components will detect, mark, study and provide an image of coronary plaque formations.

Please view the embedded article entitled “Nanotechnology in Medicine and Health” The entire article is included
at the bottom of this page(specific article information starts on page 126).

A second study conducted by the Millennium Project of the American Council for the United Nations University and
The Foundation for the Future. This project collected foreseeable factors that might significantly affect the future of
humanity in the next 1000 years.

The study puts forth the belief that the “inherited diseases of our ancestors will no longer exist” (by the 22nd century).

Please view the embedded article related to this information entitled “ Millennium 3000 Scenarios - Excerpt from the
State of the Future at the Millennium”. The entire article is included at the bottom of this page.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Cool Web 2.0 Tool

The Web 2.0 tool that I have chosen is a timeline tool.

This tool can be used for colaboration on project milestone events.

This app allows the quick creation of timelines that can be modified by project team members.

It is free, simple to setup and is easy to use.

Monday, August 10, 2009

SDP and CKD

". The "Problematique" notation was used to display the "mess" of the problems regarding Chronic Kidney Disease.

The four basic stages of inquiry were used with the 1st three stages being co-laboratory processes and the
last stage used being the Delphi process.

48 participants completed influence mapping (of the associated influence tree) using CogniScope software.

The next phase, or 2nd stage, was composed of 4 steps: 

1. Envision parts of the solution in relation to the overall problem, with participants individually
listing separate potential action options that address specific barriers.

2. Clarify individual perceptions about each action option, in order
to promote group learning.

3. Cluster action options based on their similarity and compile
individual judgments (by voting) to further understand which action options are of
higher relative saliency

4. Use this collective understanding to identify the most salient action options.

This process was followed by a 3rd stage that created alternative action scenarios.

Finally the participants generated action options and voted on each action option.
The voting yielded a total of 12 actions.

I have included a mind map of the "Structured Design Process". The map is a Web 2.0 tool
and can be manipulated with the mouse. Please feel free to experiment with it.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

The future is cloudy

Famous Forecasts -

Lewis, Richard D.. "Chapter 12 - Empires—Past,
Present, and Future".
The Cultural Imperative:
Global Trends in the 21st Century. Intercultural Press. © 2003. Books24x7.
<http://common.books24x7.com/book/id_7940/book.asp>

“All men are born good.” (Confucius 500 B.C.)
“So many centuries after creation, it is unlikely that anyone could find hitherto unknown lands of any value.”
(King Ferdinand of Spain 1486, before Columbus’ voyage)
“Rail travel at high speed is not possible because passengers, unable to breathe, would die of asphyxsia.” (Irish professor 1835)
“Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground and try to find oil? You’re crazy!” (U.S. executive 1859)
“The telephone has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication.” (Western Union corporate memo 1876)
“I’m sorry, Mr. Kipling, but you just don’t understand how to use the English language.” (Publisher’s rejection letter 1889)
“The horse is here to stay. The automobile is only a novelty—a fad.” (a banker advising Henry Ford not to invest in the Ford Motor Company 1903)
“Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value.” (French military strategist Marshal Foch 1911)
“The wireless has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?” (Friends of RCA founder 1920)
“Can’t act. Can’t sing. Balding. Can dance a little.” (MGM executive 1929, about Fred Astaire’s screen test)
“I have no political ambition for myself or for my children.” (Joseph Kennedy 1936)
“Hitler has missed the bus.” (Chamberlain1940)
“I think there is a world market for about five computers.” (IBM Chairman Thomas Watson 1943).
“For the majority of people, the use of tobacco has a beneficial effect.” (Los Angeles surgeon 1963)
“No woman in my time will be Prime Minister.” (Margaret Thatcher 1969)

Weather Control - http://www.manolith.com/2009/07/30/pending-future-technologies/

(source)

In 1966, a radio documentary, 2000 AD, was aired as a forum for various media and science personalities to discuss what life might be like in the year 2000. The primary theme running through the show concerned a prediction that no one in the year 2000 would have to work more than a day or two a week, and our leisure time would go through the roof. With so much free time, you can imagine that we would not want our vacations or day trips ruined by nasty weather, and therefore we should quickly develop a way to control the weather, shaping it to our needs. Taking the lighting from the clouds or the wind from the tornadoes were among the predictions, yet they were careful to note that we might not take weather control too far because of political reasons. Unfortunately, we here in the 2000’s still work full weeks, and we still get our picnics rained out from time to time. You can listen to the weather control selection of the broadcast here.

Free Speech or Threat? I'll Report - You Decide.

Aug 23, 2009 at 8:09 AM

8 comments

I find this entire discussion goofy. Democrats are upset at harsh criticism of President Obama.
However, the same Democrats were quite happy, when they were attacking President Bush
and calling him a Nazi. When the shoe is on the other foot, the Democrats call foul.
This goes to character.

I am still amazed that the face of the Democratic Party is Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank, and Al Franken.
FDR and Harry S. Truman would be highly disappointed in the the Democrats of today.
Shame on the Democrats.

http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images//2009/8/20/200982085220153683_8.jpg

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j186/DonaldDouglas/Americaneocon/Adam%20Schiff%20Town%20Hall/IMG_2416.jpg

World Bank and IFC Reward 16 Companies for Innovative
Lighting Projects for Africa

By admin - Posted on May 12th, 2008

ACCRA, GHANA, May 9, 2008—The World Bank Group has selected 16 companies
and organizations as winners of the Development Marketplace competition for
their innovative products or services tailored to Sub-Saharan Africa’s off-grid
lighting market.

LED lighting at home in Accra, Ghana: Photo by The World Bank, International Finance Corporation and Lighting Africa

The winners will receive up to $200,000 to implement projects that offer affordable, clean,
and safe off-grid lighting and that improve access to lighting for people living without
electricity across the region. » read more »
Africa at night

Searches related to: Lighting Africa Students

lighting up africa

lighting africa 2008

lighting africa initiative

ifc lighting africa

lighting african violets

solar light for africa

light africa network

light africa foundation

Bottom Secret

Bottom Secret Who ?what ? when ? where? why ?

MAKE A JOULE THIEF

This page has two variations on the original design to use the simple circuit in a useful manner.

When you pull the loop of wire through the bead be sure to carefully guide the loop through so that it doesn't twist as shown above. It's the single most likely thing to mess up your transformer, so go slowly and carefully.

When the bead is wound you should have a pair of wires sticking out each end. Crop them to about 2" (50mm) and tin the ends, then meter them to find which wires are part of the same winding and label them as above.

Here's another variant on the circuit which has been optimised for fudging together without a PCB to allow it to be inserted into an MES torch lamp base.

I mean it's REALLY small!I used an 1/8th watt resistor for size reasons.

A standard lamp is gutted out by desoldering the end contact and gently squeezing the lamp in a vice to loosen the cement that holds the glass bulb in. You can see that the excess cement has been scraped away to make room for the little electronic module.

The module is sleeved, connected and then resined into position.

And just to prove it works, even with a button cell.......http://www.emanator.demon.co.uk/bigclive/joule.htm