life span durable ground based 'satellite' device.

alphacentauri · 2006-10-10T14:25:49+00:00

I'm developing an electronic device in order to collect and store awide range of sensory (imagery, sound) data of an outdoor environmentThis device will be installed in a remote area, high on a building (nopower lines) so it has to be self sufficient in energy supply. Becauseof this remoteness, self maintenance and the not always so electronicfriendly conditions outside (rain, snow, heath of sunlight etc.) I seeit as a sort of ground based 'satellite' and as far as I cansee/feel (Hey... I'm a total novice) it also has to be constructedsimilar to a satellite.Everyday, for only a short period of time (a few seconds) it starts upto collect the sensory the readings, which, to my latest estimates,will take no more than 5 watts of power.I'm not a professional engineer (but I'll get some help from a few) soexcuse me if I say things that are a little awkward or not that bright.To provide the device with sufficient and long term energy, I'mthinking to use about a square meter of a high efficiency solar cells.My goal is to collect and store the data and keep the device runningover a long as possible amount of time, counting in years. What can besaid about a maximum life span?Is the power source the main limiting factor just for example like the30 year old space based satellite as Voyager and Pioneer which run onradioactive decay reactors but if the electronics/transmitters will notbreak down, will function and transmit data till the 2030's!(Or are there other life span limiting issues like decay of materials(for now I'll use a welded a Zinc casket filled with Argon (preventsoxidation inside)).A lot of weather conditions affect the efficiency of solar cells.seasons, temperature, angle of sunlight etc.).But I've read, at the same website I believe, that the life span andpower generating properties are between 35-45 years!(?)Besides of solar cells are there any other durable long life energysources which can be used?Thank you for your attention and every comment is...

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alphacentauri 19 years ago

True. I was thinking of some kind of a malfunctioning alert by a radio transmitter or a Led light signal. There always will be a change that some part will break down or a case of severe/all data loss. That's reality, but also the challenge. To reduce the risk of malfunctioning there will be some parallel connected spare/back-up parts. (instead of one hd, 3 hd's). If hd_1 breaks down the next recorded data will be stored on hd_2. So a simple piece of error detection software is also needed.

I agree. As long as the solid state circuits aren't broken, split, disconnected or oxidiced, electronic machinery, like your mentioned examples, can run for a real long time. I still have the feeling that the main issue with the time capsule concept is, power/energy.

Moderate climate, and probably no shelter.

Who's got the e-mail adress of Jay Leno? "Jay Leno's 1909 Baker Electric still operates on its original Edison cells." (!)

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Also Supercapacitors are an interesting option, though hard to obtain.

Thanks for your suggestions

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alphacentauri 19 years ago

The Lord owns the building.

It's a (former) church eh..eh..eh :Q

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alphacentauri 19 years ago

What if there's no GSM network after let's say 10 years?

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alphacentauri 19 years ago

Don't worry, I'll be the kook here. ;-D

Huh? Is this for real? If so, "Free Energy" indeed. Like that Lucille Ball story?

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Do you have some more specific information about the workings of this idea?

A big antenna wouldn't be a problem.

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alphacentauri 19 years ago

Maybe so, but moveable parts need lubrication right? Imagine a bicycle non-stop moving around, outside in a open environment and weather, for let's say 25 years without lubrication. Theoratical, with no accidents etc. If it still moves after these years it must feel like a very, very high gear I think. However a telephone cable well isolated in the ground (maybe not such a good comparison though) will still work fine.

True.

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alphacentauri 19 years ago

I'll be using a stripted down camera or making self a primitive version out of very basic/reliable components: Fixed wide angle lens, rugged & good quality CCD/CMOS, I/O connections etc.

No big LCD's, plastic parts and rubber gears :D

True. That's why I prefer to make one (digi cam) myself.

I agree. But there are some very, very reliable Hard Disc's. A few seagate's have an incredible high (1,400,000 hours) MTBF (mean time between failures).

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alphacentauri 19 years ago

Thank you for your extensive information.

There's still a lot of development in the solar cell technology. Just received this article:

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mark 19 years ago

Stanislaw, I think that mechanical assemblies have their place. However, with electronics at least you have the possibility of elimination of wear-out due to mechanical motion (yes, I know there are inherent wear-out mechanisms in electroncs, such as metal migration etc)

We all know what the solutions are: that there is no easy answer. Each situation must be examined: as engineers we should be able to identify the options, and come up with a least a ballpart ans. Are mechanical motion and wear limiting reliability? will inherent electonic wear-out limit it? Can I package the electronics in a hermetic chamber (and what is the leak rate?) to prevent moisture migration? TANSTAAFL. you have to do u'r homework (But the rules of thumb we use sure are handy at times)

M Walter

Stanislaw Flatto wrote:

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Christopher Ott 19 years ago

I remember building a crystal radio once as a kid, and how it was able to power a small earphone with no battery or apparent power source. The power transmitted by the station powers the radio. Considering the small amount of energy you'd need, it seems like you could adapt this principle. It does fit your main criteria of a nearly indefinite power source. I don't expect AM radio to be going away anytime soon. Of course this was also the principle behind Nikola Tesla's Magnifying Transmitter (

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You only need 5 Watts for 5 Seconds (25 wattseconds) once a day. So the other 86,395 seconds of the day this thing is just sitting there. It seems if it could be drawing just a trickle ( approx 300 microwatts continuously) from somewhere you could get your 25 wattseconds of energy for the next days readings.

Perhaps some of the folks in the radio newsgroups could give a quick thumbs up/down on the concept, as I don't know how much receive power would be typical off the AM band.

Also, you didn't mention it, but you will have a small constant current draw from the real time clock which will be needed to tell the microcontroller when to come out of sleep mode.

Chris

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Ancient_Hacker 19 years ago

If you believe that, I have a whole lot of laptop batteries to sell you. :)

1,4000,000 hours is 159.162341 years, give or take a leap day. They obviously didnt run a batch of disks for that long. They probably ran 10 disks at elevated temps for xxx hours, had one failure, and extrapolated the MTBF from that. Not exactly something I'd rely on.

In typical use, hard disks seem to last about 5 years before the bearings start to dry out and get noisy.

Nobody knows how long the roms or electrolytics on the disks are going to last.

Plenty of older EROMs only hold a charge for 10 years or so. Nobody know how long surface-mount electrolytics are going to last. The manufacturer's specs are not too encouraging-- the specs only guarantee a few thousand hours (see

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SMD electrolytics are already prematurely failing on hot boards, like PC video cards.

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Rich Grise 19 years ago

I know, the Lord owns everything (actually, it's his Yin, The Mother of Everything, who owns everything), but who has the title deed?

Thanks, Rich

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life span durable ground based 'satellite' device.

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