So power is precious and power is the problem with all VTOL aircraft. No matter how cool batteries are and how important fossil fuel reduction is, if we want massive acceptance of VTOL Cars, we need long range & fuel consumption. We need the big oil to be our friends….. even if you don’t love the idea.
To start on a small scale, we are going to try and get this drone running on fuel. YEAH! FUEL! So where the heck do we start? Keep in mind a big ole dummy and a novice in this space. Let’s look at the problem.
The drone runs on batteries. 4S LIPO is a decent start. This is 14.8VDC. I just ran a 2250 mAH capacity for about 4 minutes give or take. What power draw is this? 2250 is 2.250 aH which 4 minutes is 0.066 hours so 2.25aH/0.066H = 34 amps at 14.8VDC ish which is 34*14.8 = 503 W.
What tools can you have log power consumption on drones? – It looks like the Pixhawk flight controller has variables that should be logging this but without telemetry reading back, I don’t know how I’d access this. Something to come back to and will be necessary.
For the moment, let’s assume I need about 50 Amps at 15 volts produced, seems like a freaking crap ton. Also, is this generator going to charge a battery and then that battery run the system? How does the charge and discharge work? This is 750 W… This sniff tests like a ton of power? I guess it is reasonable that it would be a crap ton of power considering this would be a forever running drone….. kinda cool.
So for about an hour I’ve been researching and I’ve learned that I have no idea what’s going on so I’m going to start by re-creating Tom Stanton’s build above. He seems like a cool dude. Hopefully re-creating will teach me a little more.
Building an alternator – Definition: An alternator is an electrical generator that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the form of alternating current. For reasons of cost and simplicity, most alternators use a rotating magnetic field with a stationary armature
So I read a bunch about it and seems plausible with a rotor (our 2) around a stator. The stator has a certain amount of wires coiled and then the rotor has the magnets. The magnet’s movement around the coil creates the electric field. Because the current direction changes, a bridge rectifier will transform the AC into DC. To keep things filtered and smoother, capacitors can be added.
I don’t seem to have the right stuff so this will have to be continued. On an unrelated noted, the idea was to have fuel to power the generator and the generator to charge batteries. On a small scale, this looks complex and expensive. RC jet engines could be the best route but at that rate, why not just have jet engines instead of brushless DC motors? Sounds fun to me, one thing at a time I guess.
So the goal is to identify what I marked as “Find Out” and actually go and find out what it is so I looked up UART and learn a bit.
Apparently it is protocol which is a standardize method of communication between two systems. In this case, the flight controller and the camera. UART stands for Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter. The asynchronous means that the two systems that have to communicate don’t have to have the same clock timing.
The two wires are RX on one to go to the TX of another and vice versa. It seems like UART protocol is a bit of an older style of communication between machines but it’s cheap and easy so it can helpful.
I wonder what all information is being sent? I’m assuming it is mostly the battery voltage.
Anyone who knew me in High School or has listened be blab on and on recently knows that I have a love for classic cars and my own 1950 Chevy Styleline. It was my first car and daily driver that I rebuilt in high school. Like many with classic cars, I’ve torn it apart a couple of times to make it better so here is the background and recent history of the project.
When I was 14/15 years old, I knew I wanted a car that no one else had. I did not want to be like anyone else so my father and I went searching for “barn finds”. I didn’t necessarily have a style in mind but a budget of only $1,500 bucks. We eventually found this beautiful ’50 Chevy stuck about a foot deep into the mud behind an old body shop. We got in touch with the owner and learned that the car was a parts car for another ’50s era rebuild but it was in a relatively good shape and came from Arkansas!
We took the beaut home and naturally did the unsafest thing, plugged in directly into a 6V. (Yes, original 6V system). Quickly the wiring harness started to smoke :/ This car was all original including straight inline 6 cylinder 216 CI and driveline with a torque tube rear end.
My father and I got the car running with the 216 CI and switched everything to a 12V system. We had to re-wire the entire car but it was running! First trip around the neighborhood block, I’m driving this three on the tree stick shift (first time stick shift) and my dad says to go ahead and put some gas to it! Let’s see what this baby can do…… Immediately smoke starts billowing out of the engine and that engine was cooked. The 216 was notorious for terrible oil circulation and it’s not like this thing sat for decades without love.
This forces us to upgrade the driveline to a 235 CI and driveshaft/rear end (1960s technology, now we’re talking). I think we used the same transmission for a little while since it bolted on but and we moved the shifting to a floor shift since the gearbox on the original would just get stuck all the time. The floor shift wasn’t much better. I can recall driving to high school with my floor boards wide open and the linkage getting stuck so I’d stick my hand down and wiggle everything until we found gear. What a wild time.
A neighbor down the road had old 50s era cars and gave us an old rear end out of a Chevy Blazer to try. We needed a transmission so with some research we found that it was common to get an adapter plate and use a T5 Transmission. With the luck of Facebook Marketplace, we found someone selling an old S10 truck without a title for parts for $150! We picked up the truck hoping that it had the right transmission and just our luck it did! We bought the truck, ripped it’s transmission and sold the parts for $150! That’s what we call a deal.
The upgraded transmission, driveshaft, rear end, and motor was the perfect car to drive in high school. After graduation, I need a commuter vehicle for college so it became the perfect time do what everyone does, take it all a part and make it better again! The goal was upgrade suspension, wiring, electronics, engine (to a 350 CI), etc. We took it a part and started welding a Mustang II front end suspension and then college and life hits so the car sat in garages for years!
This brings us to where we are now. January of 2024 and my wife’s lease was going to be up in March. Naturally, I’m determined to make this my daily driver again.
It had been so long since I even touched the car, I had no idea what parts were what, where I was with the car and what my next steps would be. That Chevy 350 CI I was upgrading too had never even ran. I bought it from a random guy on Marketplace 7 or 8 years ago and never saw it run.
Below is outline of the progress and lots of pictures. I should definitely outline in detail the joy (or torture) but for the sake of time, I’ll have to come back and revisit.
How it looked in High SchoolHow it looked when I startedCustom Steering KnuckleGarages are cold in winterMotor bracketsBrake Master CylinderShock AbsorberMotor Bracket on FrameGrandfathers ’48 Plymouth in the background, Motor ready to installMotor getting ready to drop inSuspension and firewall paintedMotor droppingMount brackets need slottedMount brackets need slottedMotor made in Canada!Slotted bracketsMotor installed! Looking GoodCar’s getting some sunlightApollo helping in the garageMocking up exhaustTransmission from the topThrowout bearingSpacers for throwout bearingNew Starter InstalledBattery that blew up on us (very loud, don’t recommend)Headers installed with startedMotor ready for installation, no transmissionTransmission ready for install on motorInner Fenders InstalledInner Fenders InstalledBrake line routingBrake Master CylinderBroke a wrench…. oopsBrake line routingBack drum brakes from BlazerMore brake line routingPainted drums, not sure whyMotor back in with water pumpClose-up of water pump. Leaked to start, pain the buttMotor in with inner fenders offStarting to dress the motor with alternator, manifolds, etc.Mocked up radiator, inner fenderNice view of engine housingAnother Nice view of engine housingRadiator removed, had to customize bracketsStarted running engine housing wiringStarted Dash WiringFenders mocked up and more wiring routedAll engine installed and wiring doneIgnition was giving me troublesDakota Digital DashUnder dash wiringMore under-dash wiringCar sitting in garageCar siting in garageCar sitting in garagePush button startPedal system installedCarburetor dialing inNo seats yet!Measuring driveshaftMeasure DriveshaftUnder Frame, transmission mountBleeding hydraulic clutch is a nightmareMore transmission mountingMore transmission mountingToilet Nomad sitting as seat!Seat mock-upDashEngine housing with waterlines, etc.Apollo Hanging outGetting some sun, time to startDash is working!Easier to access exhausts with fenders offMan this dash looks goodOil dipstick was so difficult to fitAlignment was offAlignmentSuspension alignment a little offLooking good!Transmission may need a new coverComing back togetherFirst Hook Mock-upI’m just in aweGrill Mocked-upSitting outsideHood UpTrailer rotted out when we went to get front end alignment doneWiring under dash is hardBack in garageBrake lights!Dash lights Grill lights are processFront EndFront EndFront EndDrove across town!My burn-out broke the yoke!
My name is Kevin Bartchlett, if you couldn’t tell. This site and the related social media is just a way for me to share my cool projects.
It acts not only as a resume of creations but hopefully available education to others on some of things I’ve learned. The ideas and projects are going to jump around and just be the cool stuff that I had fun creating.
