the price list

This is a list of all the items I bought for this project, including the price, the mode of transportation and the location from which the item came.

mounting the motor

I spent all day on Friday trying to figure out how to mount the motor for the bike generator.

The first plan for mounting the motor. Unfortunately, I never really got to test it out because Aaron came along and gave me a new idea to try which seemed a lot more stable than what I was working on. Who knows, though, this may have worked.

This is Aaron's idea. It didn't work out well because the shaft began working itself into the wood. Therefore, the shaft would not turn. A good idea in the fact that it protects the shaft, but with Craig's help, we just could not get it to turn properly. Too bad. Tant pis.

This is the mounting plan which finally did work. It is really incredible what will and what won't work. I still believe it is always good to go in with a plan, but I have also learned through this process that my initial plan will probably not always work. In fact, it is pure luck if your first idea runs well and works properly.

the tape loop

So, I’m working on another tape loop. It is a little unclear precisely why the first tape loop didn’t work. I thought it was the rubber cement I used on the wheels that turn the tape. But no, that’s absolutely essential for friction. I removed it, and plastic on plastic meant the tape did not budge at all. So, what I’m thinking now is that the tape loop is too large and I should cut it down by the tiniest amount. There’s not enough tension to pull the tape. That’s the hypothesis. Unfortunately, I left my tape in the boom box, which is currently locked in the sculpture room for Memorial Day weekend. Oh well. I’ll have to experiment on another $0.99 tape I got from ARC.

The map of the trip I took on my bike to get to the ARC on Broadway for Half-Off Saturdays (I am clearly a fan!). Also, what a tape loop looks like on the inside. I think this diagram I've drawn up is much better than the one included in the instructions I used when learning how to make tape loops.

bike turning wheel?

So, it’s probably in the wiring, but the motor is turning the wheel of my bike. When I was pedaling, my boyfriend was looking at the meter on the boombox and told me that I was a third of the way towards turning on the boombox. I don’t think I could’ve pedaled any harder. I was already at that point when riding called ‘bouncing’ which isn’t the greatest feeling. How can I go faster in order to power the boombox? Craig said it’s all about diodes. That was what my original plan consisted of–actually working with a more complicated electrical circuit–but I ditched that for this more simplified version. It’s not working like I would like it to, which means it’s time to re-examine the diode circuit with the inclusio of resistors, capacitors and whatever else I can throw onto a board. This is really the difficult part, more so than mounting te motor, but probably not as much as finding the right parts.

Here’s a link to a video on vimeo of the motor turning the rear wheel.

the bike setup

The end product...it's a start.

Nylon string as a replacement for a tough, stiff v-belt. It worked--how incredible!

This circle I drilled into the back of this 2x4 was actually part of a different plan, but turned out to be so useful in this final plan for the motor mount.

___________________

I plan to also make a grid of all of the items I purchased, how much each item cost, and the method through which I acquired the object. Stay tuned.

Funny Names: Fistell’s and Caboose

Funny names, but great places that helped immensely during my search for parts. I must say that the staff of both places is extremely helpful and friendly which made the trips worthwhile, since I ended up walking out of both places without quite the electronic devices I was looking for. Yet, at Fistell’s I did find an amazing boombox for $9.00, which is the one I am using in my final project for this iteration for May 27. From Caboose, I almost bought a $60.00 12 volt DC motor, but just couldn’t surrender to the purchase until I looked around for other options. That is precisely what I did, and that’s when I called Colpar Hobbies. Jim, who answered the phone, told me they had the right motor for $30.00, which was a much  more reasonable price for my pocketbook.

A map of the route I took to get to Fistell's and then to Caboose via bicycle. One of the complications which arises from riding a bike to many places when it's also necessary to pick up supplies is having enough room in a pack or on the bike to cart all of the stuff around.

Here is the link for Fistell’s Electronics downtown on 10th and Bannock.

And here is a link to the site for Caboose Hobbies on Broadway.

At Fistell’s, the owner was very helpful in teaching me more about DC motors. He took a look at my 12 volt DC motor, and then told me in a concerned tone of voice that my motor simply wouldn’t work. Apparently, it’s a ‘gear-reduction motor’ meaning the ease of turning is impossible. He then hobbled over to one of the aisles full of supplies and came back to the counter with a 3 volt DC motor. He wanted me to observe how easily the shaft turned on that motor. Then, he got an LED, stuck it in the motor, turned the shaft and the light turned on.  However, when I asked him about a 12 volt motor, he said he only had motors around 3 volts, which does me no good.

Colpar Hobbies and the new motor

A map of my first trip to Colpar Hobbies via bike to purchase the new motor after going to Fistell's to be told the motor I currently had would not turn.

Here is the link to the website for Colpar Hobbies.

As for a review on how helpful their staff is and how plentiful their stock is, I must say it’s a great place to go for science projects involving electronics. The staff is knowledgeable about what they specialize in at Colpar and certainly none of them hesitate to help out customers in need of solving a project dilemma.

receipts for my project

I had to fill up my boyfriend’s tank on the way to Colpar because he said I couldn’t drive his car if I didn’t fill up the empty tank!

This is the receipt from my first trip to Colpar to buy the motor. I also bought some red and black wire as well as alligator clips. Mode of transportation: bicycle

I saw this cheap v-belt on eBay, so I figured I would buy it for the bike. Unfortunately though, it was a waste because it doesn’t even fit on the bike.

This is the second v-belt I bought online from Grainger. I purchased a size I knew would fit around the back rim. However, this v-belt is too stiff for this project, and I can’t really use it.

Receipt for ARC, when I bought the cassette tape on half-off Saturday

Receipt for the DC to AC inverter I bought online. I probably will use it in the future, in different iterations of this project.

I had to go back to Colpar, this time via motor vehicle, to pick up the shaft extension.

The motors I bought from Home Science Tools would’ve been useful if I had strictly adhered to my first idea. However, now I have a hand crank motor and a very tiny 3 volt DC motor that I don’t have a purpose for.

what happened today & this project in the future

Well, I thought I would work on my bike.

But then I got two knots in the bike chain. In researching a solution to my conundrum online, some people said be patient, it the chain could get itself into that mess without you even noticing, surely it’s possible to get it out. I just didn’t have the patience anymore to fuss with it.

So, I took it down Evans first to the bike shop next to the French bakery. What jerks!!! Are they Denver Cycle? Yes, I think so…well, they just have the worst attitudes I’ve ever confronted in my entire life. What an inhospitable way to treat your customers. So, I picked up my bike and carted it further down the street to Campus Cycles where they are millions times friendlier and helpful. I certainly recommend them over Denver Cycle any day. Though I had to carry my bike on my back another quarter mile or more, it is of little consequence since in my fragile mental state I could not handle the ‘salops’ at Denver Cycle.

Another $30.00 down the drain. That’s what I’ll be putting on this blog soon, a graph of all the money I’ve spent on what parts. I think it’ll be rather interesting to review all of that information in one big grid.

Well, if I have time, I’ll be making a site for this project. It’ll probably happen over the summer though.

I have a new idea for it. I think this will be one of the projects I continue working on until I graduate. It’ll probably factor into my senior project (about which I’ve already told my boyfriend about!). It involves a beverage I drink when I’m sick. I’ll begin researching art theory this summer to be able to critique my own piece.

Well, back to my new idea for this project. I’d like to make this bike able to be ridden. Meaning I’ll get it some new tires and tubes. Then, I want to build a stand for it in which will go my battery. The new motor will have a friction wheel on it rubbing against my front or back tire which is connected to the battery. As I ride it gets charged! This then will require that I buy several batteries, so I can charge them and use them in my daily life. Using my laptop–power it with my battery! Ironing clothes–power the iron with the battery! It’ll be fantastic. Free energy!

But that’s for the future. Right now I have to make the first iteration work. Although I do like this new idea much better. But it seems more ‘designy’ than ‘arty’ right now.

new

I am making a new site to present this iteration of my work:

http://liberateyourself.jennesce.com

Liberate yourself means many things, and I thought of it most recently in light of the death of my laptop:

Liberate yourself from—

your grief as an artist, and talk about it–talk about the process

the screen; it feels good to not have a computer…strange as that sounds

your body… relates to exercise, and its demise in order to spend more time in front of various types of screens

the electrical grid and literally generate your own electricity in order to power different types of electronics

fatigue/stress/unhappy thoughts—exercise eliminates these if done correctly from my personal experience

—-But why power a boombox? A boombox with a looped tape? That is the question to answer. Why not power a blender with spinach inside? Why not power a CD player? Why not an iPOD, why not something new and fitting with contemporary times?

I don’t quite understand this yet beyond a chance to work with audio. Why is audio important? Does that allow for a more involved audience more so than say spinach catapulted onto the artist riding a bike? I think that’s a matter of personal opinion, and I believe that both engage the audience just the same.

Well, my next post I hope to articulate an intelligent and fantastic reason for powering a boombox and tape loop. Time to think. That’s an artists job–thinking. It’s great.