Speakerplans.com Homepage
Forum Home Forum Home > General > 12v Powered Systems
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - TH & Unity Horn - Solar sound system
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

TH & Unity Horn - Solar sound system

 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <1 23456 13>
Author
Message
fat_brstd View Drop Down
Old Croc
Old Croc


Joined: 23 August 2008
Location: Melbourne, OZ
Status: Offline
Points: 2125
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote fat_brstd Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 January 2013 at 4:27am
Wind generator in place

Adrians Wall Sound System
Melbournes Rootical Warrior
Roots - Dub - Steppers

facebook page
Back to Top
bitSmasher View Drop Down
Old Croc
Old Croc
Avatar

Joined: 23 June 2012
Location: Melbourne
Status: Offline
Points: 2296
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote bitSmasher Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 January 2013 at 4:51am
should throw a few long-range horns up there too
Back to Top
hond View Drop Down
Young Croc
Young Croc


Joined: 10 October 2009
Location: Louvain BEL
Status: Offline
Points: 619
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote hond Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 January 2013 at 2:17pm
this is amazing! cutting edge shit right here!

Back to Top
fatty jee View Drop Down
Registered User
Registered User


Joined: 24 June 2010
Status: Offline
Points: 36
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote fatty jee Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 January 2013 at 9:24pm
I think that is the finest 12V system i have seen, well done sir!!! Clap
Back to Top
Phil B View Drop Down
Old Croc
Old Croc
Avatar

Joined: 21 November 2004
Location: Melbourne
Status: Offline
Points: 2322
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Phil B Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 January 2013 at 11:51am
So after a weekend of great music, fantastic organic solar beer and a million mozzies at Fest la Frog on French Island , VIC, we`re mulling over our first ever live band festy with the Solar Sound System.

Firstly there was an issue with the wind generator. Output of the Genny itself is 96 AC 3 -phase which is rectified to 24v DC BUT it didn`t put out anything like it should ampage wise. After testing everything and a bit of head scratching we reckon the system doesn`t support 24v DC and needs to be hooked to a 96v DC off-grid supply. The Genny would load up but at too low a speed to make any good power.

Secondly the backline pulled twice as much as the system..EKKK! It was only 2 x gtr and 1 x bass amp! But current draw went from about 2amps with the system on playback with 2 x self powered monitors to 6-8 amps with the backline. This seriously dug into the battery bank very early on...

Outcome of that issue was that we had to resort to a backup veggie-oil  generator to charge the batteries for the last day.  Not ideal but we weren`t getting enough amps back from the wind side of things to catch up during down times. Also we popped a fuse on the solar side of things ( under -specced ....but at least we now know!) and lost about 6 hrs of good strong sun power.

Other than the power issues everything else was fantastic. Sound with bands was awesome ( I`ll just repeat that...AWESOME!!) never heard such vocal clarity and refined dynamics with instruments like horns / harmonicas / violins etc etc. The passive crossovers sounded fine and we didn`t even have to eq the system at all.. Didn`t really crank it either until co-owner Monkey Marcs` band ( Combat Wombat) played ...and then it was just a bit too much volume at the front so backed it off a bit. Only casualty was an already badged RCF 15" in one of the subs, some glue came off but that was on the last day and it was pulled out before self destructing!

So a few things to think about...
Backline ...why not make our own with efficient amps and just some speaker emulation DSP in front??? 
Subs .... some tracks from the electronic bands were going down lower than the SS15`s could go, still there but if we are going for full range we need something under them. So an idea floated around the after festy campfire was some kind of servodrive tapped or transmission line horn for efficiency to cover 20 - 40hz...
Wind Genny... some kind of AC-AC step down to match the 24v battery bank..??!!



I blame the awesome organic solar beer for the crazy ideas ...

a few photos







And an awesome photo taken by Francesco Vicenzi




.p.
Mostly harmless.... except if catering is shut.

Solar Sound System Shennanigans..http://diyhifi.biz/
Back to Top
biotec View Drop Down
Old Croc
Old Croc


Joined: 07 June 2004
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 2932
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote biotec Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 January 2013 at 12:38pm
Originally posted by Phil B Phil B wrote:


Firstly there was an issue with the wind generator. Output of the Genny itself is 96 AC 3 -phase which is rectified to 24v DC BUT it didn`t put out anything like it should ampage wise. After testing everything and a bit of head scratching we reckon the system doesn`t support 24v DC and needs to be hooked to a 96v DC off-grid supply. The Genny would load up but at too low a speed to make any good power.


Awesome stuff Phill.

It's worth reading through the blog below:

http://lifeattheendoftheroad.wordpress.com

Paul generates all his power from wind and water but you'll be most interested in one of his stream turbines. The turbine is too far from his batteries to use DC as he'll lose too much in voltage drop, so he has a turbine which generates high voltage three-phase AC (400v+) which is rectified down. He seems to have ironed out his problems so I reckon you should get in touch with him. search for rectifier and powerspout to get some relevant posts.

I reckon your best bet will be use a rectifier to get high voltage DC out, then use an MPPT regulator to squeeze maximum amps into your battery bank. I have a 45a morningstar MPPT regulator which will take up to 150v so I'm sure it could be made to work.

Also try the Navitron forum, there's a load of clever people working with wind, sun and water energy there.
me so horny, me love you long throw.
Back to Top
toastyghost View Drop Down
The 10,000 Points Club
The 10,000 Points Club
Avatar

Joined: 09 January 2007
Location: Manchester
Status: Offline
Points: 10920
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote toastyghost Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 January 2013 at 12:39pm
That last one makes me want to move to Oz more than almost anything else I've seen. You utter bastard.
Back to Top
bitSmasher View Drop Down
Old Croc
Old Croc
Avatar

Joined: 23 June 2012
Location: Melbourne
Status: Offline
Points: 2296
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote bitSmasher Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 January 2013 at 3:27am
No need for amplifcation in the backline at all IMO, would take a bit of work but all DSP/Emulation/DI for the instruments running in to a bunch of monitor speakers.
It's interesting how some of the biggest bands in the world, with huge resources behind them, go for the simple options like DI and DSP to get their sound... but the little guys and beginners can't shake the need for hundreds of watts of guitar amp and monster bass stacks.
Back to Top
hond View Drop Down
Young Croc
Young Croc


Joined: 10 October 2009
Location: Louvain BEL
Status: Offline
Points: 619
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote hond Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 January 2013 at 10:27pm
Phil B, I'm digging your mindset
Back to Top
Phil B View Drop Down
Old Croc
Old Croc
Avatar

Joined: 21 November 2004
Location: Melbourne
Status: Offline
Points: 2322
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Phil B Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 March 2013 at 7:16am
So I have sawdust on my feet today...things have been stirring in the shed...

We finally agreed on the plans for the Mkii Unity 3-way build so got straight down to business. The whole thing boiled down to choosing a xover point for the subs to low-mids. We`ve plotted and re-plotted the low-mids with different volume rear chambers, rear port sizes , drivers etc etc and it seems as stated by Tom D himself that the hornloading of the low-mid via the front ports only goes down to around 160-180hz on such a short horn. So we chose 100hz as our x-over and adapated the rear chamber to fill between 90 and 180hz. The rear volume seemed to be the key to getting a good xmax and low extension.....so we have a cunning plan that will reduce the rear volume enough for us as just fitting a trapezoid cover leaves too much.

1 x RCF ND2530T3 1.4" comp driver
4 x Celestion TF0140MR Sealed back 5"
2 x Ande 10-1 10" ferrite

Firstly dust of the ropey old prototype horn in the shed....adapt the throat entry to the new RCF 1.4 comp drivers. These should rock compared to the old B&C DE16`s ! They go lower, higher and are way smoother.....



Then mount the 10"`s and drill the port holes for the front ( hornloaded) side of them. Re-mount the 5"`s.



So the plan is to fit the rear cover and measure the highs and mids with just the first ports for the low-mids and then after fitting the baffles to extend the rear path we will start with small rear ports and work upwards!

Here`s a clue to the cunning plan....




More to do tommo including annoying the neighbours again with beeps and sweeps....!

.p.


Mostly harmless.... except if catering is shut.

Solar Sound System Shennanigans..http://diyhifi.biz/
Back to Top
mk2_ginger_biscuit69 View Drop Down
Old Croc
Old Croc


Joined: 03 November 2008
Location: Brighton
Status: Offline
Points: 7801
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mk2_ginger_biscuit69 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 March 2013 at 2:22pm
bloomin' amazing project, the self contained trailer too is such a quality touch, is indeed hi-tech hippy work, simply how it should be done/managed!

Some serious investment must be going on to achieve all this though, but good on you. I love the idea of unity horns, i have alway preferred a 'real' point source over other speakers, and you don't get much better than unity! Only downside is i like to run the mains to 70-80hz yet still keep a solid sound, which few commercial cabs [ignoring reflex/front loaded] do, although those that do, are definatly the war horses popular around the world.

Keep up this amazing work, truely bloomin' marvelous!
''Remember that the object of a subwoofer is to enhance the output of your main speakers, not overpower it''

''Dubstep - an elongated electronic fart''
Back to Top
snowflake View Drop Down
Old Croc
Old Croc


Joined: 29 December 2004
Location: Bristol
Status: Offline
Points: 3118
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote snowflake Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 March 2013 at 4:47pm
your mid taps look quite small and much nearer to the throat than I've done. what are your throat dimensions?
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <1 23456 13>

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down

Forum Software by Web Wiz Forums® version 12.06
Copyright ©2001-2023 Web Wiz Ltd.

This page was generated in 0.063 seconds.