The only diode is a Schottky. We have a voltage regulator to try to fix the voltage problem but it doesn't seem to help the charging rate at all.
and the pic of our regulator circuit (box)
Mechanical would definitely be more efficient, but unfortunately I've already put together my car with the dual motor setup. Right now I have a voltage regulator, schottky diode etc but the problem I am finding is that the motor charges too slow to get enough voltage to drive any significant...
It's not about distance. I want to effectively take as much energy as I can while going down the hill while braking, stop at the bottom and then use that harvested energy to start my car again.
Thanks for the reply. We are allowed to use a separate battery for the arduino. All energy for propulsion must come from gravitational potential energy harvesting
How would you propose to keep the motor running after the voltage drops below 4V if the motor takes 4V to run?
We haven't selected a motor yet so i don't know the voltage, but i assume itll be on the scale of 1.5 to 12V. The amount of joules is around mgh * 70% efficiency ~ 12-15 joules. We were going to use a gear ratio to charge the capacitor through a "generator" motor as our car rolls down the hill...
I'm doing a project where I need to hand power one small, dc motor (1.5-12V) and charge a 1F 5.5V super capacitor, and then use it to drive another small 1.5-12V dc motor.
Does anybody have any suggestions for motor specifications or circuit elements that will help me get the most efficiency...