gb3wb

To save as much power as possible we are now using latching relays. We are using a prototype board made from veroboard to test these new relays.
The best part about these relays is that they draw no power at all unless they are switching state, which takes just a small pulse of energy.

Many thanks to the guys from the golf course for returning our tail along with one of our blades, which was found some distance into the golf course! Cheers guys!

Many thanks to the team who travelled all the way up from Plymouth to help us with our failed backup generator.
After much hard work and many trips walking up and down the muddy field it was found that as the main alternator shaft had been sheared off nothing more could be done on site.
The engine and alternator was removed from the trailer, man-handled and carried all the way down the hill in the dark so it could be taken back to Plymouth to be worked on.
The team also lowered the GB3WB mast so that the damaged wind turbine could be worked on.
Also many thanks to Neil G7EBY who travelled all the way up from Sailisbury to work on the failed equipment with us.

In the tremendous winds of the morning of 05/01/2011 at 1am the tail was broken off of the GB3WB wind turbine. This had the disastrous effect of stopping the turbine from auto-furling.

This left the blades facing the wind, which caused them to spin at thousands of RPM until they were all broken off. This is a disaster for our repeaters.

It is worth noting that our modified oil-filled heater 24v dumpload worked perfectly day after day and saved our expensive battery sets from over voltage charging and burning out.
Other repeaters running from wind turbine power not so far away lost their dumpload, which in turn destroyed their battery sets. They also lost their mast and antenna. It was a real nightmare for us all!

We have currently turned off the repeaters to conserve the power in the batteries.

A new tail and set of blades will have to be bought and fitted asap so that the repeaters can be activated again.

Click on the play button below to watch a video of what is left of our turbine.

The GB3WB guard dogs prove more expensive to keep than first thought!

GB3WE GB3WB GB7WB New Configuration. GB3WE & GB7WB are ircDDB STARnet Digital Group Calling enabled D-Star repeaters.

GB3WE is the top mounted dual-mode VHF FX5000 D-Star GMSK/FM repeater.
GB7WB is mounted in the middle and is a UHF FX5000 D-Star GMSK Node.
GB3WB is mounted at the bottom and is a UHF Key Repeater for FM.

GB3WB New Guard Dogs

GB3WE and GB7WB FX5000 Repeaters. GB3WE at the top in brown is our VHF 2m dual-mode D-Star (GMSK) and FM repeater. Underneath is GB7WB, our UHF 70cm D-Star (GMSK) repeater.

GB7WB FX5000 UHF D-STAR GMSK Repeater

GB3WE Newly Refurbished Dual Mode FX5000 Repeater.

GB7WB Modifications to FX5000 Transmitter For D-Star Operation.

To modify an FX5000 VHF or UHF for D-Star GMSK operation simply add a 47nF capacitor across C493 (22nF) which is next to IC403 (TL072) in the transmitter driver module.
Then remove C536 (10uF) which is next to IC504 (LM324)

No modifications are necessary to the receiver module.

Wireless DoorBell Mixing Interference Shown BY G3SDH.

Due to the terrible wideband local oscillator in the cheap wireless doorbells we are finding more and more cases of transmissions appearing on frequencies where they shouldn’t be. In fact it turns out that any 70cm signal can easily be mixed by the doorbell and the original signal can now be found somewhere else in the band as well. 
 

GB7WB October Sunset

GB7WB Raptor At Tea Time

GB7WB Wind Turbine Tail Blue camouflage Pattern Detail

Hot Air Balloon Passes GB7WB In Front Of Glastonbury Tor

GB7WB Brand New UHF FX5000 Repeater

GB3WB Very Early Morning

GB3WB G1VSX Getting His Leg Over

GB3WB G1VSX Sunrise Tower Climb

GB3WB Wind Turbine Test LEDs which are used to test our new 12 way slip-ring mounted at the top of our tower.

GB3WB Wind Turbine Modifications. The GRP blades have now been balanced. New tail pivot spring brackets have also been fitted. A second 12 way slip-ring has been fitted inside the main 3 phase slip-ring so that other equipment may be fitted onto the turbine to monitor its preformance or send other data. At the moment LED’s have been fitted to each circuit to test them.

Here is our new replacement FX5000 UHF repeater for GB7WB

GB3WB Resident Bird Of Prey On Bleadon Hill.
This bird lives at GB3WB and spends much of its day sitting on this fence post next to our solar light.

GB3WB DumpLoad Controller Lives!

GB3WB Wind Turbine Tail Pivot Spring Details

 

 

GB3WB with Boeing 747 a few hundred feet above the mast breaking through the clouds.

 

GB3WB 500w Oil Filled Dump Load

 

 

GB7WB Mast Configuration October 2011

GB3WB New Wind Turbine Blades Fitted

GB3WB Current Mast Configuration With New GRP Turbine Blades

GB3WB Getting The GRP Blades Fitted

GB3WE Compare Coverage Bleadon Hill – Backwell Hill
Maps created and the property of The RSGB Emerging Technology Co-ordination Committee, visit the ETCC web site here

This is what the new wind turbine blades look like. These will be fitted at the weekend.

Detailed View of Damaged GB3WB Wind Turbine Blades

GB3WB live video feed

click here to view the WB live meters in their own window

GB3WB Map of Web Site Visitors