Inspiring Honda Insight Modification

Miss me? Well, this is only my second post so probably not. Anyway, I've been busy. Here's a shot of the 98-series Balmar I've been building over and over again for the past few weeks. The Coast Guard commissioned my workplace to rebuild them. They're not hard -just tedious. Actually, the hardest part has been lifting them. I have a great picture of the wiring under the cover that I'll post soon enough. These are brushless alternators, so the wire-routing requires some attention. Fun fact: they can be configured for 12 volt applications if one really wanted.

I'm still in the beginning of my quest to understand all things electric, so when I was scraping the silicone off of the capacitors I realized that I never really did quite understand ripple ...or ripple smoothing.

So I began my search by reading the How Stuff Works article on capacitors. Got it. How Stuff Works is a layman's best friend. It will give you quick clarity and point you in the right direction on the way to more depth and understanding.

Then to see a circuit with a capacitor acting to smooth ripple...

After this I just kind of wandered around the internet. I found a lot, but nothing so compelling as this. This captivated me. My goal in my electrical studies is to achieve the same level of understanding that allowed Julian Edgar to be so progressively innovative. I feel like this goal is reasonable for me; so far I have digested all information sought with no qualms. I wish I had discovered this aptitude earlier and went to school for electrical engineering. Then again, with tuition the way it is and being as intrinsically motivated as I am, I might as well just give myself the assignments ...But that's another post.

Off Campus

With the combination of seniors and noobs in the class has come a review of where the learning began for me. This week's focus in class has been on basic electrical concepts. Since last year (when I was a noob) I have come a long way in my understanding of electricity. As soon as I began to learn about it I decided that this was my path. The internship with Whatcom Electric. that soon followed has taken me so much further towards certainty of my decision. The necessity of technical and specific understanding in my workplace has driven me to read technical manuals on alternators... of my own volition. I'm in love.

My workbench with ten nearly finished starters and a lovely lady calendar to keep me going.

Needless to say, this week in class has been a breeze. But it is also a welcome reminder that this level (ground referenced voltage testing) is something I can handle without pause. It's nice to be able to execute tasks without having to take much time to process what I'm doing. I'm also looking forward to revisiting the starting-charging system test now that I have absolute comprehension of what I'm doing.