[aprssig] Re: aprssig Digest, Vol 43, Issue 1

[Chris Kantarjiev]

> My point is that a windmill or anemometer needs to overcome this 
> resistance to generate electricity .. and it is a considerable amount of 
> resistance believe me. Unless your windmill or anemometer has 15 or 20 
> foot arms .. or you plan on waiting for a hurricane .. I don't think it 
> will work

I did a mountaineering trip in Chile a few years ago, visiting
the high Atacama desert. One rest day, we visited the big salt
marsh (Salar de Atacama) that is home to several kinds of flamingos. 
There is a small visitor center that is run completely from wind
power (there's lots of wind). They were running two quite small
turbines - three blades, and I'd guess no more than 2 foot radius,
running at a very high rate of speed (think of a room fan). 

There weren't any details about the charging system, and I don't
speak enough Spanish to try to ask (and I suspect they couldn't 
have told me) but I suspect that they're trickle charging a 
battery bank. The load is probably quite low - I didn't see any
lights or computers during the day ...

73 de chris K6DBG