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#21
Anything Hydrogen / Sodium Silicate Battery
Last post by Thrive - November 24, 2019, 01:56:05 AM


Ok so, this summer I played around with battery technology. Originally I was trying to develop a printable TEG module as they are crazy expensive. So I ordered some very fine Aluminum Oxide, graphite power and a jug of sodium silicate for binder. I mixed both the aluminum oxide and the graphite with the sodium silicate to make inks to apply to a ceramic cloth. The aluminum oxide / sodium silicate mixture was the cathode side and the graphite / sodium silicate mixture was the anode side. I applied each to one side of the ceramic cloth creating a cell, let dry and applied heat. It worked!!

Well kinda of sort of, at least not in the way of how a TEG module works. Instead I created a heat activated battery cell. Unfortunately I could only get the cells to work for short periods of time and then they were ruined.

So I played around with a different approach. This time I simply cut some aluminum soda cans in half using the bottoms to create a vessel to fill up with sodium silicate. Then submerged solid graphite plates into the solution with out touching the aluminum. The sodium silicate is not cured and is wet in this experiment. I built four of these cells and hooked them together in series and then to an LED. I then placed this on a heat source and could light the LED as long as there was heat applied. I ran this test for 12 hours!! As long as I applied heat I could light that LED.

Id like to see others reproduce this experiment and add their own twist. If we can get higher output this could be driven with direct heat from biomarse.

My theory is this is not a battery at all. My theory is, that this is a direct water fuel cell. The hydrogen and oxygen I think is being liberated via the applied heat. The H is absorbed via the graphite plate and the O is going to the aluminum creating an electro / chemical reaction. How to confirm this I dont know or if there are other explanations please input your thoughts.
#22
Wood gasification / Re: General gasifier discussio...
Last post by Thrive - September 04, 2019, 04:22:07 AM
Has it been that long? April?? Dang time flies!!

Well the first Flex Power System is ready to ship. I have three more to build for 2019 models and then I will start 2020 models. The 2020 models will be unchanged other software updates which all machines will get. Just like a Tesla with every software update the machine will get better.

Ok the auto gen start system has been built and is working awesome!! I am fully off grid and running Headway LifePo4 cells for power storage.

You can check those videos out on my channel.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIj9jrb2pG4mNb_njWMKxPg?view_as=subscriber

I did a live feed on facebook running the FPS system. I did  a two hour run so you can see its consistency and how easy it is to operate. Nothing complicated if you can work a cell phone you can operate this machine. This is probably the most advanced and automated gasifier system ever created!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73q6Et_dgkc&t=599s

So moving on, I am now underway with new development. Next is a new pellet stove that is also engine run capable. You install just like any other pellet stove except this has no chimney. You pipe its exhaust thru wall and to the outside power generator. This houses a draft blower for running in full combustion mode. When the controls see that the inverter is calling for a charge cycle this will automatically shut off the second stage combustion process at the stove and direct this gas to the power unit for engine combustion process. The generator system is specifically built for the VersaFire pellet stove and is a DC system giving the user the ability to run at low or high power. Unlike an AC System where the rpms are static.

I also have new technology coming. Theoretically this I believe is a heat activated direct water to hydrogen fuel cell technology. This is huge!! and I have done a 12 hours experiment running a small LED. What I think is happening is H and O are being liberated from the electrolyte when it is heated. It is then absorbed via an aluminum cathode and a graphite coated anode. It also works as a battery and will hold a charge. So far Im only able to produce small amperage, but then again Im not a chemist. So there is big potential with the right chemistry this could output at very high efficiencies.  Water is simply added to the electrolyte to replenish it and any fuel could be used for the heat source.

Here is a quick video of a solid state version and no this is not a Seebeck process :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzgA8JgibUQ

Maybe Z could do a new Youtube Series on this? You will have to contact me via PM for the electrolyte and I can set you up with a very simple crude experiment for proof of concept.
#23
General Discussion / The UEFI rootkit rabbit hole
Last post by zero - September 01, 2019, 01:10:04 PM
So, being forced to start over with reinstalling the OS on my main i7 Linux computer in the lab I also looked deeper into ACHI vs IDE, GPT vs MBR, and consequently UEFI vs BIOS. With all the new "features" offered by UEFI, I couldn't help but ask myself, new vulnerabilities too? Sure as $h¡t, I was right. The more I read the deeper into the rabbit hole I fell. Turns out this new attack vector is just perfect for state sponsored hackers to target opposing governments, maintain surveillance on its citizens, and even allow ransomware. So insidious and deeply embedded is this type of malware that it can persist and survive complete OS reinstallations and even hard drive swaps. This is because it resides on the "new and improved" UEFI flash ROMS embedded directly on newer computer motherboards. Isn't that just special?

It also turns out that Gigabyte was an early target for UEFI rootkit attacks and most of my own motherboards are from Gigabyte. Aren't I lucky? Apple OS 10.x also seems to be a favorite target thanks to the new reliance on Intel chips as opposed to Motorola CPU of yesteryear. So, the first thing I'm going to do when I finish typing this post it run some bootable Linux UEFI validation tools being offered by 01.org. Their latest release is only 5 weeks old at the time of this writing. Last one before that is about 8 months old so you should definitely get it. I will provide links to many of the articles and patches I have found on the topic. This is IMHO required reading for anyone concerned about deep state cyber warfare, surveillance, back doors and privacy.

Be safe out there.
Z

https://01.org/linux-uefi-validation/downloads
https://01.org/linux-uefi-validation/documentation-list
https://www.wired.com/story/fancy-bear-hackers-uefi-rootkit/
https://www.pcworld.com/article/3187264/uefi-flaws-can-be-exploited-to-install-highly-persistent-ransomware.html
https://www.pcworld.com/article/3179348/after-cia-leak-intel-security-releases-detection-tool-for-efi-rootkits.html
https://hackaday.com/tag/uefi/
https://www.welivesecurity.com/2017/10/19/malware-firmware-exploit-sense-security/
https://www.fudzilla.com/news/47311-uefi-hack-is-finally-with-us

#24
Wood gasification / Re: General gasifier discussio...
Last post by zero - May 03, 2019, 01:54:22 AM
Damn! Look at you go!

Boys and girls, I knew him when....  8)

And you're right.  I do need to look at something else.  Xubuntu 18.04 is nothing but problems.  Just discovered tonight the nVidia driver does not work at all with the Ion graphics chip on my 1215n laptop!  16.04 still works without a hitch.  Not happy.
#25
Wood gasification / Re: General gasifier discussio...
Last post by Thrive - April 23, 2019, 11:18:06 PM
Well, well, well; turns out I am still alive. lol

So yeah 2019 Flex Power Station is out and I will be working on new development here soon. I will be working on bringing to market a universal auto gen start system for off grid battery systems. Prototype has been up and running for 6 months. The new version will have a cell phone app that gives you full battery status including power usage. Plus you set your trigger points from the app as well. This can handle 12-60 volt systems all in one device as well. Its pretty cool.

Once I have this first power station complete I will move on to next development that will feature a very advanced hybrid system. This will start as a down draft wood gasifier with an up draft charcoal unit. No char yield with this. This will then evolve into hydrogen plasma type reactor system later on. This will eliminate the Nox input and should result in a much greater gas energy density. That being said the machines will shrink in size.

The machines now feature very advanced automation systems and will be able to run autonomously.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05MO8aQVQ_I&t=10s

Z you should check out Linux Mint
#26
General Discussion / Xubuntu 18.04 LTS review - Ini...
Last post by zero - March 23, 2019, 01:24:13 PM
So, per my usual routine, I finally started playing around with the latest LTS release one full year after initial release. I can sum it up in one word. {YAWN}.

First the good:

  • The Ubuntu Software Center application does not move like it has a ball and chain attached. It's actually a useful alternative to Synaptic package manager now.
  • Some things are a bit easier to edit in the start menu. For instance right click to rename.
That's it. Really. That is it. Nothing at all to be excited about other than maybe some new hardware compatibility in the new kernel?

The bad (aka: Stupid things they broke that still are not fixed even after a full year):

  • Desktop switcher does not operate with mouse scroll wheel as it should. I've searched everywhere and cannot find mention of it anywhere.
  • Power manager completely broken for laptop batteries. Doesn't switch between charge/discharge. Grossly inaccurate capacity. Always indicates 100% charge. The list goes on. They broke it good.
  • gksu depreciated and removed. Programs can no longer be run with super user privileges by preceding with gksu. "Replaced by" pkexec but that only works for programs which have specific entries for them in the policy kit config. Fortunately, Xubuntu does have a default set of programs preconfigured to work with pkexec. UNFORTUNATELY, gdebi (my preferred .deb package installer) is not one of them. So, even though it will install from Synaptic and creates a start menu entry to launch it, it will not work. It must be launched from a terminal window with sudo. As time goes on I expect to find more admin type programs that will also fall into this category.
  • I can find no policy kit editor that might make it easier to add new programs to enable pkexec to work with them.
  • (edit 5/2) The nVidia driver does not work at all with the Ion graphics chip on my 1215n laptop! As soon as Lightdm launches it's lights out. 16.04, no problem. It is very likely this bug affects ALL nVidia Ion graphics with Xubuntu 18.04.
  • I am also reading of people still having trouble with Samba and Wine.
  • Another user I gave a computer to preloaded with 18.04 inexplicably lost all desktop icons and menus and had great difficulty launching any programs.
Stupid regressions like these are why I always wait at least a year to upgrade between LTS versions. Apparently 1 year is not enough anymore. That is COMPLETELY unacceptable.  Take my advice.  If it ain't broke, don't "fix" it. Stick with 16.04 a while longer.  It's officially supported until April 2019 and receives security patches/updates until April 2021.

Or better yet, take a look at Linux Mint 18.x.  I am!  It's officially supported for 5 years (2 years longer than Xubuntu).  It's layered on top of Ubuntu so the look, feel and versatility is almost identical.  But even the Mint developers have had issues with their 19.x releases because it's layered on top of Ubuntu 18.04.  Mint 18.x releases are still layered on Ubuntu 16.04 and still fully supported for two more years.  So for all but the adventurous, stick with Mint 18.3 in it's various desktop environment flavors (Cinnamon, MATE or XFCE).  Generally I still prefer XFCE for its very low system resource overhead without sacrifice of basic functionality but there are still problems with it on my "problem child" Asus 1215n notebook.  Linux Mint 18.3 MATE 64bit worked flawlessly.  I did play around with Cinnamon.  It also works BUT, while it may not give a performance hit to running applications, all that eye candy does come at the cost of sluggish desktop behavior.  That's something I can do without.  MATE edition remains my top pick for Linux Mint.
#27
Solar / Sun
Last post by Ozone - September 26, 2018, 08:58:36 PM
Where is it?
#28
Forum News / Re: SMF Upgrades
Last post by zero - January 02, 2018, 12:23:48 PM
It's been a while since I upgraded the forum. Needed some php upgrades to the web server behind the scenes first but we're now up to the latest and greatest, 2.0.15.
#29
General Discussion / Re: I NEED TO VENT ABOUT GMAIL...
Last post by zero - January 02, 2018, 12:10:16 PM
Har har har. The hoops are only when you join to keep out spammers and bots.
#30
General Discussion / Re: I NEED TO VENT ABOUT GMAIL...
Last post by Ortorea - December 18, 2017, 03:46:16 AM
I Guess they don't like folk to travel they would have us become turtles ;) But I get the same BS when ever I use a different PC to login to FB, but I don't use Gmail thankfully just local Broadband service Email.

Have to go through hoops to reply here too ;)


Ort