Re: [Gumstix-users] power supply

[Michael M. B. <mmb...@gm...>]

STILL OT for the list... :) :) And this will be my last post on this
topic... I promise.

Disclaimer: All the advice the winch user's manual should have provided,
about protecting yourself from getting a finger caught, the cable breaking
and whipping free, etc. applies.

I am not responsible if you follow my suggestions and someone loses an eye
or some blood, gets maimed, or dies in horrible agony, or whatever. OK? :)

Me, I might try to go with something like the Radio Shack unit, and give it
a good testing out before you can't get your money back :).

It was described as a switching power supply. Be advised that they tend to
not handle sudden changes in load very well. So the winch motor might not
run smoothly when the pull starts increasing. Once the slack is fully taken
up, its behavior ought to be better; but then if the load sways or swings
you might see some bad behavior re-emerge, such as resonances that might
need damping out somehow.

IMPORTANT, especially if you use a car battery: you ought to have some sort
of properly-rated circuit breaker or fuse in the power feed to the winch
motor, as when -- or if -- it stalls out, it might try to draw much more
than its rated current.

The convention is to put the protection (breaker or fuse) in the positive
leg of the circuit, as close to the power supply or battery as is practical=
.


Good luck.

Mike

--
Michael M. Butler : m m b u t l e r ( a t ) g m a i l . c o m
Churchill once said, "When you're going through hell, KEEP GOING".