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A novel remote controller for a magnetic loop antenna


 

开云体育

While taking apart a 3D printer recently, our friend Jeff Reagan, AJ6WX, discovered an interesting electro-mechanical?phenomenon. When you connect two?identical stepper motors in parallel and manually turn one motor the other motor turns?exactly the same way, clockwise or counter-clockwise. One motor works as an electric power generator and the power thus generated is sufficient to turn the other motor. Jeff thought that?such a two-motor combination may work to built a?remote?control system for a?magnetic loop. He gave me the two motors from his canniibalized 3D printer for me to experiment.


I built a prototype this week and field-tested it yesterday. Here it is. Every part of this construction is from my junk box. The reduction gear is from a WWII military radio BC348's dial mechanism. ?The capacitor is a vintage butterfly capacitor about 60 pf. ?A discerning eye may notice Erector parts, my favorite old-timer's 3D printer. The antenna covers 17, 15, 12 and 10m. The remote control worked smoothly and easy to use.?

Hiroki AH6CY





 

That's pretty cool Hiroki. You are industrious!


On Sat, Jul 27, 2024 at 7:35?AM Hiroki Kato via <hiroki=[email protected]> wrote:

While taking apart a 3D printer recently, our friend Jeff Reagan, AJ6WX, discovered an interesting electro-mechanical?phenomenon. When you connect two?identical stepper motors in parallel and manually turn one motor the other motor turns?exactly the same way, clockwise or counter-clockwise. One motor works as an electric power generator and the power thus generated is sufficient to turn the other motor. Jeff thought that?such a two-motor combination may work to built a?remote?control system for a?magnetic loop. He gave me the two motors from his canniibalized 3D printer for me to experiment.


I built a prototype this week and field-tested it yesterday. Here it is. Every part of this construction is from my junk box. The reduction gear is from a WWII military radio BC348's dial mechanism.? The capacitor is a vintage butterfly capacitor about 60 pf.? A discerning eye may notice Erector parts, my favorite old-timer's 3D printer. The antenna covers 17, 15, 12 and 10m. The remote control worked smoothly and easy to use.?

Hiroki AH6CY





 

Hiroki, MacGyver, a TV show and character which I never watched, has nothing on you. I think a box of electronic junk and a lot of new solder would be a perfect Christmas present for you.?
?
Joy
N6GO
?
?


 

开云体育

Very clever Hiroki. Do you know the max distance the induction solenoids(?) will reach? Just curious

73
Howard
N6POM

On Jul 27, 2024, at 7:32 AM, Hiroki Kato <hiroki@...> wrote:

While taking apart a 3D printer recently, our friend Jeff Reagan, AJ6WX, discovered an interesting electro-mechanical?phenomenon. When you connect two?identical stepper motors in parallel and manually turn one motor the other motor turns?exactly the same way, clockwise or counter-clockwise. One motor works as an electric power generator and the power thus generated is sufficient to turn the other motor. Jeff thought that?such a two-motor combination may work to built a?remote?control system for a?magnetic loop. He gave me the two motors from his canniibalized 3D printer for me to experiment.


I built a prototype this week and field-tested it yesterday. Here it is. Every part of this construction is from my junk box. The reduction gear is from a WWII military radio BC348's dial mechanism. ?The capacitor is a vintage butterfly capacitor about 60 pf. ?A discerning eye may notice Erector parts, my favorite old-timer's 3D printer. The antenna covers 17, 15, 12 and 10m. The remote control worked smoothly and easy to use.?

Hiroki AH6CY


<IMG_6661.jpeg>

<IMG_6667.jpeg>




 

Those were 24 volt motors. They may have longer reach than lower voltage models.


On Mon, Jul 29, 2024 at 10:31?AM HOWARD POMERANTZ via <HOWPOM=[email protected]> wrote:
Very clever Hiroki. Do you know the max distance the induction solenoids(?) will reach? Just curious

73
Howard
N6POM

On Jul 27, 2024, at 7:32 AM, Hiroki Kato <hiroki@...> wrote:

While taking apart a 3D printer recently, our friend Jeff Reagan, AJ6WX, discovered an interesting electro-mechanical?phenomenon. When you connect two?identical stepper motors in parallel and manually turn one motor the other motor turns?exactly the same way, clockwise or counter-clockwise. One motor works as an electric power generator and the power thus generated is sufficient to turn the other motor. Jeff thought that?such a two-motor combination may work to built a?remote?control system for a?magnetic loop. He gave me the two motors from his canniibalized 3D printer for me to experiment.


I built a prototype this week and field-tested it yesterday. Here it is. Every part of this construction is from my junk box. The reduction gear is from a WWII military radio BC348's dial mechanism.? The capacitor is a vintage butterfly capacitor about 60 pf.? A discerning eye may notice Erector parts, my favorite old-timer's 3D printer. The antenna covers 17, 15, 12 and 10m. The remote control worked smoothly and easy to use.?

Hiroki AH6CY


<IMG_6661.jpeg>

<IMG_6667.jpeg>




 

开云体育

?Howard,

There is no solenoid, just two stepper motors connected in parallel. I have not tested how long the connecting wires can be. As it is, it is only 3 feet or so, but I expect that I can easily extend it to 10 to 15 feet without losing significant amount of electric energy. I would not need any more length than that.

I experimented with other stepper motors of various size (meant to work with 12V-24V) ?in my junk box. They all worked when connected in parallel with varying torque.?

Perhaps someone can commercialize this system of remote-controlling a mag loop.
There are some commercial remote controllers, including the one by Alex Bromberg, but they are expensive. My system can be produced for well under $30 (not including the antenna).

Hiroki AH6CY



On Jul 29, 2024, at 10:31 AM, HOWARD POMERANTZ <HOWPOM@...> wrote:

Very clever Hiroki. Do you know the max distance the induction solenoids(?) will reach? Just curious

73
Howard
N6POM

On Jul 27, 2024, at 7:32 AM, Hiroki Kato <hiroki@...> wrote:

While taking apart a 3D printer recently, our friend Jeff Reagan, AJ6WX, discovered an interesting electro-mechanical?phenomenon. When you connect two?identical stepper motors in parallel and manually turn one motor the other motor turns?exactly the same way, clockwise or counter-clockwise. One motor works as an electric power generator and the power thus generated is sufficient to turn the other motor. Jeff thought that?such a two-motor combination may work to built a?remote?control system for a?magnetic loop. He gave me the two motors from his canniibalized 3D printer for me to experiment.


I built a prototype this week and field-tested it yesterday. Here it is. Every part of this construction is from my junk box. The reduction gear is from a WWII military radio BC348's dial mechanism. ?The capacitor is a vintage butterfly capacitor about 60 pf. ?A discerning eye may notice Erector parts, my favorite old-timer's 3D printer. The antenna covers 17, 15, 12 and 10m. The remote control worked smoothly and easy to use.?

Hiroki AH6CY


<IMG_6661.jpeg>

<IMG_6667.jpeg>





 

I saw it with my own eyes and still don't believe it.? Spooky action through a cable.

73, Eric NF6S

ex WD6DBM

?

On Mon, Jul 29, 2024 at 10:31 AM, HOWARD POMERANTZ
<HOWPOM@...> wrote:
Very clever Hiroki. Do you know the max distance the induction solenoids(?) will reach? Just curious

73
Howard
N6POM

On Jul 27, 2024, at 7:32 AM, Hiroki Kato <hiroki@...> wrote:

While taking apart a 3D printer recently, our friend Jeff Reagan, AJ6WX, discovered an interesting electro-mechanical?phenomenon. When you connect two?identical stepper motors in parallel and manually turn one motor the other motor turns?exactly the same way, clockwise or counter-clockwise. One motor works as an electric power generator and the power thus generated is sufficient to turn the other motor. Jeff thought that?such a two-motor combination may work to built a?remote?control system for a?magnetic loop. He gave me the two motors from his canniibalized 3D printer for me to experiment.


I built a prototype this week and field-tested it yesterday. Here it is. Every part of this construction is from my junk box. The reduction gear is from a WWII military radio BC348's dial mechanism. ?The capacitor is a vintage butterfly capacitor about 60 pf. ?A discerning eye may notice Erector parts, my favorite old-timer's 3D printer. The antenna covers 17, 15, 12 and 10m. The remote control worked smoothly and easy to use.?

Hiroki AH6CY


<IMG_6661.jpeg>

<IMG_6667.jpeg>




 

I actually tried it and can attest to its magic! As to Joy's comment, Edison said that to invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk... Hiroki clearly has both!


 

This idea has been around for more than a century.??

When I was just getting into the hobby, there were articles about using synchro or selsyn motors as antenna rotors.? The motors used to show up occasionally at army surplus stores.



On Monday, July 29, 2024 at 12:32:08 PM PDT, Eric via groups.io <gliderboy1955@...> wrote:


I saw it with my own eyes and still don't believe it.? Spooky action through a cable.

73, Eric NF6S

ex WD6DBM

?

On Mon, Jul 29, 2024 at 10:31 AM, HOWARD POMERANTZ
<HOWPOM@...> wrote:
Very clever Hiroki. Do you know the max distance the induction solenoids(?) will reach? Just curious

73
Howard
N6POM

On Jul 27, 2024, at 7:32 AM, Hiroki Kato <hiroki@...> wrote:

While taking apart a 3D printer recently, our friend Jeff Reagan, AJ6WX, discovered an interesting electro-mechanical?phenomenon. When you connect two?identical stepper motors in parallel and manually turn one motor the other motor turns?exactly the same way, clockwise or counter-clockwise. One motor works as an electric power generator and the power thus generated is sufficient to turn the other motor. Jeff thought that?such a two-motor combination may work to built a?remote?control system for a?magnetic loop. He gave me the two motors from his canniibalized 3D printer for me to experiment.


I built a prototype this week and field-tested it yesterday. Here it is. Every part of this construction is from my junk box. The reduction gear is from a WWII military radio BC348's dial mechanism. ?The capacitor is a vintage butterfly capacitor about 60 pf. ?A discerning eye may notice Erector parts, my favorite old-timer's 3D printer. The antenna covers 17, 15, 12 and 10m. The remote control worked smoothly and easy to use.?

Hiroki AH6CY


<IMG_6661.jpeg>

<IMG_6667.jpeg>




 

开云体育

Guys-

It appears that the stepper motors are acting just like the old servo motors but have the advantage of being both readily available and cheap. That's good to know.

Phil

On 7/29/2024 12:31 PM, Eric via groups.io wrote:

I saw it with my own eyes and still don't believe it.? Spooky action through a cable.

73, Eric NF6S

ex WD6DBM

?

On Mon, Jul 29, 2024 at 10:31 AM, HOWARD POMERANTZ
Very clever Hiroki. Do you know the max distance the induction solenoids(?) will reach? Just curious

73
Howard
N6POM

On Jul 27, 2024, at 7:32 AM, Hiroki Kato <hiroki@...> wrote:

While taking apart a 3D printer recently, our friend Jeff Reagan, AJ6WX, discovered an interesting electro-mechanical?phenomenon. When you connect two?identical stepper motors in parallel and manually turn one motor the other motor turns?exactly the same way, clockwise or counter-clockwise. One motor works as an electric power generator and the power thus generated is sufficient to turn the other motor. Jeff thought that?such a two-motor combination may work to built a?remote?control system for a?magnetic loop. He gave me the two motors from his canniibalized 3D printer for me to experiment.


I built a prototype this week and field-tested it yesterday. Here it is. Every part of this construction is from my junk box. The reduction gear is from a WWII military radio BC348's dial mechanism. ?The capacitor is a vintage butterfly capacitor about 60 pf. ?A discerning eye may notice Erector parts, my favorite old-timer's 3D printer. The antenna covers 17, 15, 12 and 10m. The remote control worked smoothly and easy to use.?

Hiroki AH6CY


<IMG_6661.jpeg>

<IMG_6667.jpeg>




 

开云体育

Howard et al,

I extended the connecting wires between the two motors to 6 feet. It works very well without any discernible loss of power. I have no need to build any longer wires for my own need but it would be an interesting experiment to see how long the wires can be extended without losing the utility. This reminds me of the effort more than a century ago to find out how long telegraph wires could be extended without a relay. In theory, you can calculate by measuring resistance of wire material and how much power you need to turn the motor but in this case a raw empirical method would be much more practical, i.e., cut and try.

Hiroki AH6CY?






On Jul 29, 2024, at 16:46, sittners <sittners@...> wrote:

?

Guys-

It appears that the stepper motors are acting just like the old servo motors but have the advantage of being both readily available and cheap. That's good to know.

Phil

On 7/29/2024 12:31 PM, Eric via groups.io wrote:
I saw it with my own eyes and still don't believe it.? Spooky action through a cable.

73, Eric NF6S

ex WD6DBM

?

On Mon, Jul 29, 2024 at 10:31 AM, HOWARD POMERANTZ
Very clever Hiroki. Do you know the max distance the induction solenoids(?) will reach? Just curious

73
Howard
N6POM

On Jul 27, 2024, at 7:32 AM, Hiroki Kato <hiroki@...> wrote:

While taking apart a 3D printer recently, our friend Jeff Reagan, AJ6WX, discovered an interesting electro-mechanical?phenomenon. When you connect two?identical stepper motors in parallel and manually turn one motor the other motor turns?exactly the same way, clockwise or counter-clockwise. One motor works as an electric power generator and the power thus generated is sufficient to turn the other motor. Jeff thought that?such a two-motor combination may work to built a?remote?control system for a?magnetic loop. He gave me the two motors from his canniibalized 3D printer for me to experiment.


I built a prototype this week and field-tested it yesterday. Here it is. Every part of this construction is from my junk box. The reduction gear is from a WWII military radio BC348's dial mechanism. ?The capacitor is a vintage butterfly capacitor about 60 pf. ?A discerning eye may notice Erector parts, my favorite old-timer's 3D printer. The antenna covers 17, 15, 12 and 10m. The remote control worked smoothly and easy to use.?

Hiroki AH6CY


<IMG_6661.jpeg>

<IMG_6667.jpeg>