Vanagon EuroVan
Previous messageNext messagePrevious in topicNext in topicPrevious by same authorNext by same authorPrevious page (August 2008, week 1)Back to main VANAGON pageJoin or leave VANAGON (or change settings)ReplyPost a new messageSearchProportional fontNon-proportional font
Date:         Wed, 6 Aug 2008 07:46:34 -0700
Reply-To:     Mike Elliott <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Mike Elliott <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: [NVC] Engineers: quick and cheerful vibration analysis?
Comments: To: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
In-Reply-To:  <2EE4802BC7314A85AD33710A17E8F8FC@DADSTOSHIBA>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

On 8/5/2008 9:14 PM Dennis Haynes wrote:

> Sure it could be done, bring money.

Aw, 3D accelerometers are not expensive, consider the Wii controller. I've used cheap polymer film piezo transducers in the past, the output of which could go to the input of my existing Picoscope oscilloscope box that connects to the laptop via USB. I just don't think I can get even a 1-axis accelerometer in the time I have remaining.

Wait - I might be able to find a stick-on piezo pickup for guitars, upright basses or cellos at a music store nearby.

Or, use a Radio Shack piezo mic, like shown here:

http://home.earthlink.net/~erinys/contactmic.html

And stick it to the body of the trailer with double-sided foam tape.

-- Mike RJS

> > One thing about trailer tires, inflation pressure needs to set by the > load. They are small and they spin fast and they are poorly made and they > love to blow out. Squishy trailer tires are guaranteed failures, even > small ones. > > Dennis > > -----Original Message----- > From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of > Mike Elliott > Sent: Wednesday, August 06, 2008 12:06 AM > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM > Subject: [NVC] Engineers: quick and cheerful vibration analysis? > > This is a question for the engineering geeks here. > > Say you were towing a little trailer behind your Vanagon. Say that the > trailer had a rudimentary suspension consisting only of leaf springs. Say > that this trailer also had tires, the pressure of which could be adjusted: > higher pressure results in a harsher ride, while lower pressure results in > a softer ride. Say you wanted to determine the optimum pressure of ride vs > tire squishiness but were unable to find a small boy to ride in that > trailer to report back about smoothness of ride v tire pressure while the > experiments were being conducted, so lacking that small boy, your thoughts > naturally turn to instrumentation. Okay, so say you had a laptop computer > (WinXP) which could ride in the passenger seat, and /three/ business days > in which to acquire the needed sensor (accelerometer?) as well as the > software to display the ride bounciness. > > Could it be done? > > -- > Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott >


Back to: Top of message | Previous page | Main VANAGON page

Please note - During the past 17 years of operation, several gigabytes of Vanagon mail messages have been archived. Searching the entire collection will take up to five minutes to complete. Please be patient!


Return to the archives @ gerry.vanagon.com


The vanagon mailing list archives are copyright (c) 1994-2011, and may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the list administrators. Posting messages to this mailing list grants a license to the mailing list administrators to reproduce the message in a compilation, either printed or electronic. All compilations will be not-for-profit, with any excess proceeds going to the Vanagon mailing list.

Any profits from list compilations go exclusively towards the management and operation of the Vanagon mailing list and vanagon mailing list web site.