> A quick read shows nothing drastic out of place
Exactly, nothing drastic at all. But he said several things that weren't quite
right, like it taking one revolution of the rotor to produce one full cycle of
output. Actually, the rotor is designed to produce many magnetic poles, and so
produces quite a few cycles of output for one revolution.
As I recall, he also implies that an alternator that won't charge at idle is
defective ... most older alternators will not charge at idle. The old Chrysler
externally regulated alternators were particularly bad about it, and the Ford
unit on my TR3 doesn't wake up until about 1200 engine rpm.
He mentions several times that GM now calls alternators "generators" ... they
always have, because an alternator is an example of a generator. It's kind of
like objecting to someone calling a turbocharger a supercharger.
And at least as I read it, he says the CS-series regulator is "high tech"
because it uses pulse width modulation (PWM). All of the generators I've worked
with, including SI-series alternators, use PWM regulators. It's a cost thing
... PWM means the regulator dissipates less power, which means it can use
smaller transistors, doesn't need a heat sink, etc. In fact, even the original
mechanical regulator on a TR3 uses PWM !
There might be some more minor errors in the article, those are just the ones I
recall offhand. So, like everything else on the Internet (including this
message), a certain amount of skepticism is a good idea.
Randall
=== This list supported in part by The Vintage Triumph Register
=== http://www.vtr.org
|