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Turiko

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Hello

I noticed this forum has a gallery. I saw it yesterday and I honestly didn't know it had this feature, which I think is pretty cool.

Anyway I decided I am going to put some pics of my research to do with the power crisis, in there. So if you like electronics and electrical stuff, have a look ;)

Regards,
Turiko
 
Thanks,

I have a question.

I live in an old house in Joburg (my geyser is still in Farenheit!) . My meter never gets read, because no-one is ever home. So I'm still paying the monthly estimate for electricity (which is too high, because I've been cutting back)

Are there any plans to install remote meter readers in houses? i.e. meters that transmit their reading via radio waves and can be read by a receiver riding past in a van?
 
Are there any plans to install remote meter readers in houses? i.e. meters that transmit their reading via radio waves and can be read by a receiver riding past in a van?
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Yes and no.... Eskom did the research for a meter that is read via 3G/GPRS/EDGE from billing center. Also has provision for tamper detection and auditing.

As they explained it to me, that, for their customers i.e. the bulk purchasers this is an easy roll-out and is in progress as we speak. As for the end-consumer i.e you and I, it is up to the municipality concerned and Eskom does not own, nor is responsible for that infrastructure, and that's where the trouble begins. I have gotten lots of co-operation with Eskom, but City Power has been a brick wall of note. At this stage, City power continues to install generic electronic kWh meters, all of which are machine readable, but only via the IEC 62056-21 optical port and the display, in both cases require access to property by meter-reader staff member. Where I live, the meter is read by a company that is paid to do it from the levy roll. The technology is there, but the weakest link is City Power :mad:


City Power's attitude is rather different to that of Eskom. Eskom have been really good to me, they have gone out of their way to help me with my research and they often engage with me to find out what I am working on and my progress. For that I have quite a bit of respect for them despite their fall from grace.

Back on topic though, thanks for the tips about the galleries. I will defnitely make use of that. Am taking pics at the moment of my latest work, will upload on the weekend.
 
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Turiko said:
For that I have quite a bit of respect for them despite their fall from grace.
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Eishkom are not deserving of respect from any of their customers that they so wilfully screw over.

They are rotten to the core - from top to bottom.
 
Eskom Management, and the rest of the company, I agree with you. But the folks at the CR&D are really good. They just tell me that their hands are tied and such. They do lots of good work that is largely ignored...:(
 
Turiko said:
Eskom Management, and the rest of the company, I agree with you. But the folks at the CR&D are really good. They just tell me that their hands are tied and such. They do lots of good work that is largely ignored...:(
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I don't think you'll find one single Eishkom customer that wont agree that Eishkom are all a bunch of MegaTwatts from top to bottom.

Who/what is CR&D? - they obviously aren't having any influence in Eishkom as nothings changed there and there's absolutely no sign of anything about to change for the better. All they're prepared to do is mask the problem at our cost, with a clear example being the managements persistence that they have fat bonuses and the hiring of private maintenance service while still keeping a full compliment of incompetents in their maintenance departments.

Is this 'good work' by CR&D just another cost to the customer for no benefit gained?
 
CR&D is their R&D department.. That's where all the people with degrees sit all day dreaming stuff up, that gets thrown away/forgotten by the crappy management. It is a seemingly separate sub-division of Eskom. The people I met there have some impressive credentials. As to why they're not being utilised effectively, that's not for me to answer. All I can say is I am grateful for the information they're so willing to disclose to me.

I might have been angry about the current balls-up in SA but now I am putting in effort to make it better for us all. I don't care what it takes but I will keep on with this project until someone wakes up and we can get going with it. Loadshedding sucks and we can avoid it if someone starts listening and we can implement these projects. A modern, and efficient tele-control system is at the cornerstone of effective demand side management and contingency, all factors that can help to meet or even exceed that elusive 10% that Eskom needs right now. I am past blaming because it does nothing but put strain on my internal organs. I'd rather just work to a possible solution, keeps one's mind off the negative.

Even today, I cannot find the stuff I need on the 'net due to patent issues (even though the thing has expired) and freaking cartels overseas w.r.t. this technology. I've spent the last 2 years searching for it, and had to go as far as writing to people in Germany and approaching Orionpower in NZ, and then resorting to publishing my half-baked research before getting someone's attention. I've even resorted to trying to befriend people that work for City Power. No-one kept their word or was prepared to help me, except Eskom. So rightly, or wrongly I have some respect for a certain bunch of their people.

Anyhow back on topic, I've updated the gallery with some of my current work and some unrelated stuff that might be of interest.
 
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Thanks! :o

Question related to your work, but unrelated to the gallery... If I want to change all my lights to 12V, why do I have to use thicker wiring? :confused:
 
Power (watts) = Current (amps) X Voltage

So for equivalent power with the 12V system vs the 220V system the Amps would need to be much higher, and for the higher Amps you'll need thicker wires.

60 W lamp

60/12v = 5 Amp

60/220v = 0.26 Amp
 
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