This is my first post for a while having been diverted to other things.
This is non radio, sorry about that!
It is part storytelling, part biographical, and resulted from gathering information for my biography, a sort of "my brilliant career" thing.
I wish my grandfather had done the same an interesting man who lived in interesting times.
This bit covers the subject of rotating alternator theory and the types of AVR used from grandpa's day to Y2000.
I can't do the same for radio because I never worked in that industry!
I would welcome any feedback from you guys.
I think differently from lots of people, and it will be interesting if the "fast food" concepts of voltage generation and AVR's makes sense.
Remember its a story, not a textbook.
I have plenty of those on the subjects, most of which I cannot understand and are thousands of pages of dribble.
I like the short versions of anything!

Cheers, Fred.

Alternators and Generators

It will be interesting Fred. I still work in the industry and see everything from early sets with DC generators mounted on the rear for the excitation to wound rotor types with the output on the slip rings and series field connections for regulation. It’s interesting to hear about the battles the big coal fired generators are having that are producing VAR to keep the grid happy. With all the renewables, they are having all sorts of issues with speed regulation and are burning excessive coal to generate the required reactive power that they don’t get paid for.

You will probably enjoy the little trip into the past Dave.
As an apprentice I did every thing from machining rotors and cases, insulate and wind, varnish, assemble and test.
I did a spell in each section of the factory from starting as a slag chipper in the welding shop, hole driller in the machine shop, floor sweeper in the winding shop, hole driller in the instrument shop and oil drainer in the engine shop. That was some apprenticeship with at least 6 months in each shop. then a year or so in the testing shop.
By the time each section had finished with you, you could weld anything, machine anything, wind anything, rebuild any engine and test.
Then I introduced electronics to the instrument shop and rode the wave of technology while making at home my own brand of guitar and bass amps light displays, games and consulted for electronic shops like Edge Electrix, Jaycar ect on kit projects, music, computers anything.

Oh and 13 years at college and uni at night time as well as growing a family .

And kids today cant find work?
They cant go to work because its too far/hot/cold/difficult/its not air conditioned?
I went around and made jobs!
As I say to my grandkids you are either working, or, earning, or, better still BOTH

Sorry went off there a bit

Enjoy, Fred.

Document uploaded.

Up in Tamworth they have a place called the Powerstation Museum. It is in the original building used for providing Tamworth's streets with electric lighting back in 1888, leading to Tamworth becoming known as the First City of Light.

Whilst much of the original equipment is gone, two replica Crompton generators coupled to fairly realistic steam engines were put in place in time for the centenary of electric street lighting in 1988. What's more, everything works and the facility does generate power, although not for today's grid.

The musem contains other artefacts including early fridges, washing machines, and small appliances such as steam irons and, yes, radios!

https://tamworthpowerstationmuseum.com.au/

Fred's photo of the generators in the article reminded me of this. Sydney would rely on gas lighting for at least another 10-20 years, which required people to wander the streets each night and turn them all on manually.

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A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

QUOTE: On April 7, 1826, the "first street lamp post ever seen" in Australia was lit in Macquarie Place, with plans to put lights diagonally along the streets at 45m intervals. A regular lamplight contractor was employed in 1827, earning three-pence per lamp per night until the city had 100 lamps, achieved by 1829, when he earned an annual sum of Pound 300.
. . .

The Edison Electric Illuminating Company opened its first power station a year later, when an Edison electric lamp was exhibited at Sydney Town Hall. Tamworth was the first Australian town to use electric street lights, illuminating 13km from November 1888. Young, Penrith, Moss Vale and Broken Hill followed, all gaining a power supply by 1891.

Sydney powered up on July 8, 1904, when Lady Mayoress Olive Lees turned a switch-key at the powerhouse in Pyrmont.

Electric arc lights shone at 2000 candlepower, eclipsing the 400 candlepower emitted from the strongest gaslights on busy intersections. Supplier Australian Gas Light Company reputedly claimed that electricity posed a risk as it could seep through the ground.

The bolded bit reminds me of Thomas Edison electrocuting animals in public with AC in a vain attempt to persuade punters that 'his' DC was safer than Westinghouse's dangerous AC..

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/how-sydney8217s-infant-streets-saw-the-light/news-story/68bea34f2a8787dd8677f6754cb25485

Supplier Australian Gas Light Company reputedly claimed that electricity posed a risk as it could seep through the ground.

That is a comment I'd expect of AGL, which of course started out in gas but later hypocritically got out of gas and went into ownership of power stations but before the goldline pipe network was installed in Sydney, AGL's cast iron gas mains leaked like one wouldn't believe. The new network was installed by AGL shutting down the gas, street by street for several years and installing the goldline inside the old mains.

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A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

Edison may still get it his way. DC power transmission and distribution will more than likely be the way forward in years to come.

DC transmission is not an economically viable method in Australia. This method has been used on Basslink but frequently breaks down. There are other DC high tension links here and there and they have more frequent trouble than AC links as well. AC is by far the most reliable and solid method. Always has been, always will be. AC's main issue is electrical losses which are greater than DC but reliability in a large country like Australia is, or I say should be far a greater priority.

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A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

Yes but this will change with the cost and reliability of converter stations on the improve in years to come. The AC grid is also becoming unreliable as the rotating mass that was used to supply it is diminishingly. A new issue will have to be overcome with synthetic VAR and frequency control moving forward. The current AC grid is suited power generation of yesterday but not necessarily the power generation of tomorrow.

Fred that is a fascinating piece of work!

It might just inspire me to write about the development of my company, starting in 1976, and the development of Video Commander, our analogue then eventually digital VOD system for schools. We sold these systems all over the world.

All obsolete and unnecessary these days of course.

On the subject of "lightbulb moments" this IBM promotional film from 1956 shows the development process of the very first hard disk.

You may have seen it before, if not, marvel at where the idea came from!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFRBD2uN9PY

I was working at Shore in North Sydney at the time they made their system of Aiphones and Joeys redundant (along with the bloke that held the system together) and all class videos went online. A lot of money got spent installing extra fibre to handle the amount of data. We ripped out something like 70 televisions - they were sold to staff and some of the lads for $50 a throw, not a bad deal since analogue transmissions were still a thing at the time.

The tellies were replaced with 'smart' white boards and keystone projectors. The textas had no ink - the teacher's computer had software to draw the lines, write the words, etc that were 'written' with the electronic textas on the boards.

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A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

Ian that would be a good idea!
While neither of us invented the wheel it is fascinating to look back at how something evolved.
While you are in the middle of it just seems what you are doing as a job or hobby and nothing much is happening .
Looking back now suddenly people like us are ahead of the mob in our own little area.
I was in a failing (Lister) on one hand and a rising industry electronics (Jaycar) on the other.

You need to write your bit of history.

Fred.

Fred, your reference to Lister brought back my early days in Radar and reminded me of an "Amplidyne" used to drive the servo motors for bearing and elevation of the antenna.

The Amplidyne is a rotary amplifier, consisting of a motor connected to a DC generator. The field coil is driven by the signal to be amplified, via a pair of KT88s and could output many hundreds of watts. Only very low frequencies, but fine for servo applications.

Have you ever come across them?

Harold

Thanks Fred. Terrific content. I used to deal with a knowledgeable gentleman Terry from Genaust in SA with everything to do with AVRs. Probably retired now. I will print this off for the Apprentices to read through and maybe learn something. Unfortunately todays electricians are great until it comes to anything to do with electricity.

Yes Brad, re Shore, that site was far and away the one most affected by lightning strikes. We worked hard to re-design and toughen the system, Shore was a valuable test bed!

The biggest breakthrough though was the move to Cat5 cable for video transmission in place of co-ax.
But analogue video is now as obsolete as the valve!