Mic wrote:
[snip]
http://www.lookout2000.com/windpower/

i would like something like this one (but smaller of course) ... it has
some features i would want. i would want it to use a normal alternator
making it easy to fix with parts from a junk vehicle anywhere in the
world. i would also want it to use a belt system so you could easily
change the belt and/or diameter of the pulleys to get the right ratio
to spin the alternator at the right rpms for average wind speeds. the
belts and pulleys, again, available anywhere there are automobiles. i
wouldn't want a gear system to change the ratios since that'd be one
more thing you might have to order from halfway around the world and
ship .. time and money wasted. i think an important improvement would
be to have a metal eye on the tail of it so you can pull it around out
of the wind to stop the blades ... and a simple "one big bolt" type of
design for removing the blades would be nice too, kind of like the one
that holds the cam shaft sprocket for an engine's timing chain. if it
had that you could remove the blades whenever you wanted to, if a big
storm was coming up or something you could just use the eye to turn the
blades out of the wind, secure them with a rope or something, and if
you wanted you could even take out the bolt and put the blades in the
cabin. i don't know if there is such a thing sold ... i would imagine
most manufacturers just sell basically a one piece kind of deal with
specialized parts. that does have the advantage over the belt system
of being enclosed in fiberglass, but i don't think that's enough of an
advantage to make it better.