So I've been kicking around making a bicycle powered Christmas tree prop for the front yard. I've got a VERY old stationary bike that I am thinking of using. My plan is to take it apart and take the pedals off of the crank arm; then someone can use their hands to turn it and drive the lights. What I am curious about is if my electronics concepts make sense....
My play is to hook a dynamo up to the drive chain. Then coming off of the dynamo's wires would be a diode to make sure they can only power the lights in one direction. Following that would be a current limiting resistor. Next would four partial strings of Christmas lights in parallel with different power resistors connected to them to change the load on each string. Each string would have its own zener diode that would require different voltage levels to run each string of lights (say 6V, 12V, 18V, and 24V for instance).
My plan is that as the user turns the crank arm faster, the dynamo spins faster, causing the voltage output of the dynamo increase. Each string of lights would have a minimal voltage required to turn them on based on their associated zener diode (listed above) and would turn on in order as the user spins (and maintains the spin) of the shaft.
Does this make sense? Am I overlooking something (totally probable)? I am planning on using LED Christmas lights as they run on much lower current.
My play is to hook a dynamo up to the drive chain. Then coming off of the dynamo's wires would be a diode to make sure they can only power the lights in one direction. Following that would be a current limiting resistor. Next would four partial strings of Christmas lights in parallel with different power resistors connected to them to change the load on each string. Each string would have its own zener diode that would require different voltage levels to run each string of lights (say 6V, 12V, 18V, and 24V for instance).
My plan is that as the user turns the crank arm faster, the dynamo spins faster, causing the voltage output of the dynamo increase. Each string of lights would have a minimal voltage required to turn them on based on their associated zener diode (listed above) and would turn on in order as the user spins (and maintains the spin) of the shaft.
Does this make sense? Am I overlooking something (totally probable)? I am planning on using LED Christmas lights as they run on much lower current.