Gary Wolf wrote:

Paul,
   Has anyone tried a permanent magnet alternator from a motorcycle of the
'70s? I am thinking of the ones Suzuki used on its twin cylinder 2-strokes.
The rotor was a low inertia permanent magnet about 3" dia and the stator was
able to provide ~6 amps at 12 volts with a 4-diode full-wave rectifier. The
models below 500cc were unregulated, the T500 had a simple solid state
regulator.
   There are still lots of these in the bike wrecking yards, and the rotor
would be easy to adapt to the end of a shaft. The stator assembly could be
adapted or just the coils could be used on a custom aluminum plate.
   These were a trouble-free unit, since the magnets were spinning, and
battery power was not required to excite the rotor. I used to handle the
warranty claims for Suzuki in Canada back then and there was no return
history for these units at all.

                                                Gary Wolf

There may be some outboards, snowmobile or jet ski engines around with the
same type of alternator built into the flywheel.

BTW in 20 years of flying I have had only one problem with a V belt driven alternator
and that was because the FAA certified mechanic that did the annual left the belt
loose. A visual inspection is all that is required with V belts. If they are in good
shape and the tension is right they almost never break or slip.

Paul Lamar

 
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