In early October I was asked to carry out repairs on a faulty AVR (Automatic Voltage Regulator). The AVR is being used in the village Kg. Pongobonon which I visited in September. The micro-hydro currently installed there has been out of action for several months due to this AVR fault.
The AVR being used is a strange device that's been developed in China. Its essentially functions like a light dimmer, its dividing the power between a main load and ballast load. It doesn't function like an typical AVR which regulates voltage by through generator excitation and it's really not ideal for the micro-hydro but it is a cheap temporary solution. When I opened the device, it seemed like it was originally designed for something else...the china manufacturer has performed some dodgy modifications with some poor soldering to turn it into what it is now. Thankfully only a few components seemed faulty, which were easy enough to replace. I also managed to improve the design, tuning can now be performed by hand using a rotary switch rather than having to use a screwdriver.
In Action, repairing the Kg Pongobonon Micro-Hydro AVR
AVR after repair
The trip into the field to install the repaired AVR was going to be different from before. This time there was to be a "micro-hydro turning-on ceremony" and politicians from the Malaysian government's opposition party will be joining us! This put pressure on me to get the AVR working! If the repairs don't work, the micro hydro will not turn on!
On the day of the trip, about 15 of us packed in three trucks and headed into Ula Papar (name given to the rainforest and community area). The convoy headed into forest on the same road I nearly lost my ear, again I was in the back of the truck holding on for dear life as we bound about through rivers and over uneven road.
The pre-departure loading of trucks
On Route to Kg, Pongobonon
Stopped off at the Kg. Tiku hanging bridge and a Ulu Papar paddy field
The roads to Kg. Pongobonon are horrific, so we had brought
some cement with us to help villagers improve the road surface.
When we arrived at Kg. Pongobonon I started to feel a bit anxious. Asking myself "Shit, what if this AVR still doesn't work? Everyone will have travelled all this way and the micro-hydro won't be operational!". As soon as we arrived, we went straight to the powerhouse to try out the repaired AVR. We installed the AVR and opened the main valve to allow the water to flow into the turbine. The process of getting a constant flow of water into the turbine took some time. Air bubbles in the pipes caused turbulence in the flow which meant we could turn on the power from the generator the village. This was a period of some serious nail biting, hoping that this AVR would work! Eventually we started to get a consistent flow of water into the turbine, the voltage ramped up to the expected 220V and we could switch on the village loads. I quickly jumped in with the multi-meter to take some measurements, the AVR should be diverting power to the ballast load. Thankfully, the voltage and frequency seemed stable, some small tuning adjustments brought the voltage and frequency to the desired 220V and 50Hz. As expected the AVR was sending a fraction of the power to the ballast. This was a big relief, the AVR seemed to be working ok! The village of Pongobonon was now being supplied with stable electricity!
Kg. Pongobonon Micro-Hydro (3.3kW)
Installation of the repaired AVR
The Power House light turns on!
For me this was a great feeling, it was a fairly simple fix to the AVR, but it had big consequences for this village. There was a lot of high-fives and hand shakes while at the power house. But it was satisfying to head down to the village and see that the lights were on and music was playing.
Let there be light!
Now that we knew that the micro-hydro is operating ok, the ceremony with the politician could begin with him, his crew of photographers, the village chief and of course Tonibung. The politician gave his speech, and flicked the switch to light up the village. The experience was later covered in Malaysian Media, where I was captured in a few pictures... Kg Pongobonon: Malaysia media coverage
"Turning On Ceremony"
Celebrations following the ceremony
