Capacitive Charger

I have added two safety elements to the design which I believe now makes capacitive charger safe enough for children to handle.

1. A microcontroller monitors the voltage at the battery terminals. If the unit is not connected to battery terminals or if the voltage resembles utility power the unit is immediately shut-off.

2. A second capacitor is used. In case a single capacitor fails the second will prevent unrestricted wall power from flowing through the circuit. Should both capacitors fail the microcontroller monitoring voltage can cut the utility power into the circuit.

I believe these two safety modes will be enough to prevent anyone from being hurt. I've attached the current schematic. Please do not circulate this yet as I have not completed testing and this circuit. It is inherently dangerous without the firmware and double cap safety additions.

I can't help withe motor/generator, but I'll watch the GVCS forums for open hardware control system needs. Now that I have a CNC it is easy for me to crank out hardware solutions.