EV Digest 5789
Topics covered in this issue include:
1) RE: Question.
by "Roger Stockton" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
2) RE: False floor for cooling plenum?
by "Don Cameron" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
3) Re: article: Tesla Roadster Sells Out First 100 Cars
by Tony Belding <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
4) Re: New EV board !!!!!
by "Philippe Borges" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
5) Re: Weird contactor behavior
by "Roland Wiench" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
6) Test Lane is NOT Racing
by John Wayland <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
7) Re:International gas price comparisons, was: Re: Driving habbits
by "Philippe Borges" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
8) Russco charger auto-shutoff help?
by W Bryan Andrews <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
9) Interview about the movie "Who killed the electric car" on Youtube.com
by "Thomas Henden" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
10) Re: Interview about the movie "Who killed the electric car" on Youtube.com
by "Mike Ellis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
11) Interview about the movie "Who killed the electric car?" on Youtube.com
by "t_henden" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
12) Re: A note on potentiometers
by Eric Poulsen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
13) Optical encoders for "throttle" (was RE: A note on potentiometers)
by "Joe Vitek" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
14) RE: What I Learned This Weekend
by "Bill Dennis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
15) World's First Electric Junior Dragster
by "Roderick Wilde" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
16) OT: major breakthrough in photovoltaics claimed
by Lock Hughes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
17) PLasma Boy, and SEVA President - meet - Major Pixel
by Steven Lough <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
18) Conversions in the Northwest
by "Lawrence Rhodes" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
19) Re: Question regarding controllers and potboxes.
by Eric Poulsen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
20) Re: Optical encoders for "throttle" (was RE: A note on potentiometers)
by Eric Poulsen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
21) Re: Weird contactor behavior
by Ralph <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
22) Battery Box Cooling Fan Control from PFC30
by "Grigg. John" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
23) RE: World's First Electric Junior Dragster
by "Joe Vitek" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
24) RE: Grants, Re: Plug in Hybrid retro fits for Prius, Escape wanted for NY
state fleet.
by "Roger Stockton" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
25) Re: OT: major breakthrough in photovoltaics claimed
by "Kaido Kert" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
26) Re: Optical encoders for "throttle" (was RE: A note on potentiometers)
by Jack Murray <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
27) Re: PLasma Boy, and SEVA President - meet - Major Pixel
by "Mike Ellis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
--- Begin Message ---
Phelps wrote:
> I have a 1990 2 seater convertible Geo Metro that I am going
> to covert to Electric. I would like to keep the same kind
> of performance that the current 3 cylinder has now.. Which
> is nothing special .. What do you all recommend for a motor
> for it?
ADC 8". I'm running 120V of Optima YTs in my '87 Suzuki Forsa/Chevy
Sprint and an old 450A SCR controller and have no problem exceeding the
ICE performance.
Mind you, my 120V pack is particularly light (~450lbs), which keeps the
curb weight below 2000lbs for reasonably peppy performance at the
expense of range. My car was built specifically for my 8mi commute,
which is easily within the range of this pack, even with the 6-7 year
old pack I'm presently running.
On the other hand, if you use a modern controller (DCP Raptor 600/1200
or Z1K) you will have much better off the line torque than mine and even
better efficiency (more range). Even a lowly Curtis will yield better
efficiency than my SCR controller, and may still give better low speed
torque than my SCR controller, but I'd put my money on a Z1K rather than
a Curtis.
Cheers,
Roger.
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Victor did this with his Lithium battery boxes in his CRX.
http://www.metricmind.com/ac_honda/body.htm
Don Cameron, Victoria, BC, Canada
see the New Beetle EV project www.cameronsoftware.com/ev
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On
Behalf Of Mike Phillips
Sent: August 23, 2006 10:29 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: False floor for cooling plenum?
The height of the battery box is going to be 14" and the battery height is
9.5" in round numbers. With that extra height, I was wondering about
installing a false floor and putting a blower in the box so that the couple
inches below the BB600's could be pressurized with air. That would create an
upward flow thru the small gaps between batterys up into the top of the box.
Minor cooling, but cooling nonetheless.
Doable?
Mike
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
On Aug 22, 2006, at 2:33 PM, Mark Fowler wrote:
We don't buy new exotic sports cars because we see them as costing way
too much money for not enough practicality.
Maybe I can offer a bit of insight into that. . .
I have a 1997 Lotus Esprit V8. I found it on eBay and got it for
$38,000, it had three previous owners. I immediately had buyer's
remorse and every horror story I'd heard about buying a car sight-
unseen came to mind. As luck would have it, the car turned out to be
in excellent shape, and I've had a blast with it for the last year.
I probably wouldn't risk that again. :)
Lest we worry too much about the environment, I note that the Esprit
had about 15,000 miles when I got it. I've driven about 3,000 since
then. This kind of driving pattern is not too uncommon for a lot of
exotic sports cars -- they aren't usually for the daily commute or
grocery hauling. They are second (or third, or fourth) cars.
Some of you might also not realize how expensive these exotic cars
are to keep up. Even though mine was in good mechanical shape, I've
already been slapped with a few hair-raising bills. "You're charging
me HOW much for an oil change??" Squinting at the bill. . . "Are
these some new kind of spark plugs that are made of gold?" I'm told
Ferrari is much worse than Lotus in that regard. And then there's
the bill when your insurer finds out it has a twin-turbo V8. An
electric motor might not ring their alarm bells. :) The Tesla
Roadster ought to be much more affordable to own and operate than the
typical exotic sports car -- and it's priced under a lot of them
too. (The Esprit V8 was about a $100K car, and it was considered the
"budget supercar" by many.)
As for getting a Tesla. . . Undoubtedly it would be much cooler and
more fun than my Esprit. I'm in kind of a gray area financially,
where I could come up with the money, but it's about twice what I'd
ever normally consider spending on a car.
For now I'm playing it cool. I'm outside Tesla's planned service
area here in Texas, so paying an extra $8,000 to *not* have a dealer
in driving distance is hard to swallow. (Going 120 miles to get the
Esprit serviced is bad enough already.)
I reckon after a few years Texas will probably be on their list.
It's a great market for sports cars, but it's just hard to serve
because it's so geographically spread out. If I wait till then and
sell my Esprit and get a basic Tesla Roadster. . . solid color, soft
top, no portable charger, no sat nav. . . That might work, assuming
everything goes as hoped with Tesla's business and with mine. I've
got my fingers crossed.
Tony Belding, Hamilton Texas
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
I think you should (have) first ask at evlist admin before trying such
revolution.
though silent, i'm part of people who think(and know from experience!) a
board would be better for EV community because i started with yahoo too and
now have a phpbb board, nothing to compare, better functionnalities (photos,
map, localisation etc.) and for resust a way bigger audience success ! which
is what we call for EV comunity.
BUT it is hard at first on the admin side (lots of work) though with
moderators this became easy and convenient for all :^)
imho email EV list have touched is limit since few years now but EVolution
to a board need lots of brainstorming from actual "owner"/admin side to
decide where EV list have to go and determine what is needed (bandwith,
money etc.)
An important choice for sure and not something you decide at morning wake
up.
You can get a look at mine in french (my signature) but
http://www.visforvoltage.com/forums/index.php is a good exemple of what an
english EVboard should be.
cordialement,
Philippe
Et si le pot d'échappement sortait au centre du volant ?
quel carburant choisiriez-vous ?
http://vehiculeselectriques.free.fr
Forum de discussion sur les véhicules électriques
http://vehiculeselectriques.free.fr/Forum/index.php
----- Original Message -----
From: "David J. Hrivnak" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, August 24, 2006 12:37 AM
Subject: RE: New EV board !!!!!
> Wonderful this will greatly help reduce the flood of e-mail. Thank you!
>
> David J. Hrivnak
> www.hrivnak.com
> Personal Account WWJD?
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On
> Behalf Of ROBERT GOUDREAU
> Sent: Tuesday, August 22, 2006 10:09 AM
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: New EV board !!!!!
>
> Please,come and chat with us about your passion for EVs.
> http://electricperformance.com/forum/index.php
>
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
It is best to run a grounding counter poise system in a EV. Instead of
using the frame and/or sheet metal frame for the ground path, run a ground
wire in several loops through the vehicle starting from a standoff
connection near the battery.
I use a No. 4 to 2 AWG stranded copper wire that loops completely around the
perimeter of the vehicle, that is connected together every 4 feet or less to
every sheet metal panel that is bolted together.
To reduce noise, you may want to run a separate loops for communications,
one for electronics and one for power circuits.
The wire connections are terminal lugs that is bolted to the body panels
using a double star washer and a conductive paste on both sides with the
thread bolt double nut as to form a stud for a wire lug connection.
Off these connection points, you can branch off with a No. 10 to 4 AWG wire
to each component as needed. Instead of one ground connection point on a
electrical chassis, I may make several grounding points at different
locations on a electrical unit.
I had the entire inside of the motor bay painted, and before I install the
ground loop system, my 12 volt was reading between 12 to 12.5 V in certain
locations even when the 12 volts was jack up to 15 volts at no load and
sometimes below 10 volts at load.
I now can maintain 14.5 volts at 30 amp + load.
Roland
----- Original Message -----
From: "James Massey" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, August 24, 2006 5:02 AM
Subject: Re: Weird contactor behavior
> At 10:43 PM 22/08/06 -0400, Jude wrote:
> >So, Nathan's debugging my heater contactor while I try to get the motor
> >repaired. We couldn't get it to turn on while the car was all together.
> >
> >He made some measurements with some mechanic's tool that lights green
> >when
> >it sees ground and red when it sees power. The 12v coil was seeing an
> >regularly pulsing ground.
>
> G'day Jude
>
> A bit obvious to say this - but the ground isn't. More information
> required
> - what else is in the wiring?
>
> Is the contactor switched via the +ve? If you are switching the +ve, then
> the -ve must have a bad connection to earth.
>
> What contactor? it may have an economizer circuit in it that is doing the
> pulsing, and a poor earth connection would complete the picture.
>
> Hth
>
> Regards
>
> [Technik] James
>
>
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Hello to All,
I usually hold my tongue when Dennis beats this drum, this time, I cannot.
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Its too bad that other EVs up there in the
Northwest and around the country do not take advantage of racing the ice cars(test
lane is NOT racing).
Actually, it's too bad Dennis can't just congratulate us on our years of
hard work at changing the public's perception that EVs are slow, dull,
and boring and stop with his dissing our 'heads up' racing style.
Trust me Dennis, when folks see White Zombie line up next to a new
Vette, see us both get the same exact light (not the staggered light of
'bracket racing' that tries to level the playing field) then see the
electric car run off from the Vette and beat it fair and square,
everyone in the stands, everyone behind the burnout pits, and everyone
behind the fence clinching the rail, calls this racing! They never
forget what they witnessed...nor does the guy in the Vette! Heads up
style drag racing at the track is the closest thing to the real deal of
illegal street racing as one can get! The whole reason the NHRA came
into being, was to make a place where drag racers could safely duke it
out with 'the guy in the other lane'. Most racing fans aren't like
Dennis, where showing off how good 'you' are is the goal...they want to
see how good the 'cars' are. Bracket racing focuses on the driver, not
the car. Heads up racing focuses on the car, not the driver.
NHRA and Summit racing offer great programs in all classes
to as slow as 21 seconds in the qt.mile.
Yes, in bracket racing even a slug of a car like a 20 second automatic
VW van can actually win against hot Mustangs and powerful Vipers.
Bracket racing is for the 'driver', and if he or she is skilled enough,
cagey enough, and gutsy enough, with the staggered launch tree giving a
head start to the slow vehicle, they can actually beat the quicker more
powerful car over the finish line. In the real world of heads up racing,
that would never happen and the quickest car wins, as it should be. If
you're trying to promote EVs by demonstrating that they can not only
keep up with, but beat gas cars in a side by side drag race, heads up is
what it's all about. If you're trying to promote yourself, then bracket
racing is where you should be. I have done my share of it, but bracket
racing is more about the 'driver's' reaction time, the 'driver's'
techniques, the 'driver's' choices....perfect for a guy like Dennis
where winning is everything and where being considered the best at what
he does, is important. I (and my fellow NEDRA racers) prefer to advance
the cause of the electric car, not to advance the notion that I'm the
world's greatest racer.
Dennis proclaims that that heads up style is not racing, and he suggests
that we only hang out in the test lanes. Funny then, all 8 lanes at PIR
must be test lanes I guess. Each Friday and Saturday night they're jam
packed with hot vehicles going head to head with each other.
Everyone watching isn't screaming and cheering for their favorite racing
personality, they're screaming and cheering-on their favorite 'car'. You
hear comments like 'Watch this little electric car blow off that Road
Runner.' That's what NEDRA racers want, folks noticing, commenting
about, and ultimately being fans of the electric car.
Where I do agree that having electrics do well in any venue of racing is
a good thing (including bracket racing), I feel that when it comes to
convincing non-believers that an electric car can be quick and powerful,
there's nothing better than heads up style racing where you race what
pulls up next to you...no timing tree computer evening the playing
field, no tricks used like stomping the brake pedal at the end of the
run (so you don't run too fast and break out), no tricks like disguising
body parts (so the racer next to you at the end thinks you're still
behind them by a nose), none of this....just pure car vs car...pedal to
the metal...which one outperforms the other....no BS!
Nedra worked hard to get their rules adopted by NHRA and I seem to be the only
one taking advantage of them(even though I am no longer a nedra member).
We worked extremely hard to make it so that anyone with an EV can run on
an NHRA track, guys like Dennis!
There are thousands of dollars to be won in bracket racing every weekend around
the country.
Dennis, we don't do it for money, we do it to advance the electric car.
Bracket racers are 97% of the drag racers in the country.
Well of course this is the case! When 97% of the cars on the road are
the same old thing, same Mustang, same Cuda, same Vette, same Camaro,
same WRX....the only way to make the racing inviting to all these folks
(stuck in using the same old technology) is to showcase the driver, not
the car. I'd also like to advance the thought, that this same 97% of all
racers, don't care one bit about advancing a cause (what kind of cause
is promoting the use of gas?), all they want, is to have fun and look
good at winning. That's OK, but it's not what NEDRA racers are about. I
guess NEDRA racers fall into that other 3%, the 3% that want to change
the world.
Dennis is to be congratulated on his incredible skills and his current
points standing. His routine bracket racing against gas cars is good for
showing folks that an EV can be consistent. I do think though, that it
was MUCH better for the EV cause when Dennis was into heads up style
racing, trying to go as quickly as he could pushing his EV to that world
record of 8.8 seconds. Somehow, seeing the vehicle run 12 seconds these
days isn't the same as when it scorched down the track in the 8s. I'll
never forget that heads up drag race I witnessed between an alcohol
injected V8 rail dragster and Dennis' electric rail...no staggered tree,
no handicaps, just two similar machines out on the strip, but with the
controversial contrast of one being a conventional a gas powered rail vs
an electric powered one....the electric powered Current Eliminator won,
the crowd went nuts, and the world still remembers!
See Ya.......John Wayland
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
thanks
cordialement,
Philippe
Et si le pot d'échappement sortait au centre du volant ?
quel carburant choisiriez-vous ?
http://vehiculeselectriques.free.fr
Forum de discussion sur les véhicules électriques
http://vehiculeselectriques.free.fr/Forum/index.php
----- Original Message -----
From: "Steve" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, August 23, 2006 1:04 AM
Subject: Re:International gas price comparisons, was: Re: Driving habbits
> The 4.2 liters is an imperial british gallon. An American gallon is 3.785
liters. This is
> only slightly less though.
> The AU$1.40/L -> 1.4*0.7=US$0.98/L*3.785= $3.709/gal ~about 20-30% more
than a typical US
> price. The current exchange for Euros is $1.28, so 1.42EURO/L is $1.82/L
and $1.82*3.785
> is $6.88/gal ~a bit more than twice a typical US price.
> European countries tax gas about 4 or 5 times higher than in the US, which
explains some
> of the price difference between USA and Europe.
>
> Steve Love -- [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "James Massey" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: <[email protected]>
> Sent: Tuesday, August 22, 2006 6:55 AM
> Subject: Roll call: International price comparison, was: Re: Driving
habbits
>
>
> > At 10:16 AM 22/08/06 +0200, Philippe wrote:
> > >Just to make all <Australians> feel less hard done by, ICE fuel is
around
> > >1,42euros/litre = $2,39AU/litre = US$1.82/litre, x 4.2 = $7.64US/Gal
> > >
> > >EV fuel is arround 0,10 euros/kwh
> > If I calculate correctly US$0.128/kWh
> >
> > I originaly wrote:
> > > > Just to make all the Americans feel less hard done by, ICE fuel is
around
> > > > $1.40Aus/litre, 1.4 x 0.7 = US$0.98/litre, x 4.2 = $4.12US/Gal
> > > >
> > > > I don't know how this compares, but EV fuel is 0.186/kWh, around
US$0.13
> > >on step 1 (first 500kWh) and then $0.138/kWh, around US$0.097/kWh,
> >
> > Which got me thinking, that in some places driving an EV is a
> > cost-comparable exercise to driving an ICE, but in other countries
driving
> > an EV must be more expensive and in other places a lot cheaper, so,
typical
> > prices paid, incentives are things like money saved on the London
> > congestion tax or registration rebates: Roll call:
> >
> > What economy/country/state are you in:
> > How much does petrol cost in US$ per USgallon or litre:
> > How much does electricity cost US$/kWh:
> > How much does an Exide Orbital cost:
> > How much does a Trojan T-105 cost:
> > What/if any economic incentives and what are they worth:
> >
> > I'll save all of the responses and post a summary in around a week,
unless
> > anyone else wants to volunteer to do that in the mean time (hint, hint)
> >
> > Regards
> >
> > [Technik] James
> >
>
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
I'm having an annoying little charger issue, and my knowledge of electricity
doesn't go far beyond "here's how to use a multimeter, and here's how not
to get electrocuted". Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I've got a Russco SC 18-120 SO charger on a 96V flooded lead-acid system
whose automatic shut-off is acting strange:
When the charging cycle takes a few hours, the auto-shutoff fails to engage.
If I then walk in and momentarily interrupt the circuit by hitting the GFI,
the auto-shutoff engages just fine.
Likewise, if I go to do a "morning top-off" of only about 15 minutes, it
falls into auto-shutoff mode nicely.
My system is nominally 96v, and I've played the charging knob all the way
through the 90-96v range. It doesn't seem to make a difference.
I assume this has something to do with this weekend's battery changes in my
car, but I'm not sure exactly how:
I've had this baby for 3 years, so it was time for some new batteries.
I replaced 1/2 of them last month, with no change in behavior. This
weekend, I replaced 1/4 of them. The new batteries are slightly higher
on the amp-hours than the remaining 1/4 of the pack, but the same voltage.
(The new 1/4 pack worth of batteries is finishing about 0.1 volts lower
than the old 1/4. I assume they are being slightly overcharged because
their neighbors have a deeper capacity.)
Any hints?
Thanks!
Bryan
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4Z4xEmAuR0
Happy (and a really lucky) owner of a Th!nk City electric car.
Thomas Henden, Oslo, Norway.
---
"Let me put it this way, Mr. Amer, The 9000 series is the most reliable
computer ever made. No 9000 computer has ever made a mistake or distorted
information. We are all, by any practical definition of the words, foolproof
and incapable of error."
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
To save you the trouble: this is the Daily Show Chris Paine interview again.
-Mike
On 8/24/06, Thomas Henden <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4Z4xEmAuR0
Happy (and a really lucky) owner of a Th!nk City electric car.
Thomas Henden, Oslo, Norway.
---
"Let me put it this way, Mr. Amer, The 9000 series is the most reliable
computer ever made. No 9000 computer has ever made a mistake or distorted
information. We are all, by any practical definition of the words, foolproof
and incapable of error."
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4Z4xEmAuR0
Thomas Henden, Oslo, Norway.
---
"Let me put it this way, Mr. Amer, The 9000 series is the most
reliable computer ever made. No 9000 computer has ever made a mistake
or distorted information. We are all, by any practical definition of
the words, foolproof and incapable of error."
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Ralph,
I'm not sure I follow you exactly -- do you mean an optical encoder that
emulates a potentiometer/rheostat? Yes, this is possible, but not sure
if there's an off-the-shelf implementation.
Ralph wrote:
Hi Eric,
Has anyone developed a opto-isolator so there won't be dead spots? You know
sooner or later a potentiometer on the floor is going fail!
-Ralph
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Ya know, When I read that originally, I thought, "What a neat idea!" However,
how would
that be implemented? I mean, how would the circuit "know" what direction you
are going?
--
joe
> Ralph,
>
> I'm not sure I follow you exactly -- do you mean an optical encoder that
> emulates a potentiometer/rheostat? Yes, this is possible, but not sure
> if there's an off-the-shelf implementation.
>
> Ralph wrote:
> > Hi Eric,
> >
> > Has anyone developed a opto-isolator so there won't be dead spots? You know
> > sooner or
> later a potentiometer on the floor is going fail!
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
You gave me an idea, John.
In football, the fallback position is: "When in doubt, punt."
For PC's, it's, "When in doubt, reboot."
Perhaps for EV's, it should be, "When it doubt, use a light bulb."
What if I took my DC-DC converter (a.k.a, repurposed power supply), and
hooked it to the low cell via a 12V 55W halogen bulb? Would this give me 4
to 5 amps or so going into the low cell?
This is a switch-mode power supply, so I assume I don't need to disconnect
the one low cell from the rest of the pack when I do this. Is that correct?
I will, just for my own comfort, disconnect the PCF-30 from the pack when
doing this.
Thanks.
Bill Dennis
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On
Behalf Of John G. Lussmyer
Sent: Monday, August 21, 2006 9:06 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: What I Learned This Weekend
At 08:02 AM 8/21/2006, Bill Dennis wrote:
>Can anyone out there recommend a 1-cell isolated lithium charger that can
>charge at 6A or better to help me speed up the process?
I use some 5V linear power supplies turned down to 4.25v (or 4.30v)
to do that. They put out up to 30A.
I found that Linear supplies were easier to adjust, and less likely
to flake out when adjusted for low output voltage.
H&R has some: http://www.herbach.com/
HSC http://www.halted.com/
--
John G. Lussmyer mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Dragons soar and Tigers prowl while I dream....
http://www.CasaDelGato.com
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
I came across this while doing research. It is the blue dragster near the
middle. Read the link. http://www.1134.org/adventures/dragrace/
Roderick Wilde
"Suck Amps EV Racing"
www.suckamps.com
--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.405 / Virus Database: 268.11.5/426 - Release Date: 8/23/2006
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Just updating an old thread from February:
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/ev-list-archive/message/59095
News from Brandenberg says they broke ground on the factory in June.
(Google translation here:)
http://tinyurl.com/l2zyy
Part owner Aleo Solar says same here:
http://www.aleo-solar.de/ablage/smd/FactSheet_IPOUnternehmenEN.pdf
Aleo share prices on the up:
http://tinyurl.com/rekxe
So lots of smart bux being bet on this tech.
Tks
Lock
Toronto
Human/Electric hybrid
--- Peter VanDerWal <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Perhaps I was hasty.
>
> In my defense that article does look like scam bait.
>
> It's tough for me to do a thorough search from here because the net
> access
> is so slow (how I long for the high speed days of 28.8 dial up, and
> my
> fractional T-1 at home)
>
> FWIW further research indicates that what he apparently has developed
> is a
> new way to produce an old technology that makes it cost effective.
>
> I still can't tell if this is true or not, so I'm not holding my
> breath.
> However, it would be really nice if these low cost panels are
> available
> when I return to the States this summer (still not holding my breath
> though)
>
>
> > http://tinyurl.com/n56bj
> >> Looks like a Tilley to me.
> >
> > You might want to take another look. This is the real deal and many
> > people such as myself have been following this tech for years now.
> There
> > is tons of data available. Granted, the university site is not that
> deep
> > or detailed, but the data is available if you dig a little.
> >
> >> The proffesor that supposedly led the research team doesn't seem
> to
> >> have EVER done anything else. I googled him and the only results
> were
> >> other "News" articles about this.
> >
> > Simply entering a name in Google will not give you a detailed
> search.
> > Most tech journals are not published online and are not Google
> > searchable. Professor Alberts has worked all over the world. I came
> up
> > with reams of data that professor Alberts has published in:
> > Semiconductor Science and Technology 8(1993)
> > Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics 5(1994)
> > Japanese Journal of Applied Physics 33(1994)
> > Journal of Applied Physics 81(1997)
> > Semiconductor Science and Technology 12(1997)
> > Japanese Journal of Applied Physics 36(1997)
> > Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics 30(1997)
> > and at least >15 more< major articles published in global physics
> > journals since 1997
> >
> >> I did a search of the University of Johannesburg's website, no
> mention
> >> of this professor or this "Breakthrough".
> >
> > He is listed as the Chairman in the Department of Physics, the
> > photovoltaic research is prominately listed and Volkswagen
> Foundation in
> > Germany is listed as providing considerable financial support in
> > addition to the National Research Foundation.
> >
> >> The University is, however, hosting a Hockey coaching course and
> Prof.
> >> Nic Beukes has put "Africa on the Map" by being selected as the
> "SEG
> >> Regional Vice President Lecturer for 2006." So perhaps this was
> >> overshadowed by more important news.
> >
> > Maybe you should look at the physics department and not the sports
> > pages. 8^)
> >
> >> All in all, it looks like an investment scam to me.
> >
> > Far from it. This is a major breakthrough that MANY people are
> watching
> > closely. The South African national minister of Science and
> Technology
> > was on hand to officially open the pilot production facility in
> 2004,
> > and now this tech is finally going into actual production. Hooray!
> >
> > My favorite quote from the professor:
> > "The most expensive part of the panel is the glass". He is talking
> about
> > normal window glass, nothing exotic. His PV film is thinner than a
> human
> > hair and super cheap to produce.
> >
> > Hope this helps!
> >
> > -Ken Trough
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
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--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Remember the Seattle Greenwood Av. Hot Rod Show June 2006 ?
Remember the Video Crew with interviewer "Major Pixel" ??
Great Video Footage ! Remembering a very Electrifying Day...
Thanks Major Pixel, and Thanks Rob Hursh of Whalebone Productions...
Lets all Spread the Good WORD.
http://www.whalebonepro.com/special/gwcs.html
PS: Say Rob, Do these video clips find there way to such places like
"Google Video" and "YouTube" and "AutoChanel" and things like that ?
--
Steven S. Lough, Pres.
Seattle EV Association
6021 32nd Ave. N.E.
Seattle, WA 98115-7230
Day: 206 850-8535
Eve: 206 524-1351
e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
web: http://www.seattleeva.org
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Who is doing conversions in the Northwest? I'm just doing EV work locally
here in the San Francisco Bay area but there are people in the Oregon/
Washington area that want cars done. Roderick do you have
recommendations????
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
James Massey wrote:
A 4..20mA signal needs to be taken across a resistor to generate a
voltage, in an automotive environment the available voltage is
inconveniently low for normal 4..20mA application, plus the derived
voltage is typically 1 to 5V or 2 to 10V. Curtis controllers designed
for this application have no problem with this, and are used in
industrial application all the time with 4..20mA. However on-road EV
controllers are not usually designed around this offset zero, so that
is an issue to consider before attempting to use a 4..20mA signal.
Seems you'd need at least 20V with a 5Kohm Pot to derive 4ma.
I guess a better question is: Is throttle position directly related to
current flow or resistance read? If I had to guess, I suppose it would
be the former, but this would require that the pot be driven by a fixed
voltage rather than the (somewhat variable) +12V input.
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--- Begin Message ---
The direction isn't difficult. If you have your basic slotted disk and
use two light sensors that are 90degrees out-of-phase (WRT the slot
pulses, not the circumference of the sensor), you can easily implement a
circuit that gives out a direction and pulse outputs. They old-school
mice that had a rubber ball in them worked this way.
The difficult part in the implementation is creating a circuit that
pretends to be a rheostat/pot, _and_ making sure that when it changes
it's resistance, that it does so smoothly.
Joe Vitek wrote:
Ya know, When I read that originally, I thought, "What a neat idea!" However,
how would
that be implemented? I mean, how would the circuit "know" what direction you
are going?
--
joe
Ralph,
I'm not sure I follow you exactly -- do you mean an optical encoder that
emulates a potentiometer/rheostat? Yes, this is possible, but not sure
if there's an off-the-shelf implementation.
Ralph wrote:
Hi Eric,
Has anyone developed a opto-isolator so there won't be dead spots? You know
sooner or
later a potentiometer on the floor is going fail!
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--- Begin Message ---
This techniques is known as 'star grounding' in the audio world. Given the
variable condition of frames and bodies, I would think it essential for an EV!
-Ralph
On Thu, 24 Aug 2006 07:32:08 -0600
"Roland Wiench" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> It is best to run a grounding counter poise system in a EV. Instead of
> using the frame and/or sheet metal frame for the ground path, run a ground
> wire in several loops through the vehicle starting from a standoff
> connection near the battery.
>
> I use a No. 4 to 2 AWG stranded copper wire that loops completely around the
> perimeter of the vehicle, that is connected together every 4 feet or less to
> every sheet metal panel that is bolted together.
>
> To reduce noise, you may want to run a separate loops for communications,
> one for electronics and one for power circuits.
>
> The wire connections are terminal lugs that is bolted to the body panels
> using a double star washer and a conductive paste on both sides with the
> thread bolt double nut as to form a stud for a wire lug connection.
>
> Off these connection points, you can branch off with a No. 10 to 4 AWG wire
> to each component as needed. Instead of one ground connection point on a
> electrical chassis, I may make several grounding points at different
> locations on a electrical unit.
>
> I had the entire inside of the motor bay painted, and before I install the
> ground loop system, my 12 volt was reading between 12 to 12.5 V in certain
> locations even when the 12 volts was jack up to 15 volts at no load and
> sometimes below 10 volts at load.
>
> I now can maintain 14.5 volts at 30 amp + load.
>
> Roland
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "James Massey" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: <[email protected]>
> Sent: Thursday, August 24, 2006 5:02 AM
> Subject: Re: Weird contactor behavior
>
>
> > At 10:43 PM 22/08/06 -0400, Jude wrote:
> > >So, Nathan's debugging my heater contactor while I try to get the motor
> > >repaired. We couldn't get it to turn on while the car was all together.
> > >
> > >He made some measurements with some mechanic's tool that lights green
> > >when
> > >it sees ground and red when it sees power. The 12v coil was seeing an
> > >regularly pulsing ground.
> >
> > G'day Jude
> >
> > A bit obvious to say this - but the ground isn't. More information
> > required
> > - what else is in the wiring?
> >
> > Is the contactor switched via the +ve? If you are switching the +ve, then
> > the -ve must have a bad connection to earth.
> >
> > What contactor? it may have an economizer circuit in it that is doing the
> > pulsing, and a poor earth connection would complete the picture.
> >
> > Hth
> >
> > Regards
> >
> > [Technik] James
> >
> >
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Rich, Joe, All,
I have a PFC30 in my truck that charges SLA batteries in
enclosed boxes with cooling fans for the Regs. This setup works great
except the fact it noisy with all those fans in 4 different boxes. My
questions is: can I get anything from the bus or from the charger that
could enable the fans when the Regs are actively shunting? I have
notice that when the regs are producing heat the timer is also
activated, may that can be sensed.
John Grigg
http://www.austinev.org/evalbum/723
Specs:
240V
Orbital Marine
PFC30 with Mk2b
Zilla 1KHV
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
> I came across this while doing research. It is the blue dragster near the
> middle. Read the link. http://www.1134.org/adventures/dragrace/
That is too cool! I like the junior dragster idea, but an ELECTRIC junior
dragster for my
daughter would rock!
--
joe
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--- Begin Message ---
Doug Weathers wrote:
> Isn't it more efficient to charge at 220v?
Not necessarily. Depending on the particular charger, it may operate
more efficiently at the higher input voltage. It may also depend on the
battery voltage; the greater the difference between the input and output
voltages, the less efficient the charger is likely to operate.
> It takes less than half the time to charge the pack
> than if you used 110v, so you're saving power
> overall. Please correct me if I'm wrong here.
This is wrong. You must return a given amount of energy to the battery,
so you will consume very nearly the same energy regardless of the AC
line voltage.
The charge *time* is reduced because at 220V you have 2x the input
*power* as at 110V and the same current. The charge time is further
reduced because 110V outlets tend to max out at either 15A or 20A while
common 220V outlets tend to be in the range of 20A-50A.
Hope this helps,
Roger.
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
On 8/24/06, Lock Hughes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Just updating an old thread from February:
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/ev-list-archive/message/59095
This thread pointed to a claimed breakthrough of Prof Vivian Alberts
thin-film solar cells that supposedly cost approximately dollar per
watt
http://www.miningweekly.co.za/?show=92093
( scroll down to "bright spark" chapter )
"The pilot plant has shown the production cost per watt to be €0,95,
verified for a 25-MW production facility, assuming a 10% efficiency
and average production yield of 85%," says Alberts.
Following restructuring, IFE became Johanna Solar Technology (JST),
the universal successor of IFE. This completed, JST has now started
construction of a €72-million manufacturing plant of 30-MW capacity in
Brandenburg, Germany.
Production is set to start in March 2007.
wait and see, i say
-kert
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--- Begin Message ---
You can use a digital rheostat,
microchip mcp4012, 5k with 64 steps.
Jack
Eric Poulsen wrote:
The direction isn't difficult. If you have your basic slotted disk and
use two light sensors that are 90degrees out-of-phase (WRT the slot
pulses, not the circumference of the sensor), you can easily implement a
circuit that gives out a direction and pulse outputs. They old-school
mice that had a rubber ball in them worked this way.
The difficult part in the implementation is creating a circuit that
pretends to be a rheostat/pot, _and_ making sure that when it changes
it's resistance, that it does so smoothly.
Joe Vitek wrote:
Ya know, When I read that originally, I thought, "What a neat idea!"
However, how would
that be implemented? I mean, how would the circuit "know" what
direction you are going?
--
joe
Ralph,
I'm not sure I follow you exactly -- do you mean an optical encoder that
emulates a potentiometer/rheostat? Yes, this is possible, but not sure
if there's an off-the-shelf implementation.
Ralph wrote:
Hi Eric,
Has anyone developed a opto-isolator so there won't be dead spots?
You know sooner or
later a potentiometer on the floor is going fail!
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Great interview John!
-Mike
On 8/24/06, Steven Lough <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Remember the Seattle Greenwood Av. Hot Rod Show June 2006 ?
Remember the Video Crew with interviewer "Major Pixel" ??
Great Video Footage ! Remembering a very Electrifying Day...
Thanks Major Pixel, and Thanks Rob Hursh of Whalebone Productions...
Lets all Spread the Good WORD.
http://www.whalebonepro.com/special/gwcs.html
PS: Say Rob, Do these video clips find there way to such places like
"Google Video" and "YouTube" and "AutoChanel" and things like that ?
--
Steven S. Lough, Pres.
Seattle EV Association
6021 32nd Ave. N.E.
Seattle, WA 98115-7230
Day: 206 850-8535
Eve: 206 524-1351
e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
web: http://www.seattleeva.org
--- End Message ---
