Recovered Images

Link to Album of www.tronbikes.com-recover

Rebuilding www.tronbikes.com

I am slowly rebuilding the blog after a disastrous attempt to consolidate my Google properties. Moving a blogger account to a different administrator does nothing for images and youtube videos linked to the original, now destroyed account. I should have backups of each image, but its brutal to find/organize the relationship to the blog posts. Now if I could only get around to rebuilding the actual tronbike...

Test, Where Have You Gone Tronbikes.com?

Migrated Google accounts and lost all my images and video links on the blog. *sigh*

Technical Extinction - My Ode to Lego Mindstorms I, torbot.nqc

The kids finally have reached an age where Lego Mindstorms might impress and teach. I took out my well preserved set, found the included 1998 CDROM useless, went to the archive of all things, the Internet.

Or so I thought. I barely found documentation on "NQC" - not quite C, the replacement/enhancement for Mindstorms - dated 2000. A full 90% of the links
were "dead", links to code, ideas, work, everything. The "LugNet" main site had some ancient forum Q&A, but nothing on the simple code to make my Lego "torbot" run. Even Lego corp itself had no links on the Original Mindstorm, something I assumed to be an iconic product that could never go away.

Anyway, I will hereby post code to run "The Torbot" and hope it may survive for others to use, copy, and learn from. I included a sniffing routing to use the IR eyeball/give the bot some motivation.

// torbot.nqc - run that lego mindstorm 1 torbot please
//
// T.Stiers 20111019
//
// copyright tronbikes.com 2011
//
sub forward() {
   OnRev(OUT_C);
   OnFwd(OUT_A);
}

sub backward() {
   OnFwd(OUT_C);
   OnRev(OUT_A);
}

sub right() {
   OnFwd(OUT_A);
}

sub left() {
   OnRev(OUT_C);
}

sub backright() {
   OnFwd(OUT_C);
}

sub backleft() {
   OnRev(OUT_A);
}



sub whoa() {
   Off(OUT_A+OUT_C);
}
task sniff() {
   PlaySound(1); Wait(100);
   while( true ) {
        if ( SENSOR_2 < 700 ) {
                forward(); Wait(25); 
                whoa(); Wait(25);
        }
        if ( SENSOR_2 < 700) {
                right(); Wait(25);
                whoa(); Wait(25);
        }
        if ( SENSOR_2 < 700 ) {
                forward(); Wait(25);
                whoa(); Wait(25);
        }
        if ( SENSOR_2 < 700) {
                left(); Wait(25);
                whoa(); Wait(25);
        }
   }
}



task main()
{
  SelectDisplay(DISPLAY_SENSOR_2);
  SetSensor(SENSOR_1,SENSOR_TOUCH);
  SetSensor(SENSOR_3,SENSOR_TOUCH);
  start sniff;
  while (true)
  {

    if ( SENSOR_1 == 1 || SENSOR_3 == 1 ) {
        stop sniff;
        PlaySound(4);Wait(5);
        // backward(); Wait(25); whoa();
        if ( SENSOR_1 == 1 ) {
                backleft(); Wait(150); whoa();
        }
        if ( SENSOR_3 == 1 ) {
                backright(); Wait(150); whoa();
        }
        if ( SENSOR_1 == 1 && SENSOR_3 == 1 ) {
                backward(); Wait(50); whoa();
        }

        if (SENSOR_1 == 0 || SENSOR_3 == 0 ) {
                start sniff;
        }
    }

  }
}

4.2.w Dashboard

Been a long time since the last update. The bike maybe gets ridden once a week on a very short commute, thankfully short as the battery only support maybe 5 or 6 miles before major power dropoff occurs.

Getting the parts together to make an update to the dash software alone was a challenge, followed by dismantling the dash and trying to recall what was wires to what and why. My standards for packaging and wiring have improved, as has my soldiering, so everywhere I look I know I can do better. Not a great combo for someone as anal as me :)

I got the servo speedo running, already I want power or amps instead. The configuration menu works to reset, but seems to have a final option I don't understand, and needs cleaning. This will allow me to calibrate the speedo/odo
better. I need a long 6 conductor ribbon cable to make the code updates easier - a whole XBee might really take it up a notch.

The LEAF Has Fallen - Hello BlueOrca!

I got the call from the Nissan dealer yesterday, weeks earlier than expected, that our new blue baby had arrived from Japan and was ready to be picked up.

After lining up a fat check, 24 hours later the whole family was in attendance to pick up our new toy. It became very clear this was going to be Barbara's car, as the main "driver" and local to the Vallejo dealership.

Much paperwork later, the kids and Barbara accelerated onto 80 Westbound with me behind in Cujo.

60 mph start in the first lane seemed prudent. Before the bridge, the blue box moved to the 2nd, then 3rd lane and 70 mph. What was Barb doing? I hoped the mileage was awesome or something and any "range anxiety" went away. Turns out Barb has no such anxiety, the reading of 48 miles remaining once we got home did not sink in that that was not enough for a round trip at that pace (it had said 101).

The car is just a car, very normal, polished, product, no hackery anywhere detected so far. The leaf is rather tall, due to surprising ground clearance and lon g doors - the batteries are mounted in a platform under the passenger comparment. The car looks big, and seems big against the small house and tiny driveway.

The 120v trickle charger, despite the warnings, seems to be doing okay with an extension cord. I'll have our electrician check out the wiring, maybe add a new
plug near the box until we can get the quick charger installed.

Integrating the web interface (the car is connected via at&t data) working was the last step, made difficult only because I had multiple accounts in the Nissan system (again, its a hobby of mine).


Owning 3 cars and an electric motorcycle is a bit much. The Honda was only worth $4K trade-in, so we'll keep it around, and the Porsche is clearly too near and dear, but the motorcycle is a complete anachronism. The Leaf is like a wave washing over anything cool I'd hope to achieve in the EV space - they did it, the car is really impressive. Watching it roll with traffic effortlessly, and having it all just work so well, so far is very impressive. Any issue with styling doesn't seem to matter in the face of the result, thoughts of spare parting it to electrify the Porsche just fools talk.

1 electric motorcycle conversion for sale, cheap!

Solar Powered Tronbike

With an 800 watt inverter, 100 watt solar panel and 35 Ah battery, I am charging
Tronbike 1.x using the sun!

The battery and charge controller,  the inverter with Kill-A-Watt, Arduino temp and voltage tracker, DC batt charger, yellow cable to Tronbike...

 

...yellow cable to black cable to Tronbike...

Now, it IS a bit feeble - the bike is using about 150 Wh/mile. Its about 3 miles
to work and back, 3 x 150 Wh = 450 Wh.

The 35Ah battery at 12 volts = 420 Whr, thats all it can store. Assuming we can get 80% efficiency going through the inverters and chargers, maybe 340 WHr
available at night out of the battery after a day of riding.

Pulling about 100watts, the chargers will wipe the battery in under 3 hours - the voltage should drop enough to cut out the inverter before this.

WHERE it gets interesting is when the bike is inside for the day and charging. The 100watt panel can fill the panel in 4 hours of good daylight, not hard to do so far. I'm hoping the bike can act as a sink for any extra solar power. Then to make the bike an effective "sink", I need to regularly use the bike and/or use power from
the bike as it sits! So another inverter off the bike DC-DC converter (50 watt, its small!) could be used to maybe drive LED lights or laptop, etc.

It gets complicated - the possibility of wires and electric energy conversions, it becomes clear why/where grid tie systems are popular. Managing the energy flow from batteries to where the power can be used is a mess.