TRONBIKES.COM

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

2011-10-19T08:35:00.000-07:00

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

2011-10-17T19:01:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-06-25T23:43:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-10T22:44:00.000-07:00

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.

TBMDuino 4.2.d is ALIVE!

2011-01-21T22:25:00.000-08:00

I finally got around to populating the board with components. When powering up, I found the power regulator getting very hot and couldn't figure it out until I referred to the schematic to find I had labelled VCC and GND backwards (bad), when figuring out I had the LED in backwards.

Once fixed, I found myself able to connect with the USB programmer wire, load code, monitor the serial traffic and make the LED blink. But the LCD panel characters were not coming up.

SO after being inspired by actually riding Tronbike for the first time in a month or so, I again went to the schematics to verify the LCD connection. I found pin 5 of the LCD was not connected to pin 1. A little wire soldiered between the two, and voila, characters on the LCD.

Next stop will be building a wiring harness/packaging. The new job has made me really appreciate the need for good packaging design and execution of the electronics. Speaking of which, I am lacking an entry regarding the current Tronbike dashboard...stay tuned!

TBMDuino 4-2-d Boards Have Arrived

2010-09-23T20:54:00.000-07:00

Time to break out the soldier iron!

The boards look great, much better than the iPhone camera is displaying.

In related news, the new proto cluster-case is nearly complete. We'll be needing to add servo ports for the 4-3-? board...

Got a Chance to Ride, Inspired to TBM_4-2-c "tbmduino"

2010-09-03T23:14:00.000-07:00

I haven't ridden the bike for a long time, like all of August, so long I was a bit nervous, but once on I really appreciated the experience, and got a strong desire to optimize the experience. Leaving the gauge in place/not yanking it off the bike to go inside is next on the list.

Working full time is exactly that, takes all the time. But it might be making the bike an escape again. I really enjoyed riding it, and also really enjoyed finishing up/routing the "TBMduino", TBM_4-2-c. I think I'll call it "TBMduino", because this version has a full Arduino circuit on board, rather than supporting a Boarduino. I really enjoyed routing and finishing the layout, not unlike riding the bike itself.

LED Strip as Daytime Running Lights (DLR)

2010-08-15T18:01:00.001-07:00

Took a very rare ride at high noon on an errand, putting the LEDs to the test as DLRs (daytime running lights).

It was a bright clear day, and the LEDs were less than impressive. Some lens/mirrors are likely in play on an Audi light.

The "good" news is the HID isn't that much better.

For the really bright days, a bunch of mirrors might be the best bet.

Also, for DLR use, a flashing circuit/relay might be a good idea to gain attention and save some power.

"Audi" LED Lights as a DRL

2010-08-09T22:35:00.000-07:00

While away I got inspired by the oncoming headlights of newer Audi's running LEDs under the headlights. Using the iPhone as my search and buying engine, I found a 12 inch/12 light segment for $6.99, shipping included.

Included was a 3M sticky backing and wire, so I was unable to resist trying it out. The raw LEDs are embedded in a clear rubber plastic trim piece with a little 4 pin on the end. It looks like segments can be chained together.

The results are impressive, at least in the garage:

LED Only

LED and HID Hi Beam

LED and HID Lo Beam

The power draw for the LED is stated as 2.35 amps at 12 volts, a pretty significant 28 Watts (Power = Amps * Volts). The HID light itself is supposed to be 35 Watts. Recall a stock Halogen lamp is 55 Watts, 65 on Hi.

I'll try getting a shot of the light in the daylight.

Spinning a Board for TBM

2010-07-16T09:35:00.000-07:00

I started documenting my hardware and decided to use Eagle Cad. This has quietly led to actually laying out a board that I hope to have made. The board is much like
my prototype, requiring a separate Boarduino.

Checking the site, I might just try to add the Boarduino to my board directly, as eagle cad files/schematics are available.

Riding Nekkid w/TBM 4.2.s

2010-06-21T23:56:00.000-07:00

After some quick test rides and some code adjustments, I rode Tronbike to work today sans lower fairings - hence the "Nekkid" part. I sort of like the look, and am wondering if an elaborate array of cable covers and directed air tubing could be formed to make an exposed battery pack look "cool".

The save-on-shutdown circuit is proving finicky, and my reset code would only reset the odometer, but not the watt hrs gauge. I am liking the "watts per mile" meter, the only reasonable number collected so far being 127 Wh/mile.

I also reset the pack size from 3300 Watt-Hours to 1100 Watt-Hours so the % remaining will be more useful. The Killawatt is showing about 600W-Hr used in todays commute, very close to the numbers the TBM recorded (when added together for both directions due to shutdown switch annoyances).

Bike Doping Analysis

2010-06-12T21:15:00.000-07:00

I am finally catching up on the accusation/rumors/suggestions that Fabian Cancellara was using electrically assisted race bikes for his recent victories in the Paris-Roublaix and Ronde van Vlaaderen. An avid cyclist, my regular group made comment, I assumed immediately the batteries are such that it would be a waste of energy to haul them around.

Some articles:
http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/4415/Fabian-Cancellaras-so-called-motorized-doping-debunked.aspx
http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/4412/Saxo-Bank-denies-its-riders-used-motorised-bikes.aspx

You Tube Video explaining the controversy, and how it works:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Nd13ARuvVE

A product, Gruber Assist available since 2008 (I want one, just because I AM TRONBIKES!) - what awesome advertising, sort of evil I guess.

Specs:

100 watts for 90 minutes, 900g + battery pack, Gruber has a table of battery capacity

Pro riders churn out 500-600 watts in regular hard efforts, likely more peak. Cancellara is a horse, lets assume 800 for the accelerations, a 10% boost would
indeed help - as the late Edmund R. Burke of "Cycling Science" once published, time-trial athletes with 10% better times put out 11% more power. So in theory,
any additional power to a rider is significant - a 100 watt boost = 100 watts faster!

The big question to me is, would the weight of the system be worth hauling along for distance before putting it to use - would the system help?

The Gruber people have a big chart (though a bit confusing, maybe backwards?) for a hybrid bike pulling different amperages, with the resulting range - for some reason, maybe its backwards(? sending email) the bike runs farther when running faster in this chart - I'll send email on this.

Paris-Roubaix =262 km/hr averaging 32.9 km/hr (http://www.steephill.tv/classics/paris-roubaix/), but its really flat, like 490 ft peak (http://www.runsaturday.com/Maps/3462).

Assuming the system is invisible, we can only assume additional work to haul
this around is due to gravity. With a peak of 490 ft, lets triple this in my test model to 1500 feet, about 500meters.

Gravity pulls (acceleration) at 9.81 m/s^2, Force = Mass * Acceleration, and work is force through a distance expressed as joules

Work = (9.81 m/s^2 * Mass) * 500m

Mass = weight of system, and beyond the motor itself, the weight is batteries, with power storage usually noted in Amp-Hours, lets use the 900g number

Work = 9.81 m/s^2 * 1kg * 500m = 4905 m2 kg/s2 = 4905 Joules = 4905 Watts - sec of work. A watt-sec is not power, but a unit of capacity/work that requires
energy.

With 100% efficiency, 5000 W-sec = 5000 W-sec/3600s = 1.4 W-hr expended to haul this extra 1 Kg system around by gravity alone. A single 18650 Li-Ion battery
can store up to 3000 mAh at 3.7 volts - enough to cover most of the weight of the system - each 18650 itself only weighs about 50g

1 Watt - Hour = Volts * Amps * Time = 3.7 Volts * 3 A-hr = 11.1 Watt - Hour

Gruber calls out capacities up to 10 Ah, which would weigh 10 Ah=3000Mah * X batts, X=10Ah/3Ah = 3.33 batteries, * 0.50g = 170g...very light

Working off the chart, 12 Amps
10Amps-Hr/12Amps = 0.83 Hr = 50 minutes, as on the Gruber chart. Paris-Roubaix was about 6.5 hours long.

100 watts for 50 minutes = 100 watt (50/60) hours = 83 Watt-Hours, only 8 batteries, not much weight penalty

So far I'm not convinced Cancellara was bike doping(or would need too), but I am convinced bike doping could be a real advantage in a flat race like Paris-Roubaix if any of my calculations above are right using the "perfectly efficient" energy conversions I am assuming. I'll sleep on the generic model parts above and maybe generate a spreadsheet to model possible scenarios more closely.

Tronbike - Batteries Out

2010-05-24T23:47:00.000-07:00

Its been a few years, and the AGMs are starting to go. I'm taking them out of the bike to reorder them in the chain, and maybe make some improvements to the mounting cage. I'd also like to add some good terminal covers.

On my external charger, each looked fine, carrying a full charge. I really need to test them when depleated/under load. About that Arduino voltmeter...

TTXGP @ Infineon 2010 Wrap-Up

2010-05-17T00:45:00.000-07:00

Great to see the bikes out there and was thrilled to see a race between the top 2 finishers, each bike with its own different approach to solving the "racing" problem (big power vs handling). Handling one this time, on what turned out to be a repainted re-powered Isle-of-Man winning machine from 2009 in Zero's hands.

I liked the grid-area for the electric teams, wide open for wandering, asking questions and taking pictures. I'll get some posted, there are tons available (ElMoto.net) from some old and new EV friends I made at the event.

Racing is hard, racing electrics is even harder in a gas world because to win you are inventing/using non-standard tech (think 1908 or so) AND still need to pull a racing team/organization together. I hope the racing can continue to make the EV's stronger for us all rather than being strictly about racing EVs - I know I still had to drive my ICE car to the event, as my bike can only do 8 miles at the moment, and way less than 70mph.

TTXGP @ Infineon This Weekend!

2010-05-13T11:39:00.000-07:00

I am getting ready (ie paying Ticketmaster) for the TTXGP races during this weekends "West Coast Moto Jam" event at Infineon Raceway.

Going Friday and Sunday, it looks like I will see about 50 minutes of practice and 30 minutes of a final event for the electric crowd. I hope the "Grid Pass" lets me poke around/get up close to see whats going on.

The racing teams for the TTXGP were posted too - lots of small builders. I don't see local "Mission Motors" or "Bramo" participating, let alone the big guys - maybe everyone is afraid of being chumped by a garage project? More likely the cost/benefits of racing EV motorcycles. At least Electric Motorsport is showing up.

Also my favorite entry is Werkstatt - they managed to get a Mavizen in time for the race, leaving no doubt to me that the TTXGP people are indeed seriously supporting
their effort. Wish I had thought to ask for a bike - great idea, I threw her a few bucks, as it gives Electromotorsport someone to race (they get my bucks already).

iWhine, no iTronbike Video for You!

2010-04-12T23:40:00.000-07:00

Unable to install code on my too-new iPhone OS, I tried to install an updated XCode to find I needed to upgrade to Snow Leopard in order to upgrade the XCode.

Tried to purchase the Snow Leopard, only $29, but Apple insists its only shippable via a pretty box, so no go on my inspired iBashing I was going to give the iApproach to motorcycle gauges, delayed in very analog shipping (3 days now, nice).

So no iEntertainment for you, except this, my iWhine.

No Video of TBM 2.x/iTronbike?

2010-04-03T23:21:00.000-07:00

For documentation purposes, I will perform a run of the bike using the TBM 2.x ARM machine and the iPhone/iPod Touch "iTronbike" viewer.

I really like the analog look of the xenoDisplay, but I'm not sure they read my K.I.S.S. blog entry on using the iPhone as a display for a motorcycle ;)

TBM 4.0 Test Ride #1

2010-04-01T16:42:00.000-07:00

First ride on the bike, the TBM 4.0 screen is very visible in the bright light.

I will be posting some new video soon, taken with the digital camera, once I edit the traffic out of it.

TBM 4.x, on the Bike!

2010-03-29T23:42:00.000-07:00

TBM 4.x is on the bike and communicating with the Alltrax, the speed sensor is working. I need some velcro tape and dry weather to do some road testing.

Adding some capacitors to enable data saves will be next, along with some buttons to enable programming/changing modes.

I'm investigating next steps in this project with an advisory panel to see to proceed - perhaps a full product, perhaps a kit and plans. Getting a PCB spun and maybe design an LCD would be cool too.

Add your suggestions/comments/votes below!

TBM 4.x, Demo Packaging

2010-03-26T07:55:00.000-07:00

After learning some harsh lessons in electronics packaging, I have a demo unit that should withstand being mounted in the bike.

The big thing that cannot be underestimated is STRAIN RELIEF between the board
and components. PCB "headers" and "header-sockets" are my new best friend.

Some spacers are necessary between the boards. Next time I will mount the
Boarduino upside down, or simply build it into the full board if I get PCBs made.

And between the boards. Next time the header socket goes ON the LCD, header on the PCB, as making "solder bridges" to the socket was tough.

Time to get this bad boy in the bike for some testing. I'll be shopping for PCB fabs too.

TBM 4.X, Boarduino Edition

2010-03-05T23:07:00.000-08:00

My 2 "Boarduino" kits arrived and I soldiered them up, wired up the LCD and serial TTL converter (finally arrived), pushed up the code and after some tweaking, it worked!

Not quite sure its the correct form factor (see lower left) - seems focused on using a breadboard,
but with headers reversed it might work well.

AGM Performance Decay

2010-03-05T00:21:00.000-08:00

Remember the almost 17 mile adventure ride to Inspiration Point and back? I ended up on an adventure today when attempting to run an errand across town and back, 6 miles in and climbing a hill, Tronbike 1.2.8 just stopped, even the contactor couldn't keep going.

I was less than a mile from the destination at a cycling friends house to pick up tires, on a road easily climbed by a normal bicycle, so I walked there and back to give the bike a rest (let the batteries re-balance a bit), before limping - like barely limping - to his driveway for an extension cord. The voltage drop on the left is due to my own hot-rodding up the hills, the computer was turned off for serious limping efforts.

An hour later I was off again, the voltage drop considerably less than before (right side of graph).

The lesson is that battery decay even happens to me, and that I should stress things to the max more often in a safer way. My power left meter indicated I had 78% of my pack left of my 3300 KW-hr - I need to check the calculations but that seems way off. The whole voltage drop effect might be due to the batteries at the edge of my chain going out first - my usual commute I ride 2-4 miles, park all day and go home on flattish terrain.

The fix? #1 Calibrate the gauge, #2 check the batteries individually, #3 time for a new battery solution.

Serial TTL to RS-232 Using a MAX232 IC

2010-02-25T16:06:00.000-08:00

My progress has been stymied since last week when I figured out TTL Serial != RS-232 serial. I fried one of my Arduino AVR chips discovering this - DO NOT PLUG THE 5 Volt Arduino wiring into the 12 Volt RS-232 ports on a PC!

Ebay is full of these TTL to RS-232 converters too, I ordered one from Canada that has yet to get here. Kits exist at Sparkfun too, but I am rapidly learning hardware supply chains take time - ie buying ordering and WAITING - ARG!

Turns out I need a device that can convert the Arduino's 5V Serial to 12V RS-232, and this commonly uses a driver IC chip commonly called "MAX232". Problem is there was one of these in San Rafael (30 minutes away) so I decided to do a Jameco order for a bunch of them, armed with free schematics such as these

http://sodoityourself.com/max232-serial-level-converter/

Note the Capacitor sizes vary depending on the exact version of the MAX232 you get - mine is a MAX232CPE, so my caps are 10x smaller.The chip supports 2 IO channels, like this diagram I only turned one channel on (4 wires - TTL in/out and RS-232 in/out), no flow control.

My parts showed up Monday and this AM I put them together over a 2 hour stretch (slow soldiering) and the end result worked first try!

Next time I will get the MAX233 - caps are already built in - or I'll just be sure to get a lineup of the converters in stock, 2 hours of my time is a bit $$ ;)

Packaging these parts is going to become very interesting.

Time to test some TBM code on my Alltrax Serial simulator!

TBM 4.x Underway, Stay Tuned For Lots More...

2010-02-20T23:18:00.000-08:00

I have finally been able to carve out some serious time to go semi-pro with my EV efforts, focusing on the gauge work with a vision for an entire line of projects and potential products.

I'm back on the "analog kick" while I wait for the serial parts to test communication with the Alltrax. Below is my Arduino port of TBM driving an LCD panel as well as a servo-driven gauge. The 5g, $3.50 servo is amazing, I recall in my early RC days these things cost a ton and were pretty hefty. I'm also looking for a very high contrast LCD panel, the blue above is transmissive - I need something transflective. The Arduino LCD library is pretty good, but the servos driving analog might be cheaper and more functional than character displays. Running both is possible too, use the LCD for ODO, etc.

Test mounting the servo-analog gauge is performed via foam-core and a hot glue gun. I am exploring gauge face generation tools and parts too. Do note the servos normal range is only 180 degrees, so I best keep Tronbikes speed under 130 if I want any accuracy at the current scale.

As far as Alltrax integration, I learned Arduino's speak "serial" ttl, not RS-232. I have the code ported into the "arduino-0018" IDE with no place to go :) I've ordered MAX232 ICs as well as complete TTL to RS-232 boards and I am stuck waiting for them. My electronics part hardware pipeline has been disturbingly slow, order early and often is my new motto.

I have successfully built a speedometer/odometer with the Arduino using bike computer pickups/magnets, so in my grand simplification, the GPS will be the first to go. Adding logging and WIFI/network might be next, but it drives up the cost quite a bit to my goal of <$100.

TTXGP Inspired - Pulling Together "Team Tronbike"?

2010-01-14T10:10:00.000-08:00

I got all inspired this morning, thanks to being addressed as "Ebike hero" in a kind email reply from Steve Labib at Mavizen.

I did some probing around Electric Motorsports to see if they were doing a 2010 campaign hoping to help, but thinking about it why not try it myself? How hard can it be? ;)

The timing is good, the local for May 14th is Infineon, and I do my best following my own whimsy, so why the hell not?

Introducing EVroom - Motor Sounds for Electric Vehicles!

2009-11-18T22:25:00.000-08:00

After a very sobering meeting with Mr. Native Cycles himself, I pushed a bit this weekend to get "EVroom" up and running. Its basically a server-side extension to my current ARM "TBM2" codebase that controls playback of sound-effects stored as various MP3 files, depending on the state of the controller and the computer's connectivity to it.

For example, on bootup, the bike announces itself and then informs of its connectivity to the controller, announces when communications is activated, and when/if its lost again. Its a great safety feature, I notice now all the time the controller is NOT connected and I don't know the immediate status - I need to tighten up latencies. Its proving a very useful companion for debugging some niggling hardware issues - namely, the wifi is unstable and seems to go out when firing up the solenoid. I have volume linked to amps, when at 0 volume is the loudest, under load the audio quiets down. I really need to get reliable speed/motion detection going too for volume or frequency control of the playback.

Further inspired by my meeting, I'm hunting for cheaper boards and high "NIT" displays, even big bold LEDs to serve as the dash. From my experiments so far, audio should really assist any simplified visuals.

In related news, my TTXGP DVD and fan-boy T-Shirt arrived. Went through every minute of the inaugural electric motorcycle race coverage, some great full length (25-35 minute!) POV camera sequences were included. Its clear I need to make more time for my tinkering.

TBM2 - Finally Some Good Data

2009-10-28T23:54:00.000-07:00

The data logger finally worked well enough to plot some data of a commute leg.

The GPS is *not* the way to go for tracking speed and distance, but here it worked a little better than normal. Notice the GPS didn't sync up until 200 seconds into the ride.

In other news, the speakers in the computer are about to be used for something other than ballast. Audio indication of status like "controller on" or "power high" will be there, as will a background sound when at/near idle. In a test, I had the throttle controlling volume of an mp3 playback. Lots of cross compiling has been ongoing, the MMC card has been formatted for Linux ext2 for lots of space.

A very busy chart of the same data, on a single scale/axis.

Arduino Tachometer and Temp Gauge

2009-10-14T01:27:00.000-07:00

I dug into the ZX-11's cluster to see what I could drive from the Arduino.

The temperature gauge seems to be straight voltmeter and easy to actuate with a little Arduino PWM Voltage out, the tach was harder, got no motion with voltage or pulses. Turns out tachs often assume wire to the ignition, a complicated approach.

SO I tore into the cluster and found a little board of electronics that seem to connect to a DC voltmeter for the tach. Snip snip, and into the breadboard we go!

The PWM (pulse-width-modulation) off the Arduino is a bit noisy, both the gauges hum a bit as they make their sweeps.

K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid)

2009-10-09T23:39:00.000-07:00

Took the bike out with working GPS and new center iPhone mount. It all worked after 5 minutes of futzing around waiting for networking, waiting for
GPS syncing, waiting to go back inside to get the Bluetooth GPS, and then barely being able to see the iPhone display in the brightish overcast sky. Getting a 10K+ reading on the odometer and loosing the "persistent" settings did not turn me on either.

SO its cool it all worked as a technical marvel, but its just too much. Wifi, Bluetooth, Satellites, iPhone, Arm computers, but the silly Cateye bicycle computer is the only one I didn't need to fawn over or reboot, or even recharge - it just worked. I miss the big round gauges and analog needles that don't fade in glare. I hate that the iPhone doesn't work without taking off my gloves. I impatiently waiting for the GPS to be found and make sure the Wifi is up to talk to the pouty iPhone.

Back to the drawing board! Goal now is to get the Arduino driving analog gauges and replace the ARM computer completely. Maybe in stages, but its just too much right now.

Reflashed and Re-Installed!

2009-10-07T01:03:00.000-07:00

Back on track. I have 3 backdoors onto the ARM computer, and a new mount for the iPhone installed. Seems the problem was only waiting for 2 seconds rather than 5 between USB WIFI startup and device/IP initialization. I removed the handlebar mount after placing a windshield mount on the new dash hole where the iPaq used to be.

I also installed 2 little sony speakers that have been bouncing around my collection for years, mounted to the inside of the front fairing - time for some audio effects. Huge MP3 collection on the SD card is avail in the meantime, its pretty loud in the garage. Boodler time? I previously ported this code to iPaqs, why not ARM too?

The Arduino awaits too - opto-isolators arrived today, hello voltage-meter-speedo city!

Back in...Reflashing the ARM Board

2009-10-06T00:44:00.000-07:00

Well, I couldn't hack my way in, I left no easy holes. So I faced the dreaded decision to reflash the ARM board as per the ancient instructions, with examples in Chinese.

Using the wife's Vista host, I managed to connect the serial dongle for console and another USB cable for transmission, using a program called DNW (popular in the Q2440 ARM board circles, thank you FriendlyARM.net), I was able to follow the Chinese enough to reflash the OS parts one by one. Not very tough, I feel powerful now and free to make mistakes.

The TBM software distro SHOULD be fully compatible with the OS, and even provide the nasty kernel modules I put together myself to support bluetooth and the WIFI hub.

Lots of backdoors will be enabled before we re-install in Tronbike...

Locked Myself Out of TBMNet

2009-10-05T01:16:00.000-07:00

I managed to lock myself out of the ARM computer. I was busy installing and tweaking and the WIFI failed to allow me to log into the machine. Removing the maching and attempting console fails because the machine is set up to aggressively use the serial port(and console) as the com route to the controller. Rule #1 is ALWAYS LEAVE A BACK DOOR.

Reviewing the startup script tweak, it should not be failing/behaving any differently than the last known good config, but I hope some sleep and some time in the shower will knock this loose. Geez.

In other news, I have an "Arduino" board in house - yet another computer for TBMNet. I am expecting some opto-isolators to create some battery gauges with this. I also want to make a speedometer/odometer too, maybe even talk to the controller over serial. At least it would be too dumb to lock me out.

TBMNet Update

2009-07-12T23:42:00.000-07:00

The "new" computer (TBM2) is reading the controller and GPS, a TCP server runs on it to deliver to whatever client I dare create via WIFI. I tried connecting the original iPAQ via USB and "usbnet" with moderate success - the USB is not recognized until I unplug, then plug the iPAQ back in, a process currently requiring screwdrivers and removal of parts. Boo.

Then I got nasty ill that night and yesterday and only started again today, pondering that QTOPIA interface again. I tried to build the X86 version with no luck so far, and am about ready to just go straight to the iPhone - dump the iPAQ, hide the TBM2 and only expose one screen.

At least a basic text readout would be nice on the TBM2, and would make it usable. Right now it just shows a picture of the goofy Linux penguin (Tux).

In other ev news, it looks like a group in S.Cal has another 911 conversion kit...always tempted by the stinky fumes and low mileage...

TTXGP and Getting Back on Track

2009-06-11T21:07:00.000-07:00

What timing, the TTXGP is upon us and I am scrambling to get back to my muse, the TronBike related activities.

I really wish I went to this race, its just so up my alley. If only if only.Electric Motorsport is there at least, and there is always next year.

The TBM net has proven physically stable enough to proceed with some software. The first goal is to get the C version talking to the controller, then make it a server for the iPaq and maybe iPhone hit. I love that the MotoCzysz is using an iPhone/iPod as their connect - bet its got Wifi too :)

TBMNet Is Coming Soon

2009-05-09T23:19:00.000-07:00

TBMNet, I named it in honor of the infamous "Skynet". Basically I am wiring up way too many computers and methods of access into the Tronbike. Lets hope it does not gain self-awareness.

I've swapped out the cluster to make space, added lots of wiring and little boxes to allow me to connect Tronbike to about anything electronic imaginable.

WIFI
Bluetooth
Multiple ARM CPUs
Multiple touchscreens
USB Client/Host
RS-232
Compact Flash
IR (yes, infrared)
GPS
iPhone

The goal is better instrumentation and UI and hopefully represents the start of several evolutionary steps.

Time to write some software!

Tronbike 1.2.6 + TBM 1.5 = 'Normal'

2009-04-01T17:54:00.000-07:00

I just posted the ride log from the last 3 months, and noticed the new TBM 1.5 is making riding my electric motorcycle almost "boring". Riding itself is taking more of my attention than risk of breakdown.

The biggest annoyance is that flipping on the light zaps the computer/forces it to restart. I might need a capacitor or something inline to condition the line - putting the light on its own switch is next on the todo for 1.2.8.

In related EV news, I am looking to put money down for a Tesla Model S, and shopping battery options for the bike. Hopefully the actions are not mutually exclusive, though promising to buy a Tesla will likely kill budget/prospects for doing my own car conversion.

TBM 1.5 Headway

2009-03-15T20:19:00.000-07:00

1.5? Where is 2.0? The day job has been beckoning (see March Madness on the iPhone for clues ;) ).

After weekends of stabilizing my home network, I figured out how to run my Linksys PCMCIA card on my WPA network, plugged into the faithful iPaq PDA.

I was able to log into the PDA while it was connected to Tronbike, allowing me
to debug in real-time where I found some sillyness that had prevented this edition of the code from running. In fact the X session of the UI was even displayed on my laptop, allowing complete remote debugging. Very exciting,
this approach will make TBM 2.0 development much quicker.

I am thinking about working out the server side of data downloads on 1.5 too,
probably will use the Apple TV box as the server since its always on.

The only issue is the physical mounting - the antenna sticks out too far to place in the hard-won location the current TBM 1.0 enjoys.

I was forwarded this link to another sick TTXGP bike.

New Rear Brake Pads But No Rotor

2009-02-08T21:15:00.000-08:00

I finally had a moment in the garage, and so put the bike in the rack, removed the chain, axle, dropped the calipers and got the wheel off the Tronbike. It was like old times, I really enjoyed myself.

Once off, I was able to compare the newer rotor I bought off ebay and found it to me slightly larger, like 5mm in diameter, than the existing disk. The markings indicated a width of 6mm vs 5mm as well, and even though the bolt holes lined up, the cooling holes did not. ZX1000 != ZX1100 rotor, despite the numbers matching in the catalogs.

SO I punted, put the wheel back on and decided to follow the manual to replace the pads anyway. This went much better, the new pads fit great.

Once put together, I took a ride to drop off a DVD at the rental place and got home before the much needed rain. The TBM drove me nuts again, I'll try the backup TBM thats NOT using the CF card, which I suspect is the problem.

Messing with the bike was fun and an energy boost I missed, I need to follow my heart more often.

Oh, ZX1000 88-95 rotor for sale cheap :)

About TBM2 So Far

2009-01-24T10:25:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! Tronbike 1.x is riding reliably and is almost normal. The meter is the most unreliable component, gently prodding me to work on the new solution I am calling TBM2.

So far, this consists of a small ARM board computer running Linux. Getting the included kernel (2.6.13) to properly support my personal myriad of USB devices has been the goal, and last night finally my USB-WIFI device, a Linksys WUSB 11, finally made contact. The GPS works over bluetooth, and I have cross-compiled the "gpsd" to make access to the data "standard". Storage devices/USB memory sticks thankfully work right out of the box.

I should confirm RS232 support, either using my Keyspan USB-serial dongle or the built in RS232, but that should be easy, right ;)

NOW the hard part begins. I need to either port/install PythonGTK to the new platform OR port the TBM1 guts into C and cross compile. The GTK on the iPAQ gave me graphics, so more than a C port, I would need to use perhaps the board's included "QTopia". Because I have WIFI, another idea is to just create an iPhone application for the display system, and bury the current board within
the bike. I also could run the TBM2 as a network host for TBM1 on the iPAQ, using "usbnet" or even WIFI.

Besides the USB options, the distro on the ARM9 is pretty sparse - the "Familiar" distribution for the old iPAQs is far superior for usability and features. "Familiar" linux has an entire packaging system even.
Porting/supporting Bluetooth on just the right ancient iPAQ still might be the path of least work to getting something useful on the bike.

Computer Upgrade Underway

2008-12-17T23:37:00.000-08:00

A new computer solution is in the works for Tronbike and its meter. More news soon!

MINI E Field Trial - Application Phase Now Open

2008-11-22T00:14:00.001-08:00

I got the message and jumped onto the application site.

My heart sank a bit at the cost ($850/mo) and lack of back seats, gobbled up by a battery pack, but the form did not outright refuse me on the distance to the Hollywood CA Mini participating dealer (323 miles away).

I said I'd upgrade my utility box, promise to bring the car to nearest dealer every 6 months, and return it 1 year to the day I get receive the car.

The questions went freestyle after that, asking me about my favorite inventor (DaVinci), my favorite band(U2), how I am changing the world(Electric Vehicles), what the problems are in the world (Overpopulation), why I deserve to be a Mini E tester, even who throughout history I'd like to take go on a roadtrip with. (Bill Clinton, Mark Twain and my wife (not all at the same time I presume))

All the Mini-Hype crossed with a Beauty Pagent questions, ignoring the fact its a $10,000 1 year trial for a car you don't keep and lacks back seats (No room for Bill and Mark). Don't know if I am pretty, or rich enough to qualify. PLUS if I did get an Mini-E, I am very likely to take it apart to build by own in parallel *.

(* and that might have just disqualified me)

Normality Reigns

2008-11-21T23:54:00.000-08:00

The latest incident after much normality was the speedometer cable disconnected itself from the gauge. I found this extremely annoying, loosing the mileage for my ride log. It brought up issues of basic chassis maintenance (ie brakes) left undone, but also more monitoring left undone.

The TBM (TronBike Meter) does a good job of measuring the electrical usage as long as its running properly itself - however, I still lack digitized input for speed and mileage. Also, the stability of the TBM hardware - I get sporadic freezes requiring a tedious reset and loosing yet more data, and how clumsy a PDA is on a motorcycle is bumming me out. The speedometer fix was easy, but needless to say I started the search for the next cluster and dash upgrade.

Newer iPaq with Bluetooth was the plan, but I am tired of getting clobbered on eBay trying to get one of these.

Thoughts:

I've pondered iPhone as a console, but the SDK lacks direct bluetooth support and no IR - if I had a Wifi something, maybe.
Going for specific hardware/gauges is easy, but it lacks the automation I seek and is too tedious - I want this thing built in, uploading/downloading to the net automatically.
GPS versus measuring at the wheel seems like quite a debate. So I would like to do both. There is a surprising lack of speed sensors/computers with serial connections available, it seems so obvious and useful.
The latest inspiration are the "GUMSTIX" linux platforms. A touch screen is an option, but acting as a WIFI - RS-232 bridge would open up the display and control to a wide spectrum of devices like the iPhone or laptop or anything. Basically, run a little logging web server on Tronbike, bury it deep inside like my own ODB II computer, should boot fast/near instant on if I am lucky.
I do have a hackable Linksys 54G hub sitting around too, but it official/standard serial connections (I might be able to add them in).

Thoughts welcome, thanks for reading.

1 Foot Long Power Cables Installed

2008-10-24T23:42:00.000-07:00

I've been really busy for the last several weeks, but I did finally install the 5 1 foot long
AC power cables, replacing 15 feet of wire that had been in unsightly bundles on the chargers.
The short cables really cleaned up the look, should have taken a picture.

Last weekend I ran into Todd Kollin of Electric Motorsport, in a bicycle shop of all places(go Missing Link!). He was test-riding a vendor's souped up electric bicycle that had gotten a flat.

I had a really good conversation with Todd, and it turns out he is willing and able to sell Li-Ion and BMS systems independent of his new GPR bikes. He also mentioned the possibility of selling an electric GPR put-together kit, just a flat out awesome idea if it can scrub some $$ off the complete bike price.

I need to ride the Tronbike more. Its been a week without a test run, the new Xtra-cycle enabled bicycle has been the new toy and already proven itself super useful. Hauling 2 kids, all our bags. Or the Radio Flyer wagon to preschool with the little one - a load too big for our family cars without taking it apart. The next Tronbike might well be a bicycle, given the advantages of being a bicycle vs a motorcycle.

Tronbike 1.2.6 Up and Running, Then Not

2008-10-01T21:49:00.000-07:00

I buttoned everything back up, and started pondering more Coroplast coverings to box in the motor and chain areas, mainly for safety.

Kids and wife asleep, I went out for a ride and the bike ran beautifully. No hesitation,
no flakeyness, it seemed the electricity was more solid/stable throughout.

My simple ride around the block turned into a nice 4.6 mile tour.

THEN I noticed the TBM was not reading the controller. I got the bike home and saw the serial cable had come out of its socket at the controller, requiring a slight teardown for access. I replaced the foam rubber gasket with a wrap of bicycle innertube to provide a bit of ballast. I also added more zip ties to keep anything from knocking the plug, and to hold it down rather than giving it a chance to pop out.

And so I declare the bike at 1.2.6. Next stop, rear brake disks and pad installation. Chassis, chassis chassis :)

Coroplast, Re-Wiring the Ignition

2008-09-24T21:25:00.000-07:00

I figured out the throttle cutout issue. It was the wiring to the ignition, and possibly the run/stop button I use to activate the solenoid. Last week I was set to ride the bike to work and I found myself unable to switch on full power.

The search for THIS problem spanned the entire 12 Volt electrical system - I end ed up re-wiring and labelling most of the wires I installed near the battery box. I also found myself cutting into my harness to find the run/stop button itself was not making consistent contact (via the continuity meter). With that fixed/c leaned, I then noticed no power to the yellow wire from the ignition, and at the ignition I found the yellow wire broken from its soldier mooring.

So I resoldered the wire, but found the big wad of wires under electrical tape was interfering with the dash and looked terrible. It was way too late, but I got annoyed enough to cut out the ugly wad and re-soldier the 7 or 8 wires back into the ignition myself. I also made sure the mechanical tiedowns to the ignition were in place, as it was pretty clear the old-yellow wire had been sheared off.

I installed a new, very loud horn, put the front fairings on again and finally went to bed.

The weeks before, I made a "Coroplast" shield from a "for rent" sign to act as my radiator replacement. It tucks nicely around the lower batteries/cage, and spray painted flat black, its much prettier than the cardboard/ducttape approach.

I also fixed the bracket and added some zip-ties to hold the rear light on more
confidently.

Next stop - get it going again, get it to the shop for fork seals and brakes.

Teardown and Debug! Magura 0-5kOhm Dead Spots?

2008-08-25T23:07:00.000-07:00

I got into a teardown of Tronbike tonight to debug an intermittent power cut-out I am experiencing under acceleration. It got really annoying tonight on the ride home and I decided to see if the throttle, 0-5kOhm resistor, had any dead-spots, because it feels very throttle related. Might be a "gaser" reaction to assume its a sticky throttle, but I tore off the fairings and tank to get at the throttle leads. At about 4kOhms in, my multimeter repeatably shows a blip down to 44Ohms. 4kOhms is like 80% throttle, lower ranges have some noise too. Anyone know if these Magura 0-5kOhm throttles are pretty bulletproof compared to the other possibilities?

I'll dig through the data log to see if I can find a pattern in the Amp cutouts with voltage dips or throttle position mis-queues. Riding I did notice Amps cutting out so I hope the sampling rate might have caught other blips.

Looking at the rear disk, I am tempted to put new pads on and call it done. OEM rotor is really pricey, and given it works well now, I imagine perfect brakes could be overkill for my 45mph rig.

For Sale, New TBM Control, Brakes Job Coming

2008-08-24T21:38:00.000-07:00

Yes, the blog has been quiet. The bike gets out once or twice a week, the TBM gets a new feature (latest is PyGTK "notebook" tabs!). I got a quick repair overview at the shop to find the calipers are fine, but we need a new fork seal and new pads, as the current are soaked with oil. Also, a new rear rotor and pads are recommended.

With all that, I've been reading about the Telsa's progress and realized I am falling behind a curve of sorts, and need to move forward :) This means either selling what I have, or preparing for some serious upgrade.

SO its back on CL, we'll see if we can get some interest.

TBM Data Log Plots

2008-08-07T00:34:00.000-07:00

The TBM (TronBike Meter) is getting solid enough to plot data for an entire
battery charge/recharge cycle.

The GNUPLOT of the relevant columns versus time.
I am using an absolute scale here, set below 400 by the Amps (in red), all other values are % or below 100.
Notice the light blue - thats the diode temperature reading, you can see when I parked the bike, I did 3 segments for the day.

I need to get some hardware that will allow me to run a GPS to collect position and velocity data. Building the iPaq into the dash/bike is also on my todo list.

1.2.4 Relauch, Back to a 10tooth Front

2008-07-31T23:27:00.000-07:00

I put the 10 tooth front sprocket back on. First ride the chain was too tight, and the noise was awful. A little adjustment AND some bicycle lube on the chain for today and it was much better.

The 10 tooth is much snappier, and once up to speed, I find myself coasting. The louder sounds might make me satisfied at a certain speed, maybe I was going faster with 13 teeth, but I definitely did not see any 300-400 AMP accelerations
going by on the meter.

I think the trick is the batteries, and sizing the motor/gearing for the weight. Its been a critical lesson in my EV study, glad to test on a bike before a car.

I am pondering a #40 drive upgrade - maybe add MORE teeth front and rear sprocket to keep the same ratio with more and quieter links. Motor mounts or deadening to quiet the current racket is also under consideration.

13 tooth - 50% Mileage Reduction

2008-07-25T21:45:00.000-07:00

So after 3 rides with the 13 tooth sprocket, the most noticeable change has been a drastic REDUCTION in mileage, and hence RANGE.

The TBM and my Kill-a-Watt meter are consistent in indicating the change. I am hoping its my riding style, maybe too aggressive on launch with long drifts to stops. I've been checking the motor temperature, it does not feel much hotter.

The big unknown is my speed - maybe I am just riding faster - I did notice acceleration to 30 is very brisk now, and the bike keeps pulling AMPs at speed - with 10 teeth all AMP spikes were observed at launch. Maybe its time for another movie. And a TBM with GPS.

The upshot of the lowered mileage is I didn't dare ride to the motorcycle shop for a brake check today in fear of running out of juice. I am also looking at regen again (electricmotorsport has a 48v controller with this), motors more optimized for speed, and stuffing more power on board.

13 Teeth, Can Tronbike 1.2.3 Drive 55?

2008-07-23T23:53:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I am bawking at selling out, not willing to go cheaper to move Tronbike, and I keep improving the gauge software and on Sunday, installed the 13 tooth gear. I thought it was 12, but 13 is what I ordered, the torque calculation spreadsheet confirming the decision.

I learned about the magic of a tool called "gear puller" to get the 10tooth off the shaft, and had to install a link back into the #50 chain with my tiny handpress. I always thought bike chains were a pain, this was a whole new level.

The result is now Tronbilke hould go 57 mph now. I have only ridden around around the block in the dark with the new gear on - it certainly feels smoother and runs quieter. The gauge indicated a lot of amps and quite a bit of consumed power too for the mileage - 3300 - 2887 = 413 W-Hrs for about 2 miles, under 5 miles per KW-hr, much less than my average of 8. The motor might be working significantly harder going from a ratio of 7.1 to 5.46, so temperature might also need to be watched more closely.

The plan is to take it to a shop to check brakes and suspension before trying to break the 50 barrier, and maybe recruiting a better test pilot to do the deed.

Hybrid Tronbike? An Analysis

2008-07-06T21:59:00.000-07:00

Surfing through the YouTube, I ran across a big Harley electric conversion that included a sidecar with a bio-diesel generator for charging on the road/extending range.

This got me thinking and looking for a generator, and it turns out good old Honda (and others) have 1000 and 2000 watt generators that weigh 29 and 46lbs respectively. Mounted on a rear-carrier, I was thinking Hybrid! I did not see anything diesel/biodesiel of similar dimension, let me know if you do!

But is it worth it - ie, what sort of mileage would this hybrid have given all the conversions between mechanical and electrical and back?

First off, the 1000 watt version should be enough for my chargers. The Soneil 1212SRs actually only push 12 volts at 5 amps max = 60 watts. Times 5 of these is 300 watts.

The Honda EU1000i's tech specs indicate it can run full tilt for 3.8 hours, using 0.6 gallons of fuel, or 1/4 load (250 Watts) for 8.3 hours. This represents 3800 Watt-Hr or 2075 Watt-Hrs respectively.

How many miles per Watt-Hr is Tronbike getting? Looking at the full history, 190 miles have consumed some 23.5 KW-Hr according to the Kill-a-Watt. Division gets us 8 miles/KW-Hr, which was a bit of a relevation.

What is the max range? 3.3KW-Hr pack times 8 miles is 26.4 range.

MPG from the Honda EU1000i under perfect conditions? (ie assuming all charge captured in
a timely enough fashion, Soneil claims their 5 amps to be as fast as 10 amp equivalent chargers, thats still
55amp-hr/10 amp = 5.5 hours.)

Best case: 3.8 KW-Hr times 8 miles/KW-Hr = 30.4 miles divided by 0.6 gallons = 50.7 MPG.

Worser case: 2.075 KW-Hr times 8 miles/KW-Hr = 16.6 miles divided by 0.6 gallons = 27.6 MPG

Using this particular generator for high MPG is not a good use of fuel. Adding the range might be interesting, but a better pack of a Lithium type battery is a cleaner, more progressive approach to the range problem.

New battery manufacturer was found today, KOKAM, used to power the www.proev.com racecar.

New Camera Mount, New Videos, New TBM Features

2008-07-04T22:40:00.001-07:00

Check out the new video, highlighting the Tronbike Meter (TBM) in action.

I went a bit artsy with it, and hope to do more, maybe at dusk or under some clouds. A wider
lens would be nice to catch the MPH, but a bike computer might be the way to go here.

To create the video, I mounted the "Cycle Machine Works" stand on the tank (very easy) but found the PDA mount comparitively lacking in stability. So I rebuilt the mount for the PDA by cutting out a lexan disk and velcroing that in place as a platform for the PDA's velco, overcoming the lip of the standard gauge. Works like a charm, eliminating the wire-shaking jiggle previously experienced.

The TBM has some new features. I now track time when watts (power) is actually consumed versus time the meter is checked. Its really interesting, the bike is really doing a great deal of GLIDING (see the "clock" row). The ratio of power to overall is expressed as a 0-100 percent value.

I also use this "time under power" in the total time available estimate (etb), which makes more sense as time under power is what truly counts in an EV. This number seems really reasonable too, and does not wildly fluctuate when gliding or hammering on the throttle.

The plan at the moment is to post the software as an Opensource "sourceforge" project, to encourage
others to use, improve and port the TBM codebase. I might be open to providing specific support for
private features or integrations of the software on a consulting basis, as could others as long as the product follows the letter and spirit of the license I choose (to be determined).

On the sales front, I am getting lots of interest, one candidate in particular is a great match on paper...

ELECTRIC Kawasaki ZX-11 NINJA, 1991 (EV Conversion) - $3595 (berkeley)

2008-07-02T21:13:00.001-07:00

ELECTRIC Kawasaki ZX-11 NINJA, 1991 (EV Conversion) - $3595 (berkeley)

Reply to: sale-741087416@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-07-02, 9:08PM PDT

Electric Conversion Project Performed on a Kawasaki ZX-11:

* Original ZX-11 chassis has 35000 miles, newer tires, good brakes, good fairings
* 200+ miles total as an EV
* Top Speed: 45mph
* Range: 15-25 @ 30-35mph
* Weight: 450 lbs
* Tranmission: NONE, direct drive
* Gas: NONE (tank hides chargers)
* Radiator: NONE
* Oil: NONE, just chain and shocks
* Blog and website: http://www.tronbikes.com
* Price: $3595 **

EV PARTS:
* MOTOR: Briggs & Stratton E-TEK (15 hp peak elecric motor (rated 48v) )
* BATTERY PACK: 5 AGM 12 volt 55Mah batteries @ 60 Volts
* CHARGER: 5 Soneil 1212SR fast chargers, board mounted
  * connected via 5 plug power strip, 15 amp capacity
  * optionally removable via quick connector
* CONTROLLER: Alltrax DC, 72 Volt 300 Amp Programmable
* DRIVECHAIN: New #50 size machine parts
 * 71 tooth in the rear, Sprocket Specialists
 * 10 tooth mounted up front
 * Spare 12 I've never installed ready for 50+mph
* DC-DC: 100watt Astrodyne DC-DC converter for 12 volt accessories
* MOUNT: Custom 1/4 plate steel motor bolted to the original motormounts
* LIGHTS: LED brake and signal lighting all around w/new flasher relay
* HEADLIGHT: 35 Watt H4 HID bulb and ballast
* EXTRA: 12 volt accessory plug
* HIGH POWER SYSTEM: fuse, master switch and solenoid cutoffs, 2 gauge copper wiring
* LOW POWER SYSTEM: fuses/fuse holders, 14 gauge wiring throughout

EXTRAS INCLUDED:
* ZX-11 manuals and receipts for bike and parts
* Spare ZX-11 parts I've taken off (no motor, tranny or ICE parts anymore)
* Tank mounted camera/gps/geek mount for taking super cool videos of the bike in action

NOT INCLUDED BUT ALSO AVAILABLE:
* Arai Helmet, new gloves and protective gear
* Rear swing-arm stand
* Custom fuel gauge software on PDA
* Domain name: www.tronbikes.com
* My "Secrets of El Ninja" by John Bidwell (buy it) ***

NEGOTIABLES:
* Willing to part out LEDs & chargers for my next project, maybe other parts
* Trade? Looking for a 4-Door BMW E30 or E36 chassis in great shape

REASONS FOR SALE:
* I am ready to build an electric car, I need the space and focus
* Bike needs a real rider for higher speed development
* Does not fit my lifestyle - I need to haul kids in the rain

TODO:
* Gauges:
  * A nice 2" analog Voltmeter would be great in the dash
  * Embedding a PDA in the Tach would be very cool
* Improve waterproofing and then necessary cooling

TERMS of SALE
* QUALIFIED BUYER: I will only sell to someone who demonstrates they know what they are getting into
* PARTING: This thing needs to be ridden, only as last resort.
* SUPPORT: I will tear-down/document the bike and train the new owner, and provide reasonable ongoing assistance.
* SHIPPING: No, unless you come to me with piles of cash. Euros welcome.
* TEST RIDES: Cash/trade in hand and M1 to test ride.


** Complete dev cost to me (tools, gear, training/license, insurance) has been $5550 ***

*** DON'T hesitate to build your own, its a terrific project

NEW PRICE - $3595!

2008-06-26T22:29:00.000-07:00

Someone replying to the ad suggested it seemed pricey. After checking out the spreadsheet and adding
the big parts since Feb, they were correct.

I updated the price to $3595. My total dev cost, including tools, training, licensing, insurance, stands, gear unused materials, screwups/fried parts was $5550.

I am also willing to part out the LEDs and chargers which I can use for my next project if that entices anyone to step up.

1991 Kawasaki ZX-11 "C" ELECTRIC NINJA (as in EV) "Project" - $4495 (berkeley)

2008-06-24T22:22:00.000-07:00

Yes, you read that correctly - its a an electric conversion performed on a very
badass Kawasaki ZX-11 C. Still registered as originally configured motorcycle,
clean title, 35000 miles. 200+ miles on electric only so far. **

The gas motor and parts have been replaced with a

Briggs & Stratton E-TEK (15 hp peak electric (DC, hi torque), rated 48V ),
5 AGM 12 volt 55Mah batteries (60 Volts (yes, we are overvolting!) )
5 Soneil 1212SSR fast chargers, optionally removable.
Alltrax Controller, 72 Volt 300 Amp Programmable controller
Drivechain is still #50 size (but all new)

71 tooth in the rear and 10 up front

Have a 12 I've never installed)

Custom 1/4 plate steel motor bolted to the original motormounts
Huge LED lights (read $$) all around w/new flasher relay and a HID up front
Tank has been chopped for weight and access to the plug at the top
Acceleration to 30 mph is very quick, BUT speed tops out around 45 with current gearing
Range is at least 15 miles (up hills), 20-30 on the flats with lots of spirited stop and go
Weight is around 450 lbs, 100 lbs LESS than stock
Fairings are in good shape, bike is a great 20 footer
All manuals and receipts for bike and parts included
Spare ZX-11 parts I've taken off (no motor, tranny or ICE parts anymore)
Arai Helmet, new gloves and protective gear available for extra pesos
DOES not include custom fuel gauge/PDA software (Contact me if you are interested in more dev work on that portion of the project)
Camera mount is on the way for super cool videos of the bike in action
Looking for something near the $4500 in parts I added up ;) ***

M1 and cash to ride. I will arrange a showing/showings depending on response.

If you are still reading and interested, way to much information is here in my build and test blog and link to YouTube: http://www.tronbikes.com

REASONS for selling:

I am ready to build an electric car, I need the space (E30 or E36 BMW trades considered!!)
I don't dare make or take this thing any faster, it needs a real rider for further development
Does not fit my lifestyle - too close to work w/plenty of parking, I need to haul kids in the rain (may we get some)

So, stick it to the oil princes of your choice (George W & Co or Osama Bin & Co), and look good doing it. Buy this bike or get your friends to.

** I will only sell to someone who demonstrates they know what they are getting into

*** Parting out will be a sorry and last resort, this thing needs to be ridden

**** DON'T hesitate to build your own, its a terrific project

(craigslist ad: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/mcy/731787641.html)

1.2.2 Declared - A Week of Stable Commuting

2008-06-21T08:31:00.000-07:00

I rode Tronbike to work all week after last weekend's teardown.

I am getting a bit too comfortable with riding around on a motorcycle. I've added knee/shin and elbow armor to my wardrobe, but in the heat have enjoyed (too much) riding with a sweatshirt. I really should press on with a car project, potentially sell Tronbike and (gulp) the 911 to assist funding and focus.
People, particularly other motorcyclists, are taking notice on the road.
I like the low "get-away" gearing and not in a rush to upgrade the 13 tooth front sprocket.
I spent time hacking on the TBM last night, mostly usability features like "restart", "reset", "suspend".

I've ridden all week without a meter. The most useful metric would be full pack voltage, a 2" analog gauge would be perfect for the dash. Second is current and 3rd is odometer (got that).

I lost ebay bids on a bluetooth iPaq, but my bigger focus is or should be mounting of the device. I ordered a new cable to overcome the frustrating/vaporized tab on the current cable.

A tank-camera mount is on the way. I need to get some more videos up and going to share the love. My silly YouTube video has over 11k kits and counting.

SO, I'm declaring version to be 1.2.2 in honor of the stability improvements!

Debugged, Thoughts on Going Tankless

2008-06-16T23:42:00.000-07:00

So after a weekend of charging batteries, finding them discharged and charging some more, Tronbike is
finally rolling fast again. I replaced the 1.5 Amp fuses with 2 Amps which has yet to blow.

I did a test ride without the tank or the chargers onboard. The bike was noticeably zippier, but my knees were a bit lost/unsure where to go. I can imagine staying tankless, putting a big flat sheet of plastic or metal down, or a big suitcase or something very functional. Terrific for Pizza delivery! As it stands, the tank is heavy - 10 lbs or so, and the chargers are another 12, and much area is wasted/functionality lost. 22 lbs was recorded via bathroom scale, thats like 5% of the bike's weight (the weight of a bicycle). Despite the weight, security is pretty good with the stock tank, as its designed to be difficult to get on/off.

We'll see how the commute goes tomorrow.

Debugging Needed...

2008-06-13T21:07:00.000-07:00

Back from vacation, I hoped to ride to work today. Instead, I found a disturbing lack of acceleration and studdering of the machine. Less than 40 volts registered on the multi-meter, I found the batteries uncharged despite being plugged in all night.

Rode the bicycle to work, came home to try with charged batteries.

Next problem was blowing a fuse about a block away. I went and did this twice before I believed
I might have a short someplace. Its on the input side, 1.5 amp fuse * 60 V = 90 W. The output side is
fused to 7 amp * 12V = 84 W, so presumably this means the output side is pulling harder causing the input side to fail. A smaller output fuse would/should break before the input side, again if we trust it.

Checking for shorts caused my movement is something to consider as well...

User Friendliness

2008-05-27T21:10:00.000-07:00

The TBM meter is driving me nuts - it complains about lack of power, it stops talking to the controller
often, I need to logout/login and exit the window manager to start, etc. I am thinking going more simple,
running an entire linux box on my speedometer might be a bit much, and the hardware is a little flakey.

THEN tonight running errands my 1.5 amp fuse to the DC/DC converter blew, killing the bike completely. I quickly learned the aesthetic placement of the fuse holder completely sucked when trying to change a fuse with the fairings on. It was getting dark and could have turned into a mile of pushing, but at least putting the new fuse in worked and I rode home in the dark. My hands are scratched up and sore for the effort, I need my own fuse block mounted right nearby the stock fuse block, duh.

I guess this is why we test and field test, it looks like I have more to add to the laundry list.

TBM Developments

2008-05-25T14:06:00.000-07:00

Today's test run to Target included bringing along what I am calling "TBM" - Tronbike Meter.

Visibility was good, and watching the amp usage was really telling - has a peek over 300 for a second during acceleration. The biggest hardware bug was the cable connector falling out over bumps, and the meter software needed to be exited and restarted, resetting the data log. Recall the cable connector vaporization blogged earlier? Thats why its falling out.

The "projected time" was buggy too, not taking the consumed Watt Hrs into the calculation.

Also, I acquired a Bluetooth GPS thats the size of a pack of gum. I am already waging bidding wars for Bluetooth enabled iPAQs, stay tuned.

New DC-DC Converter Installed

2008-05-25T13:50:00.000-07:00

The Astrodyne SD100C finally showed up, and with the family out of the house I was able to spend the time necessary to figure out how to mount the larger converter, and then re-do the DC-DC wiring.

To mount the converter, I ended up cutting up the sides of the battery box to mount the converter lengthwise, with the terminals now external to the box.

I then created "+" and "-" studs out of 5mm bolts mounted in the plastic battery box, allowing me to fuse the 12 Volt output at a single place (versus previous spaghetti) and clearly organize the 12 Volt positive and negative leads.

New Features:

The 12 volt system is now isolated from the drive system, upgrading the safety to the 12 volt appliances.
The light switch is now only active when the motor controller is activated. Leaving the light in the on position now behaves like a "real" motorcycle (light on when engine active).
Cleaned up wiring, use of 2 distinct "studs" for wiring 12 volt parts.
Removal of the "IC Ignitor" box of the motorcycle. Evidently I don't need it, everything worked when I unplugged it, worst case it might have been sucking power. I need to start a "for sale" section for spare parts.

Tronbike V1 Drivetrain Wiring Schematic

2008-05-09T22:19:00.001-07:00

The main layer is complete.

Smoked My Quda

2008-05-06T10:00:00.000-07:00

I gave up on the svelte null modem and velcro'ed in my trusty DB-25 pin chain-o-cables for the E-meter, and proceeded to put on the covers, rear fairings and tank in record time.

To top off this "release", I decided to put the recommended 41 psi of air in the tires. All the good bicycle pumps I own use Presta valving exclusively, so I decided to use the old 12 volt air compressor with its cigarette lighter ends, plugging it into Tronbikes never before used accessory port.

It worked great, I was headed to bed before 11pm. After all the pumping, maybe 10 minutes of runtime, turned it off and then tried turning on the bike. I got a flash of green on the dash then nothing. Dead. Removing the seat, I checked my line into the DC-DC converter and found a blown 7 amp fuse. Odd since it ran the pump no problem.

I put another fuse in, no green flash just another blown fuse. I noticed a wire tight under the tank, removed the fairings and tank. Another fuse, boom.

I disconnected the harness from the dc-dc and swear it registered a sane 13 volts. I poked around for a short circuit, deciding it might be the bulb itself in the dash. Tore off the covers, removed dash, checked lights, all looked sane. Boom, another fuse.

I was out of fuses, so I canabilized the 1 10 amp fuse from the accessory loop, put it in my main chain to the converter where I'd been blowing fuses. No more blown fuse, but still I had no 12 volt accessories. I then checked to find the DC-DC dead, despite the 63.7 input drop.

My theory is I blew the DC-DC converter ($25 Quda) with the 10 amp fuse, and/or it was going before then as its only rated for 20-60volts input. Something in the ignition could be bad too, dunno, but I need a new converter, a wire labeler, a ton of fuses and a wiring diagram and then go on a short circuit hunt.

The Tronbike E-Meter

2008-05-04T00:42:00.000-07:00

Travis came through with the serial analyzer and I felt compelled to tear off the fairings and tank to get access to the nasty little serial cable for what is to be the Tronbike E-Meter.

Leveraging my collection of ancient RS-232 adapters and cables, the laptop and the analyzer, I found my software was actually fine, my problems were:

Laptop under Linux does not control the Keyspan USB adapter properly. It works fine under Win XP running on VMWARE on the same Linux laptop.
I need a null modem on the IPAQ cable. This might be actually reversing the null function IN the cable in order to manage the Alltrax. Either case, it works.

The analyzer was a bit tricky to get right, but I found myself confirming the hex dump content and null modem/non-null-modem orientation. Plugging the wires between IPAQ and Alltrax and voila!, I was suddenly reading data bytes on the IPAQ console.

This was great news, but it led to a series of late night programming binges that continue to tonight. The UI has remained the same (see screenshot sample, ignore the numbers), but the architecture has changed now - twice. I went from separate executables for reading and display to a single forking python executable. This presented all sorts of exciting lessons in signal handling and interprocess communication in Python. The goal was to start and stop a single app to do reading and display of the data.

Attempt 2 occurred last night where all forking and multiple processes were removed, with the polling of the Alltrax now being driven by the GUI directly. No more forks, one executable, 1 process. Less IO to the disk, so it runs faster.

I also added a data logger function to record every actual use of the meter, and did so in an object-oriented fashion. During the refactoring I added more object-orientation and found it useful to manage scope and state of the system, the first O-O success story I can remember having (old Fortran hack here!).

All this fresh software was just plugged into Tronbike tonight, on its stand, and below is the first
data set from the logger:

Columns are:

unix epoch time since 1970
throttle position %
controller temperature in C
voltage (notice what happens when I flip the solenoid, goes to 63
shutdown (not sure what this is)
amps (bike is on stand, no load, might want this as floating point value)
battery amps (calculated from amps as per Alltrax)
watt-hrs in pack (calculated)
projected time at current usage (calculated)
percentage left in pack (calculated)
time since start of run
watt-hrs pack capacity (5 * 12volts * 55a-hr)

Log Snippit:


1209855312.417228  21 19 62 0 0 0 0 3299 9999 99 171.479993 3300
1209855312.917160  21 19 62 0 0 0 0 3299 9999 99 171.980005 3300
1209855313.417234  21 19 62 0 0 0 0 3299 9999 99 172.480015 3300
1209855313.937162  21 19 62 0 0 0 0 3299 9999 99 172.999987 3300
1209855314.427109  21 19 62 0 0 0 0 3299 9999 99 173.489878 3300
1209855314.927228  19 19 62 0 0 0 0 3299 9999 99 173.990005 3300
1209855315.437221  17 19 62 0 0 0 0 3299 9999 99 174.500002 3300
1209855315.977232  16 19 62 0 0 0 0 3299 9999 99 175.040012 3300
1209855316.457197  15 19 62 0 0 0 0 3299 9999 99 175.520065 3300
1209855316.977281  13 19 62 0 0 0 0 3299 9999 99 176.040042 3300
1209855317.487231  12 19 62 0 0 0 0 3299 9999 99 176.550008 3300
1209855317.987198  10 20 62 0 0 0 0 3299 9999 99 177.049960 3300
1209855318.487206  8 20 62 0 0 0 0 3299 9999 99 177.550002 3300
1209855318.987278  6 19 62 0 0 0 0 3299 9999 99 178.050053 3300
1209855319.487112  0 20 62 0 0 0 0 3299 9999 99 178.549970 3300

How To/Not To Weigh Your Electric Motorcycle

2008-04-24T22:05:00.000-07:00

A conversation regarding weight distribution with a co-worker motorcyclist left me concerned that I might have too much weight too far forward. With the lightweight pancake motor replacing a transmission, and dangling SLA batteries where a radiator should be made me shudder when Chris used words like "high-side" and "rapid stop" and "if it goes over jump and get the hell away". Yikes. The theory goes, under hard braking the rear might not have enough weight and could begin skidding if weight is too far forward.

Anyway, how then to weigh a very big motorcycle? Using Google, suggestions from using scales at the dump, to horse scales and then long debates about the accuracy of using bathroom scales for the purpose. Not having a dump or horse handy, I went to the bathroom tonight to grab the trusty old scale.

Getting the bike onto the scale was the next trick. I decided to try front wheel first, putting the rear in the swingarm stand for stability (I could just visualize this thing rolling over with a part of me under it). I then put the scale down and tried shoving the whole bike on it.

The scale did not appreciate this technique - the top literally flew off, upsetting and dislodging the internal mechanism so it didn't work any more. Because it was of the highest quality Chinese metal, I took a crack at fixing it, and to my surprise and relief, did so successfully. The secret is to unhook the springs, then re-thread them through for the needle nose pliers to pick up.

SO back to the weighing. I decided to get the wheel up on some 2x4 chunks about the height of the scale, then rolled it from the sturdy wood to the ricketty scale. Front - a mere 225 lbs.

After trying to lower the back wheel onto the scale for the rear weight (unsuccessfully), I repeated the 2x4 rolling trick but this time without the security of a stand. It wasn't bad to my surprise, and once on the 2x4's rolled it back onto the scale. Rear - a solid 232 lbs.

SO the total weight, assuming we were flat enough overall, 458 lbs. This is about 100lbs less than I expected, and nearly 100 lbs less than stock. And to know the rear is actually HEAVIER than the front is an even bigger shocker. Given that 200 lbs of the weight is batteries, that leaves only 258 lbs of wheels, chassis, chargers and fairings. Now that the chargers are removable, some hacksaw dieting could get the bike to 400 lbs pretty quickly, and a total weight with me as pilot under 600.

I posted to the ZX-11 forum asking about what the weight distribution should be, I'll go check my manual too in case its something for mechanics to worry about.

Some followup:
Stock Dry Weight: 502 lbs (http://www.zx11.info/zx11/specs.htm)
Stock Wet Weight: 581 lbs (http://www.mcreports.com/Pages/Indivbikes/Kawasaki/ZX11C.html)

Earth Day 2008

2008-04-22T21:05:00.000-07:00

Today was the REAL Earth Day, April 22nd. I had been confused since it was all over the press all weekend and week and just kept on going.

I had skipped the AM bicycle ride, then rode the e-moto into work, then back home, then back to work, then offered a quick demonstration at 1 pm in honor of Earth Day. So at 1 I did a little show and tell to a new crowd, its beginning to almost feel automatic. I need to make the bike easier to take apart for these demos, it looks so ordinary that the coolness is not so obvious to the non-motorcycler. The plug gets the best comments and reaction, it really is a strange juxtaposition coming out of the gas tank and basically sums it all up.

Then home I went again, fearing rain, and riding back on a truly green machine, a bicycle.

My "EV Out Of Gas" Story

2008-04-12T21:17:00.000-07:00

After my shockingly successful initial run of V1.2.0 at 60 volts, I woke up today and finding my usual bicycle ride canceled, I slipped on a pair of jeans over the cycling kit, got out the heavy leather jacket and went to the garage before 7 am in the morning sunshine.

The traffic was sparse but quick, I went along over 30. I had decided to go up Spruce Avenue with the goal of reaching Inspiration Point in Berkeley, a famous lookout to the east in the hills, about 8 miles away. And this required 1000 feet of climbing. Its a very familiar route on my bicycle, and I assumed it would give me a chance to improve my riding skills and check out the e-moto's true performance and range.

I went up the hill at what I thought was a conservative 27 mph pace, stopping occasionally to check the motor temperature with my hand. I ran with the headlight on, and didn't coast to stops very efficiently.
I got to the top of Spruce and Wildcat Canyon drive, where the route is mildly climbing. Onward into the park, I really noticed the road was rough/bike shaking. I noticed my top end was gone, unable to get over 30 mph. At the "Brazil Room" parking lot, I made the very risky decision to push on, despite the lack of a fuel gauge. The odometer said 7.1 miles. Down the little hill I went and on to the final climb, being conservative but knowing I might get stuck very far away from any outlets, my family asleep at home thinking I was out riding a bicycle.

I made it to the Inspiration Point overlook, parked the bike and took a few camera-phone pictures in the bright sun assuming it would be good for my sales brochure for the bike.

And the time was also giving the pack a rest/recovery period as mentioned in "Secrets of El Ninja" - I was living them today, all of them. Back on the bike I turned around, going mildly downhill, coasting in a way not unfamiliar from the bicycle approach. On the final downhill S-curve I realized I had to make the climb back to the Brazil Room, which is nasty on the bicycle and would challenge my electric horse. I was regretting my speeding in the AM and cursing my inefficient acceleration/hard braking style as I sputtered at the top of the hill at 10 to maybe 15 mph. And I wished for regen. The sputtering was literal, the green "neutral" light flashing/stuttering in tune with the starving motor. I realized suddenly if the DC-DC converter dropped below 12 volts, the solenoid could shut down and kill the bike. I was in trouble, this converter never ran with less than 3 batteries (36 volts).

I parked at the Brazil Room to give the bike a break and to look for an electrical outlet. I was wishing for a long extension cord, but assumed a park ranger might be able to hook me up. It was early, no one seemed about, and I recalled its mostly downhill from the Brazil Room. So I mounted up the tired machine, and it seemed to appreciate the rest. I was back to 20 mph or so, mostly coasting, avoiding the brakes. I had long since turned off the 35 watt HID. I tucked as if I was doing 100, squeezing any advantage I could from the heavy, full fairing bullet I had lobotomized.

Reaching the top of Spruce was a victory, it meant civilization, cell phone coverage and power outlets. Down the hill I went, suddenly Berkeley was waking up and the hills were alive with Volvos. Wishing for
more regen, I was over 20-30 mph. The brakes were fine, but most acceleration was greeted with the green light stutter. Down Oxford, the light was green and I was in serious coasting mode, milking the lights, doing my tuck and watching out for cars coming up from behind. I was trying to remember where friends lived in case I needed to bail. The stop signs and red light blocks south of campus provided breaks and kept the traffic around me in check. I turned down onto Shattuck and kept on gliding, again not unlike a bicycle. I was psyched at this point because I knew I could walk/push it from here.

I made it over Ashby BART and did my final stoplight, right down Fairview with the Hazard lights blinking at under 10 mph. I parked in front of the house, opened the gate and garage and with the final umph I got back to my Kill-A-Watt box. WHEW. 16.4 miles.

The critical element I had missed in the construction of V1.2.0 was access to measure pack voltage with the multimeter. So I took out the drill and made 2 holes over the ends of my battery punch-down block where the chargers are wired to the batteries, and measured 56.3 volts. This was not nearly as low as I expected given the struggle I had getting home. I turned on the power to the chargers and checked in throughout the day, noticing the batteries at the ends of my series were last to finish charging, the first battery on the ground side took most of the day. Is this normal? The pack got back over 62 volts when fully charged - it had been at 63.8 before Thursday during my flame-out of the DC-DC converter.

It was 8am, I took off my jeans and coat, put on the cycling shoes, took off the knee warmers and realized I had the heart rate monitor on for the moto ride. I would have liked to know what my rate was the first stutter!

I got on the bike and cranked out for 2 hours, covering 29.1 miles at nearly 16mph, almost the same pace my EV ran that morning on a less challenging course. During the ride I thought a lot about EV's, and was amazed at gasoline and ICE technology, and bummed out at reading about the corruption by ZAP in Wired last night. Passing the Ashby BART on the way home (bicycle this time), I noticed the graveyard-like EV parking lot, each stall including a sun-bleached charger unit. I stopped by and picked up the EV1 paddle, the plastic faded by the relentless sun. I looked at the other chargers, each apparently with a long-dead motion sensor. I'll call BART to see whats up with these units, likely a relic of the 2003 mandate that CARB caved on regarding EVs.

Almost running out of gas on my EV was a sobering dose of reality. Sure, one can read about EVs and batteries being the limit, but to actually experience this limit, to coax a machine so hard for a seemingly simple trip to a level that doesn't even match myself on a mere bicycle, is disappointing.

Despite how dirty gasoline is, its completely amazing in what it does so easily all around us every day. $4+ per gallon is cheap for that magic, its a sweet deal, treat it well. Any magic will be in batteries, batteries, batteries. I have proven anyone can do the mechanical side, the magic is the batteries, their energy density and charging. I always thought the EVers maybe whined too much, but after today I now truly qualify myself as one. I want stock in A123 and a pack to go please!

TODO:
0. emergency solenoid override/auxiliary power supply.
1. long extension cord storage/mechanism.
2. LED flasher on the FRONT of the bike for daylight, 35 watts is too much.
3. need the power meter/gauge working
4. voltage check/meters for each battery
5. check tire inflation
6. get a map of outlets
7. lighten the bike? weight is bad
8. regen? a simple drag brake option? anything?
9. why did the batteries at the ends of the series take so long to recharge compared to the others?
10. invest in battery technology, do battery tech, it IS the Achilles heel for EVs (everything else is there)

V1.2 Launched! 11.1 Miles, 43 mph+

2008-04-10T22:01:00.000-07:00

Immediately I could feel the presence of the extra battery when I hit the throttle - everything was much crisper even on acceleration, and top speed came up much quicker too. The motor felt hotter to the touch, but nothing crazy.

The most shocking part was putting the Kill-A-Watt on the chargers was that after 11.1 miles - the 2nd longest day ever - only 0.68 KW-hr was necessary to get the batteries back up. Super efficient, check out the estimated mileage of 54 miles.

I'm getting to like this bike a bit too much, time to start the next project...

V1.2 Launch Tomorrow!

2008-04-09T21:34:00.000-07:00

Lots of progress:

5 batteries now, full designed capacity. Next stop, panniers!
5 chargers, re-organized and bundled vertically.
12 conductor connector between bike and charger, allowing chargers to be removable as an option (allowing 5 other 12 volt supplies as an option - solar?).
Cleaned up wiring - nicer plugs.
Increased size of pre-charge resistor to 750 Ohm, 10 Watt for 60 volts.
Upgraded DC-DC converter - well, not quite, smoked it:

The DC-DC converter bums me out. I took out the old Quda converter, confirmed 63.8 volts on the meter, wired in the Vicor, and flipped the switch for testing and got a nasty POP and smoke. Flipped the switch off, investigating it looks like the ballast portion cracked. My fuse failed to blow first, which is a bit scary, and the wires to the Vicor did look thin.

The GOOD news is that with the QUDA out of the bike, I could read the back, where beyond the Chinese text it said DC 20V-60V. Moving the Vicor aside, I wired up the QUDA and checked the voltage, 11.89.

Despite the desire to run isolated DC-DC, I put the QUDA back in and finished up the wiring. A little motor test at 1 am confirmed it all working, its time for some fairings and some riding! And maybe some smaller fuses - 7 amp 250 V might be too steep.

I also got the 13 tooth gear in the mail. That will be V 1.2.1+

TODO for V1.2.1

Serial Gas Gauge please?
Fusing on the post DC-DC converter side (12 volt side), find a 7amp 60volt for the high side. Amps are key versus voltage, so maybe it was a broken device?
13 tooth gearing - ideally we have the gauge in place to keep an eye on the amps.

V1.2 Delayed, New Range Estimates

2008-03-20T22:10:00.000-07:00

Rather than tearing V1.0.3 apart, I've been riding in the good weather. I also need to determine if I need a new DC-DC converter that can handle going from speced 48V to 60V input. The delay has given me lots of practice and data, some of which I forgot to record in the log (see right column).

Today I rode a record distance, riding to work, then to the dentist, back to work and then home - 12.7 miles. I realized the amount of battery discharge could be estimated based on KW-Hr input recorded by the P3 meter. There is some charging inefficiency of course, and the final meter should be more accurate, but running the numbers I can estimate my range is about 24 miles max given current configuration and driving style (pretty aggressive). The pack went down 53% today, and I noticed max speed was under 35 on the last stretch home - even a voltmeter would be useful.

Gearing, and weight reduction would help. Driving style too makes a big difference, I do brake a lot and try to get the heck away at stoplights/signs (and it is the fun part). Regen!?

V1.2 Underway - 60 Volts

2008-03-04T23:34:00.000-08:00

Did a long commute into work today, found I could really only peak the bike out at about 37mph with the current gearing and voltage. Acceleration is awesome, and 37 is up or down hill. Going to 12 teeth is
still in the cards, but so it adding more voltage as originally designed.

The gauge is still not talking with the Alltrax, though I now have a terrific simulator of the controller all built out. Travis is sending me an analyzer, I will try a null modem just in case its something silly.

Once we are at 60 volts and over 40 (or 50 with 12 teeth) and the gauge is working, its all
about reworking to things to make it better. Given my lifestyle and liabilities, I am not sure I can literally get enough miles into do the job justice.

Bob got his offroad machine going, check this out.

Release V1.1.0

2008-02-26T21:28:00.000-08:00

After the big teardown, I did manage to conquer the 1/4 plate steel with the 6 volt rechargeable drill. 4 new 5/16" bolt holes plus a 1.25" big hole for the motor shaft. Re-assembly went well accept for getting the front-sprocket seated back in place - it was very stubborn, and I am afraid its going to be a bitch to take off. Tronbike V1.1.X going to get a 12 tooth to replace the 10 toother. The result of moving the motor 1 inch is now the chain is well clear of the swing-arm pivot - no more slapping or grinding of the plastic protector. I love how the mount paints up with the flat black.

In addition to the mechanical upgrade, I wired in a 12 volt cigarette lighter plug to the DC-DC converter. This will allow me to run/charge all such devices, namely the PDA. I have a small DC-AC converter that I might try as well, creating an earthquake-ready power supply. I mounted a switch for the plug, and placed/squished the plug into the "firewall" near the headset on the starboard side. Once assembled, I can still get access to the plug via the gapping hole left by the lack of a cooling reservoir.

The IPAQ serial cable is "permanently" mounted the to the Alltrax Motor controller. I used a piece of metallic duct-work tape to replace the stock rubber plug, and a male-male 9 pin converter to bridge the controller and cable. I will need to make sure to disconnect the PDA when charging as per Alltrax's warnings.

AS for the software, I ended up building a complete serial test server to validate/verify my client code. It all worked, but again plugging into the actual Alltrax is just not resulting in any useful data. I can only get a flash from the controller when I send a "reset" message. I might need to make another serial capture of the actual code to see if I am missing something in the protocol.

AND so last night very late I put all the fairings and parts on for my commute to work this morning. It ran great, I was more terrified by the traffic at large than anything with the bike. I climbed my first hill, an overpass, at over 30 mph. The bike is still pretty noisy, the small 10 tooth gear is to blame. I am getting concerned 35-40 is not going to cut it, even for city traffic. Again, the 12 tooth will help that, though I love the current acceleration - its like a subway, just whoosh and you are off at full speed. I rode the bike home in the dark without incident, but did note a slight hesitation during acceleration. The cause turned out to be LOOSE WIRES TO THE MOTOR!! I had forgotten to tighten the bolts down. I am charging her up now, I will post the stats to the ride log.

ALSO, we got some press here at Tronbikes.com. We are featured in the Makezine archives. Thank you Travis for letting me know - I thought people usually asked for permission or at least told you when they linked you into something so cool. Anyway its there as is a new section we can call "Press".

TearDown In The Rain, Here Comes V1.1.0

2008-02-20T21:13:00.000-08:00

It rained this week, so I missed my bi-weekly window to commute. I decided to tear the bike down to test the new serial cable, but quickly moved to taking off the motor and mount. I've been wanting to re-drill the mount holes 1 inch higher to mount the motor a touch higher to provide more clearance for the chain on the swingarm joint. I found bits of grease ejected by the chain on the fairing and on the battery cage - it might be time to think chain guard as well, or at least splatter shield. The huge rear ring close to the ground likely picks up all sorts of crap.

The iPAQ failed to communicate with the controller. I brought it inside and have it talking with the laptop, so the next attempt will be straight laptop and serious hacking.

Oh, do check out www.evdrive.com, Bob has some very nice projects going on. Also, "zero machines" is selling their 140lb electric moto-x rig finally. Only $7.5k, and no they won't sell the battery pack separately.

This game is all about the batteries. Do some reading on A123, they will own us all.

Today I bought a 1.25" hole saw to cut a shaft hole for the adjusted mount. Is my 6Volt rechargeable drill up to the task? We will find out very soon, like now.

Tronbike 1.0.3 Released!

2008-02-05T21:02:00.000-08:00

Okay. The rain stopped, the health is good, the kids got a ride from mommy and it was time to release Tronbike 1.0.3!

I rode to work, then from work to go vote, and then back to work, and eventually home. I got the bike over 40mph on some stretches, and was able to keep with traffic with better acceleration.

I ran with the new HID light on and L.E.D.s blinking. The HID is good and bright, probably helps visibility a lot.

No issues with overheating were noticed, despite aggressive acceleration. I got more and more comfortable with the riding as I went along - I do forget to turn OFF the flasher a lot though.

33.4 - 25.8 = 7.6 miles travelled, 1.23 KW-Hr on the Kill-A-Watt. I will start a spreadsheet log of the rides.

I am still waiting for the new serial cable. It arrived in Oakland Jan 25th, not sure where it is. Bad mail service lately.

Vacations, Rain, Distraction and Serial Comm

2008-01-22T00:51:00.000-08:00

Not much progress, I am still waiting for a chance to try 1.0.3. Following a brutal weekend of family maintenance, its now raining and I am ill.

I decided to give the serial connection to the iPAQ another shot using a NULL modem in case the cable I had had a NULL modem, as implied by a web site I ran across. Tore the bike down to expose the serial port, plugged it in and still no go. I then took the iPAQ and cable inside to connect to my desktop machine, plugged it in with all combinations of NULL modem and not across both ports, and still no dice.

Time for a new cable, this time an official COMPAQ part (191008-B21) to replace the knock-off. Not only is the cable suspect, but the battery is a P.O.S. as well, barely holding a charge almost as bad as before. Likely old, degraged LI-ION stock.

I've been watching for more suitable donor bikes and cars for the next potential project. A boss at work on the Tesla list is getting impatient and might ask for his money back - looks like I won that EV race.

H.I.D. Installed, Version 1.0.3

2008-01-10T00:50:00.000-08:00

The Ebay'ed $35 H.I.D. Conversion kit came in from Hong Kong over the weekend, and its now part of the Tronbike 1.0.3 "light me up" release.

The ballast and controller were surprisingly big, but they worked under a quick "bench test" and were pretty straight forward to install. The "hi-beam" function in the bulb mechanical, but like the H4 bulb before it, is disabled so I only have lo-beam.

I yanked out 3 burned-out instrument lights that backlight the tach, temperature meter and speedometer - I'm only using the speedo and a tiny bit of its 220 MPH range. I'm pondering gutting it, replacing it all with the IPAQ, a bicycle computer and maybe a BBQ thermometer. The signal indicators and the green neutral light are the other used bits but any light/led might do if that part goes. Putting all the above under the stock instrument lenses might be cool, - time to look for a scrapped ZX-11 cluster!

At lunch I ran into Todd Kollin of Electric Motorsport. He vaguely remembered me and reminded me to install fuses and to keep the lighting legal. I promisedto stop by after the rains. Like the whole EV community, he was really only truly interested in the gauge software I am working on. There is something
there.

LED Bulbs for the Brakes, Signals and Running Lights

2008-01-02T23:21:00.000-08:00

The bulbs and LED flasher relay from "www.autolumination.com" showed up today, I just installed them and took some comparison pictures.

The bulbs look great, brighter running lights than stock (LED on your left above), but the signal/brake activation is a little less dramatic than I'd like. I went with the 27 LED "SMT Tower "1157 amber and red pairs from, and re-used some 1156 LEDs left over from my car LED project - I can imagine growing a pile of these LEDs as the technology keeps improving. I have a pile of 1156 and 1157 incandescents leading the way.

In the images below, I have replaced 1 LED and then the 2nd LED. Pardon the "Jesus Movers" hiding my plate.

The flasher relay was really impressive too - I could run various combinations of LED or standard bulbs and it balanced them perfectly. I zip-tied the rubber mount from the original relay to the new relay, allowing me to mount it in the standard location.

Hopefully a little less power draw overall, now I am awaiting the 35 WATT H4 HID.

A Quick Tronbike Operation Cost Analysis

2008-01-02T07:38:00.000-08:00

After the video shoot, I rode for 4.8 miles in city traffic to run an errand. During recharge my "Kill-A-Watt" used
up 0.91 KW-Hr. I am paying about $0.12 per KW-Hr from PG&E, so the ride cost me


0.91 * $0.12 = $0.1092 ~ $0.11

or roughly,


$0.11/4.8 mile = $0.023/mile.

The number looks higher than a Tesla, but its tiny compared to my 20mpg Porsche 911:


1 mile/ 20 mpg = 0.05 gallons * $3.60 (premium) = $0.18

and the 50mpg (mostly highway) Hybrid


1 mile / 50 mpg = 0.02 gallons * $3.25 (regular) = $0.065

I would assume the ZX-11's normal engine would be around 35-50 mpg, but only carry a max of 2 passengers :)

Tronbike 1.0.2 Video

2008-01-02T07:21:00.000-08:00

With the help of my lovely assistant on camera, and a little old iBook/iMovie editing, I got a very quick video up of me on the bike:

We need a tripod, and an-on bike mount, and some TIME for the next shoot.

Happy New Year!

2007-12-31T22:49:00.000-08:00

Happy 2008!

Tronbike 1.x has definitely been on the positive column for the year, thank you for the feedback and support.

Lots of ideas in the works, including and beyond a Tronbike 2.x.

First Commute, and Tronbike Alltrax Viewer 0.1

2007-12-31T22:32:00.001-08:00

I rode Tronbike 1.0.2 to work Dec 26th. I took the backroads I use when riding by bicycle, and am learning motorcycles in general have all the disadvantages of a car plus the vunerability of a bicycle - all the blocked streets in Berkeley are seeing to that.

Acceleration was good, and I didn't have any of the heat issues I had earlier. The ride is around 2 miles, maybe it didn't have a chance to heat up. It was also chilly outside.
I have a stock 55W H4 bulb installed, which worked okay on the way home minus dimming when turnsignal and brakes were on.

The bulb is wired so the light is ON only when/if the high-beam switch is activated (to save power/reduce load).
I still await the H4 HID conversion kit. Should save 20 watts.
I have LEDs and a LED flasher on order. I am going with some slightly newer tower like 1157 bulbs for front and brake lights. I aleady put in a set of 24 LED 1156 bulbs in my turn signals.
I have heard nothing from the LED flashlight manufacturer (www.spider-fire.com) regarding spare parts. Boo.

Stuck home without babysitter has reduced progress to SOFTWARE.

I redid my existing gauge code to use the Python "pickle" serializer to create a datafile to link a reader and viewer process.
I figured out the UI layout I am going to start with. The process of deciding what to show and doing the ergonomics to start/stop the process has been educational.

I need to confirm working protocol between laptop and AllTrax.
I need to confirm serial hardware connectivity between iPAQ and AllTrax.

My H4 CREE 550 Lumen LED Invention (and Smoke)

2007-12-23T02:24:00.000-08:00

I received my "tactical" mounting rails for my monster LED flashlight today. RATHER than sticking with the plan of mounting the rail and sharing the light between motorcycle and bicycle, the temptation to put the 3 LED element into the DOT housing was too much. A proper H4 "LED" upgrade MUST be in the works somewhere in China, so I went for it to make my own.

I removed the bulb element from the existing H4 to expose the base and 3 wires. I isolated the case using electrical tape, cut the "low beam" wire to get it out of the way and had 1 wire to the center and 1 to the lamps aluminum case.
I then "welded" the lamp and H4 base using many wraps of the electrical tape, put the H4 LED into the housing, put the housing into the fairing (removing the mount points for the silly rails) and put the fairing on the bike.
I traced the headlight power wire and jumped it from the extra "RUN" position wire I have providing 11 volts. BRIGHT light, BUT then it started to flash like a bicycle blinker.
I fiddled around a bit to see if I built an RC circuit or something, but always flashing. I then wired directly to the first series battery, more flashing and faster.
I then jumped to the flashlight batteries and housing to see what maybe happened. No more flashing, but the brightness was way down. Was I overvolting or ??
Back to configuration of step 1, no flashing but dim. Every on-off of the lights now had one flash, then dim and dimming light.
Rather than the RUN switch tap, I tried directly off the DC-DC. More behavior as in step 6, one bright flash during "On" at the switch.
Back to the flashlight batteries. Flash on on, then nothing. At this point I assumed I broke something.
Confirmed something indeed was fried, original flashing of bright light just was not going to happen.
Took the fairing off, and the H4 LED invention out. I spelled burned PCB board.
Took the H4 LED apart and documented each step with the camera. More stinky.
Put the flashlight together again. I get a single bright flash from the LEDs, so I assume its circuitry vs LEDs.

The big mistake? FUSES, hello, and too much voltage.

Original Flashlight: 3.7 volts, 2400 MAH each LI-ION battery * 2 = 17.76 Watts-Hr Capacity. To fuse, I need to know peak amps. Assuming the light would go for 1 hour, thats 2.4 Amps at 7.4 volts - a 2 amp fuse inline with my futzing around would have been a good idea.

Anyway, lets see if the vendor has any lamps/spare parts available. I will try to insert pictures to explain th e construction above. For a brief moment, it was looking like the right solution, so I am saving my H4 base.

Riding 48 Volts - Yippee!

2007-12-15T22:58:00.000-08:00

I installed a switch on my pre-charge resistor on the advice of ElectricMotorSport's Todd Kollin. I did this using a chunk of lexan which also acts as a safety cover over the main switch and fuse lugs. I now have 4 switches to activate to go from dead to a motor armed position. I also finished installing the charger wiring to the batteries and cleaned up the AC side wiring with a lightweight powerstrip.

The extra power has transformed Tronbike 1 into something a bit interesting. The acceleration is awesome, I didn't ride long enough or on a "real" enough road to get top speed, but I was going north of 30, which felt really fast - actually the fastest I have been on a motorcycle. It feels quick enough to make my own inspirational You Tube video.

The effect of going from dead silent stop to zipping up to speed reminds me of joyriding snowmobiles as a teenager - just aim, hit the throttle and hold on. Unfortunately, this isn't on a frozen lake, Berkeley is full of busi-body traffic, pedestrians and speed bumps/humps. I need to find a better weekend test track.

The side effect of power and my jackrabbit starts is heat - the motor was really hot to the touch, and didn't cool for a long time.

TODO

Get headlight working, daylight here is short. Hacking the H4 bulb with LEDs from the CREE is my latest thought.
Get a temperature probe, on or around the motor. Plan for a fan/duct work/liquid cooling system.
Get the iPAQ working, we need a fuel gauge. Travis of evfr.net says the Alltrax needs serial isolation even during runtime (rather than just under charging), need to confirm.
Get some battery terminal covers for goodness sake.
Get 1 foot cables for the chargers.
Re-mount the motor 1 inch higher to get the chain off the driveline protector. This will be tedious, perhaps requiring a new mount if there is not space to re-drill.
Consider adding a 5th and final battery.

48 Volts Revving!

2007-12-11T21:05:00.000-08:00

The controller is not fried, its just that 12 volts is no longer enough to fire it up in the presence of 48 volts. I have an email to Alltrax asking WHY?

I have the Alltrax KEY ON position jumped to the solenoid, using 48 volts to turn on the controller when I hit the moto's "RUN" position. Problem is the preload resistor across the solenoid allows the controller to be on when the main power switch is on. A trickle passes through to the motor too when the throttle is set, I am not sure this is going to work longer term. I will try the bigger preload resistor as prescribed in the Alltrax wiring diagrams, maybe that will quell the trickle.

BUT that said, the revving at 48 volts is really impressive - this thing is going to be a whole lot meaner on the street, should break 35mph.

In other news, Santa is getting me a "Kill A Watt" to measure power consumption - I hope to have this in line with the chargers to indicate how muchs its costing to charge up, and to determine how efficiently I am charging (or not). Actually, I need a DC version of the Kill A Watt to measure fuel level (this is what I am building with the iPAQ).

Rev 2 Underway

2007-12-10T00:16:00.000-08:00

The parts have come in, family illness has prevented much progress.

Rear-stand from "discountramps.com" came in, just barely fits to lift the rear of the bike by the swingarms. This will allow me to adjust the rear wheel, and or rev the bike now that I have taken off of the center stand.
The 550 Lumen CREE X3 light has come in. It is truly awesome as far as brightness. Its designed for paintball and military applications (its a flashlight), I am ordering appropriate mounting rails and inticipating removing the current light. It should weigh much less. I want to also look at sharing the light with my bicycle.
And batteries. I got 2 more batteries and installed them last night, including the wiring. However, attempts to use the DC-DC converter have failed thus far - I see voltage but I need to iron out what is ground for the converter and the bike at large, because using a single battery I was a able to cheat before. Its all fitting so far, I need to try placement/install of the new chargers once the DC-DC issues are ironed out.
I burned a large part of today's possible progress time trying to get serial connectivity confirmed on the iPAQ, between my laptops and the iPAQ to test the controller-reader software. I am using a nasty USB to Serial converter that I don't trust, so will try to take it out of the equation. I tested on my linux Thinkpad and then old iBook with similar failed results, just no comm between the 2 parts with or without null modem. I have a bad feeling the guage will be a project in and of itself.

11 Miles on the Odometer

2007-11-19T00:22:00.000-08:00

So I unveiled "Tronbike 1" at my birthday party as entertainment. The crowd went from spectating me riding around the block to participants riding the machine themselves. Feedback was positive from the crew of ex-motorcyclists, everyone was very careful. Play in the sprocket coupling and the chain on plastic noise were noted.

Brian taking over, me (Todd) behind bike, 11/17/2007

Today I then took the bike out for some careful loops that grew in size until I ended up riding to the hardware store for some (more) bolts. It was all good, but I can't quite hit 20 mph, which is a bit low for being in traffic on any roads without speed humps. I also came across the police who didn't bug me about a lack of running headlight or my speed since I was on a "humped" road at the time. The motor and pack were nice and cool for all the runs, I am thinking the gearing could be increased (go from 10 to 12 on front) because acceleration is crisp and top end is so low. I need to get the iPAQ datalogger going asap..

SO I ordered 2 more batteries and 2 more chargers. 48 Volts might be it for some time, I seriously doubt the wife will let the riding go on much longer, but I want the machine in a sellable/useful state before I move on. Going 48 Volts will also make using the DC-DC converter possible.

I also ordered a 550 lumen CREE 3xLED flashlight includes batteries, a charger and remote switch. I was unable to locate bulbs alone, but modding or retrofitting the light is certainly possible. An H4 bulb puts out about 1000 lumen, so a second bulb/light might be the final say here - though a cheesey H4 HID upgrade might be the easy path.

Another note to self - check for possible tax credits/writeoffs.

Counting Beans

2007-11-14T23:29:00.000-08:00

I decided to spend an evening plugging in the numbers to see how much damage "Tronbike 1" has inflicted on the finances since July.

Its not pretty.

I am about $1200 over my planned budget, the overage is mostly in the costs surrounding getting started in motorcycling - helmet, licensing, a bike. The plan for 3 more batteries and 3 more chargers will add at least another $4-500, plus more clothes and finishing touches - like headlights, could be another $500 if I don't watch myself :)

Going in I assumed a bike conversion would be 1/10th that of a car, which if correct would have put me a whopping $10K+ with proportional overage.

To make this a viable proposition, parts need to cost much less. Tools have been surpisingly cheap, the amount into Osh steel is scary - this is something that could be cut a lot with bulk and direct suppliers.

So the trick will be to see if I can get Al Gore to fund Tronbike 2. I also predict much checking into tax codes for potential write-offs/credits. Sponsorship might also be an option.

Sawzalled the tank, got the iPAQ, and Riding!

2007-11-13T00:45:00.000-08:00

"Sparkfest" took place on the tank, where I went to Brian's shop and applied a wide range of reciprocating saw technology to chop out a rectangle section of the tank. The grinder portion generated the sparks and was mainly used for finishing. Besides some damage from the blade hitting the underside of the outside shell, I noticed the tank had a small split which likely leaked air/gas fumes when it was a gas machine. After some filing, I masked off the outside of the tank and sprayed the inside white in hopes of preventing/slowing the rusting action.

I got the iPAQ destined for my battery meter and quickly installed the "Familiar GPE" linux installation from www.handhelds.org, using only the CF card because my serial cable hadn't arrived.
Once installed, a little treat called "usbnet/ipaqnet" allowed my linux laptop to directly connect via IP to the iP - it works great, allwoing me to rapidly install software, log into the iPAQ as a little server (via SSH) and generally run it as a little linux box. I quickly got Pythin-GTK installed and the demos I ran from the tutorial working on the iPAQ. I then got totally sidetracked by the desire to put cool e-moto sound affects out via the iPAQ, the best bet besides urandom > /dev/audio is a tool called "Boodle" that in an earlier version was ARM compatible. More on this later.

Oh, and RIDING. Today the neighborhood was very quiet and so I suited up and took a spin around the block, unleashing my 24 volts onto the public streets. It went well, the bike was easy to manage, but was surprisingly loud from the gears and chain. I suspect the chain tension might be too high, and the chain is rubbing on the swing arm plastic pad. The rear disc brake might be touching a bit too much too - I think I need to do some basic mechanical maintenance, connect up the headlight and fix the rear-brake light switch to improve roadworthiness. Its very cool all the same, and in time for the grand unveiling this weekend!

I went a touch over 20 mph according to the speedo, but Barb passed me on her bike at one pint so I am not sure I trust it. The ODO reads 0.9 miles, and the batteries charged right back up with the 2 Soniels. I should start keeping a log, forget the iPAQ audio and get a tiny piezo, focus on the battery meter and maintenance. Away we go!

Its Alive!

2007-11-05T23:29:00.000-08:00

I logged into the controller using a USB to 9 pin over Win XP on VMWARE sitting on my Linux Laptop.

A bit of hackery was required, but once logged in I needed to reset the undervoltage (was 60 volts) to 16 so that my 24 volt pack could drive the motor. I touched the throttle and got a whirling motor and chain and rear wheel!

Backwards, of course, so I reversed the wires and started reving away.

The small cog and huge chain made quite a bit of noise, I might need to raise the motor an inch
in its mount to gain some clearance over the swingarm bolt, but once one the ground I am hoping
everything will be sane.

The monitoring mode of the "ControllerPro" Alltrax software is pretty cool, allowing me to view the voltages and amp flows - I could generate load by applying the rear brake (ie resulting in amps showing up).

From here on out, its lots of buttoning up the loose ends. Maybe I'll be riding by the weekend.

Controller Mounted, Electronics Underway

2007-11-03T11:59:00.000-07:00

The last big lump, the controller, is now installed in a location that does not require the tank to be cut (though cutting up the tank is still in the plans). I did need to move the solenoid lower. A pre-charge resistor was ordered to go across the solenoid power contacts and with some wiring, we should be ready to fire this baby up.

Investigating the controller capabilities and previous EV work indicates that the RS-232 port on the controller can be queried for voltage and current rates at BOTH sides of the controller; throttle position and controller temperature are pollable as well.

This is terrific because it saves me from installing analog gauges/cutting wires - instead the plan is to use an old Compaq IPAQ as my voltmeter and ammeter. By installing Linux on the IPAQ, I will be able to code in Python GTK to create a very flexible dashboard AND data logger AND battery meter. I'm practicing PythonGTK now and should be able to debug using a Linux laptop.

So I "Ebayed" an IPAQ H3650 and ordered it a new battery, a car charger, serial cable and CF flash reader for my laptop's PCMCIA port.

See, the gas tank fits!

Solenoid, Common Ground and Front Fairing

2007-10-21T00:38:00.000-07:00

I wired up the solenoid - basically a big relay that I activate using the motor "RUN-STOP" switch. RUN position activates the solenoid by passing in 12 volts, which then closes the connection for the 60 volt pack. Radio Shack had the 1N1004 Diode to install across the activation leads. Seems to work.

My DC-DC converter isn't working with only 24 volts, so I am cheating by running a wire to one of the batteries to act as the "common ground" for the accessories. Its in the original battery box, as is a fuse holder/fuse and a bolt acting as a terminal for accessories using common ground.

I have the big green neutral light wired to activate on switch powerup and ignition, the other lights like oil and fuel trigger relays that flash and click a lot. If I want to use these, I will need to go into the cluster directly.

I tidied up the wiring with zip-ties, ran the throttle wire and removed the choke cable and lever. I took off the passenger pegs to save weight and improve access, especially to the rear brake light switch that needs attention.

For kicks I put the front fairing on. The turn signals are wired backwards and the headlight does not appear to be working. The headlight has a relay that I am not hearing (yet). The turn signals appear to have dual filaments and turn on now with ignition, one more current draw to remedy, a LED application might be in order. Doing something with the headlight would be nice too, its old-school halogen. Keeping all lights off unless needed and then painting the bike day-glow yellow for attention is my long term plan.

Biggest roadblock now is mounting the motor controller. I need to cut out the tank bottom to make space, I am hesitant to mount anything until I am positive there will be space, but I guess I should just install and assume its going to move no matter what.

Motor Mounted, Wiring Begins

2007-10-17T01:36:00.000-07:00

Rather than blogging, I've been actually cranking away on the project.

Since last time:

- Throttle is mounted. I needed to cut the switch/cable holder on the bike to make space for the Magura's resistor/rehostat/whatever its called.

- Main power switch is mounted on the left frame side. The switch is huge and round, I ended up purchasing a 1 3/4" hole saw to seat it in the frame. My rechargeable 6 volt drill actually was able to drive the bit to make the hole. Much hacking and chopping was required, as the aluminum frame member had a cross piece within that needed some attention. The fit is perfect though, it looks really good.

- Fuse holder is installed on the rail near the switch. Like the switch it is sheltered within
the thick frame. I intend to cover the top, perhaps the bottom too with plexiglass to prevent any fingers getting inside.

- The big solenoid/relay is in place, mounted to the rear of the battery cage, re-using a bolt (got to save weight somehow!). When the DC-DC converter is working, I want the ignition key and motor stop/start switch on to activate/deactivate this relay, which will then power/depower the controller (and hence motor/wheels).

- Motor mount. Bob's Machine shop came through, delivered a pricey but well executed piece. I needed to hack it down a touch to account for weld thickness at the base of the original motor mounts. Once cut and confirmed to fit, I spray painted the plate and the other mild-steel cross member flat black to prevent rust - the result looks great. I added a 1" chunk of tube to the cross member to support the plate rather than using some L-brackets I purchased for added support.

- With the motor mount in place, I mounted the motor as per the El Ninja instructions - 4 x 3/4 x 5/16" bolts.

- The small front sprocket got put on next. I need to apply threadlock/etc, but I want to test alignment/get it moving first.

- The chain tool did great pushing out links, but not for putting them back! So I ended up using a master link, a no-no in the ZX-11 manual. 130 hp vs 15, I'll risk it. The chain is also touching the top of the swing arm near the engine compartment - an inch or 2 higher on the mount
would be a good idea. The center kickstand is hitting the chain from the bottom when it is up. Rotating the axle holders to move the axle up has helped, but its not right yet.

- The rear sprocket got reveresed - the inset is now faing the hub to bring the big ring slightly closer to the wheel and to better line up with the small sprocket up front.

- DC-DC converter. Installed in the battery box. Added a fuse holder too, but discovered its only rated for 36 volts and below (?). I am debugging the electrical, looking for a clean 12 volts but have only blown fuses so far. Its a 3 wire system.

- Wiring. I bought a propane torch for melting solder for the big lugs and think wire. I have 14 Gauge wires going from each battery pair to a "stud panel" where I am going to run the chargers too. This should allow the chargers to be removable as a unit with unscrewing some terminals. Perhaps I can find some nice plugs...PC power cables might be the ticket.

- Mounting wires to the battery terminals has been educational. Its a big detail I failed to put much thought into, but the lugs with wires and bolts are really bulky. I padded the 2 batteries I have in tight using thick cardboard, because any motion threatens to short out some terminals accoss the frame somewhere.

Sprocket, Chargers and Tank Action

2007-09-30T21:06:00.000-07:00

Today was Sunday and I got a few hours in the garage:

The big rear sprocket is mounted and has just enough clearance around the swing-arm. I suspect this was not by accident, and it explains the 71 tooth max - #50 sprockets have a bigger diameter than #40 sprockets, a big "DUH" pointed out to me by John Bidwel (El Ninja) in email after it thankfully worked out for me.
I put the 2 chargers I have on a particle-board cover that bolts like a table to the top of the battery cage. I use zip ties to hold the parts in place. I'll go aluminum with it if it works - I would like to mount the chargers lower, but the ability to pull them off as a unit is appealing, and I will do my wiring to allow convenient disconnection from the chargers to allow this.
I washed out the tank with soap, took off the tank hardware and started to try cutting out the bottom. I am doing this to save weight, provide more clearance and do something clever with the hole in the tank - maybe a big e-meter guage or extension cord housing or something. Cutting the tank is really tough with my little hacksaw blade holder, I need to call up Brian with the sawzall and angle grinder.
While looking for ideas for efficiently cutting a motorcycle gas tank, I ran across ads for "Tech Shop" and "The Crucible", places that offer machine shop/welding classes. Tech Shop takes it to a whole new level by providing access like a gym membership or something, would be quite handy if they were not in Menlo Park. Looks like the Crucible set a World Speed Record with a Diesel Motorcycle.
An updated picture of the battery cage. Notice the cross bracing and top rails.

M1 Licensed, Parts Incoming, X-Prize Signup

2007-09-29T00:04:00.000-07:00

The week's bike progress went haywire due to my little son's emergency hospital stay, but its all going forward:

I got my California M1 license in the mail today - Yipee!
I received 2 of the chargers, the front sprocket, chain from Applied Industrial Technoloy and a chain tool via e-bay this week.
Last weekend I got the rear wheel off and new sprocket on after a huge amount of cleaning.
Once clean, I am reading about specific torques and loc-tite to do this right so more stuff ordered. I will slip the wheel on and check tighness when the wrench arrives.
I have a date with www.electromotorsport to get my motor and parts lined up.
The motor mount plate is to be done early next week.

My older son is pestering about going to the moon, which led me to the lunar X-Prize (and I am building a team for that) and I signed a ;letter of intent to compete for the Automotive X-Prize for effiency while visiting.

Mounting the Batteries - Pictures

2007-09-18T01:13:00.000-07:00

I am using 1-1/4 by 1-1/4 plated 18 gauge "L" channel steel to build a structure to hold the batteries in
the previous engine compartment. I am using a piece of 1"x1" square steel as the anchor point between
the new motor area (see big round thing = motor mockup) and the rear of the battery frame.

Erector set style, I connect the pieces up. The original subframe has a cross piece that I try to leverage to hold a battery. Note I needed to create a system of little "L" brackets to keep the batteries from sloshing around.

The batteries are UB12550, about 40 lbs each. I plan to use 5 for 60 volts, each is rated at 55 Amp-hour capacity. I will mount them sideways, terminals starboard side to
be wired up. I am starting with 2 actual batteries for fitment and until I get everything running.

One thing I learned quickly is that the batteries are not exactly square. They widen to towards the top, tapering below. Also, the terminal location interferes with my use of the "L" channel - notice how parts had to be cut out to make space for the terminals.

To create more structure to connect the subframe to the top, I put some L channel across the wide
top of the frame. Here is a view from the seat area.

Note in this picture the addition of extra cross-bracing, using 2"x12 gauge plated steel. This is strong,
heavy stuff, used by "El Ninja"'s creator. I used a big piece UNDER the subframe to reinforce the battery rack under the 80 lbs load directly above.

Big unknowns/risks are trying to actually run wires to the terminals, and getting tie downs in place to
hold the batteries down.

In other news

Ordered a big rear sprocket from sprocketspecialists.com
Ordered 2 Soniel 1212SR 5 amp chargers for onboard mounting
Received my DL389 in the mail, I need to take the DMV written tests.

Passed the MSF Requirements - 1 DMV Test Left...

2007-09-10T12:08:00.000-07:00

I spent the weekend learning how to safely operate a motorcycle via the MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) program endorsed by the CHP (California Highway Patrol). On day 1 I aced the written test, day 2 I went from never starting a motorcycle to riding around, shifting gears and panic stopping. Pretty amazing progress, the course was really regimented and well designed to get people riding. The MSF is sponsored by all the motorcycle manufacturers, so they are motivated to get people up and going, no doubt. Day 3 was doing figure 8's in a tight box, cornering, more braking and swerving, followed by a final evaluation. On the final, you get points for screw ups and are allowed 20 - I got 16 points across the 3 events. Outside the box once, too long in the brake zone, not shifting to 1st after braking were the offenses (the last was 10 points alone). The damn shifting and transmission on motorcycles was my biggest nemesis for the weekend - getting into neutral and missing shifts from 1st to 2nd were my biggest hangups for the course. Covering the brake bicycle style was my worst habit. The maneuvering and even counter-steering is all bicycle (to my relief) and familiar, curving and taking lines was all auto-x braking and head turning.

So I am on the path to getting a license, one little DMV test away. I'm by no means competent, its a very physical activity - its like downhill skiing is to XC, its what windsurfing is to sailing, its really a different deal requiring a lot more skill, attention and even practice than even I expected. The whole traffic/death thing is out there too, but not unfamiliar given the bicycling. I should talk with my cyclist/motorbiker people on that front.

I do need to focus on the task at hand is to build an EV, not be an awesome motorcycle rider, which is too cool, and a potential distraction and likely impossible (remember bump-skiing I say, thinking of the skiis in Pete's basement!).

I am humbled, but excited because in my Tronbike, I leave the shifting behind. Inspired, I made big progess on the battery cage last night with a new infusion of steel and bolts, and found a machine shop to cut my mount properly.

Registration and Insurance

2007-09-06T23:12:00.000-07:00

I registered the Ninja before I went on vacation and already got the new title. It cost my $145 and included a nasty-gram regarding that they check for insurance status on vehicles, and will void the registration if insurance is lacking.

So I called my insurance agent and was told its about $100-$300 to insure, so he suggests putting it in as non-operational until its all working because they only sell insurance to functioning vehicles. I'm not sure I am able to go non-op until my next registration is due, or its voided.

Going through the DMV site I might want to add "hi-voltage" safety messaging to the machine. No special credits for electric conversions, though I may try to hog up some ZEV and parking stickers.

Mounting the Batteries

2007-09-06T23:03:00.000-07:00

I am going for a 60 volt system, 5 12 volt 22NF AGM batteries, model UB12550 specifically. Each weighs about 40 lbs, resulting in a 200lb pack. Oof.

I found a source in Louisianna via EBay that sells 2 at a time. I am starting out with 2 until its definitely all working. I also have a digital charger now via Target, thanks to my car battery dying when I was out of town for 2 weeks.

I went with plated L channel material (1.25 x 1.25 16 gauge) with predrilled holes, allowing me to go "erector set" to build a box in which to hang the batteries. I am concerned about the bolt heads getting in the way, I might need to get screws and/or rounded heads.

I predict I will be adding much cross strapping when the full 200lbs
of batteries is installed. I am also concerned about the battery terminals accidentally contacting the box frame.

Scruba Dub Dub, Hacksawing, and Mockup Success!

2007-08-19T22:11:00.000-07:00

Tired of the filth, I decided to give the chassis a bath. Lots of degreaser and dish soap, I am about 75% there cleaning it out. I still have films and residues of oils and clumps of crud, next bike will be much cleaner (Next bike!?).

Once cleaned, I removed the engine subframe and cut off the mounts using a hacksaw. I attacked the welds using my bicycle stand to hold it all up while I hacked away. I was tempted to buy an angle grinder or Dremel for the purpose, but I should keep some semblance of a budget for this thing. Also, I'd get very distracted with a Dremel laying around.

With the mounts out now, I got the layout determined using the mock-up batteries and motor I had constructed the night before. With the mounts in, I had a lot of trouble getting my 5 batteries to fit with the motor, but sans mounts, everything lined up beautifully into nice straight lines - much easier to work with.

The batteries will be on their sides, 3 in front, and 2 behind before the motor. Notice the screwdriver handle "axle" holding the pancake motor.

TRONBIKES.COM

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

4.2.w Dashboard

The LEAF Has Fallen - Hello BlueOrca!

Solar Powered Tronbike

TBMDuino 4.2.d is ALIVE!

TBMDuino 4-2-d Boards Have Arrived

Got a Chance to Ride, Inspired to TBM_4-2-c "tbmduino"

LED Strip as Daytime Running Lights (DLR)

"Audi" LED Lights as a DRL

Spinning a Board for TBM

Riding Nekkid w/TBM 4.2.s

Bike Doping Analysis

Tronbike - Batteries Out

TTXGP @ Infineon 2010 Wrap-Up

TTXGP @ Infineon This Weekend!

iWhine, no iTronbike Video for You!

No Video of TBM 2.x/iTronbike?

TBM 4.0 Test Ride #1

TBM 4.x, on the Bike!

TBM 4.x, Demo Packaging

TBM 4.X, Boarduino Edition

AGM Performance Decay

Serial TTL to RS-232 Using a MAX232 IC

TBM 4.x Underway, Stay Tuned For Lots More...

TTXGP Inspired - Pulling Together "Team Tronbike"?

Introducing EVroom - Motor Sounds for Electric Vehicles!

TBM2 - Finally Some Good Data

Arduino Tachometer and Temp Gauge

K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid)

Reflashed and Re-Installed!

Back in...Reflashing the ARM Board

Locked Myself Out of TBMNet

TBMNet Update

TTXGP and Getting Back on Track

TBMNet Is Coming Soon

Tronbike 1.2.6 + TBM 1.5 = 'Normal'

TBM 1.5 Headway

New Rear Brake Pads But No Rotor

About TBM2 So Far

Computer Upgrade Underway

MINI E Field Trial - Application Phase Now Open

Normality Reigns

1 Foot Long Power Cables Installed

Tronbike 1.2.6 Up and Running, Then Not

Coroplast, Re-Wiring the Ignition

Teardown and Debug! Magura 0-5kOhm Dead Spots?

For Sale, New TBM Control, Brakes Job Coming

TBM Data Log Plots

1.2.4 Relauch, Back to a 10tooth Front

13 tooth - 50% Mileage Reduction

13 Teeth, Can Tronbike 1.2.3 Drive 55?

Hybrid Tronbike? An Analysis

New Camera Mount, New Videos, New TBM Features

*ELECTRIC* Kawasaki ZX-11 NINJA, 1991 (EV Conversion) - $3595 (berkeley)

*ELECTRIC* Kawasaki ZX-11 NINJA, 1991 (EV Conversion) - $3595 (berkeley)

NEW PRICE - $3595!

1991 Kawasaki ZX-11 "C" *ELECTRIC NINJA* (as in EV) "Project" - $4495 (berkeley)

1.2.2 Declared - A Week of Stable Commuting

Debugged, Thoughts on Going Tankless

Debugging Needed...

User Friendliness

TBM Developments

New DC-DC Converter Installed

Tronbike V1 Drivetrain Wiring Schematic

Smoked My Quda

The Tronbike E-Meter

How To/Not To Weigh Your Electric Motorcycle

Earth Day 2008

My "EV Out Of Gas" Story

V1.2 Launched! 11.1 Miles, 43 mph+

V1.2 Launch Tomorrow!

V1.2 Delayed, New Range Estimates

V1.2 Underway - 60 Volts

Release V1.1.0

TearDown In The Rain, Here Comes V1.1.0

Tronbike 1.0.3 Released!

Vacations, Rain, Distraction and Serial Comm

H.I.D. Installed, Version 1.0.3

LED Bulbs for the Brakes, Signals and Running Lights

ELECTRIC Kawasaki ZX-11 NINJA, 1991 (EV Conversion) - $3595 (berkeley)

ELECTRIC Kawasaki ZX-11 NINJA, 1991 (EV Conversion) - $3595 (berkeley)

1991 Kawasaki ZX-11 "C" ELECTRIC NINJA (as in EV) "Project" - $4495 (berkeley)