tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21755727611537653822024-02-07T06:27:32.983+01:00Electric KartHow we built our own electric kartBy Anthony Liekenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07810936644462230244noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175572761153765382.post-11111628885467571052011-11-14T09:21:00.001+01:002011-11-14T09:50:34.534+01:00Francorchamps 2011The kart has been out for about a year because of a leak in the brake lines. In order to take the kart to Francorchamps once more, we fixed some things. The leak in the brake lines has been fixed, the brakes have been repaired and a complete new set of tires is on the kart.<br />
<br />
So we headed to Francorchamps for the <a href="http://www.24h2cv.be/">24 hours endurance race for 2CVs</a> (we had some friends racing there, and they won!) and had some fun there playing with the kart in the paddock of the Francorchamps circuit.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/9eUL_zhbKyk/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9eUL_zhbKyk?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" />
<param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" />
<embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9eUL_zhbKyk?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div>
<br />
<br />
Other than that, I am now able to replace the kart tires myself. <span style="background-color: transparent;">To break the beats of the tires I built a small lever in my garage ...</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_GXc9Rv8X9bbdFWklqeGCC-UrgEO6VXL8kaRP_ZEeLGnl70J225KOFiA06UMLlMXjU_R0cAwjyIu79RIrIS_vmIpTpPjg6bQwf4PWdOYEfyk7wn2d5iODLRsZDH3EEGr2Uc2V_cbDRgM/s1600/IMG_0734.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_GXc9Rv8X9bbdFWklqeGCC-UrgEO6VXL8kaRP_ZEeLGnl70J225KOFiA06UMLlMXjU_R0cAwjyIu79RIrIS_vmIpTpPjg6bQwf4PWdOYEfyk7wn2d5iODLRsZDH3EEGr2Uc2V_cbDRgM/s320/IMG_0734.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
... so I can remove tires from wheel hubs ...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVCJN81vl7KwpgezJC0M69fVluv02D5jt8HKVGBBnyTO0WI-Yuq0TJx_9WREBtg0AFhV8JPH9X1ei-ndVer0SsIOkQVXtc8BxWbTr6VaCn1vy_iZAM-mxJpS69ZhBDWmsRsN7ECynHCnM/s1600/IMG_0736.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVCJN81vl7KwpgezJC0M69fVluv02D5jt8HKVGBBnyTO0WI-Yuq0TJx_9WREBtg0AFhV8JPH9X1ei-ndVer0SsIOkQVXtc8BxWbTr6VaCn1vy_iZAM-mxJpS69ZhBDWmsRsN7ECynHCnM/s320/IMG_0736.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
... and I built this tire changing station (which is mostly a strong base to which I can fix a wheel hub so I have more hands to fit a tire) ...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjviRVHt7od7Olh0YOWn-9dO2VBkXl1KsMu8gUF17N3TlWlMwbbGsH_DTR5mjzmmnmFSVBwpcGQS5JU-QbjyDs3CjEk5GCGgDqOFmYwrkOCBP3plWoUz2H2tFyl0ig8c6XoaNBqGQvlV9Q/s1600/IMG_0742.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjviRVHt7od7Olh0YOWn-9dO2VBkXl1KsMu8gUF17N3TlWlMwbbGsH_DTR5mjzmmnmFSVBwpcGQS5JU-QbjyDs3CjEk5GCGgDqOFmYwrkOCBP3plWoUz2H2tFyl0ig8c6XoaNBqGQvlV9Q/s320/IMG_0742.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
... so that I can now put new tires on the electric kart!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg83Qa3Lj3jB-QX0t4VZi8zVQKbpFeqfmBHxn1fY8kwM8w6hwDuA5AtPXznDQv4BLOD5hMVPYqB7rG93_HNnF-chdZOL3PPP8VkxwpV32seZCxiu-p-P9Kn7oIDei-6hziysy4JoeI79_I/s1600/IMG_0739.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg83Qa3Lj3jB-QX0t4VZi8zVQKbpFeqfmBHxn1fY8kwM8w6hwDuA5AtPXznDQv4BLOD5hMVPYqB7rG93_HNnF-chdZOL3PPP8VkxwpV32seZCxiu-p-P9Kn7oIDei-6hziysy4JoeI79_I/s320/IMG_0739.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>By Anthony Liekenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07810936644462230244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175572761153765382.post-73554562797431907112010-09-19T22:09:00.017+02:002010-09-20T09:01:01.592+02:00Antwerpen Autovrij 2010It's been a long time since we've taken the kart out to an event, but today we attended Antwerp's car free day. We took the kart out cruising through Antwerp, visiting all of the well-known places, taking our electric kart where no electric kart has gone before.<br /><br />Staf and Louis came along with Tim and myself, they did the final technical checks and prepared the vehicle for launch:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheMfkb-Bz2jXjvjuCwIf_L9yIZNTaCuOFZClsEvYe1oTdPnjElr3fyhAmvO0OThBnkjhFO-gp7Rt0HWT8zec8tK6i-CVA1Y8extSjTcE1gCZiST1G9-Esoxh7GM3lU4xxISyX1OOZMwvs/s1600/DSCI0065.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 354px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheMfkb-Bz2jXjvjuCwIf_L9yIZNTaCuOFZClsEvYe1oTdPnjElr3fyhAmvO0OThBnkjhFO-gp7Rt0HWT8zec8tK6i-CVA1Y8extSjTcE1gCZiST1G9-Esoxh7GM3lU4xxISyX1OOZMwvs/s400/DSCI0065.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518720836960487890" /></a><br /><br />We brought a little wooden wagon to carry around Staf and Louis, but this wagon can be connected to the kart, so we can take multiple kids along for the ride. More people == more fun! In this movie, Louis is steering, but not paying much attention to the road:<br /><br /><center><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lJCfpbQlmqo?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lJCfpbQlmqo?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></center><br /><br />Tim brought his GPS logger along for the ride and has constructed some maps of where we've been around Antwerp. We've covered over 14km on a single charge. Note that most of the time, we were pulling a little wagon with people/kids around as well so the actual range would be a whole lot more ... Our top speed (between pedestrians) was 26kph. The logger produces KML files (to be used with, e.g., Google Earth) and the following maps of some of the fun we had:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFxosse5KdFnUvBknC5KjcXUN3cZFDNikJSbJohbq-CG7WM87VH_ZsHE2iQc9NoKTjFpHYP95qR0bqAX9gWSpNSahPn_b6u06Sy0bjY_b8jEzAmtcK52l7kvnvgAjW1u7_BliZok56Xjs/s1600/Part+1+_+9-19-2010+Map.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 100px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFxosse5KdFnUvBknC5KjcXUN3cZFDNikJSbJohbq-CG7WM87VH_ZsHE2iQc9NoKTjFpHYP95qR0bqAX9gWSpNSahPn_b6u06Sy0bjY_b8jEzAmtcK52l7kvnvgAjW1u7_BliZok56Xjs/s200/Part+1+_+9-19-2010+Map.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518721501021957890" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPFlSVXKGbI3hy5jTjqtUjjoJEmGGjjv0zhBq0mM7k3pf5dmX_qxr9L8iyuUmnb1bxFfewEHJbopIL2FjAfX9rWmCfVDaYTKlCxrFOVVGUHys2vM8FNNruUSUKFxkA9gEMPdSlQbU4kR8/s1600/Part+2+_+9-19-2010+Map.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 100px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPFlSVXKGbI3hy5jTjqtUjjoJEmGGjjv0zhBq0mM7k3pf5dmX_qxr9L8iyuUmnb1bxFfewEHJbopIL2FjAfX9rWmCfVDaYTKlCxrFOVVGUHys2vM8FNNruUSUKFxkA9gEMPdSlQbU4kR8/s200/Part+2+_+9-19-2010+Map.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518721793490628498" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihstONFzn_iOdZ71JAD0glr3bmPnRg6Jl7JHWa1uBLfDn0NASPxnx-UMxJGZbBQ_uSe5t4j7M7CAcLAIGMYes836ia1wwMv6oIsVPh_712dnJ_e_rk2s0zuRrYyupgyBAyamHlf6RQcxU/s1600/Part+3+_+9-19-2010+Map.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 100px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihstONFzn_iOdZ71JAD0glr3bmPnRg6Jl7JHWa1uBLfDn0NASPxnx-UMxJGZbBQ_uSe5t4j7M7CAcLAIGMYes836ia1wwMv6oIsVPh_712dnJ_e_rk2s0zuRrYyupgyBAyamHlf6RQcxU/s200/Part+3+_+9-19-2010+Map.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518722251088576210" /></a><br /><br />In this third part, we tested the pulling power of the kart. In the following movie (in the Nationalestraat), Tim is in the driving seat and Staf is steering, while Louis and myself are in the wagon behind the kart. We drove over 3 kilometers like this. Yes, the kart can easily pull four people (two big, two little) around the streets of Antwerp :)<br /><br /><center><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zZmO1M7WU9A?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zZmO1M7WU9A?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></center><br /><br />After a fucking copper no longer wanted our illegal vehicle on the public road, we abused a basketball terrain for some nutty driving with the kids until the batteries got close to being drained.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEhBqNYUiWi0qp8y2yTso-43SdHUn0ucYOLmoz1cqPMRDsrTUpv2WeIju_XoZtKpbbmKgZ3OMPMEplIAiBNAzKeEqQIsa4EiIEnTutVGrGDBpgio21XO917lou_vhJj-21BS-WCwHNgCc/s1600/Part+4+_+9-19-2010+Map.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 100px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEhBqNYUiWi0qp8y2yTso-43SdHUn0ucYOLmoz1cqPMRDsrTUpv2WeIju_XoZtKpbbmKgZ3OMPMEplIAiBNAzKeEqQIsa4EiIEnTutVGrGDBpgio21XO917lou_vhJj-21BS-WCwHNgCc/s200/Part+4+_+9-19-2010+Map.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518722257825324962" /></a><br /><br />Here's Tim and Marieke taking the kart out for a little drive around the basketball court.<br /><br /><center><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/OZdqJvnfXPo?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/OZdqJvnfXPo?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></center><br /><br />It was another fun day with the kart! We should do this more often ...By Anthony Liekenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07810936644462230244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175572761153765382.post-5577281187825706502009-12-28T14:30:00.003+01:002009-12-28T14:44:22.289+01:00Let's go street legal!The second stage of this project is starting to get underway. I have made an offer on a <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/46204992@N00/sets/72157622514735570/">Ligier JS4</a> microcar, and I'm in the early planning stages of converting that little car into an electric vehicle. Compared to the electric kart, we're setting a few extra challenges.<br /><br />First, we want to search and buy the separate parts ourselves without relying on a complete circuit stolen from a different vehicle as with the kart. This time we'll figure out the combination of a motor, controller, batteries and wiring ourselves.<br /><br />Secondly, we want to build our first street legal car on the smallest budget possible. A microcar is allowed on Belgian roads given that it is not faster than 45kph, its power does not exceed 4000W and its weight (without batteries) is below 350kg. There's no permission or taxes on such cars, but I will need to get limited insurance for the little car.<br /><br />Given our experiences from building the kart, it'll take a few months to plan and perform the conversion, so I can hopefully start driving the car on the road in the summer.By Anthony Liekenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07810936644462230244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175572761153765382.post-74766876240986856582009-11-03T22:42:00.014+01:002009-11-04T00:14:18.880+01:00EventsSince its completion, the kart has been in-and-out of the garage quite frequently. At each opportunity to take the kart out on the street we don't miss it. Everywhere we go, we're approached by crowds of interested onlookers, people turn their heads to see our contraption drive around, people smile. Our kart draws attention from very young to very old, and everyone seems to welcome the growing idea of using electricity as a resource for transportation. We're glad that our kart is becoming an example and a first experience for our audience. (yes, taking the kart out is becoming some sort of a performance)<br /><br />Here's a long post with summaries of events that we attended with the electric kart.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">13-16 August 2009: HAR2009</span><br /><br />The first trip with the electric kart was to <a href="http://har2009.org">HAR2009</a>, the event that was our deadline for completing the kart. The kart was very well received by the participants/hackers/technologists/nerds/... at the conference. Over 100 visitors tested the kart.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLDad2QZqjg2hAchyphenhyphenI7AFZe6TsRhMGmKSa2mrtFNP0YtI14EzyFYj8Pi1ZrzBlrUhQ8WK2DUbmVUuHxTGmax114gYR07nsGok2t9qNhzdRByob-yZmyJFkLTYI_iiD-1NfUbYIuWMyF2E/s1600-h/IMG_7092.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLDad2QZqjg2hAchyphenhyphenI7AFZe6TsRhMGmKSa2mrtFNP0YtI14EzyFYj8Pi1ZrzBlrUhQ8WK2DUbmVUuHxTGmax114gYR07nsGok2t9qNhzdRByob-yZmyJFkLTYI_iiD-1NfUbYIuWMyF2E/s400/IMG_7092.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400002772043717618" /></a><br /><br />In the picture below, you can see the kart in the camping field in front of our tent.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEA5YgKe9kCK9xtwS-_OEEO_dmX7Ck9FIx20hnjaDafoc3UjuM4pIQt5Ohvmu01axSukxHFg0bqcIL9XgX7PoaGJFUDwjDQIfcDOKRyFAbR5LNJKv2tHt0d8LKdlgVPeoI7_oqGcLhtow/s1600-h/3829664165_53d2f0e5b7_o.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEA5YgKe9kCK9xtwS-_OEEO_dmX7Ck9FIx20hnjaDafoc3UjuM4pIQt5Ohvmu01axSukxHFg0bqcIL9XgX7PoaGJFUDwjDQIfcDOKRyFAbR5LNJKv2tHt0d8LKdlgVPeoI7_oqGcLhtow/s400/3829664165_53d2f0e5b7_o.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399999200956412226" /></a><br /><br />If you look closely to the front right wheel in the above picture, you'll see we encountered a small problem, a burst tire. A <a href="http://www.kartingeefde.nl">friendly karting center</a> in the neighborhood provided us with new front slicks, for free! We tipped the guy who willingly changed our tires generously, this saved our weekend!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmSgo-H0oqfX3_3FvqRTXoLJWTnjjGWuX3jN38kZDsOgLTD757I0DJIi0uX6m0hbBiI9sK_JdAsTtw2k7R1ut-nMIBpaq2e7WfZ2vL7o-kV_TznnN3752QIG_zMiniMNPheFTLUsfYm9o/s1600-h/IMG_0407.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmSgo-H0oqfX3_3FvqRTXoLJWTnjjGWuX3jN38kZDsOgLTD757I0DJIi0uX6m0hbBiI9sK_JdAsTtw2k7R1ut-nMIBpaq2e7WfZ2vL7o-kV_TznnN3752QIG_zMiniMNPheFTLUsfYm9o/s400/IMG_0407.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400003159411148962" /></a><br /><br />Here's the rear "blinkenlights" light for the electric we constructed while at HAR2009, doing its thing:<br /><br /><center><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/YdhA_-XRhkE&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/YdhA_-XRhkE&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></center><br /><br />I love the following shot of the electric kart. Hiding from the sun behind a towel, I'm trying to get my EEE PC working on the wireless network of the hacker camp site. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6nysSxw-9qmEHWR1SY441hG2qiyi53rhbP8bvIYRvhbaXZGGQ2PYsVbFPZpcQTOkuLpJyoA9wD-iRlNUiL-VQQIxlQ0uBUDk9vq5Je_qyD9Reenb_fjYWIH27pXYPMj1T3ahxXRoskxQ/s1600-h/RVL_20090813_DSD_8985.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6nysSxw-9qmEHWR1SY441hG2qiyi53rhbP8bvIYRvhbaXZGGQ2PYsVbFPZpcQTOkuLpJyoA9wD-iRlNUiL-VQQIxlQ0uBUDk9vq5Je_qyD9Reenb_fjYWIH27pXYPMj1T3ahxXRoskxQ/s400/RVL_20090813_DSD_8985.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400003566688259634" /></a><br /><br />Summary: Visiting HAR with the electric kart was wicked. We had a blast with our kart and so did many others.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">20 September 2009: Car Free Day in the historical center of Antwerp</span><br /><br />On this sunday, the center of Antwerp was car free. People were invited to come onto the streets, but without their car. Well, as our kart is not considered to be a car by law, we took it downtown and drove it around in the midst of a less technically oriented audience (as compared to HAR2009). The response was beyond what we could've expected, people were very fond of the electric kart. We had various chats with many people, took the kart for some wild spins on the usually crowdy downtown streets, and had lots of fun.<br /><br />Obviously, some hacking was required as well. In the following picture, Tim and Walle are fixing some wiring of the kart at a café on the central market place, smack in the middle of the historical center of Antwerp.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiarsnwXp014nQx_ao7c0lzSO3xKCqW8CMePk5Yonn3tM8VlmE5kN4Qow53rr_RyHKeOrXuJVtniUDAvRrfaR8CFG5_L_Eu7A1K1x0jtHW7-p5eF-Ov_1Sn7DbOfXGoa1Az-lNVWR0hJxg/s1600-h/IMG_0417.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiarsnwXp014nQx_ao7c0lzSO3xKCqW8CMePk5Yonn3tM8VlmE5kN4Qow53rr_RyHKeOrXuJVtniUDAvRrfaR8CFG5_L_Eu7A1K1x0jtHW7-p5eF-Ov_1Sn7DbOfXGoa1Az-lNVWR0hJxg/s400/IMG_0417.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400009401672004226" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">17 October 2009: Spa Francorchamps</span><br /><br />Across the street from my house is a <a href="http://operation2cv.com/">garage that specializes in Citroën 2CV cars</a>. Pieter, the owner of the place, has an extremely modified 2CV car that he enters in the yearly<a href="http://24h2cv.be"> 24 hours endurance for 2CV race cars</a> at the Formula 1 circuit in Spa-Francorchamps. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLv0dLTVAHo3iUjuFjt4pGimOADHRAJ8Mn9Fj21AReEDB16L50zSZUAI-pp0w97J3Nd4MJWYPhBMLkxAFBmu3zXtCU2T3wuLth8hxf5hU2lhHfWv-ZZWAMdUm7tUgx_eVK-ZQpI7THDd0/s1600-h/IMG_0441.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLv0dLTVAHo3iUjuFjt4pGimOADHRAJ8Mn9Fj21AReEDB16L50zSZUAI-pp0w97J3Nd4MJWYPhBMLkxAFBmu3zXtCU2T3wuLth8hxf5hU2lhHfWv-ZZWAMdUm7tUgx_eVK-ZQpI7THDd0/s400/IMG_0441.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400011557685775858" /></a><br /><br />Pieter wanted to take the kart along as a gadget to drive around the terrain. He had a blast, and obviously we (Tim and Anthony) also attended the race to play around with our electric kart. <br /><br /><center><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/DEy06TuvsWo&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/DEy06TuvsWo&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></center><br /><br />Here's the kart in a pit stop, in the same place where F1 cars come for their maintenance :)<br /><br /><center><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/byXX3Sy-fxg&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/byXX3Sy-fxg&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></center><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">3 November 2009: Indoor karting</span><br /><br />Unexpectedly, Pieter had arranged for us to take the kart into the indoor racing track of <a href="http://inkart.be">Inkart</a>. So I got out of work, drove down to the track and had fun to demo the kart to the track owners.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKim6BUZ_LiM98X6xr93HIzhsXlaC9Hs8kM7CydwZBADCgr9hill7h5lqD0c4iSvLRQB_GAvt7YjCcxnjUfUjer7RMNeGgDJqhVeAigwkK0Ssm1Y6M5dCyjgE1yH_pYts_1rwr69whK2g/s1600-h/IMG_0451.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKim6BUZ_LiM98X6xr93HIzhsXlaC9Hs8kM7CydwZBADCgr9hill7h5lqD0c4iSvLRQB_GAvt7YjCcxnjUfUjer7RMNeGgDJqhVeAigwkK0Ssm1Y6M5dCyjgE1yH_pYts_1rwr69whK2g/s400/IMG_0451.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400013562956291810" /></a><br /><br />Everyone who could gave it a try driving it around the track and everyone had experiences to share. Yes, this kart drives very differently because of its non-stop high torque, batteries on more powerful karts unfortunately suck (for now) and no, you don't have the smell and sound of a gas guzzling engine. Developments in technology and the market of batteries are promising and may very soon be changing the whole market of karting as entertainment. It seems that electric karts may just as well become widespread in just a few years' time. We'll keep on evolving and developing our kart to try and get ahead of the hype. Electric kicks gas! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl07PmtZF8wEIN-_BOn5SJzXFnP2qLSuHeoVGLGQIMeZYwmWFgz0Dn_aMwqay81dYLDN5h9lQ50Xme-lgAZmmIvS49fl9TTI0pQ4wMv8hFRn3390OGdHoGcHF0FSVqmDQDiPZ_Lkkyohk/s1600-h/IMG_0456.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl07PmtZF8wEIN-_BOn5SJzXFnP2qLSuHeoVGLGQIMeZYwmWFgz0Dn_aMwqay81dYLDN5h9lQ50Xme-lgAZmmIvS49fl9TTI0pQ4wMv8hFRn3390OGdHoGcHF0FSVqmDQDiPZ_Lkkyohk/s400/IMG_0456.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400014804807749314" /></a><br /><br />So, what's up next? Electric kart version 2.0? More soon.By Anthony Liekenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07810936644462230244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175572761153765382.post-24324956710723700542009-08-05T15:02:00.005+02:002009-08-05T22:43:13.091+02:00Walle drifting with the e-KartTime to step from behind the camera and have some fun ;). Carmen was nice enough to film me testing the kart's drifting capabilities :<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Xtd5E9NAAXs&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Xtd5E9NAAXs&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />We noticed drifting to left is easier than to the right. This might be due to the worn tires. The other possibly is that the weight of the batteries needs some redistributing. This is something to look at together with pimp'ing it with leds during HAR 2009 ;)<br /><br />Tim has worked out a <a href="http://lucason.blogspot.com/2009/08/turn-signal-will-switch-about-10-times.html">simple analogue circuit</a> for breaking and head lights.<br /><br />Second video with even more drifting action from Anthony and me coming soon. Need to capture it from an analogue camera first ;).Walter Schreppershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13696489909089327273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175572761153765382.post-50523997684047391962009-08-03T20:59:00.026+02:002009-08-04T17:20:54.973+02:00Protective hood<div style="text-align: left;">After bumping our elbows on the motor a few times, we were very happy to see Dirk bring the protective hood he made for it. A nicely constructed glas-fiber-epoxy-resin-compound-material that fit perfectly...<br /></div><br />Here is Anthony fixing it on:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu9giU0yMhSfAQm-QYs0xn_IqrZGpOMpkrICxOgrWhcT4jiOGpKACEmHIx1LGbpX5ZGBk7uBpHtGDziZQn0HbItZERpMMwXtZxUZhbNhkE_riBdFIwyeEYacVZhoP5CksH_yscaNnWWb4/s1600-h/IMG_0247.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu9giU0yMhSfAQm-QYs0xn_IqrZGpOMpkrICxOgrWhcT4jiOGpKACEmHIx1LGbpX5ZGBk7uBpHtGDziZQn0HbItZERpMMwXtZxUZhbNhkE_riBdFIwyeEYacVZhoP5CksH_yscaNnWWb4/s320/IMG_0247.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365814876052378306" border="0" /></a><br />The cart with the hood attached:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh28WOcObthiWZEk2hQUbVg4P6Lf2GZ4F8Xk6PkXZokD4baM5fn536KrE6Y5HlMNvH3Nki_Um82yVAbUEDQeBW0HttwOkCGvze6FQPFLuTTw-2AIa77bnaGw9wYqp4F0skJ9xTpZ8HjiAU/s1600-h/IMG_0250.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh28WOcObthiWZEk2hQUbVg4P6Lf2GZ4F8Xk6PkXZokD4baM5fn536KrE6Y5HlMNvH3Nki_Um82yVAbUEDQeBW0HttwOkCGvze6FQPFLuTTw-2AIa77bnaGw9wYqp4F0skJ9xTpZ8HjiAU/s320/IMG_0250.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365815243036519986" border="0" /></a><br />And the builder of the hood testdriving this excellent addition. Thx Dirk!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2qlOLk2mOYxb5kcyuHeBrwlGMv_tvOYVWromcnepWZbYSJWyi9VfrpvJGTV5TbJJjeJldS-8fl6EGZm5bWzeVlU5mlUxC19VlweokP6n9aWfuYNhH_BfQmPHKTRutoea3xNOs2flsaCw/s1600-h/IMG_0253.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 299px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2qlOLk2mOYxb5kcyuHeBrwlGMv_tvOYVWromcnepWZbYSJWyi9VfrpvJGTV5TbJJjeJldS-8fl6EGZm5bWzeVlU5mlUxC19VlweokP6n9aWfuYNhH_BfQmPHKTRutoea3xNOs2flsaCw/s320/IMG_0253.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365815359346244354" border="0" /></a><br />Oh and here is Anthony again enjoying the fact that now increased the safety of the cart... while driving with no hands... hmmm...<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyv343PDRd0YMn_55UAyitIutWWIsaPqWKMLdAwuopf7pPXwYJPWcFDgQG0YY30IiGMp-qYAHO-0U2lOdJmMA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /></div><br /><br />The observant viewer maybe saw that the batteries now have a cardboard cover... Not quite as high tech as our epoxy motor cover, but it keeps us from short-circuiting a55V17A system which does produce quite some fireworks... (trust us)<br /><br />To close this post maybee just one more of Anthony actually trying to lose grip and skid, drift and the likes...<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxUhJV2YccyLiKY9d__5EUrVWnNL4IYNF98IZQjC-dsO3jPQ42MX-oMzhQOss4OKeIhLBV9cf02U8SBWMttXw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Lucasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14905535896563943183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175572761153765382.post-39470867279389682182009-08-03T14:53:00.006+02:002009-08-03T16:02:02.219+02:00Photosynth of the kartHere is an attempted <a href="http://photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=9F016576-2354-4CB7-8D08-DABE51D48299">PhotoSynth </a>of the kart... (you will need to install the silverlight plugin) You can click for different angles and detail of the cart.<br /><br /><a href="http://photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=9F016576-2354-4CB7-8D08-DABE51D48299">http://photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=9F016576-2354-4CB7-8D08-DABE51D48299</a><br /><br />As we are getting more and more comfortable with the safety of the kart, we're taking our kids along in the testdrives now...<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxw44cZxyftRzbT0622fo5Q0Fp_9q8kg9_I9Bpcl-IpGG4zyz1ZShKNleX0m5DrLglQajmChpnrA6AgP1-5JA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Lucasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14905535896563943183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175572761153765382.post-24434415544464273602009-08-01T21:46:00.004+02:002009-08-01T21:53:47.824+02:00A few videos of test driving our electric kart!<div>Finally, here's a video, one of the first test drives of our electric kart, me and Staf doing a little driving for you:</div><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TN2b1aTMCiU&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TN2b1aTMCiU&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><div>Here's video giving an overview of the kart, where you can see many details of the kart's parts.</div><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/C7JF5Trwk2g&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/C7JF5Trwk2g&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>By Anthony Liekenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07810936644462230244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175572761153765382.post-46168095805072370232009-08-01T00:08:00.005+02:002009-08-01T02:06:46.910+02:00Additional construction pictures<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYJPHs7NszPVxGlhsVqj12QlVP5QRuUootVlIiRmGOeN4feA2GE_OS_uAQ2iGzjMkwde9HBgysjEk56ZRhrjeqrkciG1jn8ZlRPo32dHQqpPeByCgpfzxOGQY8V5iJzZoYpB37cW4SoEU/s1600-h/IMG_1586.JPG"></a><div>Some pictures of the final building session have turned up.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here I am starting the final build day with some adjustments for the engine-sprocket connector, to allow the chain a bit of space.</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFHdtSrFHccUoUjuGE7xt8_qZF1TITnWR55lrDptX0iIWeqq-JBy8bhJOMVdRFmmvZNZ4jsz1A7xHa60CxWL-E7t5rBNTRjeAyPcZ7Sy5UAm7dDayhCvWCBfFg4BQTph4NzE9ERGdxfEc/s1600-h/IMG_1585.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFHdtSrFHccUoUjuGE7xt8_qZF1TITnWR55lrDptX0iIWeqq-JBy8bhJOMVdRFmmvZNZ4jsz1A7xHa60CxWL-E7t5rBNTRjeAyPcZ7Sy5UAm7dDayhCvWCBfFg4BQTph4NzE9ERGdxfEc/s400/IMG_1585.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364779146030820594" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0sXKHwfuZB3Y-T0kEDx00KaJrlvDvY4xqL8N0vbPjUvkE7zuCT8uD7Iy1tuLCti8cthCrSER5-HgH-t9KJIcdfRjS1QhMlylL0XvMDKJ0oRJ1u03gtrIhTMTSioXpbC9njlHJJmYw0_M/s1600-h/300720091842.jpg"></a></div><div>Tim (Lucason) joins in on the fun and starts hacking.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYJPHs7NszPVxGlhsVqj12QlVP5QRuUootVlIiRmGOeN4feA2GE_OS_uAQ2iGzjMkwde9HBgysjEk56ZRhrjeqrkciG1jn8ZlRPo32dHQqpPeByCgpfzxOGQY8V5iJzZoYpB37cW4SoEU/s400/IMG_1586.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364779318569092674" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Finishing the final details for the first test ride, getting the tires pumped up and the last wires fixed to the frame.</div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvvNIk76dTL_bSLAsOpFJaJ_4s6-mJMxHLISWdH1_vvOgndXIDMRZQL_ceSNrO3xhpAdD26sGRP5mZu9oPcN1rzvQ7h_2h9sd9-IfIimQB1MJMcc8RnK_fw8Vn6wTq_R8w4djT8xAVg4/s1600-h/300720091839.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvvNIk76dTL_bSLAsOpFJaJ_4s6-mJMxHLISWdH1_vvOgndXIDMRZQL_ceSNrO3xhpAdD26sGRP5mZu9oPcN1rzvQ7h_2h9sd9-IfIimQB1MJMcc8RnK_fw8Vn6wTq_R8w4djT8xAVg4/s400/300720091839.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364749948320581890" /></a>Here I am, during the first test drive. Currently, we can use the foot throttle to speed up, instead of holding the original scooter's throttle, as in this picture:<br /><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3GG7qph97C1HmFSCPOAHJrqThSPfzZbb7lHV270P5mkZxYLTTi6TUbZaoVZ8tr_f2DkXg6fhmBQ2EM1R9LkCvX1I225tfySVgbfzVivGuIk1mSobC48DEnvKJd0xglRvCFhMGLyUFAng/s400/300720091841.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364750058779753906" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></div><div>Here's Lucason with a very suspicious "is this safe?" look on his face, during his first test.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0sXKHwfuZB3Y-T0kEDx00KaJrlvDvY4xqL8N0vbPjUvkE7zuCT8uD7Iy1tuLCti8cthCrSER5-HgH-t9KJIcdfRjS1QhMlylL0XvMDKJ0oRJ1u03gtrIhTMTSioXpbC9njlHJJmYw0_M/s400/300720091842.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364750226188162962" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">As you can see, more people turn up as we're making progress. I'm pretty sure most of our neighbors know of my project by now ...</div></div>By Anthony Liekenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07810936644462230244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175572761153765382.post-49208660521291587472009-07-31T23:39:00.003+02:002009-07-31T23:47:35.783+02:00The drawing board<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_pPzerw5ysxVPMA5UXVOKP4aJO0b1KgO4dT1r8MS_rjNcCqHcqpYa6QvafEg5qK7BeP9Ax5bw7THMvHwyPccwwhFCwZp2Glp42rROBHgHrKnf2Q_LxlepKQ0BU-VmaGomRxSxhMM7BYc/s1600-h/IMG_0360.JPG"></a><div>Today, we've been playing for about 3 hours with the kart. I've seen the whole neighborhood about 10 times, while driving around for about 10km, on a single charge. The kart is an awesome toy, I've had lots of fun practicing drifting and such :)</div><div><br /></div>Here's something different about the kart. My garage door is covered in blackboard paint, and is the perfect place to do some brainstorming, think out little details, and make miscellaneous notes. Here's a picture of the door:<div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_pPzerw5ysxVPMA5UXVOKP4aJO0b1KgO4dT1r8MS_rjNcCqHcqpYa6QvafEg5qK7BeP9Ax5bw7THMvHwyPccwwhFCwZp2Glp42rROBHgHrKnf2Q_LxlepKQ0BU-VmaGomRxSxhMM7BYc/s1600-h/IMG_0360.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_pPzerw5ysxVPMA5UXVOKP4aJO0b1KgO4dT1r8MS_rjNcCqHcqpYa6QvafEg5qK7BeP9Ax5bw7THMvHwyPccwwhFCwZp2Glp42rROBHgHrKnf2Q_LxlepKQ0BU-VmaGomRxSxhMM7BYc/s400/IMG_0360.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364742598209417362" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></a><br /></div><div>From top to bottom, you can see a solo brainstorm on how big the threaded wire needed to be to fit the sprocket on the motor, placement of these threads, some small notes on wiring batteries and the length of the chain, some feminine shapes that Els drew because she felt the garage could use a couple of boobs, a sketch of what the battery frame needed to look like, and various drawings by Staf and Louis.</div>By Anthony Liekenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07810936644462230244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175572761153765382.post-87817918197134267632009-07-31T10:28:00.005+02:002009-07-31T10:48:57.400+02:00Eureka! It works!<div style="text-align: left;">Yesterday, we've had a very successful day getting all the parts together in order to build a first fully running prototype of our electric kart (with the help from Tim and many spectators). We got the whole kart to work quite easily and got a whole bunch of initial test rides out of the kart. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We've had a blast, the kart is lots of fun! As far as building an electric kart goes, I think we have completed this mission quite successfully!</div><div><br /></div><div>Here's a few pictures of the completed kart contraption:</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhyx1DNy82dOmxVUwuOHZVtMJXTDmob1in09LsWMMneApqYaLGOLZ0WB9QMWbSkCUZTJMU6q4REgoy9SZV-B4wO8iKqK0xYiDqlm6DRrVKAjwWrkeRYPWFzxRC9NEXZKKEK0mx1f9Hy7I/s400/IMG_0353.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364539095942700754" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfM1K9swNfMQGQiTTTH3TBQNKvpLaTyN1lf9PVvQP2hfI7i9k5QyAdQxJNLgnQr9zKhkwyvWcgG3QUOTR8qXCDcQP2nM51Fv0v8oYTtj_tbnGMLcxWzc7k7R9YJ40T1egcSr1Jwjk4RE4/s400/IMG_0356.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364539327413761906" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_QNRlmFnAhqsIVd1AZQGy7XVOmCWC5SI9Fg5NOpESMo1z3RjEzQVz6DJPhjYZwMdBhS_wnhxGIe0GDNg_ljhj2uqLvyuWhVgZrvumS_Oyn67T3NAgH-nk_NkL6lttrePzQa-4pmtoJgY/s400/IMG_0354.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364539263659463746" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></span></div><div style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><div style="text-align: left;">I don't have any videos of the kart in action here yet, but there were some people that had their cameras so I'm sure we'll have a video up here soon to show the kart's driving capabilities.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm very happy with the end result, how well it drives, and that I was actually able to build it myself, with the help of good friends. The idea has been spooking around my head for about a year now, it has taken a lot of brainstorming time, and the actual build has been less than a full-time week.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The kart drives perfectly, just as we hoped for. It has great torque so it speeds up nicely. It's current top speed is about 25kph, as expected. By changing the gear ratios on the transmission we can easily get more speed out of the kart, so that's one of the upcoming todos. We've bumped into some new problems, such as the brakes breaking down on us, and some new creative ideas to pimp the kart, so more action is about to come to the kart.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">There's lots of little details that went into finishing the kart, but I'll spend some time explaining these details in later blog posts. For now, it's playtime! W00t!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Hack the planet!!!</div></span></span></div>By Anthony Liekenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07810936644462230244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175572761153765382.post-55078165298553617532009-07-29T15:33:00.001+02:002009-07-29T15:34:37.542+02:00Video of motor in actionHere is the stripped assembly in action, showing the motor, controller, batteries and potentiometer all working together without the scooter:<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/g2q5593hPKY&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/g2q5593hPKY&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Walter Schreppershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13696489909089327273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175572761153765382.post-48269738502858887482009-07-29T09:14:00.003+02:002009-07-29T09:23:51.139+02:00We have all the parts ...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmu0ptGxS2Ih-tpuqzKRO9bZ2zjPqLHk8TRYeQpCNm6FUrWDobVlqW7n5rqMdYAKTef-62MXxrRNHEw-bmLgDTZgDuOE5Uxg55dZYyo0QSioZSdRW8AUavP3eCDuJH3ZCX6PSfIaDK2gM/s1600-h/IMG_0351.JPG"></a>We now have all the parts for finishing the electric kart.<div><br /></div><div>Yesterday, I bought two sets of chains so we can finish the transmission for the kart. I needed to buy two sets as we have a pretty big transmission and we'll need to connect the chains together to bridge the length between the sprockets.</div><div><br /></div><div>Yesterday evening, together with Walle, we extracted the minimal circuit needed to run the motor from the electric scooter. Below is a low quality picture of the circuit, it shows (from top to bottom) the batteries (still in their boxes but wired up), our main switch, the controller, the throttle, and the motor in its mounting frame. We found some crazy extras in the scooter, like a simple pushbutton that implements a genuine cruise control, but for now we're going minimal.</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmu0ptGxS2Ih-tpuqzKRO9bZ2zjPqLHk8TRYeQpCNm6FUrWDobVlqW7n5rqMdYAKTef-62MXxrRNHEw-bmLgDTZgDuOE5Uxg55dZYyo0QSioZSdRW8AUavP3eCDuJH3ZCX6PSfIaDK2gM/s1600-h/IMG_0351.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmu0ptGxS2Ih-tpuqzKRO9bZ2zjPqLHk8TRYeQpCNm6FUrWDobVlqW7n5rqMdYAKTef-62MXxrRNHEw-bmLgDTZgDuOE5Uxg55dZYyo0QSioZSdRW8AUavP3eCDuJH3ZCX6PSfIaDK2gM/s400/IMG_0351.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363778349710271506" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></a><br /></div><div>Tomorrow, Thursday, we'll be finishing the scooter by integrating these electronics on the kart, aligning the sprockets by chaining it up, and hopefully take it out for an initial test drive out on the street.</div>By Anthony Liekenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07810936644462230244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175572761153765382.post-10001918151256390892009-07-27T22:56:00.004+02:002009-07-27T23:04:17.837+02:00Rear axle sprocket & initial alignment<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq6-CBnMGooNe2Neq3xpl2F-qBwGqT5yiJPbPMPyLpjC3mSgfkxfwqfMKsMZTJ7HQ6tl9SuoREvGtT1KEGM14tPb_t_eAg_aUEGi6-qHEdpi0fv43htWfkspbCJqdf5RuA66mYfmOMKgo/s1600-h/IMG_0348.JPG"></a>I've installed the sprocket on the rear axle, and did some work trying to get it aligned with the sprocket on the motor. Looks good so far, I've installed many bolts on all parts so I can get the remaining wobbles out of the way and the axles and sprockets parallel to each other. Tomorrow, I'll go and get a chain so we can test the alignment and further perfect it.<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq6-CBnMGooNe2Neq3xpl2F-qBwGqT5yiJPbPMPyLpjC3mSgfkxfwqfMKsMZTJ7HQ6tl9SuoREvGtT1KEGM14tPb_t_eAg_aUEGi6-qHEdpi0fv43htWfkspbCJqdf5RuA66mYfmOMKgo/s1600-h/IMG_0348.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq6-CBnMGooNe2Neq3xpl2F-qBwGqT5yiJPbPMPyLpjC3mSgfkxfwqfMKsMZTJ7HQ6tl9SuoREvGtT1KEGM14tPb_t_eAg_aUEGi6-qHEdpi0fv43htWfkspbCJqdf5RuA66mYfmOMKgo/s400/IMG_0348.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363247528326761154" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></a><br /></div><div>Tomorrow, I'll join Walle and the remainders of the electric scooter to extract all the cabling and electronics. When that's done we'll have all the parts together for the first time! I guess it'll take another evening's work on getting the electronics installed in preparation for a first test run. We're getting really, really close now.</div>By Anthony Liekenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07810936644462230244noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175572761153765382.post-89754326562832694332009-07-26T00:59:00.005+02:002009-07-26T01:17:38.426+02:00Sideproject: Motor cover<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvE8-V_Eezh4BivFW0haYrmwIySgHXrY1myP4AOPqp3FRVacupjMz7KPJF1vV60p3_csKRbuZ03vWtQbrx5nXBWyv9o33xsjoTm-cv_7Na8Is6YqCXFLd1vEj7qnB8V693d4OuPjnJx6c/s1600-h/IMG_0343.JPG"></a>Dirk brought in the idea to build a protective cover for the engine. The whole motor will be rotating at 450RPM (that's slow for a motor, but fast enough for the putative cutting off of arms and stuff), and is located just right of the driver. Dirk wants to gain some experience points with regards to creating epoxy shapes and building molds to create those shapes, so covering up the dangerous motor is a great test project for learning those techniques.<div><br /></div><div>Here's a picture of the wooden frame that will serve as the base for our protective cover ...</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC8-Z7Z-K-ii7mHlFNKQOoXPwiVVWYNI3EnikYiKeYXXzUEFMlt_85Gr32pXJMT9-MMXWnvtXMwEk0uJtruWTT575icICkFA4ZLRCteqM-3oT42OKA_rK65U2o_f8sctzrK7Pgzt_Feeo/s1600-h/IMG_0342.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC8-Z7Z-K-ii7mHlFNKQOoXPwiVVWYNI3EnikYiKeYXXzUEFMlt_85Gr32pXJMT9-MMXWnvtXMwEk0uJtruWTT575icICkFA4ZLRCteqM-3oT42OKA_rK65U2o_f8sctzrK7Pgzt_Feeo/s400/IMG_0342.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362537739241340546" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a><br /></div><div>... and here it is, all wired up, ready to become plastered and covered in epoxy, for the final cover:</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvE8-V_Eezh4BivFW0haYrmwIySgHXrY1myP4AOPqp3FRVacupjMz7KPJF1vV60p3_csKRbuZ03vWtQbrx5nXBWyv9o33xsjoTm-cv_7Na8Is6YqCXFLd1vEj7qnB8V693d4OuPjnJx6c/s1600-h/IMG_0343.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvE8-V_Eezh4BivFW0haYrmwIySgHXrY1myP4AOPqp3FRVacupjMz7KPJF1vV60p3_csKRbuZ03vWtQbrx5nXBWyv9o33xsjoTm-cv_7Na8Is6YqCXFLd1vEj7qnB8V693d4OuPjnJx6c/s400/IMG_0343.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362538089069109090" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a><br /></div><div>Do you notice the armrest? It will feature a cup holder, too.</div>By Anthony Liekenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07810936644462230244noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175572761153765382.post-74102074728880238572009-07-24T23:04:00.004+02:002009-07-29T09:11:47.007+02:00Electric Kart possible future versionThis is for version 2 probably (not enough time to get it done for WTH).<br />But we can use these type of batteries in series (about 32 in series for 48v) they seem to be cheaper and higher AH than lead acid's. But do require a bit of soldering... Also their using a 70000watt motor compared to our humble 500Watts ;)<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FF0000;">Please note: This is not our kart!</span><br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bERjkSTYOdU&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bERjkSTYOdU&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object></div>Walter Schreppershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13696489909089327273noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175572761153765382.post-14601544636711599112009-07-24T15:39:00.004+02:002009-07-24T15:48:52.877+02:00Batteries mounted<div style="text-align: left;">Today, I welded a frame to hold the batteries. Batteries can now easily be mounted onto the kart, and swapped with new packs (we'll get more, new batteries tomorrow) when they run out of juice.</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QRUdoe3ZExw/Smm6EOYSD5I/AAAAAAAAAD8/ogwASWLST3s/s1600-h/IMG_0328.JPG" style="text-decoration: none;"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QRUdoe3ZExw/Smm6EOYSD5I/AAAAAAAAAD8/ogwASWLST3s/s400/IMG_0328.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362021413103472530" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>The biggest/loudest/hardest/most daunting parts are now finished. We still need to mount a sprocket on the rear axle (using standard kart parts), align the motor with the rear axle, and get some electronics and cabling on the kart to actually be able to drive it.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-O6BPDPZRxWQDEe374bepbZfq9GWSne2yq-z_Z_ofcXOsXHLmeXfLfSVreKT6FgBIXQ9NoSZUW91GSLrJgBTKlWVRQHZCBxr2Nlltw2RDGr4rtxIVvI5F7XURmjfYJSfFwS9XEzUk8rE/s400/IMG_0327.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362023084911874514" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></div><div><br /></div><div>The finish is in sight, and I finished all the jobs that I wanted to do this week. Excellent!</div>By Anthony Liekenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07810936644462230244noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175572761153765382.post-62932886774304250392009-07-24T08:38:00.007+02:002009-07-24T09:08:12.264+02:00Putting things together<div>I'm putting things together at a steadier pace than I had hoped for. While working on the kart, browsing through the metal parts store and having lots of visits from friends and neighbors (the kart attracts hordes of testosterone driven organisms), we're imagining all sorts of creative ways to build simple and sturdy parts for the kart. I've taken a few days off from work this week, and I feel I'm spending these days well on trying to do something semi useful.</div><div><br /></div><div>The following picture shows the construction details of how I have mounted the sprocket to the engine. We found a tightening ring that perfectly fits around our engine's drum brake, I've welded some threaded wires to them, perfectly aligned with the existing holes in the sprocket. We're confident it'll be a strong design, the simple construction is a plus.</div><div><br /></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7F6lKsjtv8Dg9j7rgRhMSpVSFfI9z-sze8IShAL5HvrBl7eHq37UhdHI4lmHx3Aa8eaaEBNWDYbsRIWM_GYcr8mhjqLi8t5n7h5tcg7XPF4oQ2JhrsJ6zI79r5Rn_IXEfatuL2Ag2vNE/s400/IMG_0323.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361913164374779986" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /><br /></span><div>Here's the kart with it the motor mounted in its frame, and my two little kart-crazy dudes (Clicky-click for more details):</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGEGAQsOfBKtvBwzYAOIb1RcdVIpm7Jib4cZCvT3RfE9I7mrH6QsfhQtS17qq_hEMaYU8sCe6b7w8MYZpMz3OaVkngcJ79ZGyHy-N3VJf7jb9bXqWKPTdYuwQzggu5aOcbvpLsTCZ1Hms/s1600-h/IMG_0326.JPG"></a><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGEGAQsOfBKtvBwzYAOIb1RcdVIpm7Jib4cZCvT3RfE9I7mrH6QsfhQtS17qq_hEMaYU8sCe6b7w8MYZpMz3OaVkngcJ79ZGyHy-N3VJf7jb9bXqWKPTdYuwQzggu5aOcbvpLsTCZ1Hms/s1600-h/IMG_0326.JPG" style="text-decoration: none;"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGEGAQsOfBKtvBwzYAOIb1RcdVIpm7Jib4cZCvT3RfE9I7mrH6QsfhQtS17qq_hEMaYU8sCe6b7w8MYZpMz3OaVkngcJ79ZGyHy-N3VJf7jb9bXqWKPTdYuwQzggu5aOcbvpLsTCZ1Hms/s400/IMG_0326.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361913430005466642" /></a><br />Today, I'll be welding a rack for mounting the batteries to the kart. We'll have the rear axle sprocket on Monday, so we can perfectly align the sprockets by tuning the placement of the motor in the frame.</div></div>By Anthony Liekenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07810936644462230244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175572761153765382.post-40439085906984047532009-07-24T03:10:00.007+02:002009-07-24T04:29:49.079+02:00E-Scooter dissassemblyHere some pictures of the electric scooter dissassembly.<br />This is the scooter stripped of batteries and engine.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOKqyUjqzfu3ndBSoJYP2Jh-F1paBNesJKxtUngq_uylqmmGj6D9u3z6VWQiqryKRcAbTQQ0tu_S8iAwaIrvwbcCc9lcqbouXfplIbxOY8pQPUtbT8yjOa4iMWyOAXhuybsdO5kEd9aVo/s1600-h/PIC-0511.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOKqyUjqzfu3ndBSoJYP2Jh-F1paBNesJKxtUngq_uylqmmGj6D9u3z6VWQiqryKRcAbTQQ0tu_S8iAwaIrvwbcCc9lcqbouXfplIbxOY8pQPUtbT8yjOa4iMWyOAXhuybsdO5kEd9aVo/s320/PIC-0511.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361846671501920882" border="0" /></a><br /><br />After removing the seat and batteries the controller is now in sight.<br />This does PWM for the 5 fase 500Watt motor:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTA5ixO41Ty5xAEpaFO72XvWNX4e0OszBjNWBHVZwksAmlT0cncAI24UAITOlTLQ23cgnIga-pxQKKe3gF5dO6gZ0RCHyAMwjfLsJYajxIa_SAHJ8RigHverhGhpsH-JUOh43vi2jl1PE/s1600-h/PIC-0512.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTA5ixO41Ty5xAEpaFO72XvWNX4e0OszBjNWBHVZwksAmlT0cncAI24UAITOlTLQ23cgnIga-pxQKKe3gF5dO6gZ0RCHyAMwjfLsJYajxIa_SAHJ8RigHverhGhpsH-JUOh43vi2jl1PE/s320/PIC-0512.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361847326491682130" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Here we have the final part needed for our setup, the<br />acceleration control and cabling for lights revealed after removing front panels:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU1gp-mCrPg6g4i-wJDVP3eXs0cMPAPT16jFB7glgCmbWyeZ7KuwHvNJijLiMhBFp_aWwBTLEILayORhYkPPPc8zVY944cJYqihn9rEMCA7I-gisopM3J_FWjhtebm9diLEQcGpCgskk0/s1600-h/PIC-0516.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU1gp-mCrPg6g4i-wJDVP3eXs0cMPAPT16jFB7glgCmbWyeZ7KuwHvNJijLiMhBFp_aWwBTLEILayORhYkPPPc8zVY944cJYqihn9rEMCA7I-gisopM3J_FWjhtebm9diLEQcGpCgskk0/s320/PIC-0516.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361847944942333570" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Planning on where the motor should go, also we measured the diameter of the<br />cart wheels and the original scooter wheel. The scooter wheel was 40cm, the karts wheel is<br />25cm. This turns out to be a good ratio 5/8ts. Or with a 1/1 gear ratio the kart will go 5/8'ts of the scooter maximum speed (roughly 40 km/h so the e-kart will go roughly 25 km/h) but with some extra pulling power (faster accelleration). :<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinZ4ux4BzeHn6qQqAwY4PfZ9wFYmaSsMtv5l2IlZbTieTyJr-DpYkYtv_HNeu4c67NLacMlnm2dWLNVGVyci-e7yLD2sgLMBL100O0JxrqLst5yb_H8a184KWnhTyx2LLLxOmNfzVVB48/s1600-h/PIC-0499.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinZ4ux4BzeHn6qQqAwY4PfZ9wFYmaSsMtv5l2IlZbTieTyJr-DpYkYtv_HNeu4c67NLacMlnm2dWLNVGVyci-e7yLD2sgLMBL100O0JxrqLst5yb_H8a184KWnhTyx2LLLxOmNfzVVB48/s320/PIC-0499.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361843245213970322" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Motor mounted on kart and original scooter batteries for testing in background,<br />we plan to upgrade these batteries with ones that have a better capacity.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjosir5FhNig7go8nPuQ9YT_k2j2wNsshzlHXKVXZH-O8lQJz47n0aLO_6CO2WTT2vXkjz2gpBqzyCp2uyWekamavVPBe9WjjkuBFyUpB7dMSqlJgUOnT_V2JeieqIe6Plt4KR0dTkArdU/s1600-h/PIC-0510.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjosir5FhNig7go8nPuQ9YT_k2j2wNsshzlHXKVXZH-O8lQJz47n0aLO_6CO2WTT2vXkjz2gpBqzyCp2uyWekamavVPBe9WjjkuBFyUpB7dMSqlJgUOnT_V2JeieqIe6Plt4KR0dTkArdU/s320/PIC-0510.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361842589277395394" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Second gear and chain will be mounted tomorrow together with the batteries.<br />So stay tuned! Time to get some sleep now ;)<br /><br />That's all folks!Walter Schreppershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13696489909089327273noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175572761153765382.post-28379084110515861942009-07-22T23:59:00.008+02:002009-07-23T00:41:52.047+02:00Construction!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4JscPgdaWLYWInRWJ4YyD7RbYIh7SHD-TNbAXyERNCVWmm5g37CDyZuZxajDZ2rpNA9LF3GEysODBSX6ORuUdnNX7NsgRmWrdipH6PxkP4FBwyewBOzCm1FZ8Jvx0lLZa_lvNI9ZJKMo/s1600-h/IMG_0321.JPG"></a><div style="text-align: left;">Finally, I've been doing some construction for the electric kart. Here's (part of) my setup out in front of my garage, earlier today. Be reminded that I'm a complete rookie when it comes down to this type of mechanical construction work shizzle.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRXeM5KdM_YF5eCNBQe9sAUYL-zkB99kwU5jhPKavvkks3zWw7COwDBJjIRVFI71BkLAalpWSrdn-XHfzizOVY3CYVm68JGo3H2g_oQaMqWS83_aWKT4RU2yPbVzpWK8k8W_Ylurhtx1o/s1600-h/IMG_0316.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRXeM5KdM_YF5eCNBQe9sAUYL-zkB99kwU5jhPKavvkks3zWw7COwDBJjIRVFI71BkLAalpWSrdn-XHfzizOVY3CYVm68JGo3H2g_oQaMqWS83_aWKT4RU2yPbVzpWK8k8W_Ylurhtx1o/s400/IMG_0316.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361408253878389362" /></a><br />We have decided not to break the scooter or any of its parts, we just want to use the parts in a non-destructive manner. This requires some extra creativity, but it must be possible not to break the scooter while extracting parts, get a modular system running on the kart and rebuild the scooter with the extracted parts once upon a time.</div><div><br /></div><div>I've been welding a metal frame to hold our hub motor onto the kart, as in the next picture. This was my first time at trying to weld something useful, it looks more like diarrhea than smooth welding joints. But it sticks. The frame is pretty modular, and is easily and strongly bolted onto the kart's frame. The last job left is that I need to cut grooves in the standing bars so that the motor can rest in them. This needs to be done precisely, such that our motor's axle aligns exactly parallel with the rear axle.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH9607uX6OCx0BKhOh_hbrvWbcneOZ090_Z_OnAfDX82XqHrmiqUeWjruWyejHjgt0aD8FzlNWydAebdrVH276qolKP4jOb-XCuubF7bfJPjYZ0qlSaT4c2oJe7K6ZdSDvMudJhxTmPfE/s400/IMG_0318.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361409813063136066" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span><div><br /></div><div>Below is a picture of the motor and a sprocket that we bought from the local karting shop. With Dale's help, we found a ring that tightens perfectly around our motor's built-in drum brake (you can see the ring in the picture, separating the motor and sprocket). I'll weld (6) screw threads onto the ring, which can then be used to fasten the sprocket to the rotating engine with bolts. This seems to be the simplest and strongest solution that we can figure out. (Together with Walle and Dirk I had some discussions about other (flawed?) designs, it's now all upside-down, inside out).</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4JscPgdaWLYWInRWJ4YyD7RbYIh7SHD-TNbAXyERNCVWmm5g37CDyZuZxajDZ2rpNA9LF3GEysODBSX6ORuUdnNX7NsgRmWrdipH6PxkP4FBwyewBOzCm1FZ8Jvx0lLZa_lvNI9ZJKMo/s1600-h/IMG_0321.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4JscPgdaWLYWInRWJ4YyD7RbYIh7SHD-TNbAXyERNCVWmm5g37CDyZuZxajDZ2rpNA9LF3GEysODBSX6ORuUdnNX7NsgRmWrdipH6PxkP4FBwyewBOzCm1FZ8Jvx0lLZa_lvNI9ZJKMo/s400/IMG_0321.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361413005145875890" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>I'm getting more optimistic at getting a running kart by HAR 2009.</div><div><br /></div><div>Btw, in the process, I've been cutting/drilling/welding/burning my fingers/eyes/balls as well. Nothing lethal, so far. </div><div><br /></div><div>EXP +10.</div></div></div>By Anthony Liekenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07810936644462230244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175572761153765382.post-57297489985310828392009-07-17T23:39:00.005+02:002009-07-18T00:35:19.371+02:00We have a scooter, keys, and destruction on our mindsWe received the keys to our electric, not street-legal, crap construction, cheap Chinese import scooter.<div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTlomFVECAYXJ2p7kSEvcwEO5htQ36Dn3ZU1aNRsIyyuiiZihMwZdU4qW47UyyjHRSkRkbwiHiJPfU4SZf1ZiIz_ZkZs7RlegyL9diHjnpHv-1f_23BBkgyH_8tAoGcH7KoGlh4JkXtQo/s1600-h/IMG_0277.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTlomFVECAYXJ2p7kSEvcwEO5htQ36Dn3ZU1aNRsIyyuiiZihMwZdU4qW47UyyjHRSkRkbwiHiJPfU4SZf1ZiIz_ZkZs7RlegyL9diHjnpHv-1f_23BBkgyH_8tAoGcH7KoGlh4JkXtQo/s400/IMG_0277.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359547350969886978" /></a><br /><div>It looks great in this photo, but it's only worth being destroyed to the bone in order to reuse some essential parts for a new life on our kart's frame. The batteries are pretty much dead, being abused while in stock for too long. We can run for about 500 meters on a night's charge, easily going up to 45 kilometers per hour. But after that, the batteries have already run out of juice. </div><div><br /></div><div>We'll go and get some new batteries with great amp hours, duct-tape them to the rack at the back of the scooter, and run it again to see whether we get everything good to go out of the scooter and onto the kart. This is quite a remarkable adventure, as the brakes on the scooter are out of order - not that they were any good when we started - but we broke them taking apart the scooter for the first time.</div><div><br /></div><div>We're trying to get a naked scooter now. We're tearing off cheap plastic panels to access the wiring and electric parts. We're shortcutting useless stuff (like the brakes, heh) and trying to determine the importance of the (few) parts that we need to get a kart running on electricity.</div><div><br /></div><div>Our first try at really getting an understanding of the scooter's mysterious internals, was to take the back wheel out, which contains the motor, and see how destructive we could get on it. We nearly killed it doing so ... But shortly after forcibly putting the metal parts back together with a hammer, we were riding our brakeless scooter, until the batteries kept dying on us again.</div><div><br /></div><div>Again, we learned plenty new things. And we're ready for the next step.</div></div>By Anthony Liekenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07810936644462230244noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175572761153765382.post-75245895811603370392009-07-12T12:21:00.002+02:002009-07-12T12:53:43.258+02:00We have a scooter (but no keys)We have picked up our electric scooter yesterday. It's a chinese made "Hao Shun" brand scooter. It sports a set of four 12V batteries under the seat, and a 48V hub motor. The keys to the bike haven't been handed over yet, so we haven't seen it in action yet. Just to make sure everything works, we're not starting to destroy the bike as of yet. Unfortunately, another delay is upon us because of this.<div><br /></div><div>A first problem that needs answering is how we're going to integrate the hub motor, i.e., our motor is embedded in the scooter's rear wheel. This is a common design element in electric scooters (no way this can be done with a gas motor) because it saves energy as there's no friction loss from sprockets or chains in the transmission to the wheel.</div><div><br /></div><div>In our scooter's motor, the axle is fixed and the wheel with the motor inside rotates. Usually, you would expect a fixed motor with a rotating axle. These are in theory the same things, but there's one difference that needs to be addressed; In the scooter, electricity is being fed to the motor with cables that run through the motor's axle, and not via external connectors to the (rotating) motor block. </div><div><br /></div><div>As our kart's wheels are smaller than the engine, we'll have to build a transmission from our engine to our rear axle. And since I doubt that we will be able to refit the cables to the engine's block instead of its axle, we'll need to find a way to somehow have a (dangerously) rotating engine with a fixed axle built on top of our kart (e.g., by reusing the fork of the scooter's rear wheel, welded to the kart's engine mount). Additionally, we'll have to fit the rotating engine with a sprocket in order to distribute the rotation to our kart's rear axle and wheels.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, there's a little bit of progress, and a little bit of extra complexity now. There'll be more to come when we get the keys to our scooter.</div>By Anthony Liekenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07810936644462230244noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175572761153765382.post-24404621095179411992009-07-11T12:16:00.003+02:002009-07-11T12:27:21.598+02:00Time for some progressOver the last few months, we've been stuck with budget problems. Getting a motor (like an E-tek R), a controller (like an AllTrax AXE), batteries (4 standard 12V car batteries), battery charger and various parts (cables, components) would've easily set us back 1500 euros, which is quite expensive for building a prototype electric car, just for the fun of building it.<div><br /></div><div>But today, we're at the end of a long quest trying to find a solution for this problem. We've found an importer of Chinese electric scooters in Turnhout. His warehouse/garage is packed with a bunch of electric scooters that aren't allowed on the Belgian market, or on Belgian roads as they're not licensed. </div><div><br /></div><div>This afternoon, we'll be picking up one of these brand new scooters for about a third of the price we would've paid for separate parts, and we'll have a complete kit to build our kart. The scooter will have a motor, batteries, various electronics and wiring, even stuff like a battery charger will be included. So the plan for the rest of today is to go and pick up this scooter, drive a few rounds with it in order to see how great it is, and then, immediately start tearing apart the shiny, brand new scooter. We'll be extracting the electronics from the scooter, get it back to work outside of the scooter's body, and in the mean time we'll research ways to mount it on our kart.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's a bit of a shame that we'll be destroying a new scooter, but it'll save us quite a few bucks. </div><div><br /></div><div>More updates will arrive soon, as time is becoming sparse. We have 1 month left before our showcase at Hacking at Random.</div>By Anthony Liekenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07810936644462230244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175572761153765382.post-71183195434513815682009-03-14T02:23:00.002+01:002009-03-14T02:41:59.219+01:00Agni MotorsReceived pricing and MOQ from Agni Motors today, prices start at 830 euro.<br />These motors have the best specifications but unfortunately also the highest price tag (brushless etc.). But it is still a resource to remember (prices drop dramatically if we buy 2501 units for instance, to less than 400 euro per unit.)<br /><br />So for now the ETEK-R motor is the best price/quality solution for our electric kart since it can be found easily for almost half the price on various <a href="http://www.electricvehiclesusa.com/product_p/mo-etek-r.htm">webshops</a>.Walter Schreppershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13696489909089327273noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175572761153765382.post-117769325086112972009-03-08T00:15:00.009+01:002009-03-08T22:34:45.886+01:00Gas is dead, long live electric!Somehow, I have to provide reasoning for going electric when I'm telling people about our project to put an electric engine instead of a fuel engine on our homemade kart. It seems pretty obvious to us: Fossil fuel powered vehicles are dead, long live electric! The list of reasons why we believe that electric vehicles are about to reign the world seems endless.<br /><br /><span>The first reason is so obvious, I'll just mention it without a rant: </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Burning fuel is bad</span> for our environment. 'Nough said.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">We're out of gas.</span> Some people may argue that we still have plenty of gas for a few decades, but on a scale of technological shifts, the fossil fuel era is over. We simple <span style="font-style: italic;">have</span> to shift to a new power source for our transportation, there's no choice here, so we'll do it. We're going to put batteries or fuel cells in our cars while shifting out fossil fuel munching monsters. Even Ford CEO Alan Mulally has <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/ousivMolt/idUSTRE5240ZZ20090305?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0">stated</a> a few days ago that <span style="font-style: italic;">"In 10 years, 12 years, you are going to see a major portion of our portfolio move to electric vehicles."</span> I'm convinced that this will be quite a good projection on the timing of the introduction of renewables. We're still having a big economic crisis on our hands, but we have learned that the situation requires a shift in thinking on many levels, which provides amazing opportunities for the environment and our economy. On her visit to Belgium over the last few days, Hillary Clinton <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE5251VN20090306?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews">stated</a> <span style="font-style: italic;">"never waste a good crisis,"</span> and highlighted the opportunity of rebuilding economies in a greener, less energy-intensive way. Yay, I like the vibe of that statement!<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Gas is expensive.</span> The cost per kilometer for the <a href="http://www.teslamotors.com/">Tesla roadster</a> is 0.01€ where the cost of a gas powered car will easily be about 25 times that high! So maybe you're happy that the prices of gas have been dropping considerably over the last few months, it's still insanely expensive if you compare it to the newly emerging alternatives. Note that gas is taxed very heavily and the shift away from gas will imply that our governments will experience a pretty big loss in tax incomes.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fuel powered engines are inefficient. </span>The Tesla roadster averages its efficiency at <a href="http://www.teslamotors.com/performance/tech_specs.php">92%</a>. The following discussion from <a href="http://www.salon.com/env/ask_pablo/2008/08/25/electric_cars/">salon.com</a> shows that electric cars don't suck down the same amount of energy as gas guzzlers do, even if fossil fuels would be used to generate the electricity and store it in an electric car's batteries. Obviously this example adopts the worst case scenario for the electric car, so it's much better off in all other scenarios.<br /><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">"According to Tesla, the well-to-tank efficiency of gasoline is 81.7 percent, while the well-to-battery efficiency of natural-gas-generated electricity is 52.5 percent. At first glance, the gasoline looks more efficient, but keep in mind that efficiency is lost in the combustion engine. Because of the fact that the Tesla electric roadster has no internal combustion engine and no conventional transmission, its efficiency is an impressive 2.14 km/MJ. For comparison, the hybrid Prius is 0.68 km/MJ, and a conventional Honda Civic is 0.63 km/MJ. When you combine the well-to-tank efficiency with the vehicle's efficiency, the Tesla has a well-to-wheel efficiency of 1.14 km/MJ, compared with 0.556 km/MJ for the Prius.</span>"<br /><br /></blockquote>So, if the electricity can be provided from renewable sources, electric vehicles are super efficient in comparison with cars that eat fuel.<br /><br />There's few interesting discussion topics that come up when assuming that everyone has an electric car instead of a fuel powered one. A common argument is the dooming <span style="font-weight: bold;">scarcity of electricity</span> when we're switching over to an electric era. I'm pretty reassured that, if this problem would indeed occur, we can easily deal with it. Renewable energy systems encompass a broad, diverse array of technologies that is undergoing a constant influx of innovations. The cost of producing electricity from renewable sources is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy">a few cents per kWh</a>, which is comparable to, for example, coal. The potential cost of various technologies is much lower than that of coal, so the future is bright. Again, the current crisis brings me in an optimistic mood; The shifts in thinking about producing cars and environmentally friendly energy production will be part of getting us out of the current trouble. Only a few days ago, the Swedish government has been proving themselves worthy in how they're dealing the crisis; With looming bankruptcy for Saab, the Swedish minster of trade has <a href="http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/merge-to-wind-power-systems-or-shut-down-5828.html">insisted</a> that Saab moves away from producing cars and should shift their business from manufacturing cars to producing wind turbines, if Saab wants to receive any support from their government to get out of trouble. A staggering move, indeed. Let's just hope it inspires other governments (Obama, this is your cue) to urgently consider similar moves.<br /><br />Another common argument about electric vehicles is about <span>their </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">range</span><span> of electric cars</span>. In the case of the Tesla car, its range is about 350km before you need to recharge it for about 3.5 hours. That's not good for a trip that requires some 1000 kilometers, but, honestly, how often do you need to drive that far? Many families will have a trip once a year that requires such a range, but I'm sure that more than 95% of the people on the road could easily fit their daily range in a few tens of kilometers, so the range of an electric powered car being in the hundreds of kilometers will easily satisfy many people. Also, I'm confident that the range of electric cars will steadily improve as the technology in electric motors and batteries will evolve, although I'm far from being an expert in these fields. Currently, we're stuck in a virtuous cycle where batteries are considered not to be good enough for producing electric cars, and as long there's no mass production of electric vehicles, there's not enough pressure on improving the state of the art. We'll have to break this cycle in the next few years because of other reasons mentioned above and I'm very optimistic that the technology involved with it will take great steps forward as a consequence, greatly enhancing the range of electric vehicles. Prices for great electric cars, like the Tesla roadster, are extraordinary for most of us, but as the future will bring mass produced electric vehicles from big car companies (like Ford, see above), prices will drop considerably.<br /><br />There are some serious misconceptions and doubts about <span style="font-weight: bold;">the performance of electric vehicles</span>. When we see a rare electric car, it's often a slow one. Golf karts, forklift trucks and stupid looking electric vehicles that can't go above 50 km/h are bad examples of what an electric vehicle can do. Luckily, the Tesla roadster tells the story of a really powerful car with amazing <span style="font-weight: bold;">acceleration</span> statistics. It goes from 0 to 100 in 3.7 seconds which puts it well in the top 50 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fastest_cars_by_acceleration">fastest accelerating production cars</a>, just ahead of a Ferrari F40. Electric engines provide <span style="font-weight: bold;">100% torque, 100% of the time</span>. Electric karts have already shown that they could dominate fuel powered karts as well, since the acceleration of an electric motor leaves the gas karts at a standstill at the starting line.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Electric is simpler.</span> Building an electric car requires less skill than fuel powered cars. Note that the first electric cars were invented around <a href="http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aacarselectrica.htm">1835</a>, more than 50 years before gasoline engines were getting ready for mass production. Electric engines being less complex is our main reason when getting our hands dirty and building our own kart, but it is also a good reason why it should be phased in into any road vehicle. An electric engine only consists of a few components; a few batteries, a controller and a motor. A typical four-cylinder engine of a conventional car comprises over a hundred moving parts. By comparison, the motor of an electric car would just have one: the rotor. An electric engine doesn't easily deteriorate or break down and doesn't need regular maintenance. You don't need to pay the costs of maintaining a fuel powered engine by frequently having to change the oil, coolants, spark plugs or any of the complexities that come along with gasoline engines. Batteries will have to be changed, though, every 100.000 to 150.000 kilometers. All of the technology that has been developed for fuel munching engines can be thrown out, and the end result is a simpler and better performing car. Electric engines are so simple that I, as a complete newbie on this technical level, am very optimistic that I can build, drive and maintain an electric kart on my own, without having to ever grasp how a gas engine works. And I can't be bothered with that knowledge either. I consider fuel powered motors to be ancient technology.<br /><br />I strongly believe there's plenty of reasons why we'll be going electric on our kart. If we can manage to successfully complete this project, as complete newbies, I'm sure the car companies will be able to swiftly pull of this kind of a stunt as well. More so, I'm completely baffled that our streets are still filled with fossil fuel powered cars when there's such a better alternative, on every level. But I'm confident that change is upon us and the era of fossil fueled road transportation is at its end. I, for one, welcome the era of electric transportation!By Anthony Liekenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07810936644462230244noreply@blogger.com1