Dee Jays Giant Revive projects

[Dee Jay]

I don't think the side of the screw will be able to withstand the motor torque. I think what will happen is: the side of the screw will get mangled, and then you'll have a hard time pulling it out to fix the mess. The screw will squeeze the axle on the round part, but that part is threaded, so there won't be much friction to hold the axle.

You're right D, that's also what I imagined. I was hoping to find a very strong screw that can take a lot of torque to grip the axle enough so that the axle doesn't slip and put side pressure on the screw. The arm and axle will be nearly press fit so I hope that helps the grip.

The blocking element is sort of a "plan B". The last resort. If plan B fails and the axle bends the screw, I don't have a plan to remove the arm from the axle without having to cut the arm grip! Good point, D. Thanks!

I can't understand the purpose of the threaded L tab; is it to provide two-way holding for regeneration torque?

As for the L tab, since the arm will be located between the hub and the fork (leg?) that tab is used to reach around from the arm to the front surface of the fork so it's only for motive torque. EDIT:The tab will be threaded for the tensioner screw adjustment to lock that adjustment with the nut. Did I make sense? If not, I'll try to draw a top view.

EDIT: whoa! In the picture, my L tab is facing the wrong direction! Sorry for the confusion! This is what happens when PC drawing, BBQing, and drinking at the same time.

I didn't know that this torque arm was for the front, is that correct? And you want to hide it behind the bike frame?

Yes, this Torque Arm is for the fork, and should be more or less the same for the rear, but on the wired side.

That makes it more difficult to design.

True that but, to me, the effort of trying to keep my bike looking clean will be worth it.

Cheers for the input! Keep em coming!

J

[TylerDurden]

How bout grinding some flats on the big part of the axle?

[Dee Jay]

Thanks for the input TD!

Unfortunately, I won't be able to achieve a tight tolerance that I'll be happy with using a hack saw and a file. And I didn't want to grind away too much of that part on the axle.

I came up with another possible sollution: drilling holes and adding to the axle, such as dowel pins, like so:

Torque Arm 3crop.png

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I would rather fit a square dowel but that would take machining. Drilling with a drill press would be the simplest and precise. Round dowels can be cut to length from readily available material and available sizes from unthreaded portion of a screw.

This way I'm not taking out too much metal from the axle. With the dowel pins I'm essentially adding metal to the axle and the torque arm.

I'm also relieving the clamping screw of blocking duty.

What do you think?

J

[Dee Jay]

disadvantage, I didn't understand what you meant by this:

I think both you and lazarus should make your internal corner cuts into round radiuses, like I did on my torque arm. That makes them easier to cut; you can simply drill then hacksaw your way into the corner, then file/grind until it looks right. That's what I did.

J

[TylerDurden]

Konichiwa!

It might be simpler to make the arm in two segments... no drilling of huge holes precisely, but rather grinding progressively.

I like the pins, on the basis of holding the arm by being placed into shear.
I don't like the thought of trying to chuck a wheel into a drill press and getting that precise... split 50-50 on the seam is ambitious.

How about using a rotary tool to make one flat, that is dressed with a mill-bastard for eveness... then the same treatment for the arm.

OR, grind a square keyway in the axle and cap... easier than precise drilling, IMO.

It might be better to bolt-thru, instead of the L-tab... the bolt will be in shear, instead of the tab being torqued.

[Dee Jay]

My son had gained a lot of weight lately, thus effecting range and handling. The NiMH pack really strains now, and I have found that having most of the weight on the rear wheel helps lighten the impact on the front wheel. With his added weight at the rear, past the rear axle, the front wheel now pops up a bit when hitting bumps. This is good as it really softens the impact on the front wheel by deflecting most of the energy upward instead of into the fork, into the frame and finally into the body.

On the other hand, I imagine that if my son and I rode without the weight of the NiMH pack in the middle, we would easily pop a wheelie if we hit a bump riding up a steep hill! This is why I'm now determined to extend the swing arm not only to convert the 20" wheels to 26", but also to carry my son's weight above the rear axle, not behind it. But not extended too long like the Xtracycle. No disrespect intended on the Xtracycle as it's great product. Hell, if they made an Xtracycle that would fit my Revive, with torque load bearing fully enclosed dropouts for hubmotors, that's only half the length of the original, I would save myself the headache of making my own and just buy it.

Anyway, I realized that Good Weight Distribution does not necessarily mean Even Weight Distribution the way Xtracycle would have an adult rider's weight in between the wheels. 50/50 makes for a rough ride I think. I once had a vision of having my son ride upfront for a exhilarating view, like this bike, The Filibus

http://www.londonrecumbents.co.uk/index.php?id=62

I *heart* this bike! Which would be all well and good if I always had perfect riding pavement (in Tokyo streets which really suck), or have suspension fork, or at least Big Apples at the front. If not, I think we'd have a pretty rough riding experience. And the more weight my son gains, the rougher the ride gets.

Just my personal observations so please correct me if I'm wrong.

J

[Dee Jay]

In other news:

I found 30mm Heat Shrink Tubing! YAY for me! My 14 cell M1 Pack A is coming a long nicely. The cell tabs still stick out a bit even after cutting the sharp corners with a tin shears so I cut rings off of the extra tubing I bought, ($9 per meter BTW! I bought three meters) and doubled up over the tabs hoping that they won't poke through and short out on the aluminum frame.

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I'll also need to find a way to reduce the pack's vibrations with maybe some styrofoam sticks or something.

I still have small obstacles (screw threads) inside the frame tube which needs to be cut off in order to slide Pack A through, it is what secures the controller and harnesses up under the frame. I'm still trying to hatch an alternative way to secure them before I cut away. Think, Dee Jay! THINK!

To celebrate my battery pack's progress, please enjoy latin american grilled steak soft taco with latin american DJ mix!

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viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2997&p=57009&sid=c620b4cbf5056fd4747564942c6b10df#p57009

Happy Friday!
J

[Dee Jay]

Tyler, konichiwa! Genki?

Thanks for the input. But I'll go with my minimalism approach and not cut away too much axle, just drill holes and use dowel pins. And yes drilling holes at the seam is ambitious and will be very disappointing if it doesn't work, but wouldn't it be cool if it did work? I won't be drilling the axle with hub and wheel installed. The pulley (puller?) used to open the hub can also be used to push the axle out as well as push it back in. I've done this with the rear hub axle. Piece of cake! And I can't go with Bolt-Thru because I wouln't have a way to make a tensioner.

Cheers!
J

[Dee Jay]

Continued from a Cyclone motor post.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4171&p=62453#p62453

After seeing the RC Motor Recumbent and Deafscooter's Dual motor LimoScooter, I was re-inspired. Basically, this is what I want to do: (not even sure if it's feasable so I'm still shopping around) I want to keep things simple and avoid the gearbox and the whole freewheeling crank thing and just go directly with a 48v 1000w with freewheel to a sprocket where the disc brake is mounted. As most of you know, I'm very into dual motor bikes. But this time around, I'm shooting for light weight motors. I really liked Deafscooter's Dual Motor LimoScooter. I want to do the the same with another high speed Cyclone at the front. but they don't have a small 48v motor . .

Anyway, I'm just kicking these ideas around for now.

[Dee Jay]

Tokyo Bicycle Convention November 2007

[lawsonuw]

Nice spy photo! I can see provisions for an integrated torque arm and nice big wire ducts. (+1 for both) Hope that built in controller has some balls, or can be given some. (do like the integrated controller, less parts to hide)

Marty

[vanilla ice]

I was thinking it wouldn't be too bad mounting a small motor rigidly to the fork lower on a suspension bike. You could use one of those dual disc hubs and have one side for the sprocket. If you've seen the contraptions in use to get front wheel drive on ICE offroad motorcycles you will appreciate how easy things are for us.. two flexible wires going from the chassis to the fork is nothing compared with shafts and gears. Google "christini awd" to see.

[Dee Jay]

OK, I AM BACK!

Please remain seated.

I've been hard at work fitting my 15 cells pack (series) inside my Giant Revive frame tube. Hello stealth! But I'm disappointed that I won't be able to fit another 15 cell stick unless I cut and grind part of the opening of the tube. Uh, no . . Pack A was too long so I folded two cells forward and raised the child seat homemade mounting hardware with very little effort. I've been test riding my A123 pack along with my NiMH pack as back up so a lot has happened in the past week.

Here are just some of my limited experience with Dewalt packs.

A123 FAQ for Dummies

In order to remove the BMS from the pack with no irreparable damage to the BMS, rather than cutting the red and black wires first, I think it makes more sense to disconnect the two balancing connectors first, then cut the wires. Just make sure you're not using anything metallic when prying out the connectors evenly. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Here's a warning for those of you using my method of charging cells with DC9000 charger. I made the mistake of pulling the connector off the pack while the BMS shell was powered in the charger. Baad Ju Ju. . . Dead BMS!

I have accidentally dropped several cells down to 0.5 volts and resurrected them using AA primary cells.

So far, I have killed one cell *moment of silence*.

I found A123 cells sold at RC shops in Japan from 18 to 20 bucks

Pack imbalance seems to happen when starting with average of 3.25 volts. I now charge up 3.6 volts and all cells equalize nicely all the way down. ALL CELLS! YAY!

I have accidentally dropped the entire *well balanced* pack from 50+volts down passed my controller's LVC of 29 volts 1.9 volts/cell YIKES! but they all immediately bounced back up to 2.9/cell. Need to adjust the LVC, like soon!

I am using 15 cells in series/50+ volts on the "Crystalyte Journey Kit" slim controller with only a few degrees C rise in controller temperature. About 24c when using 36v/42v NiMH. And 31c when using 48v/50v A123.

My "3.3 volt 8 Amp Power Supply" arrived and works well but slower than I expected! Matters not, it will only be used after bulk charging with the DC9000 to bump up low cells. Last week, while connecting the negative lead of the charger to one cell . . . the positive lead was dangling and found its way to the wrong cell connector. POW I blew up my new charger! Opened it up, inspected the damage, one blown capacitor. Bought a few capacitors for less than 5 bucks. Soldered it up, now it works like new. I bought extras cuz, until I get my rotating charger switch working right, it's so easy to make the same mistake.


Happy Friday!
J

[Dee Jay]

Nice spy photo! I can see provisions for an integrated torque arm and nice big wire ducts. (+1 for both) Hope that built in controller has some balls, or can be given some. (do like the integrated controller, less parts to hide)

Marty

Yeah man, nice motor. Check those windings, no mistakes allowed! But prefabbed on this bike???

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I found it at a park a few weeks back.

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I test rode one last year for just a short distance, my pedal effort and power assist was seamless (to me). It ran so smooth uphill, it felt a bit eerie (compared to Crystalyte).

[Dee Jay]

Got my JBL On Tour portable stereo speakers!

BIG UP TO ME!

High 5 anyone? . . .ok, maybe not . . .


+ button doubles as On and + volume. - button doubles as - volume and Off when + and - are pressed at the same time.

Looks bigger in pictures *duh*

Takes 4 AAA cells and AC adapter.

It has grippy rubber strips at the base. Nice.

Knocked up a quick and dirty bike mount using . . . RIGHT! another VHS case! I'm still trying to think of a better mount, possibly a clamping type bracket that grips he chrome sides with sticky gel pads...It has smooth curved surface at the back so a PVC quarter-pipe and gel pads might be good.



My Beefs :

- Can't shut the sliding cover unless both the power and audio cords are unplugged. Although the minimalist design on the exterior is a nice touch.

- I already scratched the glossy finish with a combo of velcro and cycling vibrations (strapped down with velcro). Even the fuzzy side of velcro can scratch it. The scratches aren't noticeable unless you look closer, the problem is *I know* it's there!

- Some reviewers/owners complained of the over-packaging. Cutting around the seams wasn't a problem for me but trying to extract the product from the inner packing base is ridiculous. If you're not careful you can damage the speaker's sliding cover when trying to pry it off. And the sharp edges of the hard plastic can be dangerous for some. Proper opening instructions would be good.

- And is it's Made In China. What's up with that? JBL is American/Japanese brand! If I wanted speakers from China I'd have gotten something from my local 99 yen shop. I hope this thing holds up for a while. If not, I'll replace the speakers with higher quality speakers and hack more amps into it somehow.


Pros:

- 40 bucks and it's all mine ~ tra ~ la ~ la ~ . $50 was all I was will to pay for biking speakers. Original price was $99 so I'm glad I checked the price again!

- The sound quality is just how I predicted coming from a small set of speakers. *Clear Sounds* is what I expected from JBL. The sound is so clear that there's no need to pump up the volume. It could be psychological, but to me, it surprisingly has a bit of a thump to the bass. . then again, kind of difficult to hear what is missing in a piece of music while trying to negotiate traffic. After a bit of inspecting I found a small reflex bass port next to the AC port. A few reviewers / owners were disappointed with the lack of bass. I mean come on, what can you really expect from AAA operated portable speakers? ?

- And since it's mounted on my handle bar, which is adjusted at the highest level and angled just right, the sound is shot straight into my ears. Nice! No more need for bulky,sweaty headphones! YAY FOR ME!

- Easy operation for a cyclists

- The design is very classy. When closed, it reminds me of those old fashion whiskey flasks, just as well, being a music addict that I am, I can relate to alcoholics! A bit too bling for some but they're WRONG

The shape has aerodynamic appearance

It blends in really well with my bike!



Wish list:

- A handle bar mounting system would be sweet. I can see this product taking off with casual cyclists, if it hasn't already. *One pound would be too much weight for wanna be racers/lycra set* On the same token, Ebikers would probably rather listen to their X5 motors :snore: You know who you are I imagine Cyclone motors being too loud for it though.

- Would be nice to have a choice between glossy finish version and rugged scratch resistant version,

- A Bigger Version powered with a few A123 cells would be the sh!t. Just like the old school ghetto blasters! I miss ghetto blasters *sigh*


Over all, On Tour is much better than the portable speakers that are sold in most electronic shops here in the Tokyo. I'm very happy with these speakers.

I got mine.

Now where's yours?


J

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[Dee Jay]

WOW!

Happy Friday!

I got more Dewalt packs and have achieved modularity with my batteries.

check out my charging harness schematic. Excuse the crude drawing... the gray boxes represents the charging connectors for ten cells each

cells.png

a tangled web indeed

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Now I don't have to carry 9ah / 11ish lbs NiMH pack just to take a 5 km round trip ride. With the my Special Current Limiting Throttle-Wrist, 2.3 ah is just a little more than enough to pick up my son from school. For longer rides, just slap on a few more packs and it still won't be as heavy as the NiMH pack!

SHHWEET!

My **dreams are materializing one at a time. I am as happy as a little girl...


Now I just need to:

- find a cool looking black plastic or aluminum enclosure, about 45 to 50 cm long x 7cm tall x 5.5 cm wide

- find a small industrial strength battery selector switch.

- buy schottky diodes

suggestions for the first two are appreciated in advance


The downside of using M1 packs on PAS mode is that the PAS give WOT assist with each pass of a magnet so trying to keep up with the motor by pedaling is pretty exhausting in this heat! I'm wasting energy and getting less range since I can't provide pedal assist at 32kmh without trying too hard! Time to upgrade my chain ring.

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**with this simple homemade device, I may actually be able to build a cell bypass system!

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=3956

THANK YOU WebX!

Imagine one of these and a 30 amp bypass relay for each cell . . .

http://www.webx.dk/rc/lipoly/low-volt-alarm.htm

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:p I am so done with my 36 volt NiMH pack. My son will be using it on his own LLEV (Little Lite Electric Vehicle). It's a 3 wheel plastic toy that we found on the way to the children's bicycle rental park. It was in a junk pile on the sidewalk ready for pick up so we hopped off the The Legendary DCR and and inspected it.

It was dusty and had a few rocks wedged inside the fairing as if it had been sitting in a garden or some dusty old tool shed... It also had a crack on the pedal accelerator platform which I fixed with a few angled aluminum pieces and some screws. It ran on a 6 volt SLA/AGM that had died many moons ago. Didn't find the AC charger though. Hell, I may upgrade the motor.

The funny thing was that we didn't have a way to get the thing home on the bike so I just winged it by dragging it behind the bike using a nylon strap I just happened to have in my bike bag, and it worked out, he he! It was slow and noisy, people stopped and stared including policemen in their patrol car but even the cops didn't care as there were no safety violations.. it made quite a racket though but the Japanese love noise, at least in Tokyo.

Check out my wannabe Cycle Chic video which includes the finding of the LLEV! The music at the beginning was from the bike speakers, then I made a smooth transition into the actual music track at the editing process. . . because that's what DJ's do!

I missed a great video shot while riding behind the pony-tailed girl. Get this, just when I stopped recording she slowed down, stepped off the pedals and landed gracefully while walking her bike without missing a beat. I kicked myself for missing that one! I know most cyclist can do this but it's better when a girl like her does it.


http://home.catv.ne.jp/ss/a1b2c3d4/cruz.mov

ENJOY

And Happy Friday!

J

EDIT: I'm having technical difficulties with the cruz.mov file.

MP3 files stream just fine but mov files won't.

I never had this problem before!

Is it possible that my ISP is censoring my webspace content ? ?

[Dee Jay]

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I found the perfect size A123 M1 pack enclosure yesterday!

MB-15 by Takachi,

11 bucks each. I bought 2.

325mm D
75mm W
55mm H

My 15 cell packs fit snugly width wise as well as height, with plenty of room in depth for future voltage-upgrade/cell-addition.

Maybe too perfect that the charging harness may not fit, hhhmmm. I may have to use thin ribbon wires.

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For now, I'm getting by with the Journey Kit's quick release pack enclosure. FYI, 30 A123 cells also fit nicely in the Journey Kit enclosure. I'm going to miss the convenience of quick release but it's just not modular.

I'll need to build a clever quick release system for these enclosures and around my existing custom made aluminum bracket somehow.

I didn't even think I'd find something so perfect! I really didn't want to resort to making the enclosures myself because I can already imagine ending up with something with rivets all over it. No way.... I want a solid look on my packs. By that I mean, not too busy looking/not too many details. I'm trying to keep things elemental as much as possible.

The semi metallic gray blends in ok with my fully metallic bike. Not too bad at all!

WOO HOO!

Part 2 electronica mix coming soon!

Happy Friday

[Dee Jay]

The best part of it is I won't have to commit to gluing, taping, and heat shrink wrapping my A123 cells. If a single cell died, I won't have to tear into all the packing material. I'd just be able to unscrew the enclosure open, cut out the dead cell and solder in another.

(I'll need to make sure the cell don't short out on the aluminum with some sort of sheet barrier on top and bottom off the cells.)

I'm sure not having so much packing material will also help release heat during discharge.

Plus I'm saving $$$ on those big-ass expensive heat shrink!

yay


Yay


YAY!

[Dee Jay]

Cool beans!

Took my journey kit 36v NiMH pack apart and divied it to 6 packs, 5 cells each. They're now running my boy's 6 volt toy LLEV trike, one pack at a time. Will go parallel soon! I have enough cells to run lights and other accessories! The hot glue and green heat shrink tubing was strong, it was a pain cracking the cells apart at first, then I took a needle-nose plier to it and pried them apart from inside the space between the cells, carefully not damaging the cells or shorting out.

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Six Pack! Chug-a-lug

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:p I am so done with my 36 volt NiMH pack. My son will be using it on his own LLEV (Little Lite Electric Vehicle). It's a 3 wheel plastic toy that we found on the way to the children's bicycle rental park. It was in a junk pile on the sidewalk ready for pick up so we hopped off the The Legendary DCR and and inspected it.

It was dusty and had a few rocks wedged inside the fairing as if it had been sitting in a garden or some dusty old tool shed... It also had a crack on the pedal accelerator platform which I fixed with a few angled aluminum pieces and some screws. It ran on a 6 volt SLA/AGM that had died many moons ago. Didn't find the AC charger though. Hell, I may upgrade the motor.

The funny thing was that we didn't have a way to get the thing home on the bike so I just winged it by dragging it behind the bike using a nylon strap I just happened to have in my bike bag, and it worked out, he he! It was slow and noisy, people stopped and stared including policemen in their patrol car but even the cops didn't care as there were no safety violations..

Poor little guy... do you need a home and some TLC? This is your lucky day!

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get-along-little-doggie! Wee Hoo!

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Pop da trunk

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cleaned up nicely

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The original 6V SLA was DOA and my son didn't know that this toy is electric. I surprised him today when I hooked it up with a NiMH. Should've seen the look on his face, Mad EV GRIN at 3 years old!

Got very positive reactions from everyone on the street , young and old!

gggrrr...

now he's much more popular in our town than his old man on the ebike!

Just wait until I fab a bubble machine and a chrome tail pipe together at the back... man, we'll surely get some cheers. Can you imagine bubbles shooting out his tail pipe?? With some kind of fragrance?? Bananas? Flowers? Superman's Pheromones?? We will be such Teh Bomb! GAH-ROWN-TEED!

Cheers and Happy Friday!

J

New mix up soon, so stay tuned and stand by!

[Dee Jay]

I've been eye-balling this stolen/abandoned scooter's forks! I believe it's been parked across the street from us for over a year. I saw two high school kids picking parts out of it in broad daylight several months ago. I'll see if I can't legally acquire the forks if I offer the local authorities to pay the wrecking fee.

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On second thought, the fee might be outrageous, possibly the reason it was abandoned in the first place. And the local government is not trying to go into abandoned vehicle wrecking business. Hell, they're already struggling with the abandoned generic bicycle business! Authorized by the government, tons of bicycles are hauled away regularly, mostly shipped out to other countries and sold by foreign owned business here! *Cha-ching*Unfortunately, no one wants a carcass of a dead scooter... Disposable Culture sucks..

...but man I want that fork for my Revive! I want to use *maybe a Unity* motor/freewheel/chain/sprocket combo at the fork and I have this crazy idea of using the this sprocket as a brake rotor. Anyone know if a sprocket/rotor had been done before?

[Mark_A_W]

Umm, so perform a public service and dispose of the scooter for them.

[Dee Jay]

Umm, so perform a public service

service the fork...

That's what I'm saying...

Slip a wooden block under the chassis, bring screwdrivers flat & philips... 8, 10, 12 mm wrenches maybe even 14.. for a few clamp bolts, one hydraulic fitting, a speedo cable...

[TylerDurden]

Slip a wooden block under the chassis, bring screwdrivers flat & philips... 8, 10, 12 mm wrenches maybe even 14.. for a few clamp bolts, one hydraulic fitting, a speedo cable...

+ Cordless hammerdrill with a 3/8 socket adapter (or cordless impact wrench). Heavy diagonal cutters for wires.

Hang a sign on it: "free parts". Set it on a crate, so the rest can be had quickly by other folks.

[Drunkskunk]

roll it over to a garbage dumpster. take off the plastic fender, and maybe the seat and drop them in, then dismantle at your leasure. if anyone asks what you're doing, just tell them you're dismantaling it to throw it away responsabily. If anyone questions it, all they need to do is look in the dumpster to see you are throwing parts away.

People tend not to question anything that has an easy, reasonable answer.

[Dee Jay]

My charging regiment with the Dewalt DC9000 is not working as well as I hoped. Since the A123 cells equalize during discharge, I'm able to recharge evenly the first 10 cells in my 15 cell packs.

But the last 5 cells of Pack A, when combined with Pack B's last 5 cells, do not charge evenly... so:

-if A's 5 cell string are evenly at 3.21v

-and the B's 5 cell string is 3.25v

-as a 10 cell recharge, A would be about 3.61v and B is about 3.75v.

So I made an equalizing harness that plugs each cell of Pack A parallel to another cell of Pack B. One harness for 10 cells strings, and another harness for the last 5 cells strings.

This harness does it's job nicely after a few hours, unfortunately, I'm still getting uneven recharge . . . but there were a few times when i got an even recharge . . .I'm still experimenting so it might be too early to be sure what's actually happening

I believe the key to have the last 5 cells strings recharge evenly with another pack's 5 cells would be to have A & B packs discharge evenly in parallel with a schottky diode.

We'll see soon.

J