Cycle Analyst V3 preview and first beta release

macfrank said:
My CA (direct plug with speedo) has been shipped yesterday. It's Version 2.23 but there is an additional cable mounted (looks like a power plug), which is not shown in the user manual for 2.23 model.
AFAIK that is for passing pack power out of the CA to Cycle Lumenators or other pack-powered handlebar-mounted devices.
 
Probably best to crack it open and double check or wait for Justins response then! I didn't realize they had such a plug for lights, thats pretty cool.
 
johnrobholmes said:
Probably best to crack it open and double check or wait for Justins response then! I didn't realize they had such a plug for lights, thats pretty cool.
There is a thread around here asking about a mystery plug on a recently-bought CA, and it turned out to be for the CL.

To test the theory, simply use a DMM to measure the pin and barrel of the connector, but best to put something over all but the very tip of whichever lead is going to be inserted down into the plug to check, so it doesn't short anything out. ;)
 
amberwolf said:
To test the theory, simply use a DMM to measure the pin and barrel of the connector, but best to put something over all but the very tip of whichever lead is going to be inserted down into the plug to check, so it doesn't short anything out. ;)

I'm going to check with a DMM and post the results....
 
Yep, they've had those for a few months now, it's meant for a headlight but it's straight pack voltage passed through so if you're not using the ebikes.ca luminator that's good for higher voltage you'll need a DC-DC converter. Common sense would dictate not to hook up a huge load to it - all the power is coming from your battery over the thin gauge wires to the CA. For most LED headlights they're fine though.
The guys @ ebikes.ca said they're good for up to around 1 amp - but I assume this is 1 amp @ ~36v not at 100v+ like half the maniacs here run - so don't try and pull 100w from it. The luminator draws ~10w so it's good for atleast that
 
Hi all,

10x 10k thermistors ntc came in, and I connected 5 of them to my CA v3 just to test. Unfortunately, the CA then shows temps between 5 and 8 oC with an actual ambient temp of 25oC, and the CA shows around 28oC when I cover the thermistors between my fingers. Assuming that my fingers are around 35oC, there is a correction factor of around 17oC. I think it would be great if that could be adjusted in the CA. Note that these are the el-cheapo thermistors from Ebay.
 
hjns said:
Hi all,
10x 10k thermistors ntc came in, and I connected 5 of them to my CA v3 just to test. Unfortunately, the CA then shows temps between 5 and 8 oC with an actual ambient temp of 25oC, and the CA shows around 28oC when I cover the thermistors between my fingers. Assuming that my fingers are around 35oC, there is a correction factor of around 17oC. I think it would be great if that could be adjusted in the CA. Note that these are the el-cheapo thermistors from Ebay.

Hi Hjns, did you update the firmware with the B13 that was posted last week? In the original B12 the look-up table was assuming we used a 10K pull-up resistor although we made a board change to a 5K pull-up at the last minute so that the device would be more sensitive and accurate at the higher temperature range. If you don't have access to a programmer and want to use the B12 firmware, you can either a) connector two of your thermistors in parallel which will effectively behave like a single 5K thermistor so that the ratio is right, or b) replace the 4.99kOhm pull-up resistor on the PCB (R1) with a 10K pull-up.

-Justin
 
amberwolf said:
johnrobholmes said:
Probably best to crack it open and double check or wait for Justins response then! I didn't realize they had such a plug for lights, thats pretty cool.
There is a thread around here asking about a mystery plug on a recently-bought CA, and it turned out to be for the CL.

Yes, we decided to make the DC power port standard on all the CA's a few months ago but haven't yet got around to updating all of the documentation. The idea is to make it a convenient access point for those wanting to power small handlebar accessories (headlights, horns, handgrip warmers, stereos, GPS/ipod chargers etc.) without running an additional cable line back to the battery. Just a note that if you aren't using this, to leave the rubber cap on the DC plug so that it isn't at risk of shorting or corroding since the full pack voltage is present there.

CA_Power_Port_TN.jpg

This is going to be standard issue in all the V3 CA's as well and will be included in the pilot batch with all the wiring harnesses. For people wondering what the big yellow square is on the V3 CA boards, that's a resettable polyfuse inline with the power tap in case of a short or excessive current draw. The V2 boards don't have this yet and hence the caution to be careful about shorts.
CA V3 Polyfuse.jpg

To test the theory,

No need to test ;)
 
k.ewin said:
Hi,

the main issue with the new CA V3 design is the huge amount of wiring necessary to use all features. It would be much better to add an ANT+ receiver to the hardware

I love the convenience and cleanliness of wireless too, I just wonder (EMI interference problems aside) about the wisdom of having core components of an ebike all needing their own independent battery power. Imaging if you had to have coin cells in your speedo sensor, coin cells in your cadence sensor, coin cells in your throttle, temperature probe, and ebrake cutoffs etc. That's a lot of small batteries to stay on top of.

For something rather peripheral to operation like a heart rate monitor it wouldn't matter much of the sensor battery died in the middle of a trip. But say you have a bike with PAS control and the cadence sensor shuts off because it ran out of battery? Or you run in cruise control mode but the speedo sensor battery dies?

In any case it's something we're keeping an eye on for possibilities if there are cases where it makes sense, but for the most part I'm mostly of the opinion that items that are _part_ of the ebike are best permanently wired up, even if it's a bit more inconvenient at first. -Justin
 
justin_le said:
Imaging if you had to have coin cells in your speedo sensor, coin cells in your cadence sensor, coin cells in your throttle, temperature probe, and ebrake cutoffs etc. That's a lot of small batteries to stay on top of.
At least in sunny places like here in Phoenix, maybe use those little solar chargers like some of the keychain LED lights have built in? I don't know that they would ever fully recharge the cells, but they could certainly extend lifespan, if the cells can handle the recharge, and the solar cell can output enough to either recharge it afterward or even fully power the device and transmitter....
 
Hi Justin,

No, I still run the B12, as I still need to obtain a TTL-USB cable. Anyway, I put two thermistors in parallel, and it nicely shows ambient temp around 20oC (07.30am here now). I lighted a cigaret lighter and put the thermistors in the warm air above the flame, and the CA showed the temp increase. Within seconds the CA showed 130oC, after which I removed the lighter. Then the CA nicely showed the decrease in temp, and within 1 minute the temp was ambient again.

Very happy with the results! Thanks, Justin for the support and for developping the CA in the first place!

Maybe a suggestion to keep all requirements for thermistors the same between future CA versions and the CAnalogger, or have a simple pot added to the PCB to change the pull-up value.



justin_le said:
Hi Hjns, did you update the firmware with the B13 that was posted last week? In the original B12 the look-up table was assuming we used a 10K pull-up resistor although we made a board change to a 5K pull-up at the last minute so that the device would be more sensitive and accurate at the higher temperature range. If you don't have access to a programmer and want to use the B12 firmware, you can either a) connector two of your thermistors in parallel which will effectively behave like a single 5K thermistor so that the ratio is right, or b) replace the 4.99kOhm pull-up resistor on the PCB (R1) with a 10K pull-up.

-Justin
 
hjns said:
Maybe a suggestion to keep all requirements for thermistors the same between future CA versions and the CAnalogger, or have a simple pot added to the PCB to change the pull-up value.

Yes, that is the intention, both the Analogger and CAV3 are designed to use the same 10K NTC thermistor which is the most common value we find on BMS boards and inside ebike batteries. The situation of needing to put two in parallel for 5K is just a temporary hardware fix to which can work until you update the firmware.
 
Hey guys, so attached is the Beta14 version of the VA C3 firmware. This fixes the brief throttle glitch right after reset, plus a few other behind-the-scene things you won't really notice. The main UI differences are:

1) The function of holding the left and the right button are swapped. So you hold the right to enter setup, hold the left for a reset. It took a bit for my old habits to get used to this but it does in the end make a lot more sense

2) Adds the ability to select which screens are shown and hidden, and you can choose one set of screens that appear when stationary and another set (typically a smaller set) to show up when the bike is moving. Right now there are 11 different display screens with various data and you change these by scrolling through with the left and right buttons, then holding the right button to toggle. Binary fashion, 1=shown, 0=hidden

CA3 Movin Screens.jpg

3) Attempts to display a bit more sensor data inside the setup menu so that it's easier to know what values to put in. So for instance, at the throttle input screen, you can see the actual realtime throttle voltage go up and down as you move the throttle, and then you'll know what to put for max and min throttle range values.
View attachment 1

Similarly, in the PAS setup you can see whether the PAS input signal is Hi or Lo, and by rotating the pedals and counting how many Hi Lo transitions you'll know the PAS pole count. It also shows in realtime if the PAS direction input is at 5V (=Fwd) or 0V (=Rev). Haven't implemented it yet but will do something similar on the wheel setup for the #poles variable, so that you can turn the wheel exactly one revolution and have it count the number of hall transitions.

Anyways, this firmware is all working as expected our bench jig and test ebikes, but Teklektik is still having issues where the throttle output cuts out shortly after turning the system on and we've been completely unable to replicate this. I'm really curious if others, especially those who've seen this throttle cutout issue on the B13 code could try and see if they are getting the same thing or not?

I'm working on doing things so that the CA has a 12th screen that outputs a bit more diagnostic info on what limiting modes are coming into play which would hopefully shed light on these scenarios.
 
Thanks to Justin, I got my setup working last night.
I'm using the new ca with a hv160 and a Turnigy 80-10 130kv. I have not tried it on the road yet, still waiting for the final parts, but I can tell that the ca will be mandatory in every build I make.
Both the current and speed control worked flawless at the bench, only complain will be a short throttle range. In speed mode, the motor rpm will be max long before full throttle is applied.
I have the pulses set to min 0.99 ms and max 2.00 ms. Tried different variations, but with no luck. I want to try it with a heavy load before I make any assumptions, I will soon find out.
 
Setup Summary for CA vB14

The setting summary for the newer v3B15 release is available here.
The setting summary for the previous v3B13 release is available here.
Unofficial basic setup notes are available here.
Values shown are defaults after loading firmware.

[...] = numeric entry field
{ ... | [...] } = menu chooser where [...] = default selection

  1. Setup Calibrtion
    1. Cal -> Range
      { [Lo (W)] | Hi (kW) }
    2. Cal -> RShunt
      [1.000] mOhm
    3. Cal -> V Scale
      [31.05] V/V
    4. Cal -> Zero Amps
      (Press/Hold to normalize the currently detected Amp reading to 0.0)
  2. Setup Spdometer
    1. Spd -> Units
      { mi | [km] }
    2. Spd -> Wheel
      [2075] mm
    3. Spd -> #Poles
      [23]
    4. Spd ->TotDist
      [00000] km
  3. Setup Speed Lims
    1. SLim -> Max Speed
      [99.0] kph
    2. SLim -> Start Speed
      [00.0] kph
    3. SLim -> IntSGain
      [200] Gain
    4. SLim -> PSGain
      [0.59] V/kph
    5. SLim -> DSGain
      [002] Gain
  4. Setup Power Lims
    1. Plim -> Max Current
      [99.0] Amps
    2. Plim -> AGain
      [150] Gain
    3. Plim -> Max Power
      [9999] Watts
    4. Plim -> W Gain
      [050] Gain
  5. Setup Throt In ........ Live Data = < 0.00V >
    1. ThrI -> Cntrl Mode
      { [Pass-thru] | Current | Speed | Disabled }
    2. ThrI -> Min Input
      [0.99] Volts
    3. ThrI -> Max Input
      [3.99] Volts
    4. ThrI -> Fault Volt
      [4.49] Volts
  6. Setup Throt Out
    1. ThrO -> Output Mode
      { [Voltage] | R/C Pulse }
      (if ThrO->OutputMode = { Voltage }
      1. ThrO -> Min Output
        [0.90] Volts
      2. ThrO -> Max Output
        [3.74] Volts
        )
      (if ThrO->OutputMode = { R/C Pulse }
      1. ThrO -> Min Output
        [0.90] mSec
      2. ThrO -> Max Output
        [3.74] mSec
        )
    2. ThrO -> Up Ramp
      [500]
    3. ThrO -> Down Ramp
      [500]
    4. ThrO -> KV Comp.
      [0.95] V/kph
  7. Setup RPM Sensor ........ Live Data = < Rev Hi > >
    1. RPM -> PAS Poles
      [08]
    2. RPM -> Dir Plrty
      5v={ [Fwd] | Rev }
    3. RPM -> Quadrtr
      { Disabled | Enabled }
    4. RPM -> Strt Delay
      [50] x 18ms
    5. RPM -> Stop Delay
      [15] x 18ms
  8. Setup Trq Sensor ........ Live Data = < 3.37V >
    1. Trq -> Trq Scale
      [-200.0] Nm/V
    2. Trq -> Trq Offset
      {2.55V 3.37V}
      (Press/Hold to update eeprom offset voltage on left with current voltage on right - similar to Zero Amps)
  9. Setup Cntrl Mode
    1. Ctrl -> PAS Mode
      { [PAS Off] | RPM Cntrl | Trq Cntrl }
    2. Ctrl -> Assist Level
      [0500] mA/Nm
    3. Ctrl -> Aux Funct
      { [Off] | Amps Lim | Speed Lim | Power Lim | Pas Level }
    4. Ctrl -> Min Aux In
      [0.99] Volts
    5. Ctrl -> Max Aux In
      [3.99] Volts
  10. Setup Temp Sensr
    1. Temp -> Sensor ........ Live Data = < 4.93V >
      { [Disabled] | 10K Thrmstr | Linear Type }
      (If Temp->Sensor = { Linear Type }
      1. Temp -> 0 Deg
        [0.99] Volts
      2. Temp -> TScale
        100.0 Deg/V
        )
    2. Temp -> Thrsh Temp
      [090] oC
    3. Temp -> Max Temp
      [130] oC
  11. Setup Battery
    1. Batt -> Chemistry
      { [LiMn] | LiPo | LiFe | SLA | NiMH }
    2. Batt -> String#
      [10] Cells
    3. Batt -> Capacity
      [10] Ah
    4. Batt -> RBatt
      [199] mOhm
    5. Batt -> Vlt Cutoff
      [19.0] Volts
    6. Batt -> V Gain
      [0800] Gain
    7. Batt -> TotCyc
      [0000] Cyc
    8. Batt -> TotAhrs
      [00000] Ah
  12. Setup Display
    1. Disp -> Main Disp
      { [Watts] | Amps }
    2. Disp -> Averaging
      [5] Duration
    3. Disp -> RS232
      { [1] | 5 } Hz
    4. Disp -> Vshutdown
      [10.0] Volts
    5. Disp -> Stop Scrns
      [11111111111]
      (Binary digits select display of 11 screens starting with Main)
    6. Disp -> Movn Scrns
      [11111111011]
      (Binary digits select display of 11 screens starting with Main)

Printable version: View attachment CA_vB14_ConfigSettings.zip
 
There are 10 types of people when it comes to Binary code, those that undestand it and those that dont :D

The old ones are still the best!! :D :D :D :roll:

Thank you for doing the summary, i shall have to print one off to refer to when i have installed this new version.

Will this be the final production version Justin?

Simon.
 
I was thinking more of a guide to see where i am when i am in the menus as they are much larger now, and if i had a paper copy i could write down my settings at the side of each menu position, it would enable me to navigate straight to each individual setting easier when making adjustments.
Its come along way from the earlier version 2.2 and 2.25 that i also have.

Simon.
 
OK, I flashed to B14 and it works on the bench. Have not yet tried it out on the bike. The B14 indeed solves the 10k thermistor issue. I have now an error of about 4oC with one thermistor. Good enough.

The 3rd digit for LVC allows me to set an LVC of 108.0V (3.6V cell level), which is great. The main screen shows my voltage correctly (1/3 used lipos at 117V), however the next screen shows only the 17V, and misses the 1st one hundred, as mentioned in a previous post by Justin. A bit weird, but not a real problem.

justin_le said:
1) The function of holding the left and the right button are swapped. So you hold the right to enter setup, hold the left for a reset. It took a bit for my old habits to get used to this but it does in the end make a lot more sense
Works like a charm - much more intuitive.

justin_le said:
2) Adds the ability to select which screens are shown and hidden, and you can choose one set of screens that appear when stationary and another set (typically a smaller set) to show up when the bike is moving. Right now there are 11 different display screens with various data and you change these by scrolling through with the left and right buttons, then holding the right button to toggle. Binary fashion, 1=shown, 0=hidden
Very nice. As I don't use the PAS thingies, I got rid of them.

justin_le said:
3) Attempts to display a bit more sensor data inside the setup menu so that it's easier to know what values to put in. So for instance, at the throttle input screen, you can see the actual realtime throttle voltage go up and down as you move the throttle, and then you'll know what to put for max and min throttle range values.
Very handy. I did not save my settings before flashing, so seeing the actual throttle voltages were great. I also took the chance to recalibrate the CA. Ended up with a rshunt of 2.385mOhm for my non modified Lyen 124115 controller.


justin_le said:
I'm working on doing things so that the CA has a 12th screen that outputs a bit more diagnostic info on what limiting modes are coming into play which would hopefully shed light on these scenarios.
A screen which shows the temperature results continuously, instead of alternating with speed and Ah, would be great for my testing. I strongly believe that the temperature gauge is the one real hurdle for high power setups. For tweaking, it really is much nicer to have a continuous view of what is happening before any limiting is incurred by the CA. Now I have to rely on the CA limiting for 2/3rds of the time.....
 
justin_le said:
Yes, we decided to make the DC power port standard on all the CA's a few months ago but haven't yet got around to updating all of the documentation. The idea is to make it a convenient access point for those wanting to power small handlebar accessories (headlights, horns, handgrip warmers, stereos, GPS/ipod chargers etc.) without running an additional cable line back to the battery. Just a note that if you aren't using this, to leave the rubber cap on the DC plug so that it isn't at risk of shorting or corroding since the full pack voltage is present there.

Probably also a good idea to recommend a 3A fuse be placed at the CA's connection point to the battery to protect the wiring should an excessive load (or short) be placed at the end of that new DC plug.
 
ColinB said:
Hi,
This is a cool new development, and hopefully will draw in newbies like myself. I like how the kits offered at ebikes.ca are "open source" vs. Bionx. However, I like how the Bionx rides. Sounds like soon I will be able to have both. My brief tests weren't even though - comparing a heavy EZ bike with internal gears vs. a mid level hybrid with a 350w Bionx isn't exactly fair. But it was enough to tell which my preference was.

One question: I know the torque gauge adjusts the power based on your input, but is the amount variable while you are riding? For example, on a Bionx bike, when you are tired, you can press the "+" button to increase the assistance level. After you get to the flat you may turn it back down to conserve your battery. Will the CA be able to do this?
Colin


i too would be very interested to know the answer to this question.

Jason.
 
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