Which CA?

[jeohearn]

I have the Aetoma 750 watt and stock Aetoma controller only suitable for 36volts I believe. I am finally breaking down and getting the Cycle Analyst. But I see there are more than one kind -stand alone and direct plug in. Below is a page from -I believe- the company that makes them:

http://www.ebikes.ca/store/store_accessories.php

Given that I plan to keep my controller and motor until they die -which could be soon as my motor is making more sound than when I first got it 2 years of steady commuting- I wonder what you might suggest. What are the pros and cons? What is most versatile?

And maybe you have heard about ebikekit coming out with their own ebike computer -I have a gift certificate with them so I wondered if it might be worth waiting. Do you know anything about theirs?

 

[amberwolf]

In general, I recommend the SA, or StandAlone version of the CA, becaues it is the most versatile. You can use it with any controller or motor setup, and any battery, up to the voltage it's made for (100V standard, 200V version available).

Becuase the shunt is part of the CA and not the controller, you can easily use it to monitor battery charging as well as discharging, if you wish.

I also recommend the L or Large Screen version, as it is the easiest to read, though it does take up significantly more space.

So the version I would recommend (same one I am using) is the CA-LSA model.

It's one disadvantage is that it has a separate wheel speed sensor you must install if you want to use the speedometer or any distance-related functions, adding one more thin cable to your wiring harness. If you don't need those functions, you can leave it off, but it's nice to have them. The DP version, which would plug directly into your controller, doesn't need this cable, but only works if you already have the connector on your controller for the CA (or you can add it; the manual, available on the ebikes.ca site, gives the very basic info on doing that).


I don't know anything about an e-bikekit.com wattmeter, though there is one by Crystalyte discussed in a thread somewhere on ES in the last couple of weeks or so. It's not really a wattmeter, though, but rather just a display and user interface for the latest Crystalyte controllers, only working with those. I don't think it has all the CA's functions.

e-bikekit.com sells (or at least used to) the CA, so you could get it from them and use your GC.