Saturday, May 26, 2007

Back in business


The motor is back in action. In fact, it's better than ever. Nothing was wrong with the motor as it turns out. The two batteries I was using were marine batteries, meaning they have short circuit protection. For those who don't know, a short circuit would be just directly connecting the two terminals. This makes sense for a marine battery that could be say, dropped in salty water. However, high-amperage applications like an electric vehicle for example could be misconstrued as a short circuit, which is why the batteries weren't delivering. I stopped down by Wal-mart and picked up two automotive batteries (2 * 12v = 24v) and lo and behold, the thing moves. And it MOVES. Much faster than I've ever seen it go.

I'm back on track. I FINALLY found some gears and sprockets that will fit my purposes. After six weeks of searching and the help of my surprisingly internet-adept father, we've got the right drivetrain on its way here, and I'm going to cut and mount that hunk of plywood onto the frame to hold my stuff down. The motor might be a problem... considering the shaft is 15/32" and the sprocket is 1/2", but I think it will be "good enough." I will most likely end up making my own little collar from copper pipe which just happens to be a little under 1/16" thick.

While I couldn't find the E-clips I needed to get the front wheels mounted and ready to roll, I did notice a nice, keyed, 3/4" shafted gasoline engine at pep boys today. Not only was it tempting, since it would fit perfectly with a wide variety of sprockets, it made the "hybrid" aspect of this project that much more attainable.

No I will not finish this project by the time I have to give a presentation on it, but I will finish it in the following weeks shortly after.

It's thundering like a BEAST outside. No rain, just thunder. I'm surprised we still have power. Peco's been good about no power outages recently. Time to play F.E.A.R. with the lights off :D

No comments: