INDUSTRY INSIGHTS YOUR PEERS ARE READING
T his has been a good week for new advanced battery announcements. MORE
This morning, I hacked together a serial cable to talk with the ccShell program provided by Azure Dynamics to communicate with the controller. You need to contact Azure Dynamics directly to get the.ccs file that works with ccShell; it's not available on their FTP site. MORE
Audi Metroproject Quattro T his has been a big week of announcements from car manufacturers. One is from the new auto start up Fisker. Fisker's high end-plug in CNET News Blog Posted by Michael Kanellos Fisker Automotive. Think of it as a marriage between the Chevy Volt and the Tesla Roadster. MORE
It's a shame the video on TMZ.com doesn't include the reporter's voiceover, because the narration I heard when the story aired on TV caught the reality of hydrogen hype better than most serious enviro journalism. Automakers using movie stars to greenwash was its essence. MORE
Xcel Energy announces six-month test drive of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles DENVER - Six plug-in hybrid electric vehicles ( PHEVs ) will be on the road by the end of 2007 as part of a demonstration test of vehicle-to-grid ( V2G ) technology by Xcel Energy. MORE
2007 Ford Motor Company has embarked on a bold mission to bring back the Escort name in a revolutionary new Plug-in Hybrid vehicle. M omentum for a Plug in Future continues. First, there is this story from Volkswagon. Apparently, VW is set to unveil an Up!-based MORE
By John Voelcker First Published October 2007 Google , a former CIA director , the Natural Resources Defense Council , a U.S. MORE
GM-Volt.com is reporting on battery announcements at EVS23. Both A123 and LG Chem/Compact Power have delivered packs to GM for testing in the Volt. MORE
23, 2007 -- General Motors Corp. I f there is any doubt that GM is serious about PHEVs, here is one more story that indicates that they are indeed very serious. GM Could Reportedly Produce 60,000 Plug-in Hybrids in 2010 Source: GreenBiz.com by Jeff Green at Bloomberg OAKLAND, Calif., MORE
A nother major manufacturer is unveiling their PHEV at a car show. This time, it's Volvo. Here's the story from duemotori.com. MORE
I'm currently working on a battery equalizer for the 914 EV based on the whitepaper at the following link: [link] The above two schematics show the circuit that I'm experimenting with using 12V batteries. It seems to work fine on my bench. MORE
E PRI and the National Resource Defense Council have recently released a new study which shows the environmental as well as the economic benefits of plug-ins. Plug-in hybrids seen as vehicles for change A study projects lower emissions and sufficient power grid capacity. MORE
Piaggio launches hybrid scooter 02 Aug 2007 Italian manufacturer Piaggio , the maker of Vespa , has launched an environmentally friendly hybrid scooter by mechanically and electronically linking a traditional combustion engine with an electric motor. MORE
Today was a bit slow. I received some AMP pins in the mail that fit the special connectors on the DMOC445 controller. To make the serial port more robust, I crimped the pins onto the ends of the 16-gauge wires and inserted them into the 8-position connector that came with the DMOC. MORE
G oogle proved it is serious about Plug Ins with its new Recharge IT initiative. Here is part of the story. Google.org to to Accelerate Plug-In Hybrid and Vehicle-to-Grid Technology Google.org , the philanthropic arm of Google Inc. MORE
Ford, utility join to promote plug-in vehicles Reuters India Sat Jul 7, 2007 DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co and power utility Southern California Edison will announce an unusual alliance on Monday aimed at clearing the way for a new generation of rechargeable electric cars, the companies said. MORE
I took a few hours today to get the small hairdryers installed. In order to have a convenient switch to activate the hairdryers, I hijacked the defroster knob switch. I was lucky enough to have this option on my car. MORE
F or those who think that GM is not serious about its new PHEV , the Volt , here is a piece that makes you think they are: The Volt To Be Lutz's Legacy May 21, 2007 So, I heard General Motors’ Bob Lutz on National Public Radio’s “Wait. MORE
Air-Car Ready for Mass Production Bob Ewig Popular Mechanics May 31, 2007 The world's first commercial compressed air-powered vehicle is rolling towards the production line. MORE
After sleeping for 14 hours last night, I think I'm somewhat recovered from that nasty cold. I dropped by Parkrose hardware after work and picked up some stuff to install in the EV. MORE
The submission deadline is Thursday, May 31, 2007. T he Department of Energy is moving forward to develop advanced batteries for PHEV s. Here is the story. DOE to Provide up to $14 Million to Develop Advanced Batteries for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. MORE
I had a bit more time today to work on some other small projects. Here's the 914 patiently waiting for its rebuilt transmission from Rennsport Systems. It'll be awhile since Rennsport won't start on the rebuild until November. MORE
P erhaps the most important milestone in developing Plug in Hybrids is the availability of an affordable, practical, and powerful battery pack. Here is a significant announcement by David Vieau , CEO of A123 Systems. MORE
Since I'm stuck indoors today to recover from a sore throat, I put together the following schematic to drive the fuel gauge based on the pack voltage. Click to enlarge the image) With the exception of the 4N25 opto-isolator, which I salvaged from a dead UPS, all parts are available at Radio Shack. MORE
The major project of the day was finishing the rain gutter under the engine compartment lid. The original gutter was too deep and interfered with the rear battery box. As described in a previous post, I purchased a piece of ABS plastic from TAP plastics and bent the edges to make a rain catch. MORE
Fialka Wall Street Journal March 26, 2007 AUSTIN, Texas -- Of all the plans cooked up by cities to combat pollution and global warming, the one hatched here is among the most ambitious -- and, some say, one of the more quixotic. A few months back, a reporter from the WSJ came to our offices. MORE
With Smart Grid, Plug-In Hybrid Cars Could Have System Benefits Physorg Feb 28, 2007 Xcel Energy announced the results of a six-month study related to plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and how an increase in their popularity may affect Colorado. MORE
After receiving an updated.css file (ccShell config file) from Azure Dynamics for the DMOC445, I was able to access the EE1SpeedoDiv variable. After setting this to a non-zero value, I attached a scope to pin 25 of the main DMOC connector and (yay!) MORE
I purchased a new pilot bearing for the flywheel to see if replacing it would help with the rattles. Flywheel - it's what's for dinner! MORE
Today had some ups and downs. I got the adapter hub from Electro Automotive back today. I installed it on the motor shaft and, to my delight, it had less than 1 mil of runout and wobble! That's how the hub is supposed to work. MORE
Last week Craig at Camp914 offered to lend me another transmission to see if I had vibrational issues. I drove out to Camp914 this morning. I wish to express much gratitude to Craig for letting me borrow this spare tranny. MORE
After putting the adapter hub from Electro Auto onto the motor shaft no less than twenty times, I'm pooped. I tried filing down several different faces of the hub to get the runout and wobble down and failed. It's going back to EA tomorrow morning for a new one. MORE
Well, it's time to bite the bullet again and see what I can do about the car vibrations. My friend graciously helped me remove the motor/tranny from the car again this morning and assisted with crude vibration measurements. MORE
Since I live in the Pacific Northwest, I get rather concerned that rain entering the engine compartment will cause problems with the electrical wiring. Many other 914 EV'ers have protected their wiring inside conduit boxes and other shields. MORE
After studying the oscilloscope waveforms, I believed that the current sense circuit was way too spikey. This is the "amp adjust" potentiometer output in the C400 schematic. MORE
After talking with various people and realizing that the over-current circuitry was making the FET gate pulses way too large, I decided to hack the DC-DC converter circuit. Here's the new circuit (click to enlarge). MORE
I spent most of Friday trying to figure out just what was blowing the DC-DC converter. Here's my full testbench setup. On the upper left, I have a 156V DC power supply. On the lower-left sits a 12V battery to act as an accessory battery. The 30Mhz $400 oscilloscope sits ready. MORE
In my efforts to debug the failures of the DC-DC converter, I tried to capture a schematic of the board. I didn't have time to create a component for the SG3525A controller, but all the pin numbers are listed. MORE
I spent most of yesterday and a few hours today wiring up the PakTrakr system. It's a bit of a pain to disconnect the most negative lead before attaching the display, but that's minor nuisance. MORE
Mercedes-Benz has delivered the first of 100 electric Smart ForTwos to fleet customers in the UK. Coventry City Council will be using the electric Smart in its fleet. Smart Car of America has the most complete report, straight from Daimler, with most of the relevant stats. MORE
Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI) has issued a press release, according to Green Car Congress , announcing that 2009 rather than 2010 will see the sales of the first 100 electric Subarus in Japan. MORE
Electric cars, including many Th!nk nk City cars and at least one RAV4 EV, turned out in large numbers to salute Al Gore, lining Oslo streets as he drove (in a gasser) to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. MORE
This wingless Jetsonian vehicle has seemed to me to be too much design, too much gadgetry, too much website, and not enough practical, buildable car. I thought I could smell the vapor. Well, Popular Mechanics asked and the Aptera folks let them in. MORE
2007 Related Topics Porsche 914 EV Conversion
JULY 27, 2007
This morning, I hacked together a serial cable to talk with the ccShell program provided by Azure Dynamics to communicate with the controller. You need to contact Azure Dynamics directly to get the.ccs file that works with ccShell; it's not available on their FTP site.
Porsche 914 EV Conversion
FEBRUARY 18, 2007
I'm currently working on a battery equalizer for the 914 EV based on the whitepaper at the following link: [link] The above two schematics show the circuit that I'm experimenting with using 12V batteries. It seems to work fine on my bench.
Plug In Partners
NOVEMBER 28, 2007
Xcel Energy announces six-month test drive of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles DENVER - Six plug-in hybrid electric vehicles ( PHEVs ) will be on the road by the end of 2007 as part of a demonstration test of vehicle-to-grid ( V2G ) technology by Xcel Energy.
Plug In Partners
OCTOBER 19, 2007
By John Voelcker First Published October 2007 Google , a former CIA director , the Natural Resources Defense Council , a U.S.
Plug In Partners
OCTOBER 8, 2007
2007 Ford Motor Company has embarked on a bold mission to bring back the Escort name in a revolutionary new Plug-in Hybrid vehicle. M omentum for a Plug in Future continues. First, there is this story from Volkswagon. Apparently, VW is set to unveil an Up!-based
Plug In Partners
AUGUST 30, 2007
23, 2007 -- General Motors Corp. I f there is any doubt that GM is serious about PHEVs, here is one more story that indicates that they are indeed very serious. GM Could Reportedly Produce 60,000 Plug-in Hybrids in 2010 Source: GreenBiz.com by Jeff Green at Bloomberg OAKLAND, Calif.,
Plug In Partners
AUGUST 14, 2007
Piaggio launches hybrid scooter 02 Aug 2007 Italian manufacturer Piaggio , the maker of Vespa , has launched an environmentally friendly hybrid scooter by mechanically and electronically linking a traditional combustion engine with an electric motor.
Plug In Partners
NOVEMBER 7, 2007
Audi Metroproject Quattro T his has been a big week of announcements from car manufacturers. One is from the new auto start up Fisker. Fisker's high end-plug in CNET News Blog Posted by Michael Kanellos Fisker Automotive. Think of it as a marriage between the Chevy Volt and the Tesla Roadster.
Plug In Partners
JULY 12, 2007
Ford, utility join to promote plug-in vehicles Reuters India Sat Jul 7, 2007 DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co and power utility Southern California Edison will announce an unusual alliance on Monday aimed at clearing the way for a new generation of rechargeable electric cars, the companies said.
Plug In Partners
MAY 7, 2007
P erhaps the most important milestone in developing Plug in Hybrids is the availability of an affordable, practical, and powerful battery pack. Here is a significant announcement by David Vieau , CEO of A123 Systems.
Plug In Partners
SEPTEMBER 19, 2007
A nother major manufacturer is unveiling their PHEV at a car show. This time, it's Volvo. Here's the story from duemotori.com.
Plug In Partners
JUNE 14, 2007
Air-Car Ready for Mass Production Bob Ewig Popular Mechanics May 31, 2007 The world's first commercial compressed air-powered vehicle is rolling towards the production line.
Plug In Partners
MAY 23, 2007
F or those who think that GM is not serious about its new PHEV , the Volt , here is a piece that makes you think they are: The Volt To Be Lutz's Legacy May 21, 2007 So, I heard General Motors’ Bob Lutz on National Public Radio’s “Wait.
Plug In Partners
APRIL 23, 2007
The submission deadline is Thursday, May 31, 2007. T he Department of Energy is moving forward to develop advanced batteries for PHEV s. Here is the story. DOE to Provide up to $14 Million to Develop Advanced Batteries for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S.
Porsche 914 EV Conversion
OCTOBER 21, 2007
I took a few hours today to get the small hairdryers installed. In order to have a convenient switch to activate the hairdryers, I hijacked the defroster knob switch. I was lucky enough to have this option on my car.
Porsche 914 EV Conversion
OCTOBER 19, 2007
Today was a bit slow. I received some AMP pins in the mail that fit the special connectors on the DMOC445 controller. To make the serial port more robust, I crimped the pins onto the ends of the 16-gauge wires and inserted them into the 8-position connector that came with the DMOC.
Porsche 914 EV Conversion
OCTOBER 16, 2007
After sleeping for 14 hours last night, I think I'm somewhat recovered from that nasty cold. I dropped by Parkrose hardware after work and picked up some stuff to install in the EV.
Plug In Partners
JULY 25, 2007
E PRI and the National Resource Defense Council have recently released a new study which shows the environmental as well as the economic benefits of plug-ins. Plug-in hybrids seen as vehicles for change A study projects lower emissions and sufficient power grid capacity.
Porsche 914 EV Conversion
OCTOBER 13, 2007
Since I'm stuck indoors today to recover from a sore throat, I put together the following schematic to drive the fuel gauge based on the pack voltage. Click to enlarge the image) With the exception of the 4N25 opto-isolator, which I salvaged from a dead UPS, all parts are available at Radio Shack.
Porsche 914 EV Conversion
OCTOBER 12, 2007
The major project of the day was finishing the rain gutter under the engine compartment lid. The original gutter was too deep and interfered with the rear battery box. As described in a previous post, I purchased a piece of ABS plastic from TAP plastics and bent the edges to make a rain catch.
Porsche 914 EV Conversion
OCTOBER 12, 2007
I had a bit more time today to work on some other small projects. Here's the 914 patiently waiting for its rebuilt transmission from Rennsport Systems. It'll be awhile since Rennsport won't start on the rebuild until November.
Plug In Partners
MARCH 15, 2007
T oyota created some excitement with their new Hybrid X vehicle that they unveiled at the car show in Geneva last week. It just might have plug in implications. Here is part of their press release on the new concept car.
Porsche 914 EV Conversion
OCTOBER 6, 2007
After receiving an updated.css file (ccShell config file) from Azure Dynamics for the DMOC445, I was able to access the EE1SpeedoDiv variable. After setting this to a non-zero value, I attached a scope to pin 25 of the main DMOC connector and (yay!)
Porsche 914 EV Conversion
OCTOBER 6, 2007
I purchased a new pilot bearing for the flywheel to see if replacing it would help with the rattles. Flywheel - it's what's for dinner!
Porsche 914 EV Conversion
OCTOBER 5, 2007
Last week Craig at Camp914 offered to lend me another transmission to see if I had vibrational issues. I drove out to Camp914 this morning. I wish to express much gratitude to Craig for letting me borrow this spare tranny.
Porsche 914 EV Conversion
SEPTEMBER 28, 2007
Today had some ups and downs. I got the adapter hub from Electro Automotive back today. I installed it on the motor shaft and, to my delight, it had less than 1 mil of runout and wobble! That's how the hub is supposed to work.
Plugs and Cars
DECEMBER 26, 2007
Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI) has issued a press release, according to Green Car Congress , announcing that 2009 rather than 2010 will see the sales of the first 100 electric Subarus in Japan.
Plugs and Cars
DECEMBER 24, 2007
Mercedes-Benz has delivered the first of 100 electric Smart ForTwos to fleet customers in the UK. Coventry City Council will be using the electric Smart in its fleet. Smart Car of America has the most complete report, straight from Daimler, with most of the relevant stats.
Plugs and Cars
DECEMBER 22, 2007
This wingless Jetsonian vehicle has seemed to me to be too much design, too much gadgetry, too much website, and not enough practical, buildable car. I thought I could smell the vapor. Well, Popular Mechanics asked and the Aptera folks let them in.
Plugs and Cars
DECEMBER 21, 2007
Electric cars, including many Th!nk nk City cars and at least one RAV4 EV, turned out in large numbers to salute Al Gore, lining Oslo streets as he drove (in a gasser) to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
Porsche 914 EV Conversion
SEPTEMBER 19, 2007
After putting the adapter hub from Electro Auto onto the motor shaft no less than twenty times, I'm pooped. I tried filing down several different faces of the hub to get the runout and wobble down and failed. It's going back to EA tomorrow morning for a new one.
Plug In Partners
APRIL 3, 2007
Fialka Wall Street Journal March 26, 2007 AUSTIN, Texas -- Of all the plans cooked up by cities to combat pollution and global warming, the one hatched here is among the most ambitious -- and, some say, one of the more quixotic. A few months back, a reporter from the WSJ came to our offices.
Plug In Partners
JUNE 26, 2007
G oogle proved it is serious about Plug Ins with its new Recharge IT initiative. Here is part of the story. Google.org to to Accelerate Plug-In Hybrid and Vehicle-to-Grid Technology Google.org , the philanthropic arm of Google Inc.
Porsche 914 EV Conversion
SEPTEMBER 15, 2007
Since I live in the Pacific Northwest, I get rather concerned that rain entering the engine compartment will cause problems with the electrical wiring. Many other 914 EV'ers have protected their wiring inside conduit boxes and other shields.
Porsche 914 EV Conversion
SEPTEMBER 15, 2007
Well, it's time to bite the bullet again and see what I can do about the car vibrations. My friend graciously helped me remove the motor/tranny from the car again this morning and assisted with crude vibration measurements.
Porsche 914 EV Conversion
SEPTEMBER 9, 2007
After talking with various people and realizing that the over-current circuitry was making the FET gate pulses way too large, I decided to hack the DC-DC converter circuit. Here's the new circuit (click to enlarge).
Porsche 914 EV Conversion
SEPTEMBER 8, 2007
I spent most of Friday trying to figure out just what was blowing the DC-DC converter. Here's my full testbench setup. On the upper left, I have a 156V DC power supply. On the lower-left sits a 12V battery to act as an accessory battery. The 30Mhz $400 oscilloscope sits ready.
Porsche 914 EV Conversion
SEPTEMBER 8, 2007
After studying the oscilloscope waveforms, I believed that the current sense circuit was way too spikey. This is the "amp adjust" potentiometer output in the C400 schematic.
Plugs and Cars
DECEMBER 3, 2007
It's a shame the video on TMZ.com doesn't include the reporter's voiceover, because the narration I heard when the story aired on TV caught the reality of hydrogen hype better than most serious enviro journalism. Automakers using movie stars to greenwash was its essence.
Porsche 914 EV Conversion
SEPTEMBER 5, 2007
In my efforts to debug the failures of the DC-DC converter, I tried to capture a schematic of the board. I didn't have time to create a component for the SG3525A controller, but all the pin numbers are listed.
Plugs and Cars
DECEMBER 3, 2007
GM-Volt.com is reporting on battery announcements at EVS23. Both A123 and LG Chem/Compact Power have delivered packs to GM for testing in the Volt.
Plug In Partners
FEBRUARY 28, 2007
With Smart Grid, Plug-In Hybrid Cars Could Have System Benefits Physorg Feb 28, 2007 Xcel Energy announced the results of a six-month study related to plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and how an increase in their popularity may affect Colorado.
Porsche 914 EV Conversion
AUGUST 26, 2007
I spent most of yesterday and a few hours today wiring up the PakTrakr system. It's a bit of a pain to disconnect the most negative lead before attaching the display, but that's minor nuisance.
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