Details for the May 2012 meeting:

See the photos on our Facebook page.

Details for the March 2012 parade:

Parade assembly begins at the corner of Lenoir and Blount Streets around 10 am on Saturday March 17th.  The parade starts at noon and we should be winding up around 2 to 3 pm.

We would appreciate you all sending your contact information to DC at theADM@aol.com.  Please also cc me at teaaprez@gmail.com. 

Details for the February 2012 meeting:

This month’s meeting was cancelled since the speakers were unable to attend. We hope to have them rescheduled.

Details from the January 2012 meeting:

DC will lead a discussion on winterizing your battery pack.  This will include:

  When is it too cold to recharge?

  How much power is lost by what type of battery you use?

  How to prepare your pack for winter.

  What methods are available for keeping your pack warm?

Should be an interesting meeting.  Hope you all can attend.

Details from the December 2011 Cary Christmas Parade:

If you are interested in joining for the parade, email DC at THEADM@aol.com.

Details from our November 2011 Meeting:

A Completed Electric Lawn Mower Project (B&D MM675)

    *  Great over the winter project

         (ready for spring & summer mowing)

    *  Prelude to working on an EV

    *  Mower obtained from city dump - Zero Cost

         (Try Craig's List???)

    *  Minor fix to get it running again (but not obvious)

         ( likely reason it was being tossed and for others to toss theirs )

    *  Pack cost less than new corded mower

         ($250 < $412 (MSRP - Black & Decker web site))

    *  Pack mounted on mower deck

         (no "what was I thinking" backpack weighing > 50 lbs)

    *  72 Volts 12 Amphr pack on the mower bed

        ( good for over an hour of mowing )

    *  Voltage twice as high as higher end battery powered mowers

    *  Safety quick stop still in place

    *  Documentation & Wiring Schematic

    *  Weight within range of gasoline push mowers

    *  Cheap voltage monitoring system

    *  No fumes, no oil changes, no aging gasoline, no hard starting!!

    *  Amphr draw:

         4 Amphr - idle

         8 to 10 Amphr - heavy wet grass

Come on over and give it a try.

Details from our September 2011 Meeting:

Two cordless lawn mowers that were repaired at our last meeting were fixed with a big assist from Mike Oshinski. Both mowers got a workout this weekend and both worked well.  Thanks Mike!! 

The next step is to plan to make these two mowers cordless.  There are a number of ways that this can be done.  We are going to collect some data using a Killawatt and a clamp on ammeter.  Then using this gathered data and with the specifications from various components, each person or team (if you choose to do so) will try to use one basic component such as an inverter, or NiMH battery, etc. to try to build a system using that component as the foundation for their system. 

The objective is to design a mower that can cut a lawn on a Saturday afternoon consuming 1.0 kwhr worth of electricity.  Mowing time is an hour and 30 minutes leaving time for 4 hours and 30 minutes for recharging.  What can take a quick charge and not damage the batteries???

We will list various components ahead of time along with their specifications.  For instance, a universal DC motor with a rectifier bridge that runs on 120 volts AC can be run on the equivalent of 70 to 80 volts of DC electricity.  Amperage consumption remains the same.  

An AC switch can not be used for DC unless the DC voltage is far under the AC voltage rating, as some have suggested, by a factor of 4 or more.  Therefore, a 120 volt AC switch could be used on a 12 volt DC circuit but not a 60 volt DC circuit.  Could the AC mower switch be used to trip a 12 volt DC relay to a contactor?

Please bring a chair, your thinking caps, and a clipboard or flat smooth book as a writing surface.  Let's explore what the possibilities are as well as costs, pros and cons. 

This is a URL to the mower: http://www.blackanddecker.com/outdoor/MM675.aspx and its specifications.  The other mower is a different model but has the same motor.

Notes from our July 2011 Meeting:

DC lined up a speaker to come in to discuss the current, cutting edge testing of alternative fuel sources.  With the release of petroleum from our Strategic Petroleum Reserves instead of from our "Saudi Arabia of Shale Oil" Reserves in Colorado and Utah, alternative fuel sources are likely to play a part in our energy usage mix going forward.  Are alternative fuel sources living up to their hype?

Notes from our June 2011 Meeting:

The goal of the meeting was to develop methodologies for troubleshooting. DC had De's EVee there for troubleshooting.  There are one or two faults with EVee and the goal is to develop the methodologies to find and fix the fault(s). While finding and fixing faults is important, it is more important to develop processes.

Notes for our April 2011 Meeting:

All attending members should bring a face shield or goggles and rubber gloves. These are standard equipment for Ev'ers and necessary for the activity this weekend's meeting.

Notes from our January 2011 Meeting:

DC brought Rhua over to PA Smiths to see what is wrong with her recharging system.  He can recharge each battery individually but can not recharge using his recharger even though he can measure 140 volts.  We diagnosed possible problems and solutions.

Notes for our November trip to the NEAT EV Rally:

Here are some of the details:

For those with EVs who might want to test them out, there is an Open Class as noted below for **any** EV drivers where you all can test your car on this world class track. They have 110 and 220 volt at 20, 30 and 50 amps electrical service at approximately 40 stations in their paddock area. This is definitely an EV friendly facility.

NCCAR is allowing us to camp on their grounds provided we notify NCCAR by Thursday noon, November 18th. If you plan to camp at NCCAR, please call NCCAR at 252-678-2174 by Thursday Noon, Nov 18th. Roanoke Rapids is about 10 minutes away from the track for those of you who would rather not see the stars overhead. There are rest room and shower facilities at the NCCAR site. 

For more details about NCCAR, visit their site at www.NCCAR.us

The EVent will start at 10:00 am Nov 19 and run through the 20th. It will be held at NCCAR.

Events:

1. -    Inspections – did schools design according to the rules – Phil Bardsley
   

2. -    Range – run clockwise for safety because of tight corner at the south end of the straight section – Ricky Lewis
   

3. -    Acceleration and braking – Byron Humphries
   

4. -    Autocross – Northampton East Matt Davis
   

5. -    Coasting Distance – may be combined with range event. Cars start at 10, 20, 30, etc mph and cut power and measure distance they roll to a stop. 
   

6. -    Trouble-shooting – using gold carts - Jack Martin
   

7. -    Presentations – Jack Martin
   

8. -    Low-speed parade for all including display division.
   

Rules:

1. -    Packets going to schools.
   

2. -    Kill switch on traction battery is mandatory for schools (not display cars), but design is up to the schools. After event schools can discuss how it should be implemented in coming years.
   

3. -    ABC 5-lb fire extinguisher is mandatory in school cars.
   

Divisions with trophies:

1. -    96v car (lead-acid)
   

2. -    96v truck (lead-acid)
   

3. -    Modified car (no voltage limit, lead-acid)
   

4. -    Modified truck (no voltage limit, lead-acid)
   

5. -    Open (no voltage limit, any battery chemistry)
   

6. -    Display (bikes, motorcycles, go-carts, etc.)
   

7. -    Competitor’s Choice Award – schools decide on a “best of show” school/car
   

Training at event:

1. -    Track safety – Simon/Eckhoff (10 min)
   

2. -    CO/CO2 (4-H?)
   

3. -    Spotter training for track spotters
   

Directions:

Head to Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina on I-95.

Just North of Roanoke Rapids, Take exit 176.

Go east on NC Route 46 for 2,000 feet

Turn left onto Lowes Blvd Road

Follow the NCCAR signs to the NEAT EV Rally

Hope to see you there!

Notes from our meeting October 23rd, 2010:

NEAT EVent - Peter Eckhoff

  It’s being held at the North Carolina Center for Automotive Research (www.nccar.us) onNovember 19th and 20th (Friday & Saturday) near Roanoke Rapids, NC. We are invited to drive and **test** our EVs on a World Class track. We can camp on grounds (showers, rest rooms available). They need volunteers as Safety inspectors particularly on Friday morning.

New Conversion - Josh Wyatt

  Josh has completed converting a Ford Focus and displayed his car. He explained his overall conversion process including: 

      diagramming his basic layout

      how it is preforming 

      what steps he plans to do to increase performance

      the steps he took to retitle the vehicle as an all electric

Notes from our meeting August 21st, 2010:

With Sparky close to completion, we run through the rewiring and check for bugs in the system.

Notes from our meeting June 19th and July 17th, 2010:

After an overview of where various components are/were located in Sparky, we looked at the Chilton manual diagrams vs the Suzuki Samurai Shop Manual diagrams. We broke into groups to see which Chilton and Shop manual diagrams best describes Sparky. How accurate are the wiring diagram’s wrt wire color coding? What could be saved and used in an EV project? What should/could be discarded? 

Notes from our meeting April 17th, 2010:

With the final wiring completed on Pete’s electric vehicle (Sparky), the control board was installed. Then, all of the connections were tested and diagrams were double-checked. Let’s get Sparky out on the road!

Notes from our meeting February 20th, 2010:

In addition to an EV News update and a Q & A session, we discussed what factors to consider when working on a controller board. We then did some work on an actual controller board. We also talked about the Nissan Leaf tour that came to Raleigh on January 29th. Some of our members were able to test drive the mule version of the Leaf, and got a tour of the vehicle:

Notes from our meeting November 21st, 2009:

Ron Anderson complimented what we learned from Rich Cregar and his past several seminars.  There were hands-on lessons concerning electronic parts and circuits.  It was highly relevant to diagnosing/troubleshooting EV-related issues.

Ron knows electronics and his past seminars have been well received by our attending members.

Notes from our meeting on October 17th, 2009:

We were visited by Brooks Hardenberg of Top Notch Technology, Inc. He and his crew brought some of their TNT eScooters for us to have a look at and test-drive.

This was followed by an EV driver of a high performance EV discussing his vehicle.

Notes from our meeting on September 19th, 2009:

Electricity Seminar by Rich Cregar, Faculty Fellow at the Institute for Emerging Issues at NCSU and Instructor at Wake Technical Community College. This was the last part of Rich’s seminars on electricity and how it applies to electric vehicles. We’d like to thank Rich for volunteering his time to come teach at our meetings.

Notes from our meeting on July 18th, 2009:

We went over the EV charging stations installed at the McDonald’s on Kildare Farm Rd. in Cary, NC. Watch the video for a brief tour of how the charging station works: