/: 2009

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Batteries!

So we (read: Dad) have done some testing just using a 12v batteries, and the lights work, faults are showing up where they're supposed to, etc.

Now we need to install the safety fuses to keep the Dolphin (ie. the combo controller/inverter/charger) from accidentally blowing up in testing!

But to really test it, we have to find some batteries. We've been going round and round, getting some good advice from the fella over at the US Electricar yahoo group, and I think we've settled on an overall approach: Buy some relatively cheap batteries, but ones that are let's say 100ah or more capacity. Add to that some inexpensive regulators (like the zener regulators) and a good smart charger to make sure that we top off all the batteries relatively equally, and that's about it.

We've been thinking of getting better batteries, such as the Penn/Deka gels that are commonly used in Solectria trucks, and adding an expensive BMS (battery management system). These would likely get us better range, and for sure get us longer life. But I keep coming back to the fact that batteries are likely going to change - a lot - whether that's lithium or super capacitors or whatever. So why spend a lot of time and money on lead? Plus we could accidentally ruin them, we want to reduce our overall spend on this project, etc.

So if anyone has a line on 26-28 cheap AGM batteries with good capacity, let me know!

Thursday, March 12, 2009

watchmen as art

The fake comic is actually from an art installation. "The strip was created by cartoonist Elan' Rodger Trinidad for the Physical Nostalgia Watchmen tribute show at Melt Gallery in LA, running until the 22nd of the month. Sadly, the original has already been sold,"

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

where are the eyes?

They may not be where you think, the holes above the mouth are the nostrils, the eyes are the bulbs inside the transparent skull and swivel around to see. Pharyngula

Monday, February 23, 2009

17th century wax relief

Of plague victims, now available for auction at Christies with a great testimonial from the Marquis de Sade:
"So powerful is the impression produced by this masterpiece that even as you gaze at it your other senses are played upon, moans audible, you wrinkle your nose as if you could detect the evil odours of mortality… These scenes of the plague appealed to my cruel imagination: and I mused, how many persons had undergone these awful metamorphoses thanks to my wickedness?' (Sade, op. cit.)."

Monday, February 9, 2009

Sushi boat video

This is a cool, very simple idea. These guys placed a video camera on a sushi boat carousel and let it record what it saw. There's nothing mindblowing here, but what I find neat is the impartial observation of the camera. This reminds me a little of the cat camera, where a guy attached a small camera to his cat's neck. The camera would take a picture every once in a while, revealing what the cat had been up to. Check out the cat camera, why don't you?