Video: Porsche 914 home conversion (show & test drive)

[MetroMPG]

More AC EV motor sounds...

View this brief clip that shows the EV1 starting procedure, bootup "light show" on the upper dashboard, and instrument panel. Hear the unique sound as we accelerate to 40 mph. Requires QuickTime 4.

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by bennelson

Brushless DC motors are about half a step away from AC motors. Maybe all use DIYers should be using those!

Any guesses/knowledge about regen implementations on Brushless DC motors being easier to implement than Brushed DC motors and/or AC motors?

[bennelson]

Not from me. I am no expert on regen.

Brushless DC is basically an inside out DC motor, so that no electricity has to be passed by brushes to the spinning parts - the parts that need the electricity stay still. You do need a fancier controller though, for it all to work.

Like I said, it is more similar to AC in how it works.

[GenKreton]

You can use pulse width modulation from a DC source, obviously, to power an AC motor by varying the length of the width of the pulse every time and using some circuit, generally an H-bridge, to quickly invert the voltage. Why this is not being used by more DIY'ers, I cannot be sure.



It's hard to see the bars here because they are not shaded, but the voltage is applied the longest at the peak of the curve. The AC motors will just see this as AC current because it is switched so quickly.


I had to program one of those systems using an MC9S12 micrprocessor as a sophomore in mechanical engineering; in other words, it's not difficult and someone must have it already made.

You get the advantage of the AC motor being well into the 90% efficiency range, where brushed DC motors are 75-80% often.