Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com - View Single Post - Paul & Sabrina's cheap DIY 144v motor controller

Cyruscosmo · 07-20-2010, 02:31 PM

Hey Paul

To be honest I am not sure.

What I see in the schematics is that an optical coupler was used to drive the 12 Amp Mosfet Driver MIC4451YN to isolate the output from the high power section. Yet the Opto coupler and the driver are on the main board? If the magic smoke gets loose in there would it not destroy parts of the main board as well?

I have seen concerns expressed over the distance from the driver to the mosfets.
Over the number of mosfets a single driver can switch.
And over how many AMPS a driver can handle.
But I have seen nothing concerning the distance the high speed CMR Optocoupler can be driven from the CPU.

So could the optocoupler and MIC4451YN be placed with the power section and the rest of the controller electronics be in the dash where it could be easily removed for upgrades or simply as a theft deterrent. The car is going nowhere without a brain.

I know that CAT5 and USB cables can transfer data at high rates so why could they not be used to connect between the "Brains" and the "Brawn" parts of the setup?

The reason I ask is I will be building an electric vehicle from the ground up when my shop is finished. I will also be building the power section in modular water-cooled units that can be stacked for higher output. A remote mount controller which can be daisy chained to each module would make more sense cost wise than a controller for each unit.

And as I have said before if looking into this possibility would interest you I am willing to fund your research. ;-)

07-20-2010, 02:31 PM	#3565 (permalink)
Cyruscosmo EcoModding Lurker Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Seattle, Wa Posts: 71 Thanks: 7 Thanked 31 Times in 26 Posts	Remote Hey Paul To be honest I am not sure. What I see in the schematics is that an optical coupler was used to drive the 12 Amp Mosfet Driver MIC4451YN to isolate the output from the high power section. Yet the Opto coupler and the driver are on the main board? If the magic smoke gets loose in there would it not destroy parts of the main board as well? I have seen concerns expressed over the distance from the driver to the mosfets. Over the number of mosfets a single driver can switch. And over how many AMPS a driver can handle. But I have seen nothing concerning the distance the high speed CMR Optocoupler can be driven from the CPU. So could the optocoupler and MIC4451YN be placed with the power section and the rest of the controller electronics be in the dash where it could be easily removed for upgrades or simply as a theft deterrent. The car is going nowhere without a brain. I know that CAT5 and USB cables can transfer data at high rates so why could they not be used to connect between the "Brains" and the "Brawn" parts of the setup? The reason I ask is I will be building an electric vehicle from the ground up when my shop is finished. I will also be building the power section in modular water-cooled units that can be stacked for higher output. A remote mount controller which can be daisy chained to each module would make more sense cost wise than a controller for each unit. And as I have said before if looking into this possibility would interest you I am willing to fund your research. ;-)