Paul and Sabrina's Cheap 3 Phase Inverter (AC Controller) with Field Oriented Control

[freebeard]

I'm starting to think 'hahaha' is your answer to everything. I think you've earned a

Houston? Noted.

How current is the stuff on Github?

[MPaulHolmes]

Github is 99% updated. actually, almost being killed and losing everything is strangely invigorating! It really makes you appreciate things like your family and our friends. I had mentioned it to like one person, and a few minutes later, we got a call from someone in Phoenix ready to drive 1100 miles to pick us up. But before I could agree, a guy got us the $31 plane tickets. Then 3 families were fighting over who could pick us up at the airport. LOL. Then Sabrina's family felt really bad about it (I mean, I'm the only white guy out of maybe 120 black people at the funeral), and I was the only one robbed in the hood. Coincidence? Hahaha. So they all gave us some money too. We are just going to save for a while and will find a nice used car. And it's easier to redo things when it has already been designed before. So the PCB stuff isn't such a big deal to lose. and software? No problem. That's my fav part anyway.

[thingstodo]

Could I respectfully suggest Dropbox as the lowest acceptable level of backup?

Anything I can do to help - let me know!

[MPaulHolmes]

That's a good idea.

[thingstodo]

Originally Posted by MPaulHolmes

.. I had mentioned it to like one person, and a few minutes later, we got a call from someone in Phoenix ready to drive 1100 miles to pick us up. But before I could agree, a guy got us the $31 plane tickets. Then 3 families were fighting over who could pick us up at the airport. LOL. Then Sabrina's family felt really bad about it (I mean, I'm the only white guy out of maybe 120 black people at the funeral), and I was the only one robbed in the hood. Coincidence? Hahaha. So they all gave us some money too.

So you are OK and happy to have survived!

Can you still pay the bills, buy food and diapers, etc, while replacing the stuff that was stolen (besides the car) or would a paypal infusion *REALLY* help?

We are just going to save for a while and will find a nice used car.

Trying to get errands and stuff done without wheels sucks, but knowing you I'm sure you have enough friends in the area that you will manage that part.

And it's easier to redo things when it has already been designed before. So the PCB stuff isn't such a big deal to lose. and software? No problem. That's my fav part anyway.

Were the PCB files emailed to the board manufacturer .. or did you just send the gerber files? It would be nice if you could recover at least the general layout, if not the details ...

[palmer_md]

Originally Posted by MPaulHolmes

Hello! Sorry, I am In Houston for my wife's uncle's funeral. I wish I had sent the updated software to someone now, since I was robbed at gunpoint here. I was carrying the laptop toward my wife's cousins apartment. The robber had what looked like a 357 handgun. I think what saved me was the one diaper I took out of the car just before being robbed. He even got my keys and stole our car with everything in it (filled with all our stuff since we just drove it all the way over here 1140 miles). And about a solid year worth of work, with all my software, and dozens of schematics and PCB layouts. Down the toilet! Haha

Wow, I'm very sorry to hear this news. I'm very glad to hear you and the family are ok and it was just some material goods lost in the event. Hopefully the Police can recover some of it for you. Glad to hear your friends and family are helping in this needed time. Let us know if there is anything we can do to help. Best Wishes, Michael

[Astro]

Originally Posted by thingstodo

So you are OK and happy to have survived!
Can you still pay the bills, buy food and diapers, etc, while replacing the stuff that was stolen (besides the car) or would a paypal infusion *REALLY* help?...

I'll second that.

If you can laugh after an encounter with a gun wielding thug then the least i can do is to try and persuade my wife that we really need to Paypal some funds to you.
Actually it was the first thing she suggested when i told her about your adventure.

We just don't see that sort of crime here so it was very shocking to hear about it.
At least the rest of the family wasn't in the firing line.

Hopefully the kids enjoyed the flight home. It would probably be more comfortable that a 1100 mile return car trip anyway.

[MPaulHolmes]

Oh the flight back was WAY faster than the 17 hours or whatever it was to drive. Although it was fun to stop along the way. You guys have already been a huge help to me. You gave me the money to make those prototype controllers, and it was a lot of trust that it would all work out. I really appreciate that! I think we are actually fine. The car insurance is going to let us rent a car for 20 days, at which time they will give us some money for our missing car.

I think with no wife and no kids, it would be tempting to buy a suit of body armor, and secretly become batman in the hood. That would be pretty hilarious. Although a more useful thing would probably be to just go to the stores and try to do something nice for someone. Deep in the hood the people haven't had much (any?) interaction with people different from themselves. I was in jack in the box, and a lady didn't have enough on her credit card for the $1 value fries. I told her I'd give her mine, and I'd just get another one, and she was all "I can't buy that!". haha. It was like a robot. "Does not compute." Her daughter had to explain it to her that I was just giving her the fries. LOL.

[freebeard]

I'm curious about this 'nice new car' that you get to have. Average occupancy of four? Would a Geo Metro suffice? There are some nice EV conversions shown here by EVmetro.

• First conversion
• Second conversion
• Third conversion

They look good in skirts and a Kamm-back. But for your purposes a custom roofrack side-rail made out of a canted tailfin would look like this:



Some red scallops and you're there.

Get two, a daily driver and a conversion car unless you can throw together an EV in 20 days. Do you have any shop space? I can't be there, but one would learn a lot by being a helping hand in that.

Ask EVmetro about pricing on the parts he uses. EVTV closes out stuff that isn't the latest generation but that still works. OEM parts are cheaper new than the custom stuff, and available used. Like my Lexus MGR. But Chevy Volt chargers and cabin heaters are awesome, [somebodiy selse's] DC-DC inverter, & etc.

How much will the insurance cover? With me, recently, it was a-least-once daily phone calls and/or emails for two months, to get them up from $1600 (after salvage) to $5500 (with an unencumbered title). So good luck, even if it is your own insurance company.

[MPaulHolmes]

Oh I'm not getting anything close to a nice new car. I said a nice used car. And of course by "nice", I mean a pile of crap that will still drive reliably. haha. The main thing I have to think about out here is long distance (I don't live in town), and 150degF 9 months out of the year. not ideal for an EV.