Paul & Sabrina's cheap DIY 144v motor controller

[jyanof]

Originally Posted by MPaulHolmes

jyanof: Let's shoot for 2 weeks for assembly, but then there's the issue of programming. hmm...... Well, Fran is going to send me his bootloader. I know DCB was mentioning that it might have reliability issues with a bootloader, so I don't know, but then you could reprogram it yourself from any laptop (free software too!). I'm sure the software will need to be fine tuned. I don't see a way to avoid a bootloader in the early stages?

I do have an STK500... i can make a little cable to use the ISP header on the board, or pop the uC in and out. As for other people though, I dunno...

[MPaulHolmes]

Hey jyanof! That's wonderful! I forgot about that! One problem with the control board is the pins for the ISP programming are mirrored.

They should be like this:
5 3 1
6 4 2

but it's like this:

6 4 2
5 3 1

Not the end of the world. If you use 3 pairs of wires just jack 1 2 on the STK500 to 1 2 on the control board, 3 4 to 3 4, etc...

I'm very grateful for your willingness to be a trailblazer! You are getting a bunch of the kinks out! ya!

[MPaulHolmes]

Bus bar warnings! hehe, I thought I should let you guys know that the 3 bus bars already had holes drilled in them, and I adapted the controllers a bit to account for the hole spacing. Also, there are a couple holes that are unused. They are thicker than a standard curtis bus bar, so the holes won't matter. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle! haha!

[patx]

Originally Posted by MPaulHolmes

Personally, I would maybe wait a while to see if anything blows up with the 3 controllers, but I ain't nobody's pappy (actually I am, but that doesn't count). This is definitely beta testing phase. It's probably fine, but you know.

Sure I will wait for tests results before proceeding but laying out the PBC with SOIC won't hurt! I am pretty sure if changes needs to be made after testing, this will still be valuable !!!

Originally Posted by jyanof

I do have an STK500... i can make a little cable to use the ISP header on the board, or pop the uC in and out. As for other people though, I dunno...

maybe a simple programmer schematic could be added to the PCB

ATmega8 Microcontroller Programmer

http://electronics-diy.com/avr_programmer.php

[jyanof]

Regarding the ISP header, i get the problem now - doesn't sound like a big deal. I just ordered a bunch of parts for the next iteration of my charger and picked up a few headers and cables, so I should be able to custom make something if I need to.

You might be grateful for the services of us testers, but all of us here are definitely grateful for the newly blazed trail to affordable EV products. And not just affordable, but high quality as well. (My Curtis spends more and more time in the 1.5 kHz mode now that it's getting hot outside - not only is the whine a little annoying, but I've read that lower frequency is not good for the caps. No wonder these things tend to 'pop' after a while.)

[charlie_fd]

Originally Posted by MPaulHolmes

..... Well, Fran is going to send me his bootloader.

Well, until you get that you might want to try the one from our svn. I'm using it for a week now and it works sweet! Well documented too.

[dcb]

I wouldn't use a bootloader in production. It uses flash that could be used for real code, adds risk, and besides, if you can load a bootloader, you can load a real program.

[blackpanther-st]

Originally Posted by wjdennis

Guys, I'm not trying to be persnickety or contrary here. I asked a question that was on-topic, about the controller and its possible use as a charger. My follow-up questions were going to be able how to size the inductor so that when I built the controller I could test it as a charger, too. But I got responses about choosing the right battery pack and energy losses and pack swapping. I've already got my battery pack. My EV goes over 100 miles on a charge. I drive it 88 miles round-trip to work. It just has trouble with sagging on steep hills, and Lee Hart recommended the solution I mentioned, getting a small second pack that could handle the high-demand draws for hills, and have my existing pack supply a constant 70A. Paul's controller seems like a good solution since I'm planning on building one anyway.

Bill

I can see your point about the second pack with lower capacity, but higher C rating; but I think the charging circuit is way to complex and unnecessary.

I would have the second pack at the same voltage and just use a single IGBT or a set of mosfets as an on off switch to engage the second pack in parallel with the first when extra current is needed. this could be trigged either manually, or automatically with a simple current sensing circuit.

In essence either it is connected and delivering the additional amperage, or it is not. there is no need for metering a controlled charge if both packs have the same nominal voltage; just supply the additional current as needed.

-----------------------------

edit...

Mosfets would be much preferred for this circuit as the voltage differences will always be minimal between the two packs.

[MPaulHolmes]

hey, I got interviewed today!

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AND a couple days ago:
DIY DC Motor Controller

[jimini]

Would the cougar controller be a good controller for this motor? Another question, would this motor be a decent motor for an ev conversion?
Sorry if i'm off topic here. Jim

GE 8" Series wound Dual shaft motor

SPECIFICATION:
· 43 HP at 120 Volts DC ELECTRIC MOTOR · 34 HP at 97V with 5,700 RPM approximately
· 25 HP at 72V with 4,200 RPM approximately
· 17 HP at 48V with 2,800 RPM approximately
· 7,000 RPM approximately at no load and 120 Volts DC
· 300 Amps full load at all voltages
· Ball bearing
· Rotation reversible
· Double Shafted
.Front Shaft 1” Diam. X 2" and tapers to 13/16"
.Rear Shaft 1" Diam. X 4" approximately
· Size 8.25” X 20” including shaft approximately
· Shpg. 145 lb estimate