pic: GoKarts! - BurnoutChibi

[Mk.32]

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[Richard Wallace]

OK this is cool. I really liked the author's description (toward the end) of how he burned the motors and then rewound them.

BTW, that steering thingy resembles an old school lug wrench, and looks like a good way to impale oneself in the event of sudden deceleration.

[Travis Hoffman]

I see the GoPro mount - looking forward to those vids.

[Akash Rastogi]

Small small world. I think I met Charles when he came to a regional up here with a MORT alum who he is friends with at MIT. Learned that Charles also knew Sean Cantrell (who at the time was with 1771).

Love seeing how FIRSTers all know each other

[Mk.32]

Well the problem with cheap chinese motors is they do explode now and then... Those brushless motors are about $40 each and 4x as power dense as a cim, each one can pull about 2000 watts.

He has other goPRO video on his other carts on his site, and video of this one should come once things settle down in boston.

So far the vex gearboxes seem to be doing fine, I like the cable shifter idea instead of using pneumatics. The motors he used already had an 8mm shaft, so he just milled in 2mm key way and machined an adapter plate.

Oh awesome Akash small world indeed.

[mman1506]

Originally Posted by Mk.32

Well the problem with cheap chinese motors is they do explode now and then... Those brushless motors are about $40 each and 4x as power dense as a cim, each one can pull about 2000 watts.

So far the vex gearboxes seem to be doing fine, I like the cable shifter idea instead of using pneumatics. The motors he used already had an 8mm shaft, so he just milled in 2mm key way and machined an adapter plate.

Thanks, have you guys looked at the simonK firmware for brushless ESC's? It allows you to add RC style forward/brake/reverse to Airplane ESC's. I have had some good results using the firmware on some small brushless vehicles. It also seems to reduce some cogging over the stock firmware and allows for more advanced configuration.

[martin417]

Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi

Small small world. I think I met Charles when he came to a regional up here with a MORT alum who he is friends with at MIT. Learned that Charles also knew Sean Cantrell (who at the time was with 1771).

Love seeing how FIRSTers all know each other

Perhaps Charles was being too modest. Charles was the reason that 1771 existed. When he was a junior at North Gwinnett HS, he heard about FIRST and decided to form a team at North. He lobbied administration, begged a teacher to be a sponsor, found a build space at another school that already had a team, found a few other students to be on the team and started it all. With no mentors, no money and no experience. Charles was already at MIT when I joined 1771, but he was the genesis of the team, and it grew from the roots he created.

[Mk.32]

Originally Posted by Richard Wallace

OK this is cool. I really liked the author's description (toward the end) of how he burned the motors and then rewound them.

BTW, that steering thingy resembles an old school lug wrench, and looks like a good way to impale oneself in the event of sudden deceleration.

The steering "wheel" is actually an 3/4 hex Kurt Vice speed handle from ebay I believe... and that defiantly seems possible...

[GBK]

This looks like way too much fun. I would have to go for a steering wheel, or a handle bar. Looks like something we should be racing in the parking lot after pits close..

[Mk.32]

Originally Posted by GBK

This looks like way too much fun. I would have to go for a steering wheel, or a handle bar. Looks like something we should be racing in the parking lot after pits close..

Well they kinda do, in the parking lots of Maker Fairs. http://www.powerracingseries.org/ I don't believe this kart is race legal (PPPRS has a $500 budget/no LiPO rule).

[AlexH]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uN2G1BEsnU0

video of it


the lack of epic skidmarks makes me sad...

[mman1506]

How are the vex transmissions holding up? I have a few large outrunners laying around and It looks like it would be fun to modify one of are test bots with outrunners.