scalarparty ([info]scalarparty) wrote,
@ 2005-08-17 14:53:00
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Entry tags:!!, diy. evs, evs, gizmos, glsfeatures, i want one!!!

Opensource DIY solar powered scooters! From Montreal?? Mais Oui!
Ok eh, so this one is a shoutout to my much missed hometown, Montreal. Where some people have been changing the world one cell phone battery at a time (well more than that, later).
grafiti
So what it's not the hottest ride on the street... and at best they go about 40kmH (not bad, eh). But as they say back home, check-ca: these vehicles can keep going like the energizer bunny! The guys who made these scooters have taken them on day trips up to the Laurentians (not just 150km away, but steep hills!). And that is from solar power.
engine
sure.. they're pretty lightweight, have to be, they also (aside from the wheels) have no moving parts no pistons no gears no clutch.... they work by my-absolutely-even-more-favorite-than-stirling-engines-technology: good ol' pulses and magnets! Increase pulse frequency and you speed up, decrease and you slow down. no fuss no muss. And why all the cellphone batteries (150 used batteries per vehicle)? well they bundle them up into packs that deliver enough voltage and wattage to run the vehicle.. they recharge very quickly (1/2 hr in the sun), and on longer trips one packet can be driving the engine, while the other packets are recharging in the sun on the open road... ahh just like Easy Rider
westmount
Oh and they don't sell them. The schematics are all free and on-line..
the only thing they ask is that if you make improvements you let them know so they can improve it for everyone... kinda like an EV version of Redhat. It will run you about $1500 in parts to build one... but like they say in americanexpress, the experience is priceless.
beaver lake
So you're probably wondering who they are and how to find out more about this, right? go to the official )upright solar website... it's all there...
ok one last pic!
goinhome




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[info]somerled
2005-08-17 07:33 pm UTC (link)
where's the source?

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[info]scalarparty
2005-08-18 11:35 am UTC (link)
you know-- i debated the pro/con of putting that link at the end of the article (instead of normal, at beginning and end). And I now surmise that my second guessing actually had merit. Oh well. Will make it easier in the future.. but for now:

if you look at the last bit of text, (before the winter-shot), there's a hyperlink for the words "upright solar" in the sentence "go to the official upright solar website." The schematics are great.. parts lists and even where to get them....

i knew you'd like this, SoLed ...perhaps soon we will have a race? ...something to do while your ankle heals!

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