Mizu Sushi, a restaurant serving Japanese cuisine in Downtown Portland, decided to redo their website.  Mizu wanted a customized website where they can update contents and menu. Xenopi worked closely with the owners of Mizu to make their vision a reality using a customized WordPress theme.

The new website includes anti-comment-SPAM software, SEO tools, a Mobile version of the site and is Social Network ready, with Twitter, RSS and FaceBook support. The main benefit of the new website is that the owner or staff can update their “Daily and Weekly Specials” any time, and, most importantly without the need for a web master.

In the mean time, Travis and I have been re-evaluating the xenoDisplay and platform support.  The iPhone OS (now iOS) has presented us with some problematic restrictions and honestly, I’m not sure it’s going to work out as planned.  We originally picked the iPhone OS because it IS the most popular platform for mobile smart devices and because I have experience developing for the iPhone.  What we don’t like is the restrictions (some artificial, some less so) that Apple has on iPhone development that make it hard to develop the xenoDisplay Application for the iPhone.

So where does that leave us?  Well, we’re not sure, but I suspect there is a good chance we’ll be moving to Android for the xenoDisplay.   We’re also considering moving to an Open Source model for the xenoDisplay (!).  I’m not sure what form of licensing that will entail, but most likely, it would be free for personal (single user) use, so hobbyist EV builders can use it without having to pay.

Okay, so how is the SPARC coming then?  The work on the SPARC continues in a round about way.  Right now, I’m honing  my Carbon Fiber fabrication skills by building a recumbent bike with a Carbon Fiber frame.  The reason for this project (besides me always having wanted to build a recumbent bike) is to work out the kinks in Carbon Fiber fabrication on a relatively small scale before committing to the large scale project of the SPARC.  By doing so, I minimize the number of mistakes that would be much more costly when done on the SPARC than on the bike frame.   So far, the practice has proven to be very worthwhile.  I am shooting for a completion date of July 4th (roughly) for the recumbent bike.  It’s aggressive, but I really want to get it done ASAP.  I’ll try to post some pics and updates on occasion.  Knowing me though, I’ll probably forget and just post the “done” pics..

Once the bike frame has been completed, I’ll return to the SPARC project.  I am eager to get the SPARC on the road (even if only in a skeletal state), and to get it to that point only really requires that the drive train be installed and all the electrical components built up.  The only real fabrication work necessary for that to happen is building the battery box since Kale was kind enough to include a nice motor face mount and belly support with the frame.

So that’s the quick update from here.  Hope all your projects are going well!

Eric

“A whopping 83 percent of Willamette Valley residents said in a poll last fall that they want Oregon to help lead the nation in pioneering electric vehicles. Many say they’d consider buying an EV, especially as battery range increases and prices fall.”

More here

Instead of video, here are some new screenshots.

Unfortunately, these screenshots can’t show the slick zooming in/out when the user taps on the battery pack or on the speedometer/ammeter/temp gauges.  The user can use finger swipes to scroll the individual battery cell displays to show all the cells. I still need to work on this code (it’s a bit jerky) but that’s not a big deal.

Note: all gauges are active at all times, so even though the speedometer gauge gets shrunk down when the user is viewing individual cell data, it still shows the current speed.

I had hoped to show the charge status indicator, but unfortunately, my charger (the Delta-Q) isn’t properly programmed yet, so it refused to charge the battery pack.  Still, it’s coming along nicely, and I think we’ll be starting in on Curtis support within the month.

That’s all for now.

Eric

The motor mount consists of two parts: a face plate and a belly support.  The face plate bolts to the motor face with 4 bolts and then to the frame with two bolts.   It fits perfectly:

AC-31 test mounted in frame - right side view

Ideally, we’d have a matching plate for the rear end of the motor to support the weight, but since the AC-31 is so long it’s not practical to do so.  Instead, Kale fabricated a cradle shaped belly support that takes the weight of the motor (~100 lbs!).  The belly support bolts to the frame and the motor rests on top of the U-shaped cradle.  It’s just meant to support the weight of the motor, not prevent the motor from twisting around it’s axis (that’s what the face plate is for) so it’s not bolted to the motor.

The AC-31 test mounted with the motor face plate - left side view

Currently, the belly mount cradle is about 1/4″ too large in radius compared to the radius of the motor, but that’s because it’s going to have a 1/4″ thick rubber mat between the motor and the cradle to provide vibration damping.  I still need to buy that material, but it’s not expensive (about $5 for a 1′ x 4′ strip from Coastal Farm & Supply).

If you look closely at the left side view, you’ll see a bit of coat hanger wire tying the face plate to the frame.  That’s just there to keep the mount from moving since it’s not bolted to the frame yet.  It doesn’t make any sense for me to hard mount to the frame right now because I need the 1/4″ rubber mat for a proper fit and I’m going to be bench testing the motor & drive system anyway (which means taking the motor out completely).

I was a little concerned about the main electrical power connections being so close to the frame (this isn’t very obvious from the pictures) but Travis pointed out that the cables can be disconnected from the mount points provided so it should be okay.

Eric

Since the SPARC XEV uses a Ninja 250 for various donor parts (rear shock, swing arm, wheels, tires, brakes, etc.) I decided to save some money for the initial version by using motorcycle style handlebars and motorcycle hand controls (specifically, hand brake levers, twist grip throttle, etc.) since I had those parts available and paid for (from the original electric motorcycle conversion project).

As you can see, the lines installed just fine with no problems.

The brake lines go from the brake lever main cylinder to a Y-adapter which splits the line into left and right (one line per wheel – one disc per wheel).  While there is a little awkwardness to fitting the Y-adapter (I should have gotten a few straight banjo fittings instead of all 35 degree angle fittings), it all went together decently without much hassle.

So there I was, thinking that it was smooth sailing from then on.  All I had to do was flush and fill the system with new brake fluid, bleed the system, and I’d be ready to do some brake testing.

Alas, all was not smooth sailing.   Along comes a little surprise – the bolt screws holding the brake reservoir cap on are stuck (rusted? gummed?) and trying to unscrew them with a Phillips screwdriver gets me nothing but stripped screw caps… argh.

Brake reservoir with stripped screws

So, for now, I’m at an impasse.  I’ll have to figure out how I can get those screws out without damaging the rest of the reservoir.  I’m not sure how I’ll do that just yet.   In fact, I’m wondering if I should just dump the hand brake lever and go with a foot pedal but we’ll see.

Eric

Just a quick note to folks who haven’t checked out our forums (where I post much more often).   We’re making steady progress with the SPARC XEV project.

Both seats are mounted, with the front seat mounted on a set of seat sliders to allow for forward/rearward adjustment.  The 4-point seat belt safety harness for the driver is also mounted.  I ordered and received new stainless steel brake lines for the front disc brakes and plan on installing those this weekend.  I also have the Magura twist grip throttle and right hand brake lever temporarily mounted to see how well they fit together (answer: pretty well).  I need to remove the other hand controls (lights, starter switch, turn signal switch, horn, etc.) from the donor bike (a 1990 Kawasaki ZX600D) so I can re-use them on the SPARC.

The Delta-Q Quiq charger has been programmed for the Headway cells (72V pack) and the Curtis controller is already programmed for the AC-31 running at 72V, so we should be good there.  Travis is in the process of getting the controller talking to his computer via serial so everything will be ready for me to put together in the SPARC when I’m ready.  The battery pack holder still needs to be fabricated though, so it will be awhile before any powered runs (although I might do some short downhill rolling tests once the brakes are done and tested).

Lee is working on a new body design for the SPARC but we’re not ready to show anything publicly yet.  It’s difficult to design a body that is both aesthetically pleasing, yet functional and aerodynamic.  Still, it’s a fun challenge and definitely one of the most appealing aspects of the design process.

Tomorrow Travis will be coming by to work on things with me, and I’m hoping to make a lot of progress then.  I want to post some new pics and a video of the xenoDisplay showing data from the Lithiumate BMS.   So look for updates over the weekend!

Eric

That statement is true.  The emissions of an electric vehicle itself are zero, but the electricity has to be generated somewhere, somehow.   If the means of generating the electricity is a dirty one (like coal fired plants) then there IS pollution associated with electric vehicles that use that electricity.

However, the implied conclusion – “therefore, electric vehicles are no better than fossil-fuel vehicles” is just wrong.  Here’s why:

First off, electricity can be generated from a variety of sources – coal, natural gas, hydroelectric, wind, nuclear, biogas, geothermal, and solar to name just a few.  Some of those sources (like coal) are polluting, while others (like wind, hydroelectric, geothermal, solar) are non-polluting.    Consequently, the amount of pollution created by generating the electricity can vary quite a bit depending on the generation method.

Second, even if a very dirty method of generation like coal fired plants is used to provide the power for an electric vehicle, the overall amount of CO2 emissions created is still less than the CO2 emissions of a fossil fuel internal combustion engine powered vehicle.  (source links here and here).

Third, one must take into account the ability to focus & engineer mitigation technology on a single point (the power generation plant) versus on hundreds of millions of points (individual vehicles).    Say that a technology becomes widely available for cars that reduces their emissions by 50%.  How long will it take to install that technology on every car used today?  How much will it cost?  How much effort will it take?  How many different permutations must be produced to retrofit every car on the road?  Now, compare that scenario to the equivalent scenario for an electrical generation plant.   How long will it take to install the device in all the plants?  How much will it cost?  How many permutations must be created?    With power plants numbering in the thousands, and cars numbering in the hundreds of millions, the argument becomes obvious.  It is a lot easier to improve emissions performance on a single power plant than on thousands of individual cars.

The GM EN-V Concept Electric Vehicle

SHANGHAI – It’s not quite as foldable as the space vehicle that cartoon figure George Jetson pops into his briefcase as he bops into the office.

But the EN-V concept car, GM’s “automobile solution” for the future, just might fit into an apartment foyer.

General Motors and its Chinese partner SAIC will showcase the “Electric Networked-Vehicle” launched Wednesday in their joint pavilion at the Shanghai Expo, which opens May 1 and runs for six months.

More at MSNBC.com

XENOPI.COM Mobile

The mobile version of XENOPI.COM uses the “Carrington” theme which is a very simple theme that eliminates all front page images, but maintains them in pages and posts.  We might add an iPhone specific theme for a more “integrated” look for iPhone visitors, but that’s not set in stone.

Please let us know what you think and if you encounter any problems with the site.  We’re always looking for ways to improve the site, so please don’t hesitate if you have a suggestion or comment.

Eric