CloudACM – Page 92 – Autonomous Computational Machines

It’s In The Bag Part 1 – ebike electronics loosely held inside the pannier

February 4, 2014 Patrick Gilfeather

For the most part, I’ve been able to get by with my setup. The setup is stowing the battery pack, motor controller, watt meter, and boost converter in the pannier bag without any fastening. It’s been treated like luggage for the past 2 years. The only issue that I’ve noticed in that time is broken wires, mostly the smaller gauge. Hot glue at the base of the connector heads has helped. I liked this setup because I don’t have the…

Cord Cutters Part 2 – Breaking the bonds of the power conglomerate

February 3, 2014 Patrick Gilfeather

It turns out there are 2 module boards that connect to the device. The first is the USB module that we currently use. The second is a Serial module that uses RS323 to communicate. Both of these modules connect to the device through a 9 pin connector. However, neither of these modules had any published information specific to board layout, schematics, or even theory of operation. I was able to source a RS323 / TTL converter and a bluetooth module. …

Cord Cutters Part 1 – Breaking the bonds of the power conglomerate

January 31, 2014 Patrick Gilfeather

It’s been my hope for quite sometime that my studies would eventually be tasked to solve a real world problem. My current day to day work has little to do with electrical engineering or micro control applications. We simply operate like most of the general population and purchase, instead of develop. Recently we had deployed a device that interfaces using a USB cable. That device is in a rather harsh environment and care has to be taken to prevent damage….