Paddling Help From Electric-Assisted Kayak

December 31, 2023 by Bryan Cockfield 15 Comments

Electric-assisted bicycles, or ebikes, are fundamentally changing the way people get around cities and towns. What were once sweaty, hilly, or difficult rides have quickly turned into a low-impact and inexpensive ways around town without foregoing all of the benefits of exercise. [Braden] hoped to expand this idea to the open waters and is building what he calls the ebike of kayaking, using the principles of electric-assisted bicycles to build a kayak that helps you get where you’re paddling without removing you completely from the experience.

The core of the project is a brushless DC motor originally intended a hydrofoil which is capable of providing 11 pounds (about 5 kg) of thrust. [Braden] has integrated it into a 3D-printed fin which attaches to the bottom of his inflatable kayak. The design of the fin took a few iterations to get right, but with a working motor and fin combination he set about tuning the system’s PID controller in a tub before taking it out to the open water. With just himself, the battery, and the motor controller in the kayak he’s getting about 14 miles of range with plenty of charge left in the battery after the trips.

[Braden]’s plans for developing this project further will eventually include a machine learning algorithm to detect when the rider is paddling and assist them, rather than simply being a throttle-operated motor as it exists currently. On a bicycle, strapping a sensor to the pedals is pretty straightforward, but we expect detecting paddling to be a bit more of a challenge. There are even more details about this build on his personal project blog. We’re looking forward to seeing the next version of the project but if you really need to see more boat hacks in the meantime be sure to check out [saveitforparts]’s boat which foregoes sails in favor of solar panels.

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An RC Tank Chassis That’s Not Messing About

December 26, 2023 by Jenny List 3 Comments

It’s not uncommon to see a tracked robot build on these pages, but it’s fair to say that many of them are somewhat on the small side. That was where [iforce2d] started, but the idea of making a more capable version just wouldn’t go away. Thus, he’s come back and made what looks to be a very promising, fully capable outdoor RC tank chassis, one that, within reason, we think should eventually be able to go anywhere.

For plenty of power, he’s using a pair of hoverboard motors with a chain reduction drive and in turn, a couple of shafts to the tracks. The chassis is a TIG-welded aluminium affair, while the tracks are an early incarnation with machined MDF drive wheels and a homemade tread. The suspension is a work of machined-aluminium art, though, and while there are teething troubles as he takes it for a spin, we can see plenty of potential as its deficiencies are ironed out. Take a look at it in the video below the break.

If large-size R/C tanks are your thing, we have another for you to look at.

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Digital Bike Horn Will Play Custom Sounds, Please Be Tasteful

December 23, 2023 by Lewin Day 19 Comments

When you’re out riding your bike, a horn can be a useful warning device to other road users and pedestrians alike. It can also be a source of fun and amusement, or annoyance, depending on the sounds it makes and how you use it. For the ultimate flexibility, you might like this digital bicycle horn that offers customizable sounds, as developed by [gokux].

The build has attractive two-tone components, consisting of a button pad for playing four sounds, and a sound module with a 3 watt speaker and battery pack. A Seeed Studio XIAO SAMD21 is the heart of the operation, with the microcontroller paired with a DFPlayer Mini which handles sound duties. When one of the four buttons is pressed, the microcontroller loads the relevant sound off an SD card, and plays it out over the speaker. For power, the build uses a lithium rechargeable battery with a healthy 1200 mAh capacity, which can be readily recharged thanks to a TP4056 charger module with a USB-C port.

It’s a nifty little build, and we love the Metal Gear Solid sounds. Though, we do wonder just how audible that 3 watt speaker is. If it proves inadequate, you could always step up to a much larger driver paired with a hefty audio amp if you so desire.

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Old Prius Gets Upgraded Batteries

December 18, 2023 by Bryan Cockfield 24 Comments

So many of the batteries made today are lithium batteries of some sort, from mobile phones, laptops, and drones to electric cars and grid storage solutions. But this technology is relatively new; even as late as the 90s and early 00s the only widely-available batteries for things like power tools or the new hybrid vehicles coming on the market were nickel-metal hydride (NiMH). While it was good for the time, they don’t hold up to all of the advantages lithium has. There’s still plenty of hybrid vehicles on the road using these batteries, so if you’re driving an older Prius and want to give it a modern refresh, there’s a quick option to swap your old batteries.

Despite lithium technology being available for several decades, the switch to lithium for the Toyota Prius wasn’t instant, with many variants still using NiMH batteries as late as the 2020s largely because the NiMH batteries are less expensive and less maintenance-intensive than lithium batteries are. As these batteries lose capacity, the cars are still driveable but the advantages of the hybrid drivetrain won’t be as accessible anymore. The upgrade, from a company called Project Lithium, replaces these batteries with modern lithium technology that can improve the efficiency and performance of these cars even above their original capabilities since lithium batteries have more power density.

With the Toyota Prius being among the most reliable vehicles on the road thanks to the electric motor in the hybrid drivetrain taking a lot of stress off of the internal combustion engine, it’s often worth upgrading these old batteries to modern ones to squeeze every last mile from these workhorses as possible. With many of the replacement processes being almost as simple as lifting out an old battery and placing a new one in, it can be a no-brainer if that’s the only issue with the vehicle otherwise. This is also true of all-electric vehicles as well, although the process to replace the battery can be a little more involved.

Thanks to [JohnU] for the tip!

Hubless E-Bike Is Nostalgic

December 16, 2023 by Al Williams 12 Comments

[Chris Makes Stuff] is an aptly named channel. His recent video shows how he took a kid’s electric motorcycle toy and built a “penny farthing” bicycle. You might not know the bike by that name, but when you see it in the video below, you’ll recognize it. These Victorian-era bikes used a single large wheel before chain drives on a bike became a thing.

Of course, the big part of this — literally and figuratively — is the giant front wheel. There’s a second video showing how it was built in layers using wood.

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A white cargo van drives over a black asphalt road. An "x-ray" illustration shows the inductive coils inside the road as it drives over them.

Charging While Driving Now Possible In Michigan

December 14, 2023 by Navarre Bartz 66 Comments

Heavy vehicles like semi trucks pose a bigger challenge in electrifying the transportation fleet than smaller, more aerodynamic passenger cars. Michigan now has the first public in-road charging system in the United States to help alleviate this concern. [via Electrek]

Electreon, a company already active in Europe, won the contract to provide for the inductive coil-based charging system at the new Michigan Central Station research campus. Initial runs will be with a Ford E-Transit for testing, but there are plans to actually allow public use along the one mile (1.6 km) route in the near future.

Vehicles using the system need a special receiver, so we hope we’ll be seeing an open standard develop instead of having to have a different receiver for each road you drive on. This seems like it would be a more onerous swap than having to have three different toll road transponders. Unfortunately, the page about wireless standards on the Electreon website currently 404s, but CharIN, the standards body behind the Combined Charging Standard (CCS) did just launch a task force for wireless power delivery in September.

If you’re curious about other efforts at on-road charging, check out this slot car system in Sweden or another using pantographs.

Two pieces of paper on a table with a pair of pliers, a screwdriver, and a cup of what is probably coffee or tea. The sheets show a diagram of a bicycle handlebar on one side with a labeled "controller box, controller lever, mount, and battery." The other sheet shows a side view of a 150kg servo mounted on a plate that runs over to a brake caliper with a battery, receiver, and power stabilizer. These parts are also labeled in red text.

Wireless Bike Brakes

December 11, 2023 by Navarre Bartz 73 Comments

Bicycles are the most efficient machines for moving a person around, and wireless drivetrains have been heralded as a way to make shifting more consistent and require less maintenance. [Blake Samson] wondered if the same could be true of wireless brakes.

Inspired by the controller for an RC car, [Blake] picked a 150 kg servo attached to a cable-actuated hydraulic disc caliper to apply the braking force. The servo, receiver, power stabilizer, and batteries were all mounted on a custom steel plate fabricated to mount under the caliper. [Blake] cut up an old set of mountain bike brake levers to reuse the handlebar mounts and then put the batteries, controller, and finger triggers on them.

Confident in his hacking skills, [Blake] then took the bike out on some trails to test the brakes. As a prototype, there were a few surprises along the way, like one of the triggers staying locked in the braking position, but they performed admirably enough that he’s mulling over a Mk. 2.

Bikes are one of our favorite hacking platforms. Be sure to checkout this dreamy cargo bike build, an awesome bike camper, or what can happen if your bike is dependent on the cloud to work.

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