Pumping Station: One Takes On The Machine

October 14, 2010 by Jakob Griffith 11 Comments

Part one and Part two of Hackerspace Pumping Station: One taking on the Scion challenge are up and ready for your viewing pleasure. The team at Pumping Station: One built a Tron themed bicycle that when setup properly, would churn ice cream that turned your urine neon in about 6 minutes by using dry ice and ethyl alcohol. Besides sounding not so tasty, and having a multitude of problems along the way, the project turned out the be a success. The question becomes, does it stand up to the last Hackerspace, NYC Resistor, who made a drink mixing slot machine? And how will both fair against the up and coming Musical Building by Crash Space?

[Thanks Deven]

Building A Recumbent Trike From Old Parts

October 12, 2010 by Mike Szczys 24 Comments

This recumbent trike was built using parts from three salvaged bikes and without welding. These bikes are a bit easier on the back and neck than the traditional riding position. This one also allows for a shorter pedal crank which was a concern for the creator, [Barry Millman]. Not only did he do a fantastic job of making the thing, but he shared the project in verbose detail.

It’s a good build. It won’t win a prize for light-weight design as it includes a big chunk of plywood. But it is worth the weight hit if welding is not an option. For your viewing pleasure you’ll find a short parking lot test-drive of the finished recumbent after the break.

Oh, and if you want a more dangerous cycling build, try this over-under tandem.

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Take Me Back To A Simpler Time, Radio Flyer

October 12, 2010 by Jakob Griffith 24 Comments

[Fred Keller] and [Judy Foster], both retired, are proving that age is just a number. What you see above is a nostalgia inducing full size driveable Radio Flyer red wagon. The base of which is a 1976 Mazda pickup truck, while the wagon portion is a mishmash of wood, fiberglass and bondo, detergent bottles, and more. Even the steering wheel has been retrofitted from an actual wheel from a wagon. We were surprised to find out the entire conversion only took the two 11 months to complete (finishing this past august), and even more confounded to learn the vehicle is completely street legal.

[Thanks Rob]

Quadbike: Bigger Is Better

September 14, 2010 by Jakob Griffith 26 Comments

[Tom Wilson] has finished his latest human powered quadcycle. The BigDog, as its called, seats 4 persons in lawn chairs who pedal to their destination. We say latest, for [Tom] also made a slightly smaller version called The DogSled. Some improvements include being taller (8 feet total), larger (11 feet by 6 feet), and surprisingly lighter (over half the weight, bringing it in to 450 pounds). The build process is just as impressive as the bike itself; using pneumatic disk brakes to golf cart axles to even drainage pipe, its a perfect fit for burning man. Catch a video after the divide.

[Thanks Mowcius]

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Car Computer Requires PIN For Ignition

September 2, 2010 by Mike Szczys 51 Comments

[Ben’s] added some nice goodies to his Volvo in the form of an in-dash computer. The system monitors two pressure sensors for boost and vacuum, as well as reading RPM, O2, and exhaust directly. All of this is tied into the touch interface running on an eeePC 900A. But our favorite feature is that the system requires you to enter a PIN to start the ignition. The forum post linked above is short on details so we asked [Ben] if he could tell us more. Join us after the break for a demonstration video as well as [Ben’s] rundown on the system.

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Electric Scooter Sings As It Travels

August 25, 2010 by Mike Szczys 34 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaQuRnZYKPc]

This scooter has been fitted with a three-phase induction motor. It reminds us of the sound effects from vehicles in the Jetsons. Right now they’re using lead-acid batteries and get about 15 miles of range from one charge. Once they switch over to lithium polymer they calculate the range will be closer to 45 miles due to the reduced weight and increased capacity. Not bad for $600 in parts, and we’d bet it’s both faster and more stable than the one-wheeled-wonder we saw last week.

In-dash Motorcycle Display

August 24, 2010 by Mike Szczys 26 Comments

[Muth] added an auxiliary display to his motorcycle instrument panel. He started out prototyping with a PIC 16F877A which he used to access information through the ECM diagnostic connection. Once he had that working he found this tiny display which fits perfectly between the speedometer and tachometer. There’s a short demo after the break where you can see a past-30-minute history of the Adaptive Fuel Value and the engine temperature as well as a secondary information screen.

This is another nice addition to our collection of vehicle displays, scooter controllers, gear indicators, and motorcycle computers.

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