The Maxun solarbike project
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A lightweight solarbike that drives entirely by solar energy
Imagine that you can cycle entirely by the sun's power. Until now this was a pie in the sky. But with my invention of the Maxun One solar bike, the impossible has become possible. The solar panels alone deliver the energy for a speed of 25km/h without pedalling and with a little additional pedalling you easily reach 30km/h.
Spoty precision SMD micro-dot solder paste dispenser
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With this tool you can precisely dispense very small dots of solder paste. Although this solder paste dispenser is cheap and uncomplicated, it works better for small SMD parts than many automatic dispensers. It is used in aerospace and medical electronics companies.
Read more: Spoty precision SMD micro-dot solder paste dispenser
Arduino switch and button library with Short/Long Press, Double Click and Beep.
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I made this switch library years ago when decent switch libraries didn't exist, and over the years it has become more and more extended. It is now the best out there according to people who have compared them.
Read more: Arduino switch and button library with Short/Long Press, Double Click and Beep.
Yamaha hacking dongle to use any 3rd party battery instead of the Yamaha battery.
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Introduction
This device has two uses:
- Yamaha battery hacking dongle to use any 3rd party battery instead of the original Yamaha battery. Described here...
- Wireless battery Fuel Gauge / Watt meter
Sale on Tindie
You can buy the dongles at Tindie.
Read more: Yamaha hacking dongle to use any 3rd party battery instead of the Yamaha battery.
DIY ergonomic space saving e-bike thumb throttle switch
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For the speed control of my Maxun One solar bike, I use an up-down thumb-throttle switch. Normally, such a throttle is mounted between grip and the brake lever which increases the distance between them, see for instance the Bionx throttle or the Shimano switch unit SW EM800 L. That's not handy. That's why I made a throttle that is mounted on top of the brake lever clamp so that no extra space is needed on the handlebar.
Read more: DIY ergonomic space saving e-bike thumb throttle switch
Connectorless self-clamping zigzag test connector
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For programming and testing, I don’t use physical connectors on the PCB but connectorless self-clamping zigzag connectors. The pin header of the programming tool is inserted directly into the holes. By the zigzag positions of the PCB holes, it provides lateral pressure, sufficient to grip the pins and allow good connection. For use as for programming and testing, it works fine, I have never experienced any contact problems.
Read more: Connectorless self-clamping zigzag test connector
Simple passive two-wire control bus for e-bikes
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Abstract
I have developed a simple but robust 2-wire control bus for e-bikes. The signal and the power supply go together with in total two wires: GND and 5V. With this bus we can wire among other the throttle switch, brake sensor, pedal assist sensor and the speed sensor. Because the number of cables has been reduced, very robust 3-pin RC-model connectors can be used. Also, the many vulnerable thin control cables can be replaced by only two thick, robust 18AWG cables.
About this website
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I am a seasoned inventor with over 40-years of experience in electronic engineering and software development. I have delivered unique engineering solutions to the commercial industry on a wide range of projects. My passion in electronic engineering has also led me to become a collector and a student of fine engineering design. I passionately believe that the core of any design should be based on elegance and simplicity.
In 2010, I started building a solar-powered bicycle, the Maxun One. Herefore, I need special equipment, parts and software that I make myself and that's how I roll from one project to another. On my website, I share my ideas and designs.
DIY battery tab spot welder
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I have developed the D.I.Y spot welder because I needed a special spot welder for the building of my Maxun One solar bike. It turned out that the spot welder is being built by many people worldwide, so I have published here the entire building project.
Dual pulse battery tab spot welder controller with zero crossing detector
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This advanced controller was used by many people and has a unique reduced inrush current circuit that prevents main fuse blow up.
Read more: Dual pulse battery tab spot welder controller with zero crossing detector
Arduino Universal Power Control (UPC) board
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This Arduino board can be used for any project where something needs to be controlled and that is menu-driven.
See the open source PCB Eagle files on GitHub. It includes Gerber files for let making the PCB.
This product is no longer for sale since 7-2020.
Vacuum tube works on 3.3V totally
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Vacuum tubes are awkward, need always 6.3V filament and high supply voltage? No, they can also work on 3.3V. I have built a vacuum tube pre-amplifier that runs entirely on 3.3V, inclusive the filament voltage. Apparently, the electron emission of the filament still works at 3.3V. Despite the very low supply voltage, the tube amplifier still works well.
SAM 15x15mm Arduino Zero compatible SAMD21 board
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The SAM 15x15 is a very small Arduino development board, with the same powerful controller as the Arduino Zero: the SAMD21G18.
All I/O pins are used: despite the small size, it has more I/O pins than the Arduino Zero or SAMD21 Mini/Dev Breakout: 34 instead of 21. Due to the very small dimensions it will fit easily into all embedded electronic projects, even in microdrones.
Bosch Active Line 3 mid-drive motor tear down
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For my solar powered bicycle, the Maxun One, I designed a very powerful and lightweight mid-drive motor. I also wanted to investigate whether I could use a Bosch Active Line 3 motor. The Bosch motor weight is 2975g, this is relatively lightweight for a mid-drive motor, but it is still too heavy for my solar bike.
Cheap DIY precision voltage current reference standard
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I have developed a cheap multimeter calibration reference by which you can calibrate a digital multimeter yourself. Here we calibrate my favorite multimeter, the PeakTech 2010, it has a lot of features and it cost just €35.
Read more: Cheap DIY precision voltage current reference standard
My todo list
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I have inventoried my on-going projects, because I honestly speaking lost the overview. I had started many projects but many of them are on-hold because they, on closer inspection, cost years to finish and in the meantime other things had become more important and I keep getting interesting new ideas.