Yeah I've been watching that guy for several years...saw the free flight vid with his son at the controls...It's almost ready for production...amazing that the guy has kept at it for almost 20 years...
Oh hell yeah...can anything be both cooler and geekier at the same time..magic wand button-less tv remote http://www.thewandcompany.com/
And 1 more...I will officially be the first to kill myself on one of these... http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lM8kEHjQz9U#!
... You guys seem bord of late, and I'm stuck in town due to fires...thread, resurrected... Time for a side project... Now, I have side projects running all the time, I just don't usually post anything... The other day, I found what looked like a battery cart sitting in the "garbage" section of my apartment complex. Well, I knew it for what it was right away. A multi-purpose power cart. Plug-ins and the whole bit. No battery though, and it looked like who ever tossed it, tore into it pretty good. The thing is, is that I've been sitting on a 1000W inverter with an "overload" fault that my dad had thrown away about two years ago. So, I thought "hey, good project for this week". With a little research, found the box from 2005ish... Can Tire, had a sealed battery (missing) 1000w inverter (1200w spike) plus a solid-state 5A charger...ALL FREE... Love it... The unit itself had all of the heavy gauge jumper wires with end-connectors and a whole bunch of fasteners in the bottom of the box. Just the "guts", and the inverter; faulted. When I saw this unit just sitting there, my brain went all crazy...I can do this, run that...and take care of that other thing...you'll see...:sly: (N.B. A 1000W inverter here is $350 plus tax alone) Checked the charger...OK (cool status light LED) I fixed-up the inverter, basically stole parts from one to the other. Made one from two. They were identical 1000w inverters. Just had different end plates, but basically the same. Side note for anyone playing with these inverters, "pulling" the fuses off the board will destroy them; Ohm check them, do not attempt to remove them. Battery; If you've read my thread, you know that I always carry a jumper battery and cables when "out and about". Taking a few measures here, I found that my "jumper battery" was too big for the unit. Long story short; modified the battery box in my 09 focus to take the large 650amp "booster", and put the 500amp ford battery into the cart. Perfect fit. OK so, inverter repaired, a couple of "heavy duty" main-battery external connectors installed (sourced from inverter "over-load"). 500amp lead-acid battery installed and 5A charger tested and end-leads changed to "gator clips". I tested the completed box with my 7.5A drill, 8.5A grinder, and hooked it up direct to my winch; via external, direct battery, connectors. The unit checked out tip-top. It even has a 4-LED battery condition check function (press switch); for charge remaining. Plus cigarette lighter aux adapter, for typical 12V sourced components. So, it can do all the things that the "booster" used to do: Boost truck, Run winch, Run air pump, Feed anything 12V. Plus, it can now run anything @120V with 10A spike and 8.3A continuous draw. Drill, grinder etc. No need for the truck-driven generator project anymore. Gensets are loud, power packs are quiet. The "want thread"... It drives any size winch from a remote location, cool... AND, now I can drive this, for road clearing: AND, I "WANT" this: Ho, if money only grew on trees. It's not that bad, really. Nice to have out on the trail though. "3/4" Steel, "Mig" Spool-type, Briefcase Welder", heh, heh... Next Up, "Single-point" hitch receiver "power-screw-jack". For those pesky "street-to-bush-and-back" wheel set-up changes. I already have the components. "Had" for about two years. Man ho man, do I need an apprentice... Come to the darkside...DarkMore, you will be called... BECAUSE, you could do more... op:
Lol excellent post..and sweet score..I would have grabbed that battery cart in a second.Your fabbed inverter looks useful as hell "want" .that briefcase welder is cool...just picked up a 110/220v plasma cutter and just dying to slice something up...can't wait to see the power screw jack...this one would work for you too http://www.thegreenhead.com/2008/09/titan-exhaust-air-jack.php it's on my "want" list ...hmm drinking makes me type in sound bites
Yea, you know what I'm talking about fupa. I just do this stuff for fun. It's gotta work, but the fun is in the doing. A plasma cutter! Do you know how hard it is to get a strait cut with an industrial band saw? Zip, zip, with a strait-edge. MY fab irritations would be brought down to a minimum. A square cut in a piece of square tubing, is a thing of beauty. I let my dad cut stuff, and it looks like a geode... Picked up my 1.5hp saw today and cut a bunch of 10 inch logs. Ever hear of someone using an electric chainsaw in the bush, for road clearing? I love it... Works just perfect, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d8JOomSAxs Ho, and it makes a great seat with back-rest as well...
