Lonestrom and I have been working on a power supply for our motos. Motobrain is available for sale at Motobrain.net ***Project has undergone a rather radical update since the initial post and you should read the thread to follow along.*** Specs have changed and are explained on page 4. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=827565&page=4 <iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/hMizEtXfZog" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ib-qav3_5BA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Current Prototype 7/13/2014 <iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2ByHj-Vz00I?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Current Specs As of 3/3/2013: 8 software fused channels (8x15). 100A total current capacity. All channels with adjustable PWM (dimming). Two channels with programmable constant current. You will be able to control it from hard buttons mounted on your bike or from a smart phone. ***Old specs saved for posterity's sake*** Specs: 8 fused channels (4x12A 4x6A). 40A total current capacity. 6 dimming channels so you can turn the heat down on your heated gear or dim your aux lights. You will be able to control it from hard buttons mounted on your bike or from a smart phone. You will be able to program it as well. An example program might be, when the ambient temp is <60F turn on heated gear power socket to 50% or when its <60F and I am going above 40 MPH or if its <50F turn it to 100%. It has built in temp sensor, volt meter, ammeter. So your smart phone will be able to display your electrical systems real time status. There is an optional audio sensor as well so you can fork your CB (walkie talkie) signal and when someone squawks on the CB it can mute your music player automatically. There is also an optional light sensor so you can adjust your aux lights based on ambient light levels. It can sense the length of time you hold down one of the hard buttons as well. So, for example, you could set it up to blow an air horn if you hold the horn button down for more than a second. That way you can have your basic horn for polite signalling and also have a more serious horn if the situation warrant it. Or, maybe you can set it up so that a long press of a hard button will adjust the duty cycle of your aux lights so you can adjust their brightness with one finger. Would y'all be interested in something like this? We are not selling anything currently, just curious if this idea is interesting to people other than us. <iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Jwd9Yi5kdFU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Sounds fantastic. Get it on kickstarter...it worked for the Screaming Banshee people! Add an alarm and immobilizer module too!
The cool thing about the card system we developed is that we can add any arbitrary new feature. The ones you suggested we've discussed previously actually. It would be easy to set it up so your bike won't start if your phone doesn't give it an OK signal for example. It would be easy to get around in a garage but out on the street it would provide a little bit of protection from theft. I'm a bit dubious of those sort of things because the real problem is someone putting your bike on a truck and driving it away. I can't solve that problem...
Is that circuit board going to be covered in "goo"/expoxy like every other automotive computer? Otherwise it will have a very short life span. The solder joints form an oxidation material between each other and will eventually short out chips, bypass those surface mount resistors, and be useless. I have a Fuzeblock, and it uses a circuit board, and I routely have to clean the green copper and silver oxides off the board, and it doesn't have have the delicate items that that rendering has. I always wondered why silicon boards automotive computers and simple item like rectifiers were coated in gunk, before I got a Fuzeblock. Theres no weather seals in motorcycles like you have in a car's interior, things get moist when you reach the dew point. Even in El Paso. Panniers also don't have purge valves usually, so that water vapors hangs out in them. Pelican mounting would work, but be bulky.
Yeah, you are nearby to test the thing too. Speaking of that, we have never got together for a ride...
I ride with friends nearly every weekend, and sometimes during the week, either on adventure bikes (for me Tiger 800 XC) or dual-sports (for me DR-Z400S). Occasionally, I do street-only rides on the Hypermotard. Let me know anytime you can go. On most of my bikes, I have GPS, radar, USB power, heated grips, auxiliary lighting, garage door openers, air horns, and heated vest outputs. My auxiliary wiring harness is substantial. The biggest issue is control. A bit of logic could go a long way. I haven't done any Arduino programming, but it seems pretty straightforward.
That's some impressive stuff! Sometimes I wish I had the motivation to work on work type stuff at home.... Started with an Arduino, but now it's at work since I thought of uses for it there. Keep us posted!
Sounds like a good product to me. The variable outputs for heated gear is the feature that can make something like this cost effective. What I have on my bike now is a prototype that someone local built, but never got around to producing. Another feature to consider are outputs that are on all the time and outputs that stay on for a few minutes and then shut down (keep GPS going at gas station, but not stay on long enough to drain battery). Did you consider active overcurrent shut down instead of fuses?
Well that's easy for one circuit, but for eight it would be a pain. You would need an ammeter for each channel. That's 8 precision ADCs which is pricey. I think fuses are safer anyway. Everyone knows that they are, how they work, and it remove me from the liability if they set it up incorrectly in the software. The GS style temporary power after shutdown is part of the current feature set. I didn't mention it, but I will be keeping the system on for period of time you can determine. When I get around to building a dedicated handle bar mounted unit, I'll allow you to turn it on the system by hand as well as by key. There will be a battery to keep the system running once the main relay is off.
Aren't you in the naked pueblo? A place I frequent regularly. I'll bring one to the Red Garter when I have one available.
Here are a couple of things I'm interested in for my bikes in addition to controlling aux lights and heated gear. The first relates more to the GS-style control of power before/after a start or shutdown. I've got an old Honda CB and I'd like the headlight and anything else that isn't required for a startup to be turned on after the bike is up and running. So something like turn the key on and start or kick the bike over, then the PDU is notified that the bike is running and it turns on my headlights, tail lights, and whatever else. I think this may be nice for those types of bikes where if your battery is shot and you need to kick start it the juice goes to both the ignition and lights etc, when you really want it to go just to getting the engine fired. The 640A and E come to mind, among others in this respect. Another is having an idea of how much power you are using vs what your bike can reliably deliver. The PDU can keep track of what it is distributing, and compare to a number that you are comfortable with. If you get close to or cross that threshold, it can act according to your preferences. Like turn down your heated jacket a bit or whatever. I like that this could go on completely in the background. Like when I coast up to a stop light and the bike is under an electrical load but it isn't pumping out enough juice. The pdu dials back the load temporarily and then goes back to where I had it once the light goes green. LOTS of stuff we can do with this sort of tech.
That's an impressive list of features, definitely be interested, how big would it be? I may have missed that, the fuse box I run now (Eastern Beaver) is pretty small.
The current dimension of the PDU prototype is 3.5" x 2.25" The thickness will be around .5". The cards extend that height to about an 1". The Bluetooth radio is a secondary part that plugs into the PDU and is not yet sized but it won't be large.
