Electric Vehicle C

[seth959ci]

yes i have, its a momentary switch right? yeah thats one of the things that need to be changed along with making the car go straight. I might even make the car look good this year (im thinking an indy car front wing)

[andrewwski]

I've always called it a micro switch.

It is momentary, yes, as in it only is open or closed (depending on how you wire it) when it is depressed.

[timmytanks]

I'm doing electrical vehicle and I thought it would be a good learning experience to make one with a microprocessor. I have never worked with one before so i have a couple of questions.
So basically you hook the engine(s) up to the microprocessor and it control the engine(s), right?
But I have to hook the microprocessor into a computer to adjust the settings for how i want to control the engine?
How do you set up the microprocessor, do i just hook it up the my computer and change the settings or is it much more complex?
Also, If anyone know of any guides online i would appreciate it

Can someone give me the rundown please... if this is easy to do then i need to get supplies asap

[andrewwski]

Most microcontrollers (such as the Basic stamp) must be programmed. It's not "changing the settings," as there are no settings to change per se, you need to actually write the code.

[packer-backer91]

has any one started testing their new designs, as on now the one i have built has done good with an avg score of around 198.3(198.8 w/ bonus) has any one gotten one to be any better than that.
my real question is people that are use microprocessors and chips is it worth to use one I mean is it that much better to use components just for a couple tenths of a point 198/200 is good just want to know if i went to a microprocessor if people have gotten better scores.

[sean9keenan]

That's a great score! You asked about microprocessors, I doubt many people can beat a score that high, the one question I have though is whether or not you predict the time or can adjust for a given time. Mircro controller or mechanical break, either way there is a lot of hard work and calibration to consistently achieve scores of 198+. What it boils down to is what your goal is, for regionals and states if you are predicting your time and getting 198+ you should be very very well off. If you can get this score under the nationals task, bravo, for it is different and harder, I would especially like to see a mechanical break (and speed control mechanism) that has that degree of accuracy

Cheers,

Sean Keenan

[captbilly]

I also think that the speed control with a mechanical device is going to be the real trick. Many teams don't really plan on going to nationals becasue they don't believe their team is competitive enough, so they don't have to worry about controlling the speed. At regionals and state competitions you just need to know how long it will take to cover a certain distance, you don't need to be able to actually adjust that speed to match what the event coordinator selects. I think you may well see a lot of mechanical vehicles at regionals and states but few at Nationals.

By the way it would seem to me that the biggest issue in scoring at regional and state competitions will be aiming the vehicle. A 1 cm aiming error will already cut your score to 199, while a 10 cm distance error over a 10 meter course will do the same. I have seen many scores at last year of over 199, but I wasn't competing so I don't know if the rules were the same.

[The Stig]

Hi, this is my first science olympiad. I new to the whole thing, so I need to know, what I should know, and everything I need to create an electric vehicle. I'm sorry if its a bit too much, but I know absolutely nothing, can ya point me in the right direction and show me how to build an an ev. Don't worry i'm not here to be a thief and steal designs.

[packer-backer91]

Hi, this is my first science olympiad. I new to the whole thing, so I need to know, what I should know, and everything I need to create an electric vehicle. I'm sorry if its a bit too much, but I know absolutely nothing, can ya point me in the right direction and show me how to build an an ev. Don't worry i'm not here to be a thief and steal designs.

Well first thing I would do is go on Youtube and look at vehicles that others have done in the past that should be a good start.

[andrewwski]

And read this thread. Then read the wiki. Then go to the image gallery. Then go to the old forum archive and read last year's thread.

Then grab a pencil and paper and hit the drawing board.