So, my work got very busy at the end of April and beginning of May and I have just started to recover. Not much has happened with the ERX except that I have once again bounced around the idea of what type of batteries I should use, and in the end again I came to the same conclusion as before. I will still be going with LiFePo4 batteries. One exciting thing I did do was I started to solder my DIY controller. The controller is called Open ReVolt and was developed by Paul Holmes and sold at www.paulandsabrinasevstuff.com. His development thread is on ecomodder.com. When I started soldering, it was a little nerve racking, but after I did a few components I managed to feel more confident about my skills and just about finished off the control board portion of the kit. I need to buy one more piece at Fry's and solder a couple connectors and wires . I am not sure if there is a way to test it out, but there is PC software you hook it up to so you can check to see if the main chip is running properly. There are also a couple LEDs that come on when it is powered up, so hopefully I get some nice lights and not smoke when I apply the voltage.
Closeup of Control board for the Open ReVolt controller about half finished
I can't believe I have done this - Hope it works
Since these photos were taken, I have put in all but one of the IC chips and one transistor. Maybe this weekend I will spend some time with ERX. I am also ready to purchase the motor and other needed components. I will be doing that research this week and maybe order by weeks end. I may order the batteries as well. Now, that would be very exciting since they are the largest cost and the biggest thing I've wrestled with in this process.
