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Trike Proto 2 - projector & inverter

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bitSmasher View Drop Down
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    Posted: 21 October 2014 at 3:27am
Here's something I've thought about for a while, and finally started playing with...



2x 80AH batteries in parallel
63A DC breaker
Ammeter (with DMM hanging off that)
400W inverter
3000 Lumen Acer projector

The intention is to mount it on my tricycle. The first iteration, small sound system, worked great considering it was thrown together

Trike Proto 1

Faffing around making the cables was the hardest part, but I bought a 80W soldering iron which made things much quicker... 8g cable in to big eyelets took a fair bit of heat and solder, but it's much easier now with a big iron.

Ran it for half an hour last night, voltage dipped to 11.8 and sat constant after that. 18 amps on Eco mode, and 22a on full - happy to run it on Eco

Projector itself buzzes a bit, as it's a "modified sine" inverter - hope it doesn't cause any reliability issues in the future

I thought I'd need 2 batteries to get a few hours use, but a quick look at the specs of the battery tell me:
5 hour rate (13.6A)     68 AH
1 hour rate (48A)     48 AH
So I should be able to get at least 2 hours from just one battery. This is good to know, since they're 25kg each and I'm planning to mount this on my tricycle... would much rather one battery than two

The inverter has a low voltage (10.8v) cut out, so I might set it up with just one battery tonight, and see how long it will run for

To give this post some purpose, instead of just being a bunch of ideas thrown around,
here are a couple of questions:

How do DC breakers compare to fuses, for protecting equipment? I'm more worried about shorts and fires than anything else
Would there be any use having both, or will the breaker alone be good enough for preventing meltdown and the like?

And

Is running an AGM battery down to 10.8v going to do damage, will I reduce its life by doing this regularly?
If so, what's an appropriate voltage to aim for?

[edited - changed title]


Edited by bitSmasher - 22 October 2014 at 11:53pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hemisphere Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 October 2014 at 2:20pm
Looks like an interesting setup. LED projector?

Shame it doesn't accept a DC connector as that would cut out the inverter stage, I guess it was what you had around already. Or do they not make DC projectors with such a high output?

Running a battery down to 10.8 on a regular or even occasional basis is definitely not a good idea. If you want an optimal lifecycle of use it's best not to let it drop even below 11.5.

If it were me I'd seriously consider dropping to a lower powered projector with DC input. Of course it depends very much on your intended use but it will probably be cheaper over time, reduce the need for the inverter, multiple batteries, and worries about battery health. Total lumens may be lower but if you're happy to run this one on Eco mode you probably don't need the full output anyway.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote fat_brstd Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 October 2014 at 2:30pm
Phil & the DIY guys run a 12V cinema using their battery bank, an inverter and this mad little projector that uses led & laser to make the colours that is super efficient and was made by someone you wouldnt expect. I did have it all explained to me but I was at a festival at the time, Richie is the one to speak to, I think it was his projector, but Phil probably knows about it.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote bitSmasher Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 October 2014 at 10:45pm
It's a budget projector that uses incandecent lamp. I have seen laser/LED models and they're very impressive - albeit cost a fair bit more

Eco mode is still 2400 lumens, which is bright enough... though I don't really want to go much lower than that. Did another test run, one battery lasts 1.5 hours and the cutoff is 10.9V
Thankfully the inverter's warning beep gives me enough time to power down the projector before it cuts out,  that should contribute to longer lamp life

Hoping to get it mounted on the trike's handlebars for this weekend. There is a big night bike ride around a city park and the plan is to use this for visual effects, projecting splashes of moving colour on the road in front of me
Will eventually want to use it for battery-powered outdoor cinema, once the setup is tested and refined

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote bitSmasher Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 October 2014 at 12:22am
More playing around last night, a bit of urgency to get this together for Saturday - refining the idea a bit and keeping it realistic (thus achievable)

I want this to be a "psychadelic headlight" mounted on the handlebar of my trike. Did consider playing music too, but that'd complicate the setup.

Not knowing how the trike would handle with a heavy load, I stacked 3 batteries on the back to see what 75kg feels like to ride around



Not much fun! definitely need to drop down the gearing and get better brakes before I consider carrying around anything heavier than 50kg
Now I know it'd be a struggle, I'll forget the idea of having speakers mounted as well as projector, it'd just be too heavy. Still want to run 2 batteries though, for extra run time and to power some LED lighting too

Something to consider is how visible the projector is under street lights. Whilst the night ride is around a park I'd imagine there's a decent amount of ambient light, and of course street lights to consider.
Out to the laneway with a long extension lead, projecting random colourful video synthesis stuff:



Pic was taken with "night mode" on the camera, there is a street light above the bin on the right.
Looks good enough for me to use!

As for content to project, will just knock off something from youtube
Such as this or this

Now to put it all together, and add some RGB LED strips as well


Edited by bitSmasher - 23 October 2014 at 12:23am
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote bitSmasher Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 October 2014 at 12:27am
After a long Saturday in the workshop, the setup came together half an hour before I rolled out the door. Since I rushed through it I didn't take any build pics, will go over that tonight and upload tomorrow

The night ride was great, and trike worked well.
Did 15km of riding, but struggled up hills
Definitely need lower gearing, and the bearings in the rear end sound a bit nasty - will give it an overhaul before I try and carry 60+kg again

As for projections... loaded up an old phone with video ripped from youtube, looked excellent. There was a lot of ambient light, so unfortunately the effect was lost in some sections
After a few laps of the course, I found a really good rock to project on. Parked the trike and let it be its on spectacle for half an hour:





also made up some LED strips to strap to friends bikes, a 6ah SLA cable tied to the frame and run under the downtube:



also played around with an Adafruit SpokePOV, good to put it to use again. A whole lot of lighting for friends and I...

more pics/vids to come tomorrow
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote bitSmasher Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 October 2014 at 3:45am
here we go, more pics...

Projector mount is a bit bodgy and rushed, but it held together
I had a bracket for a front basket, reappropriated that with some scrap plywood. The brace was made with a strip of ply, with a thin steel brackets bent to bolt on to the mudguard mount
Convoluted foam acted as padding for the projector, and the angle it sat at was adjusted by tightening down the straps



This is the view on the bike, everything within reach
Again the bottle holder fits a phone perfectly, in this case it's my old Galaxy which has analog video out on the headphone jack


Here's the heavy stuff, strapped down with foam to keep it in place
Not pretty, but it worked!


definitely "proof of concept" with intention to rebuild properly when time allows
Will pull this apart tonight, look to rebuild the bearings and drop gear ratio, then make something neater in the future
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote bitSmasher Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 October 2014 at 3:50am
also, not sure if this will work... easiest way for me to share videos is from my instagram account

psychadelic headlight #1

psychadelic headlight #2

and finally, another bike with SpokePOV and LEDs
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote fat_brstd Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 October 2014 at 7:35am
That looks like it could get pretty confusing if your riding it on the way back from a pub or a rave.
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