I'm converting a Kettler Kettcar from pedal power to electric for my son using a Kollmorgen 400W motor but I need a 5k throttle that is either the thumb-style or preferably a pedal that doesn't cost an arm or a leg. Does anyone have a 5k that they would be willing to sell me or can you point me in the right direction where I can find one? I've hit all the typical scooter sites (TNC, SD, Monster parts, etc...) and everything is mostly hall effect or $50 for a Magura twist grip which I couldn't use regardless of the price because the car has a steering wheel.
Any ideas?
Thanks, Nukem.
The usual thing when you can't use a twist grip is a "potbox" but those are even more expensive, approx $80-100. e.g. you could have a footpedal with a cable that pulls the arm of the potbox and rely on the spring return in the potbox as what makes the throttle return to zero.
It's possible to rig something like that up. You'd need a single-turn potentiometer and some way to make the potentiometer turn through its length. I'd recommend starting with a cable pulled by a pedal.
Wait.. I have an idea...
On the potentiometer mount an arm -- moving the arm back and forth should operate the potentiometer. It would look a bit like a propeller. The pedal should have a second arm and it's connected to the first so that the two can pivot freely. The idea I have is that moving the pedal up and down would move the arm that's connected to the other arm causing the potentiometer to turn. You might only get 1/4 turn of movement out of the potentiometer meaning it should be a 20k pot so that 1/4 turn is the 5k required for your controller. There should be a spring on the other side of the potentiometer's arm to provide resistence that the operator pushes against.
- David Herron, The Long Tail Pipe, davidherron.com, 7gen.com, What is Reiki
Okay, I think that I understand what you are describing, but it sounds somewhat involved with my limited fabrication equipment (drill press, band saw, hand tools). I could theoretically fab that up, but I just came across a pair of EV Warrior thumb throttles for $33.50 including shipping and from what I can tell they appear to be 5k pots with a return spring. This way at least I can resell the one I don't use or use it/sell it with the other Kollmorgen motor I have.
Does anyone know for sure if the EV warrior used a 5k pot throttle? I looked for documentation in the Vis4 archives and online but couldn't find a schematic or good description of the throttle.
Nukem
[i]"In order to get to the truth, the first thing you have to do is get all the liars in one room."[/i]
Here's a site for some leads for the info you want http://www.evalbum.com/530 If it does have the curtis 1505 http://www.electricscooterparts.com/a1.htm then they are 5k pots! I'm gonna check some other sites to see if this was the only controller that came with the ev warrior.
go green