Hobbies you can do from a powerchair.

[Burgerman]

Oh my, where did you find that hot woman? - Grimsby has some gems!

I wish... Random internet babe.

[ex-Gooserider]

Why do you think BM builds 16mph chairs?????

ex-Gooserider

Oh my, where did you find that hot woman? - Grimsby has some gems!

In Vienna I chase them on the main street but they are difficult to catch...

[Burgerman]

For those interested.
Heres a pic of the 3 important bits.

Transmitter/receiver for control is modified with 20x the RF power output. It now has about 4 to 5 miles miles reliable 'air' range, but about 0.75 to 1 mile around houses and cars with lots of obstacles in between. Its plenty!

The camera can take stills if required by RC, or 1080P video, and it feeds its video image and battery state, memory card state, etc back via 5.8ghz and 600mW RF power to my goggles (or laptop) so I can see what it can see very clearly!

Even at night. So I can lay on my bed at night, and patrol the outside of my property all night as required. I park in the dog kennel where I can see the street and anyone coming in. And can roam around up to a mile away from home spying on anything I want. Its fast (about 7mph) and has enough lithium battery to go for days. This battery powers the bot, camera, as well as the headlamps so I can have a better look at things if needed.

Serves as a Roboteq programming test dummy too. It has a baby Roboteq controller, current sensors etc. Since the same script is used as on my BM3. Meaning easy and safe testing. If it behaves correctly here, its will do so on my powerchair too.

http://www.wheelchairdriver.com/gopro/test-control.mp4

[steves1977uk]

Another hobby is of course bird watching. Your eyes are at a great height for spotting nice rear views. And we are forced to follow looking straight at them...

Of course some make you want to dig your eyes out with a fork. Some are rather nicer.

Bird watching is a great hobby I do like my Yorkshire lasses

Steve

[Burgerman]

Yes I know I said that, but I have several hobbies! Actually my ex wasn't bad looking either. Looked quite like that picture but blonde. Not Yorkshire though. Belgrade, Serbia... But if you ask me they are all too much trouble.

[CPguy]

@ Burgerman: When you mention trouble do you mean money wise or attitude?

[Burgerman]

I mean they are all too time consuming especially the ones that know they are attractive! To much maintenance. And you have to keep them happy too and I am selfish!

[hobie1dog]

We need to hear about expresso's audio hobby. Stereo is a perfect hobby for wheelchair people( those who connect emotionally to music).

[expresso]

We need to hear about expresso's audio hobby. Stereo is a perfect hobby for wheelchair people( those who connect emotionally to music).

yeah it can be - i let it go for a while once i started with the battery stuff - gave me a break from audio stuff - last i checked i was on the verge of going with a Tube amp for a pair of Klipsch Forte II speakers i got off Ebay in mint condition - they are close to 30 years Old and sound excellent - i was concerned with the cabinet more - which were great shape - i upgraded the Midrange and tweeter with titanium drivers - - got new Crossovers made from a Guy who only works on Klipsch speakers -

i cleaned up and polished them - sound great -

i been exposed to Klipsch brand many many years ago - from a friend of a friend - never heard or seen them before - and having a rear passive radiator - looked strange to me then -

my friend was given a pair of KG 4 models and once we heard them - we were sold on Klipsch - - once i finally got enough to buy a set - i got the KG 3 model -
not the highest end of the line but thats what i could afford at the time - worked will for me for many years - i decided i needed a upgrade once i moved in the city - handed those to my friend Quickie here - along with my Marantz 7002 - shes enjoying them now -

i went with a RF 82 klipsch set up which i still have - just added the fort II and found a great deal on a pair of KG2 models - little baby klipsch - using those on a Old Kenwood Intergrated amp - i didnt plan it this way - i was suppose to look for the tube amp for the Forte but ended up with this kenwood and another pair of KG 2 speakers so i left for a while -

one day i have to downsize and experience a tube amp at least once in my life - i went from a few Pro Amps - and AVR to just pre amp and Amps - Emotiva

Oppo DVD player - Yamaha CD player - only reason i got it at half off - and its a great unit - i started off trying to keep it simple and ended up with 9 klipsch speakers , 2 amps - Audio Rack with so many wires i hate to look behind there now -

but if i had to just keep one pair - would be the Forte models - and they are bringing them back - Forte III - which to me is the same - maybe a updated crossover to match the titanium drivers which i am using the same on mines

[hobie1dog]

Thanks for the great response. I sold my KG4's in the big downsizing after I had to quit work and went without any income for 5 months. Also sold the Klipsch Jamboree bass cabinets that had (2) 15" woofers in each one and were 104db efficient. Also sold the 8 ft long subwoofer with (4) 18 inch woofers in it.
I managed to hang on to my 2 pairs of Clements RT-7 towers which I have had for 20 years now. They have 7" long ribbon tweeters. I sold 450 records and now have 1000 LP's. Turntable is a Micro Seiki DDX-1000 with a Sumiko Blackbird cartridge. preamp is a Sunfire Theatre Grand processor, amp is a Cinepro 3K6SE which does 375 watts into 6 channels @ 8 ohms, 550 watts into 6 channels @ 4 ohms, 750 watts into 6 channels @ 2 ohms, or bridged 1350 watts into 3 channels. It weights 85 pounds.
The whole mystical tube amp thing is a cult item. Heard many systems both solid state and tube through the years...blindfolded, you can't tell the difference, it's a visual thing mostly,another thing audiophiles love to jerk off about.

[expresso]

nice - so your familiar with Klipsch - well the tube thing is nice to look at for sure - i heard a few at some stores - Macintosh which are way out of my price range - everything can sound good with decent Midrange stuff -

i got rid of my albums long ago - no room and never used them for over a decade - i mean its nice - but that snap crackle pop every time - i was happy when CDs came out - and now i use thumb drives - dont even use CDs much - its nice once in a while - a good quality audio File - decent bitrate - - sounds fine to me - if the file is in good shape - its fine - if its crap - the Klipsch will let you know it thats for sure -

my taste lately has changed - Classical - Jazz - Ella - mix that in with some Megadeth of course and Godsmack - - all kinds - i get bored always with one kind - just NO RAP here - thats not going to happen

now i am back with the Forte's using it with the Emotiva pre and QCS GX5 amp - that was my first one i got with AVR Marantz and worked great for the 82's of course change out the Fan first thing to a nice quiet one for movies and classical

i wanted to just pair up the Forte's with a Tube and use it that way - for music and leave the 82's setup for movies - got a bit off course and ended up with the Kenwood KA 801 - it works fine - but really would need to be fully restored if someone wanted to really enjoy and keep it - i am not going to do it - and just use that with the KG 2 now for pandora music -

i wasnt suppose to keep those KG 2 but it ended up that way - so i left the Kenwood for those only - one day i want to downsize and get rid of the Kenwood - KG 2 - in the audio rack - i like to just get one unit OPPO for everything - CD music and movies - and get rid of the yamaha CD unit also - GX5 i can keep since that can be my back up Amp -

5 channel amp - as long as it works - i just leave it alone now - its just too damn heavy to move it around - its there - if it ever needs to be moved - i may just get rid of it - - i cant deal with a 90 pound unit and 19 inches deep - its huge and heavy -

[sourstraw]

My hobbies- cars (building, driving, racing) but after my injury it's been a bit more difficult

Firearms, my favorite range built their setup to be totally wheelchair accessible so I have no issues there.

Audio... taken a break from it lately but probably going to get some new changes happening to a few of our setups.

Gaming... I used to be a PC gamer for the last 25 years but now that I'm stuck in bed and technology has advanced considerably, I recently got a PS4 Pro to work with the 4K TV and it looks okay. Game selection isn't that great as I like mmorpgs. Looking forward to some new releases later this year.

And music. I've been a musician my whole life. I used to play 7 instruments but now I just have a few guitars and a lever harp as playing pedal harp is kind of hard with limited leg ability.

I've always enjoyed electronics and wiring car audio and things so doing my recent little chair mods has been a fun diversion. I look forward to building my project chair eventually.

[jwSubMOA]

Hmmm. I cannot say missing the arm and leg has really slowed me down.

I have a very large and well equipped machine shop at my house. That plus 20 years as a machinist/ tool and die maker lets me make and repair anything. I build, maintain and modify my BM style chairs and their accessories. About to start my newest one. Four wheel independent suspension with about 4 inches of travel, Rnet 120, Hegar rears, MBS fronts, Amy systems lift seat. Considering doing this one in waterjet cut 7075 and carbon fiber.

I love building firearms and shooting, expecially long range. I have built custom rifles and pistols for nearly 20 years. Designed and built my 50bmg rifle just before my accident. I do alot of 1911 .45 pistol work.

I am very into performance cars, perhaps too much lol. I see a new potential project and get excited by "what if". I finally culled it down to my 2 928 Porsches, one stock the other makes 573 rwhp with a supercharger. My daily driver is a crew cab Chevy Silverado with the SVM wheelchair conversion. I built the engine in it. Makes right at 728 rwhp with a Whipple supercharger and methanol injection. Building a new motor to try for 1000 rwhp. Just rebuilt the rear axle...again.

Working on a new type of upper limb prosthetic, the shit available is too expensive and gimmicky. Investigating using synthetic muscles and better materials. The electronics are a challenge, but that makes it interesting. Thinking of using an open source Ardiuno set up used in a similar application. If you let go of the anthropomorphic idea of an "arm" things get interesting.

[rustyjames]

^^^^You have a waterjet in your shop I'm jealous! I too enjoy messing around in my shop, even though it's hard getting much accomplished each day because I'm a C7. My life would be so much different if I had just one hand that had pinch and grip.
I like those 928's they were quite the car back in the 80's, but you don't see many around these days.

[sourstraw]

Awesome we own a machine shop but no waterjet. Would love to see the 928s and your other cars.

[jwSubMOA]

No waterjet of my own, several companies in my city do that along with cnc and laser cutting. Thinking of getting a Haas milling center. Ohh the things I could get in trouble with. I will try to post photos.

[Burgerman]

There are a few utube vids showing how to make one from a cheap pressure washer. Using a proper head. So its quite easy to DIY.

[jwSubMOA]

Unfortunately those DIY preassure washer and proper head setups do not actually do what I need. Sure you can cut thin aluminum and maybe very thin steel, slowly. The battery box for my BM3 style chair was all waterjet cut from .250"/6mm steel plate. It went together perfectly square and gapless. If I try aluminum plate this time it will likely be a mix of .250, .375 and .500 6061 or 7075 T6. The "axles" for the suspension swingarms will be DOM stainless or titanium tubing, so the battery box/frame carries little load.

[Burgerman]

1/4 plate? That would be very very heavy!

I am very into performance cars, perhaps too much lol. I see a new potential project and get excited by "what if". I finally culled it down to my 2 928 Porsches, one stock the other makes 573 rwhp with a supercharger. My daily driver is a crew cab Chevy Silverado with the SVM wheelchair conversion. I built the engine in it. Makes right at 728 rwhp with a Whipple supercharger and methanol injection. Building a new motor to try for 1000 rwhp. Just rebuilt the rear axle...again.

All cool. I used to build nitrous injected hotted up alloy V8 conversions for fun. From typical 4 pot European cars. But liked to keep stock looks, fat wheels/tyres and debadged. More fun at the lights or the motorway. But mostly drag raced street bikes, with large T4 turbos, awakened by nitrous etc. Those went fast! Wheelspin and wheelies at the same time in every gear but top. And 2nd gear was 115/125mph. Leaving rubber or overtaking a line of cars on the motorway at double the UK speed limit was just a matter of how hard you open the throttle. But is huge fun.

This is the sort of power a turbo bike makes. 350kph is well on the wrong side of 200mph, so quite fast but nowhere near flat out. So plenty left for off the throttle wheelies at will. Too much power corrupts!


youtu.be/YTdStgg0x8w

[jwSubMOA]

Very cool! I always loved bikes. As to the weight of the 1/4 plate for my battery box. It actually is not very heavy at all. I am extremely hard on my chairs, but I do not make them unnecessarily overbuilt. Due to how hard I am on my chairs I must have reliability over all else. My use is similar the Will's of Willchair fame. I pull cars in and out of my shop, used to pull a mower, push items around with foot plate and do lots of offroad across plowed fields and in the woods. I try to use as many off the shelf parts as I can so repairs and upgrades are easy. This helps too when I build someone a chair as many times insurance will help pay for certain parts.

[buttabean]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned 3d printing.

cheap 3D printers have come a long way in the last year so you can pick up a kit or a preassembled one for under 300 that does the job. You just need to know what to look for. If anyone's interested, I don't mind writing a guide up. I'm in the process of building a giant delta printer with tri-heads.

1) home theater - (can be expensive and upgrades are inevitable)
2) 3d printing which you'll learn to 3d model - (once up and running it's cheap, it can get moderately expensive as you get the upgrade bug or if you aren't careful with funds and your end goals. Every printer has its limits,)
3) writing - (free)
4) R/C cars/trucks/planes - (it can get expensive if you are a madman behind the controls)
5) custom R/C projects - currently building a 1/5th scale tracked excavator from my old quickie s626. I just got the track working last night. (cost... depends on the scale. it gets expensive)
6) laser engraving - (once up and running it's cheap)

Out of everything, the top three are the most mentally pleasing. The 3D printer has been great for adapting stuff. I made a rubber arm support for my wheelchair that prevents my left arm from falling off. I also made some really strong nylon adapters to change my arm rests on my permobil m300 to the teardrop quickie soft foam armrests. I didn't make a cup holder yet haha. I have probably made around 50+ random adapter parts for people. If you get a 3D printer, you're going to get a lot of requests for random nonsense.

[salixfire]

Wheelchair Grand Prix (supposedly they are coming to the UK at some point)

[steves1977uk]

BM's BM3 chair would lap all the others several times Be fun to watch how pathetic stock chairs are really are.

Steve

[Burgerman]

Interesting.

There appears to be no rules.
And all the chairs are stock/24V lead powered and slow.
So what happens if I turn up in my BM3 chair. It steers better than all those on there. And it can accelerate much harder if I turn it up. And it goes double the speed of the fastest ones they appear to have. Hardly sporting though! I would be able to lap them about every 2 laps af I could get past...

To make any sense its got to have rules.

Why?
I used to drag race street bikes. 300HP, turbocharged genuine street bikes.
4 years later, almost every bike that turned up was a race bike with painted on lights, 10k gearboxes that only change UP, painted on lights, no front suspension, exhausts that broke windows, and engines that needed Avgas or they would damage themselves. So we ended up with a class that was 10% actually street legal, and 905 drag bikes with street tyres on. Totally ruining it!

http://www.wheelchairdriver.com/BM3-con ... -shake.mp4 12 or 13 while fixing caster shake issue. Front right on this vid.

http://www.wheelchairdriver.com/BM3-con ... /15mph.mp4 After fixing it.

[steves1977uk]

https://www.facebook.com/wheelchairgran ... 935819758/ Those look slowwwwww... I could easily pass them BM, expresso and me would be in the top 3!

Steve

[expresso]

Looks interesting - i am sure there are some kind of rules - - i would try it if they had it here -

[Burgerman]

I wouldn't do it. I would feel a t*t... It would be embarrassing. Nobody thinks its a bit demeaning?

[Burgerman]

I think I would give it a go once to prove I could win too easily. Then find a pretty girl serving beer somewhere close. But its fun for some I suppose. My problem is I came from a background of racing drag/streetbikes with about 400bhp. And so it would feel silly.

[Burgerman]

I could easily pass them BM, expresso and me would be in the top 3!

No. In the bar.

[steves1977uk]

Think I'd join you in there BM, have a few beers As long as there was some hot bar maids to chat up, I'd be well away!

Although it'd be fun just to do a few laps, just to show how slow they are! I'd be shouting "Catch me if you can!"

Steve