Nice to meet all of you!

[myates]

I live in Wisconsin, land of cows, Green Bay Packers, and cheeseheads!

I am really excited about this site, thanks to all of your input and the extraordinary effort put forth by burgerman.

Just a little background on my situation...

My disability is "arachnoiditis". I am not paralyzed. However, I use an electric chair to help me be mobile. Without it, I wouldn't be able to go anywhere, or do much at all. The arach. causes my nerves in my lower back to basically short circuit, sending constant, or near constant pain signals to the brain. Walking, or even standing for more than about 3-5 minutes is difficult at best. Anything beyond that has not been possible for me in 7 years. I have had PT, pain management, the gamut of pain meds, an internal stimulator (L5-L6) meant to disrupt pain signals going to the brain.

I look forward to learning and sharing as much as possible about modding the chairs, and upgrading batteries, etc.

I just received my Hyperion EOS 1420i the other day. I also just received the Anderson Power Pole SB50's and 10 awg wire for making connections, adapters, etc.

I dabbled in electric helis as well. Align makes some great helis, that's for sure. I just had a 450 T-Rex, but I loved her. That was about 5 yrs ago already. I used Anderson PP's back then as well.

Best Regards,
Matt

[ex-Gooserider]

Welcome, sounds like you are making great progress...

I am a bit concerned about your mention of using AWG 10 wire with the Andersons for connections - yes, it's what the chair makers use, but it's decidedly on the skimpy side and will limit what you do later on.

Wire size is a bit of a translation problem on an international board like this - there are several different wire gage systems besides the AWG numbers that we use in the US, and there is metric on top of that. There have been several discussions about this in the past, with links to tables that compare the different standards. (Trouble with "standards" is that there are so many of them....)

Burgerman works with metric wire, which is dimensioned in square millimeters cross section area. The 10mm^2 area wire that he uses is roughly equivalent to an AWG 7. The odd AWG numbers are described in the charts and literature, but I've never seen any odd AWG size wire for sale, so you need to choose between AWG 6 and AWG 8

Again looking at the charts, for the kinds of amperage that BM says we use, AWG 8 is "OK" but a bit thin, so I went with AWG 6 instead. I figure it is worth it for the lower voltage drop / higher current capacity - and that it is significant that the pins for the Anderson SB-50 and PP-75 connectors are specified as being for AWG 6.

In general it is a good idea to look over at the senders name block to see where he came from to see if you need to do any translating in order to use their advice. (hope they filled it in) If you haven't put in your own location info, it is a good idea to go up to the user control panel (button near the top of the page) and fill it in.

ex-Gooserider

[Burgerman]

Remember that half as long is the same as double the size too! Length of cable is also important.

A fuse may add very little resistance and be about 3 sq mm. Because its short.

Watch this. This is measuring motor amps, on just one motor... And then look how small the manufacturers wiring loom is! They managed to save a bit more money...

Makes no sense. No wonder I can make them smoke!

http://www.wheelchairdriver.com/gopro/motoramps.mp4

And then look at the power ratings of some controllers. You NEED 100 amp controller on any 6mph chair if you hope to have any torque or control.

[Fulliautomatix]

8ga (~10mm^2) is a common size for car audio power cable internationally. Nominal capacity for a shortish run is ~100A but it's probably capable of 2-300A without getting too warm..
So it, and terminals to suit are readily available....but don't buy Stinger or Monster or expensive brand name stuff...it's all the same.
Another good option for soft multistrand is welding cable if you can find it small enough.

[Burgerman]

Marine supplier on ebay, keeps red, black, with easy to strip, hard high temp tinned 10mm sq cable. Its what I use and good quality, easy to solder. Remember, the andersons or batt connectors work best if you crimp them, then heat them up with some strands of solder already in the crimped joints. Along with a smear of non acid flux.

[woodygb]

In the past I've used cheap jump leads as donors for my power wires.

[Burgerman]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/25cm-ANDERSON ... 1e6c4459f9
Heavy 16mm sq battery cables ready made.

Link cable ready made
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/25cm-ANDERSON ... 1e6c4459f9

cable that looks similar to what I use.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4m-4000mm-Red ... 3ccade5d37

[myates]

Welcome, sounds like you are making great progress...

I am a bit concerned about your mention of using AWG 10 wire with the Andersons for connections - yes, it's what the chair makers use, but it's decidedly on the skimpy side and will limit what you do later on.

Wire size is a bit of a translation problem on an international board like this - there are several different wire gage systems besides the AWG numbers that we use in the US, and there is metric on top of that. There have been several discussions about this in the past, with links to tables that compare the different standards. (Trouble with "standards" is that there are so many of them....)

Burgerman works with metric wire, which is dimensioned in square millimeters cross section area. The 10mm^2 area wire that he uses is roughly equivalent to an AWG 7. The odd AWG numbers are described in the charts and literature, but I've never seen any odd AWG size wire for sale, so you need to choose between AWG 6 and AWG 8

Again looking at the charts, for the kinds of amperage that BM says we use, AWG 8 is "OK" but a bit thin, so I went with AWG 6 instead. I figure it is worth it for the lower voltage drop / higher current capacity - and that it is significant that the pins for the Anderson SB-50 and PP-75 connectors are specified as being for AWG 6.

In general it is a good idea to look over at the senders name block to see where he came from to see if you need to do any translating in order to use their advice. (hope they filled it in) If you haven't put in your own location info, it is a good idea to go up to the user control panel (button near the top of the page) and fill it in.

ex-Gooserider

Thanks for all the information! I will look for the info that you are referring to as well.

Your input is very much appreciated. I am learning so much, so quickly, lol!

[myates]

Thank you to all of you who have replied; fulliautomatic, burgerman, ex-gooserider, woodygb, & I hope I didn't miss anyone.

I will order some of that 6awg wire, and just use the 10awg for some other lower amp projects. I am learning as quickly as I can, given the time I have.

It is very exciting to meet all of you, and learn from your experiences.

It looks like I will be getting a new Quickie 636 soon. I just need my Dr. to sign off on the OT eval, and then it goes to the DME. I am going with either national, or united Seating and Mobility. I cannot remember which one at the moment.

Looking forward to more interactions with you guys/gals as time goes on here.

First impression from a newbie: very nice site, with helpful, friendly advice. Especially important is that I see the majority of interactions on here are quite positive. Even if there is a disagreement, it seems that most of the people here are adults, and act accordingly. Very much appreciated!

Blessings to all of you,
Matt