Technology PC Load Letter, what the heck does that mean!?! We wanna know the coolest tricks to improve your operating system, the slickest way to get songs from your IPOD to your cell phone, and how you put together your ultimate computing machine. How do you make your own webpage, touch up photos using Photoshop, or make your own guitar amp out of spare parts? What are your secret moves to beat your favorite Wii game? Don’t know technobable, go ahead and make it simple—we’d love to know your tips to save energy and help the environment. Go slow, this computer stuff is hard.

Impact Ignitor Masters Of Fire first episode- Impact Ignitors Materials Needed: Matchbook & Tape Step 1: Remove Matches from Matchbook Step 2: Fold the matches in half Step 3: Line up a match head with sandpaper strip. Then use tape to fasten into place Step 4: Wrap around the rest of the matchbook and finish off with some tape. Song by Kompressor From: MastersOfFire. Views: 514 Added: 05/23/2008   Gav's EV Conversion - Step 18 - The Inspection It's legal at last! Two tough inspections and a sea of paperwork later, the electric Mitsubishi Tredia is legally allowed on the road! I was as nervous as hell during the inspections but it turns out that it was all worth it as I now have a fully functioning, road-legal electric car! This episode begins with transporting the car up to Auckland City for the main Certification test, then transferring the car all the way back to New Plymouth for the Warrant of Fitness test. Once I had those tests under my belt and a WOF sticker on my windscreen, I could go to the post office and... well, get more forms to fill out. But once I'd filled THOSE out, I was given my registration sticker! Next step was to start my "Road User Charges" (another tax) and away we go - Time to hit the roads! I celebrated by taking the car out for it's first legal go-anywhere road trip! I even passed two gas stations, one of them might look familiar! As always, I welcome your comments and tips. But in the mean time, I'm off for another drive! ;) Cheers! (More details & photos available at www.KiwiEV.com) From: Gav. Views: 470 Added: 05/11/2008   Gav's EV Conversion 16 - The First Trial Run Woohoo! The Tredia is alive and KICKING! After successfully test-spinning the wheels with the car off the ground, we lowered it down late on Friday night and took it for it's first test drive up and down our empty street! I make no apologies for my excited girly giggling - you would too! I would rather have test proven the car on a race-track or abandoned airport runway but there are none of those things near here so I had no choice but to use the empty road. In case the Police are reading this, Sorry! I had to for testing purposes! It won't happen again! :) So, not only was the test drive REALLY good fun, it was very useful for finding faults. I've tracked down three teething issues I need to work on before taking the car to Auckland to be certified! If you're thinking of starting your own conversion or if you've been putting it off, START IT TODAY! Ok, still heaps to do before I can drive it about so it's back into the garage to build the recharging system! Check out www.KiwiEV.com for the latest info! From: Gav. Views: 510 Added: 05/10/2008   Gav's EV Conversion - Bonus Video - How to throw away your income! Lesson One: How to Throw Away Your Income! --------------------- UPDATE: Donations are no longer required! A HUGE thank you from me and my wife for the assistance people have given me. With the financial help received, I'm able to finish the project on Schedule! ---------------- Over the last four months I've compiled enough clips of me filling up the car to make a fun new video! Every week I take the car to the local gas station to put an expensive and smelly liquid into a (bottomless) holding tank in my gas powered car. It's a time consuming and expensive operation. This weekly experience isn't enjoyable, despite what the advertisements tell me. Chances are, just like millions of others around the globe, you do something pretty similar. This video was also created to reluctantly help raise funds for the completion of my electric car project. Up to date progress can be found at KiwiEV.com From: Gav. Views: 491 Added: 05/10/2008   Add Video to QuickList Gav's EV Conversion 14 - Installing the Batteries The batteries have arrived and are installed at long last! It took a few days of fiddling about but we installed and secured the front and rear batteries into place with super-strong stainless steel strapping. I also created and installed my sealed rear battery box which has the extraction system connected to the turbo timer and a relay so that both the ignition and the charging system activate the fans. The turbo timer ensures the fans keep going for 3 minutes after I've turned the car off, or unplugged the charger. It sounds complex but it isn't. You have to remember it's ME we're talking about here ;) If you can't wait for the next video you can Check out the regularly updated progress at www.KiwiEV.com From: Gav. Views: 824 Added: 05/10/2008   Gav's EV Conversion 15 - Installing the Main Cables The electric car has power! After 2 days of slithering about underneath the car installing cables and cleaning the garage floor with my back, I've finally finished installing the main cables for the electric car! The last 10 minutes were the most nerve-wracking as we fought the urge to turn the key and forced ourselves to check all our connections one by one. In the end, we connected everything and heard the sound of that amazing Curtis 1231C Controller springing into life! The car was jacked up at this point so We did a test spin of the motor, then a test spin of the car in gear (with the wheels off the ground). It all went GREAT! The next video will show us taking the car onto the road for it's initial test drive! Stay Tuned! For more up to date details on what I'm doing, check out www.KiwiEV.com From: Gav. Views: 467 Added: 05/10/2008   Gav's EV Conversion 10 - Installing the Motor The motor is in! After a bit of a delay, the adapter plate has been created and mated to the gearbox, and the motor has been installed into the Tredia! We had a few delays along the way with problems finding an engineer, our wedding being overseas, the adapter plate & motor not fitting in the first time, and THEN having to get a mounting bracket welded up. Whew, there's a bit of work involved in getting the motor installed but at long last it's in! I noticed in the video that we make that heavy motor look light & fluffy lowering it into the Mitsubishi. It is not. I think it was due to editing out all swearing and straining noises from the video. :) I can finally say the motor has been installed into the car and I think a big Yeeehhhaaaa is in order. That's one small step for Gavin, but one giant leap for Gav's EV conversion. Feel free to comment and offer tips and check out the installation in more detail at www.KiwiEV.com From: Gav. Views: 358 Added: 05/10/2008   Gav's EV Conversion 11 - Installing the Heater There's still a couple of weeks before I can get the battery racks installed, so now's the perfect time to sort out the car's electric heater. It's the law in New Zealand for your EV to have a working heater (primarily to stop the windscreen from fogging up). I was going to buy an EV heater from an EV accessories supplier but was advised I could save a bundle by doing it myself from parts! The whole thing has cost me $70 NZ as opposed to $174 NZ from a popular EV accessories seller! And once again, if I can do it then anyone can! I hope this video proves educational. Feel free to see the install in more detail at KiwiEV.com Once I scrounge enough money together then the Battery Racks video will be uploaded asap! Progress has slowed a little as things have got tight financially so I've even set up a donations page on KiwiEV.com to make sure the car is completed by the middle of summer in February! From: Gav. Views: 379 Added: 05/10/2008   Gav's EV Conversion - 9 - Installing the Pot Box The next video in this classic New Zealand Electric Car Conversion has arrived! My Potentiometer Throttle Box has arrived from America! It was a birthday present from my mum - sure beats socks & undies! This "Pot Box" as it's known, is like a light dimmer switch. The accelerator cable is attached to it and when you press the gas pedal, the lever moves, adjusting the amount of power the motor is to receive. I also learnt that in New Zealand you require an additional spring connected to the outside of the pot-box for safety in case the main spring fails. It made me wonder if other countries have this same extra spring requirement? If you have any questions or comments, please throw them my way! Also, feel free to see photos and more detail at my website, www.KiwiEV.com From: Gav. Views: 434 Added: 05/09/2008   Gav's EV Conversion 8 - In the Meantime... The car is now ready for the arrival of the electric motor! In this video (the longest yet) I go about fixing up anything that hasn't yet been done in anticipation of the new motor! I fixed the last of the rust on the bottom of the passenger door, I replaced the steering rack boot, put fresh oil in the gearbox, installed the stereo and broke a lot of tools! The motor has been shipped (well, airfreighted) and the CV Boot got the better of me, so now there's nothing left to do but wait... For more info, check out www.KiwiEV.com From: Gav. Views: 381 Added: 05/09/2008    Page 1 of 3 pages  Next

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