Tesla - "Modern SpaceShip"

Here is a nice video video on the Tesla Model S and a little boy's dream ...

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Rail Expo 2013, Windmills, and a Solar Powered Train Station

Today, I went with the kids to Rail Expo 2013, one of the biggest European exhibition about models trains

Beautiful sets ...


Very realistic




Several sets had rotating windmills ... reflecting country side new landscape ...




Back home, at night, I realized that the station I built years ago, on which I added a Solar Panel, Batteries, and LED lighting, did not work anymore ...

Underneath is the battery pack, wires, ON/OFF switch and 2 LEDs bulbs, one for the inside, one for the passengers waiting on the platform outside


This is the LED pocket flashlight used from Nature & Decouvertes

Seven of eight years ago, after building this station model, I added solar on the roof for lighting using a LED flashing light components; I guess this was my very first solar experience:-)

I will probably have to replace these batteries ...

Go Motorboard 2000X at the park / Broken throttle spring

Last sunday, after charging my Go Motorboard 2000X, I took it to the park for the kids who enjoyeda lot and taking turns withfriends who were discovering it (parents too since it was the first time I brought it there)

After an hour or so, my son came to me saying that the throttle was loose, and for the first time, I realized that the spring might have broke or detach itself, so they continued with two fingers on it, one for accelarting, the other one for pushing it back to stop acceleration

Once home, I opened the throttle assembly to try fix this spring

This is what it looks like inside: a PCB and a big potentiometer

These LEDs are showing the state of charge

Bottom line: the spring was broken in two, and after trying for a little hour extending it, I could not make this work; So a quick fix was to put a thick rubber band externally that will do the exact same thing ...

Go Motorboard 2000X next to the ESS (One day I will convert it to LiFePO4 ... with small cells)

After some testing and curling, it works fine !

Go Motorboard with the cousins

Sunday, at my sister's, all the cousins had a 'Go' with the Go Motorbaord Electric Scooter
For some of them it was the first time and they enjoyed it a lot :-)

That's how easy it is to plug in :-) A 5 yo can do it

Kids love to plug in when they're back home in the LEAF
They actually have to take turns: one opens up the lid, the other one plugs in