This past week, I finally got my new power wheel chair operational! It is a Golden Compass by Golden Technologies. This chair is awesome!
Now, I want to add some stuff to my new chair. Here is what I want to add:
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A full set of automobile like turn signals and four way flashers front and rear.
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Tail lights and front running lights.
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Head lights (with high and low beams, of course, perhaps halogen) that can light up a full standard sidewalk width of concrete. The chair could easily accomodate 3 lamps, one mounted above each front wheel and one mounted in the center between the wheels.
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Some sort of programmable eye catching flashers mounted each side of the headrest and and each side of the bottom of the seat (four total).
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A LED type programmable nameplate which will have my chairās name āBlue Streakā (or āBluestreakā) written with blue LEDs in a cursive font with a yellow LED lightening bolt running through the name. Several different patterns would be possible such as handwriting the name, flashing the name at various rates, etc.
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Right or left arm rest mounted control and indicator panel for status.
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An odometer with resetable trip meter and speedometer - my chair can do up to about 10 MPH even though it is rated for just 5 MPH.
All except #7 should be pretty easy to accomplish. I can get a 12V 7aH battery and charger from Tower Hobbies to run everything.
Everything has to be water proof since I take my chair outdoors in all sorts of weather - I do live in Oregon afterall. Nothing can stick outside of any chair dimension in order to maintain my 19" turning radius. I have to be able to still get on and off city buses easily using the lifts and ramps.
My idea is to have a water proof battery box large enough to hold the battery and all the electronics (microcontroller, etc) with cabling running to the hardware and up to the control/indicator pad on the arm rest.
I am thinking that actual automotive style hardware and lights could be used for the head lights, tail/running lights, and four way hazard lights and am working on a plan for the back nameplate and control for it.
Iām open to feedback and suggestions for doing all of this as it will be something I do over a period of time. My priority right now is to get the lighting setup designed and on the chair as soon as possible, since I need to go out or return home after dark sometimes.
I have always liked the looks of cars like the Couger, 1968 Ford Thunderbird, and simiar uniquely styled cars, so Iād like to model the lighting after one or a combination of these, especially the Couger (tail lights and/or head lights) and 1968 Thunderbird (tail lights and perhaps head lights with covers).
8-Dale