Solar Freaks

Hey everyone,

During my spare time, I have created a website! It is generally on all the cars I have built so far, brief description of their appearance and attributes as well as problems we faced on race day and the race day itself. It also has a ‘why go solar page?’ briefly describing why we should go solar. I would like to make a request to make a link to this website please. The domain is:

http://www.solarkaro.com.au

It is not completely finished, so updating will be regular!

Thanks guys,
Karo

Hey Karo,

Nice site, You can definitely link to this site, no need for permission.
I visit regularly to see any updates.


Cheers

Hello Karo,

I see you've updated your old website there. I too will place a link to your site from the Tasmanian one.

I'm not 100% sure on this, but you may be able to submit a website instead of the poster at the national event if you want. I'll contact some of the higher powers and get back to you on that one.

miseli

Thanks guys for the nice comment and the OK. Ye, the old site was done on dreamweaver a long time ago, and had no real structure to it. This one was done witha small template on dreamweaver aswell, but it much neater.

Thanks again,
Karo

P.S, could you please make a link from this website to mine, if that is ok
PP.S, is it ok if I put the link to this website under ‘sponsors websites’ (located on everypage in orange) even though you are not technically my sponsor. I could make a new page for links… really up to you.

Yep Karo, its ok
Ill put up a link for you soon.

Hello Karo,

There is now a link to your website on the Tasmanian Challenge's links page.

Yes, please feel free to return a link.

miseli

Cool, no problem, thanks heaps guys!

Karo

Cool site Karo,

Nice little stories you got going with each version of Karo, Especially after reading "Stealth" as your most feared competitor. :p

See you in a month's time in UNSW.

Team Moorebank (Stealth)

Just out of interest, what kind of panels will the both of you be using this year?

I hope no one minds...

But, from what i have seen so far:
Moorebank high is using the new Engelec panels, and the Scorpio Panels.
St Pauls is using the Scorpio Panels.

im using engelec panels aswell...

Oh good. It's good to hear that most in NSW are going to be on a level playing field in terms of panels. Both the Engelec modules and the Scorpio panels are high quality.

It's also good to hear that both some higher and lower powered panels are going to be used. I, for one, will be interested to see how the new panel power to weight formula holds up this year.

Quick question. Has anyone even considered giving themselves the option of going without electronics?

miseli

it really depends on the weather for me. I have considered no electronics, but really depend what the weather report says...

Hello Karo,

I'm glad someone is considering the no-electronics option. Unfortunately, I think that the number of teams that are/will be doing likewise this year will be very low.

The current 30% panel weight reduction is probably still not quite enough of an incentive for teams to take it more seriously and, in many cases, knowing how to get a car to run well without electronics can often be the greatest obstacle.
Optimising a car to get the very best out of it would also require some on-track testing which very few schools have access to.

Simulations have shown that there is an advantage to be had at the lower sunlights, but only if the panel configuration and gear ratio are up to it. Deviate too far from the correct setup and there will be trouble.

While the correct setup for a particular sun level can be approximated to some extent, real-world track testing will almost certainly be needed for fine tuning.
If an electronics unit is not going to be used then a reasonable array of gear ratios to select from and also a system that will allow changing between these in as little time as possible will be required.
Being able to switch the panel configuration between series and series parallel combinations should also be made available.

Finally, it must be remembered that even if the correct setup is used, the sun level may still change just before a race starts or during one. Under this type of circumstance there is nothing that can be done and in some cases the car may not even finish the race.

miseli

This topic has been split.
Please find the Electronics discussion here: electronics-vs-no-electronics-t336.html
Rest of the topic remains.