Can It Be this SIMPLE?

[Melanie]

The answer to all of that Alain is No... but...

There's only one of me, yet I own two cars, one is a small car, the other a large gas-guzzling 4x4 Diesel. If I could get one for a sensible price (instead of the riddiculous prices dealers charge), I'd probably buy a Hummer just because I'd be the only kid on the block with one (the other problem with the Hummer is that Americans have forgotten how to make cars and their build quality is attrocious - GM take notice if you read this forum!).

Which car I chose to drive depends on my mood and where I'm going. If around town I might take the small car, or I just might take the 4x4 because manufacturers spend millions on designing fenders which I consider an under-utilised accessory, and I've found they're great for creating gaps in parking where none previously existed provided there's enough horsepower behind them.

Why should I, as an individual, be asked to economise on energy and minimise pollution when more than half the world doesn't care?

I do my bit... I turn the lights off in the Bedroom when I go to bed (saving 200W), but I keep the air-con running (burning 3kW) because I want to be comfortable. I junked the 28" (300W) widescreen, for a 32" (100W) LCD - saving 200W, a good move but offset by the fact that manufacturing the LCD produced three times as much greenhouse gasses than the glass tubed one.

Do you consciously buy product A because it's 'greener' than product B although it's inferior? Let's get real. I don't want to drive a 'Smart' or today's FIAT 500 or Citroen 2CV equivallent.

When at the end of my days my Grandchildren ask (no, I'm not married and have no children as yet - this is hypotheical) "Grandma what did you do when you were younger?", I want to tell them that "I drove up down motorways at 140mph, burnt fuel at 11/gallon in sound-proofed air-conditioned comfort whilst listening to my favourite music at 110dB". I want to tell them that I was a CONSUMER, I worked hard and in turn made my life comfortable.

[Acetronics2]

Hi, Mel

" I want to tell them .... I worked hard and in turn made my life comfortable. "

That's not - exactly - what I understood from two or three years reading carefully your posts on this forum ...

" bearable " sounds better to me.

Might I take off a couple of your " memories " as examples ??? ...

Now, we should redirect this interesting discussion to " off topic " section , ... may be ...

Alain

[Mike_Lynch]

Out of context quote

. . .When at the end of my days my Grandchildren ask "Grandma what did you do when you were younger?", I want to tell them that "I drove up down motorways . . . . whilst listening to my favourite music at 110dB". . . . .

Are you sure you won’t be telling them
“Eeehhh, What did you say? Speak Up I can’t hear you when you mumble ”

M.L. (Ducking for cover)

[Melanie]

OK guys... I'm replicating this thread in Off-Topic...

We can continue posting on-topic about the technicalities of Mikes Barbie Dragster here...

Did you ever pencil together a circuit with a Time-Delay Relay Mike?

[Mike_Lynch]

Did you ever pencil together a circuit with a Time-Delay Relay Mike?

No, not yet Mel, other higher priorities took over, had to get some dental work done,
then the Water Heater in the house decided to start acting up so I had to attend to that.
I haven’t forgot about it though,

[peterdeco1]

Hi Everybody. Attached is a schematic of a 555 controlled PWM that drives a child's 12V ride on car. This isn't exactly the answer to this thread but maybe can give some ideas. The circuit limits the speed of a 100 RPM motor on the axle to about 25 RPM to keep the car slow. The 1uF cap on pin 5 gives a slight ramp-up delay for smooth starting. Making this cap smaller will eliminate the delay. It's important to use the FR602 fast recovery rectifier across the motor. A standard 6A rectifier will get hot but can be used on the B+ feed from the battery. I used a logic level FET to drive the motor but I'm sure a standard FET would work the same. The heatsink on the FET doesn't have to be big either - it's rated at about 40 amps with a very low on resistance. Hope this helps.

[Mike_Lynch]

Something like this perhaps? Shaded areas show what is new to the circuit.

[Melanie]

Yes that's good...

Very clever that you've ensured you can't go TURBO in Reverse - I had to think for a moment what you'd done there!

One observation, R3 isn't needed where you've drawn it, but it IS needed in series with R1, to ensure you don't ever apply full 12v non-current limited to the base of Q1, and that will also ensure a minimum time period regardless what position R1 is in.

You're going to get considerable sparking on the TURBO Relay contacts, so consider (a) a chunky Relay, and (b) some kind of surpression across the contacts (that's also a good idea on the GO Relay contacts) as the extra energy should be dissipated somewhere other than in wearing away the contacts.

Whoa No... there's a problem...

The Time-Delay Power for it's Relay (via the Parental Control Switch) is OK to be wired where it is (permanent 12v), but the Feed for R1 should be connected to Pin 1 of the GO Relay, so timing commences only AFTER the vehicle is already in motion. You're going to have to adjust your Zener and component values accordingly as that part is being fed from a 6v Supply.