Electricity & Electronics for the Shop

I've seen the future and it's powered by electricity!  I love diesel engines in pickup trucks, cars and just about anything else. I love fast cars and 4x4's with powerful gasoline engines and turbochargers. This is what being a gearhead has always been about. And there's lots the homebrewed engineer can do with vegetable oil fuels and biodiesel, but if you read Wired magazine's, Autopia website you will see that "plug-in" electric cars are coming on strong. 

A new breed of gearhead is also rising to meet the challenge of working with the new battery and motor technology. Much of which is available now for hackers (gearheads) to purchase. Electric cars with 90 mph top speeds and 200 mile range are a reality. The problem is that they are being priced around $35,000. A resourceful hacker is going to be able to put something with that kind of performance together for much less.


Wouldn't it also be fun to start thinking about how to install an array of solar panels on the roof of the house to charge the new electric hot rod. And maybe produce enough power to put a serious dent in the household utility bill as well.

Now I'm a bit behind on electronics, but I found a book, Teach Yourself Electricity and Electronics, Fourth Edition, that looks like an electronics technician's associate degree program under one cover. I'm happy to say that it's well laid out and easy to read! I love it because self-learning and reaping the fruits of the knowledge gained alway make me feel like I'm like beating the System!