One of my biggest engineering fascinations is where the mechanical meets the electrical, and how they interact. This was the perfect project to scratch that itch.

Through exercises like calculating range and correct motor size, based on wheel diameters, battery size, weight, and belt/pulley ratios, I was able to ensure I could get to the beach and back from my current apartment.

Once I was able to get the motor to spin correctly with the right controller input, I quickly realized I had no way of realizing when I was going to run out of juice. There are some options on the market but I wanted to use my new skills of PCB design to make sure I was getting exactly what I want.

I used a couple NRF modules, PCBs, and a LED screen to display the battery information. I used a simple voltage divider circuit to bring the battery voltage down to something the Arduino could safely process. I was also able to use the BEC circuit from the battery motherboard to power the transmitter. I used a couple double A batteries and the barrel jack to power the receiver. Once I got it coded through Arduino, I was able to drive around and pull this pocket sized gadget out and make sure I wasn't going below the cut off voltage for the Li-Ion batteries.