The Solar Car project is really getting on my nerve. Just now, I spent nearly four hours trying to find a switch with 30A / 12 VDC. At first, I thought it is supposed to be easy as ABC and had been thinking of spending less than an hour to look for it.
Unfortunately, 30A VDC is not that easy to find, at least for me. All I found were switches with the rating of 0.5mA VAC, 1A VAC and all those other freaking small digits. My frustration grew as the ampere reading rose little by little but instead of being for direct current, the rating was for alternating current. By the time the ampere class reached 100A (which I don’t even need to look into as that kind of current is way too big), I had sat on my chair for 2 hours. My God, I could complete a mini-quest in Neverwinter Nights or even read the whole Chapter 2: Economic Growth up within those 120 minutes.
Then, things started to brighten up as I found a few directories that list more than 100 of companies that sell switches. While looking into it, I learned that there are whole bunch of switches; from the primitive toggle switches to the high tech digital rockers. Counting all, my favorite is the normal rocker.
Finally, I bumped into Del City and Cole Hersee I found not only cool switches, but switches that match for team need. And again, all this took me four hours.
I am just thankful that I didn’t apply to join the race crew because if building up the car is going to consume so much time, a race crew needs to dedicate his whole time for the team. I heard somebody even said that the whole semester needs to be sacrifice.
Sacrificing the whole semester for the upcoming American Solar Car Race (ASC) is too much for me. But if I last into 2005, I hope that I’ll be in the 2005 race crew.
Whatever it is, I hope the team will retain the Cup in Ann Arbor because if we win the ASC, we are going to do serious damage in the World Solar Car Race Championship in the Australian Outback.
Aight, enough chatter, I need to do some revising.
p/s – look at the schedule I’ve just received through email!!!
Yo all,
We’ll be having worksessions from Saturday through next Thursday to lay up the lower surface of the body. I’m looking for a response from everyone on what days they can be there and what times. The times for the
worksessions are:Saturday 10am – 10pm
Sunday ” ”
Monday ” ”
Tuesday 2pm – 6pm and after the meeting
Wed’day 7pm – midnight
Thursday 2pm – 6pm and after the aero/mechanical meetingPlease let me know which of these times you will be available. I will need a staff of at least 10 people at any of these times.Chris
I wonder what mine would be like when they start on those solar modules.
