What if we could have 2 sets of batteries online?

[beckpm]

Question: Would it be possible to carry an extra set of batteries somewhere on the HT and rig some kind of AB switch to engage the new set when the primary set was too low? I know you could carry a fully charged set and change out the batteries, but that is not be convenient - could an adapter be made to split off the main power trunk lines with an AB switch - or would that not be practical?

Peter Beck
Arlington, Virginia

[gotseg]

When you think that another 20 pounds of batteries can almost double your range it makes since to make such an option available. If you had the cash and could risk damaging your batteries, Im sure it wouldn't be hard to open a battery pack and wire in some addition cells that could be mounted above the fenders. Just seems like LLC should be looking into the option of adding battery packs as needed to extend your range. Who knows, maybe they are.

gotseg?

[stuart]

Another thing to think about besides the range of the Segway is the range of the rider. Would most people here want to ride their Segway 22 miles at a shot (or even in a day)?? Seems to me that most people might want the range increased by a few miles but probably not doubled.

Stuart

[gotseg]

I agree stuart. Maybe selling 5 mile battery packs that can be put into series would be more what people are looking for.

gotseg?

[beckpm]

quote:Originally posted by stuart

Another thing to think about besides the range of the Segway is the range of the rider. Would most people here want to ride their Segway 22 miles at a shot (or even in a day)?? Seems to me that most people might want the range increased by a few miles but probably not doubled.

Stuart

Stuart,
I think most people would like the option to have a 22 mile range. They all may not want to ride that much in a day, but when they need it they need it. Last week I posted my experience of having to stop for a 30 minute charge on the way back from a 12 mile glide - It was a nice day and the number of nice days are coming to a close as winter starts to close in - that particular day I would have loved to glide 10 more miles!

Peter Beck
Arlington, Virginia

[SegwayBill]

Had a conversation with Segway this week and was told the battery packs are hard to open and will damage them.
Perhaps if you use an e model and mount the batteries in the side bag and run the wires thru the ac plug receptical, with the cover removed there would be enough space.

Bill

[Sunday]

I would run them through the cargo frame, and down thourgh the control shaft. I wonder if you could order a wiring harness from LLC, and just plop the packs into the bags? Or better yet, have LLC do the mod at the factory, if they're willing to do any custom work. Seems like it would be easy enough to do. Atleast in my head it seems easy:)


Sunday

Segway-more fun than you can stand!

[Peter iNova]

How about a thin plate that intervened between present battery and Seg frame with leads out to an external pack. Perhaps a stand-up battery inside each fender? That ought to provide enough space (volume) for a +5 mile pack. Of course those would not be charged by the Seg's internal system...

-iNova

http://www.glidewalk.com

[Stan671]

Each battery connector has 12 terminals in it. I have no clue what all those connections are for, do you? The Segway batteries are not just simple batteries. They don't just provice power to the machine. They also regulate thier own charger and provide monitoring (temperature, voltage, etc) information to the Segway's computers.

I would not want to mess around with that stuff and run the risk of damaging the batteries and/or the Segway.

Stan Dobrowski

[Sunday]

I wonder how the fuel cell seg had it's power delivered to the HT? Of course, they weren't trying to hook up extra batteries-but it's neat to see that they did manage to wire it up and make it work. And I didn't notice any abundance of dongles jutting out either. Maybe we should contact those folks to build us an extended range machine?

Sunday

Segway-more fun than you can stand!

[gotseg]

My bet is that they opened up one of the battery packs and took out all the cells and replaced them with the + and - wires to the fuel cell. The microcomputer in the battery probably couldn't detect the difference and its just running like that. Just my guess and how I would do it.

gotseg?

[GadgetmanKen]

Not that I condon digging into your Segway guts, but, I would think that piggy-backing a spare set of batteries thru a toggle switch wouldn't be that hard. I would think that you could do it by either making a connector with piggy-backs to your existing battery wires or connectors. Albeit, there doesn't seem to be enough room to do that inside the case. Another option would be to wire directly to the board with like connectors and like wires to your toggle (A/B) switch. This would only be for the electronics professional only. One who would know what they're way around circuit boards and components. I think upon switching to the fresh set of batteries would require a restart. Doing any of these proceedures I think would definately void your warranty on your Segway.

If I did something like this I would carry the spare set either in brief case carriers like Wayne sells or make a holder to mount both spare batteries vertically above each other and connect them to the control shaft and position them between your legs to give yourself some added heat between your legs in the cooler months. :)

"Wouldn't it be cool, if?...is like Folgers in my cup"