(ET) OT: another small Apollo-era EV (Solo Electra)

[Darryl McMahon <darryl econogics com>]

Some chance of snow tonight, but I suspect the cloud cover will keep us 
warm enough to get a light rain instead.

As I'm waiting for parts for the E15, my thoughts today turned to 
another small vintage EV I have here.  A 1974 Elec-trek (yes, with an 
'e', not an 'a' as the last vowel) electric moped.  These appeared 
starting in 1973 in Europe as the Solo Electra electric moped, but 
appeared under a number of different labels (Mars, Elec-Trek, possibly 
Katia, could have been others).

The pedals are functional for moving the bike, not vestigial like most 
of today's e-bikes.

Speed control is simpler than our ETs.  24-volt battery pack with power 
applied via a single contactor controlled by a simple on-off handle-bar 
switch.

Anyway, I finally figured out where the main positive-side power wire 
broke off from and that looks reparable.  The extraneous small wires are 
likely about the charger circuit (charger not part of the package I 
received a few years ago.  Batteries are at least 12 years old 
(lead-acid), but are recovering slowly with some charging cycles.  I'll 
be adding a weather-covered charger connector - possibly even on the 
original frame point - for a new charger.  Original connector is 
missing, I gather it was a weak point on the original design.  I have a 
couple of poor pictures from the Interweeb, which look like a mutant RCA 
plug.

So, with a little luck and time, this one could be operational in time 
for snow season.  My timing may be a little off on this project. <smile>


--
Darryl McMahon
Freelance Project Manager (sustainable systems)

Do not mistake patience for weakness, nor action for strategy.

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