Anyway i had an idea to bring together the best of the 2 world, the security of the bulky lock, plus the alarm sound!
I Got an easy and cheap idea on how to integrate inside the board a motion activated sound alarm powered by the skate battery and switched on and of with a very small remote that can fit into a key chain.
Total cost fir the sound alarm would be around 10$ or even less in components .
So i can lock the skate with the u-lock , activate the alarm with the press of a button and go mind my business.
The goal here is to make it difficult enough to the thieves , so that they will target something easier to take.
Just ordered the material for the internal alarm sound… china takes 1 month so i will update later the development of the idea
Doesn’t that mean you have to leave the board switched on though? I’m sure iv read somewhere that your battery will deplete if left on even if not in use! Think the best option is just to buy an alarm lock with separate battery supply,there only £20 in the uk which is $25
Not knocking your way of deterring thieves though by any means necessary we all want range but to not have to carry a heavy board round town!
With the VESC have left my board on for pretty long periods of time, it does have some idle draw but it’s really not much compared to when you’re riding. Probably not good to leave it on for really extended periods of time but I imagine the STM32F4 processor on there is pretty low power consumption and not much else going on.
ARM architecture processors and the arduino Atmel chips both consume extremely low amounts of power (ARM ones are particularly impressive given they are still pretty powerful/fast).
On my board I have a switch that allow me to turn the ESC off so no problem for that.
Anyway I will also have to test the drain current of the alarm but I imagine will be minimal.
Fair enough iv not researched it myself Bro just read somewhere to not leave your battery on but if your alarm doesn’t use much battery and deplete much from the cells then all good.
A vesc with motion detection would be ideal or integrated in to the battery,someone get on to vedder to implement a security system!!
Or even a GPS implemented in to the vesc that you could track from the vesc app would be a good idea,would obviously up the price on the vesc but then you have the satisfaction of confronting the thieves and taking some teeth! Lol
Heh yeah some it’s just a few sensors (maybe accelerometers) and a speaker away from being able to do it. It’s probably sound advice not to leave it powered on if you’re not using it anyway, but have had it on for a while between testing things and building and left it on for a while before just to see how much the voltage dropped. There is some pull but so long as it wasn’t left on over the course of a night or day or something it’s fine for a few hours. Can roughly compare it to a phone since it’s the same architecture but these are lower frequency/speed variants than in the phones so don’t even consume as much power as those (also in the phone you have radios for cell/wifi and the screen to power and a much smaller battery).
Someone should test this,leave your board on all night,see how much it depletes by,would be interesting to see how much it would with your alarm installed,keep us updated when you do Bro.
I would but at the minute I’m charging 2× a day and doing 30 miles lovin the esk8 life! it’s hot here in bournemouth and plenty of bbq’s and a 7 mile stetch of beach to cruise along!
I Like this idea, but even if they cant steal it, I know the kind of people who would steal, especially in rockingham, would damage it, I had a downhill mountain bike once and ulocked it to a rack through its frame and wheels with a cable, went to work, came back with the seat stole, the u lock and cables scratched up and the spokes of the wheels cut. I never leave my baby out of my site.
Yeah, that’s what i fear now thanks to the story like this you guys reported.
That’s why i want to add another level of security which should be the Sound alarm, to scare, or at least bring attention to the thieves and induce them to leave fast.
So far i had no problem, but you guys scared me… but better be safe than sorry
That’s why you can’t beat an alarm lock! iv had bikes for years with alarm locks and every one else’s gets stolen but mine!
No parts missing,no damage,it’s worth investing in a good one if your bike/eboard is worth £1000+
If I didn’t have an alarm lock I simply wouldn’t leave my board in public,they are priceless! your see what I mean once you hear the 110-120 decibel alarm!!
Funny as hell, but awesome none the less. Few U-locks stand a chance against a pole or grinder, but they’re mainly a deterrent anyways. Few professional thieves are looking to jack boards and this will stop most opportunistic ones. You can also use tamper resistant hardware to keep people from jacking your trucks, wheels…
Parts for the motion sound alarm still on their way from china… it will take 2 weeks minimum to arrive
Lock performance: So far so good. left the board like this every day since i made it, no problems. I only get people to stop me when i unlock it to ask what kind of skateboard it is xD (In italy is not very diffused at all)
parts arrived, all except for voltage regulator, so i had to test with 9v battery only and not directly from the electric skateboard batteries, but it works.
