SamDoe1

Bro.

I have gas lawn tools for everything still. Gas mower, blower, snow blower, chainsaw, trimmer, err thang. That said, I do want an electric leaf blower sometime.

00TL-P3.2

Borrowed a neighbor's Ego leaf blower last year, didn't suck.
Another neighbor is all-in on Ego lawn tools. Mower, blower, edger/weed-eater.
Since my edger & blower died, I've been paying the guy that does my other neighbor's yard. Gets done while I'm at work & I don't spend 1/2 a Saturday on it.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Milli walk ay makes a fantastic blower.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

Well, they're supposed to blow.

I have an Ego mower, string trimmer and blower - love them.

SamDoe1

Sounds like I need to EV all my shit here soon. I'm not getting rid of my Honda mower though. Superior tire size and tread pattern.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

I got handed down an almost new kobalt 80v mower for our tiny lawn from @1StGenCL
I had already given a ryobi trimmer head/edger 40V a shot...
and the blower I've used for a while. Talk about storage space saving with all of them
and a mower that can be stored up against the wall vertically.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

You got the silver with red trim honda mower, Sam?
That's the one my old neighbor had and swore by it.
Back when I used to get YOTM I had a toro timecutter 50.
Zero turns still make my weiner buzz...

SamDoe1

I have the HRX with the composite deck and the biggest motor they offered at the time. It's dark gray with red accents.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

show off.

e30cabrio

iTrader: (6)

I believe I have found the laziest person in the world!

Watch This Tesla Owner's DIY Robo-Charger Stick Its Landing

Elon Musk hasn't even built such a thing.


BY CAROLINE DELBERT
JUL 2, 2021

• Tesla owner Pat Larson has invented his own
  automatic charger.
• A Raspberry Pi computer serves as the brains of the operation.
• The charger uses a camera and a smart light bulb to position its long arm that connects to the car's charging port.

Earlier this month, YouTuber Pat Larson flaunted his "Tesla Automatic Charger" in a new . The robotic charger can automatically connect to the car's charging port with an arm-like apparatus that uses a camera, a Raspberry Pi computer, and a bit of machine learning.

It's the kind of charging technology that Tesla CEO Elon Musk has teased before, but hasn't yet delivered. So let's take a look at Larson's charging setup to see what's going on under the hood.

➡️ You love badass cars. So do we. Let's nerd out over them together.

The Raspberry Pi is "the brains of everything," Larson says in the YouTube video. To start, the system moves back and forth on linear bearings, aligning roughly with the charging port area of the car. A linear actuator (basically, a joint) pivots the charging arm mechanism away from the wall and toward the parked Tesla.

An automated servo motor "rotates the charging handle out when it's needed," Larson explains. Then, an ultrasonic distance sensor gives feedback to the computer so that the charging arm doesn't strike the car.
This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
Finally, a tiny camera snaps pictures and feeds them back to the computer system to help line up the charging arm mechanism. The Raspberry Pi is equipped with a machine learning framework called TensorFlow, which helps the system understand where to move based on the photographic evidence. There's also a light to illuminate the right spot, just in case it's dark inside the garage.

In the video, Larson presses a button to boot up the system, then watches as the "fairly complex TensorFlow model" kicks into gear slowly. "It's not a fast process," he says. The arm navigates away from the wall, while the bright light centers on the spot where the arm should go. Then, the software opens the charging port using the Tesla API.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

Don't let Elon see that. He'll slap a Beta label on it and charge $8k for the privilege.

00TL-P3.2

Full Self Charging ™

SamDoe1

You know what's easier than that? Plugging the car in by hand.

e30cabrio

iTrader: (6)

My point, if I could edit I'd change my post to hardest working lazy man.

How much time & effort went into not wanting to take 12 seconds to plug it the fuck in?????


GAAAAA

SamDoe1

$10k now, available for beta download in two weeks.

SamDoe1

It has almost been a month with the EV so I thought I'd do a recap of my thoughts so far...

• Performance: This is a pretty easy one that's not going to surprise anyone. It's hilariously fast in a straight line at any speed, any time. There probably isn't much short of a supercar that will beat this thing off the line. On the handling side it's good but not great. The steering is good, responsive, and precise. The suspension is firm but not punishing, weight is down low with the batteries. I think the big downside is the tires. The M3P comes with Pirelli P-Zero tires that I don't think are that good. Also they aren't very wide at 235 section...which is skinny AF for a 500hp car. I'm going to see if I can get some wider rims/tires once these wear out.
• Comfort: Super good. Ride is great, though a bit on the firm side for the Performance model, and the seats are amazing. The material is fantastic and the seat itself is cushy and supportive. Only thing I wish it had more of is more bolstering. A car like this needs more of that as you have to try and hold yourself in place while cornering hard unlike many other performance cars. Overall the car is pretty quiet on the road aside from a little whine from the motors. The loudest thing in the car by far is the wind noise.
• Sound System: Decent but not great. I'd say the Fender audio in my Golf was either same or slightly better than the Tesla.
• Gadgets: I haven't used most of them and haven't played any of the games or anything because I'm not in the car long enough to care about that stuff. The screen is incredibly easy to use and interact with, the voice commands actually work really well (because it's Google Assistant), the nav works really well, etc. The whole no gauge cluster thing isn't a big deal at all, I got used to it in a few minutes and it hasn't been an issue since.
• Driving: All around this is a great daily driver, one of the best in fact. It's super easy to tool around town without a worry and easy to take short trips if that's what you do, it's what I do so this fits my life well. I get about 260 miles on a partial charge (I don't know the percentage) that I have it preset to charge to whenever I have it plugged in. I don't plug it in all the time, only once I'm below 150 miles of range or so. I think the full charge is somewhere north of 300 miles but I've never tried. There's loads of space inside and in the trunk. Easy to carry all of the baby's things plus a bunch of other shit without much of an issue. I haven't used the frunk or the underfloor storage in the trunk either as I haven't had a need to. The interior space is massive with tons of leg and head room for all and all the seats (including the rear middle lol) are heated. Also has a heated steering wheel which will be awesome in the winter.
• Self Driving: I did not order the full self driving option and I'm glad I didn't. This does mostly all the same things and I don't trust it to drive itself on the highway let alone in the city. It's still not there. That said, it is good enough for you to relax a bit more than usual when on the highway or take your hands off the wheel to open a bottle, eat something, or whatever. It's good, not great. I've had one update from Tesla on it and it made it better and smoother but it's still not there.
• Charging: I installed a 6-20 240V 20A outlet in my garage to charge it. I plug it in and the car starts charging at 11pm and finishes when it has 260 miles of range which is not a full battery at all. No issues on charging or range anxiety at this point. I have not yet tried a supercharger but will one of these days just to check it out. If I didn't have charging at home it would royally suck and I wouldn't recommend buying an EV unless you can charge at home. In terms of cost, I haven't gotten my bill yet but at a cost of ~$0.10/kWh here in MN, it would cost me about $7 to charge from zero to 260 miles of range or $8.20 to charge the battery fully. Not to shabby compared to $3.20/gal for premium. That said, a full charge from a supercharger is nearly triple the price per kWh so home charging is key.
• Overall recap: It's a great daily, one of the best you can choose if you can charge at home. Amazing power and torque, super comfy and efficient, good to great handling and tons of tech. It's not a race car or a track car but I knew that going in. If that's a desire, get a Taycan lol. No regrets over getting this thing at this point though I am looking forward to adding a manual car with a loud exhaust in the future while keeping this for a daily. Jeep is staying for a good long while, I still love that thing.
• Mods: CF wrap the dash trim. I have the white interior that comes with bright white trim panels that are blinding in the sunlight. Needs to change ASAP. Debating tintz but not sure on it. Other than that might do some cosmetic things like CF wheel stalks and such. I really want to get different smaller (19") wheels and tires for the summer as well so I'll probably try and sell these after I swap over to winter wheels/tires...that I also need to buy lol.

Any questions about EV ownership, hit me up or ask on here. Happy to answer questions.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

do you charge it daily?

00TL-P3.2

SamDoe1

Nope. Only if it's below 150 miles. There's nothing wrong with charging it daily, I'm just lazy.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

I'm gonna get a plaid.
then take it to moab. I'll air down first, of course.

SamDoe1

Do it and post pics. Maybe SSF can be there to tow you out with his Ridgeline.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

did you see the toyo helux video of moab that whistlin diesel put up? fucking epic...

SamDoe1

Need some input from the hive mind. Planning on adding carbon fiber (real, not fake) turn/shift stalk covers, CF (real) door handle covers, and CF (real) mirror caps. Tacky or cool? I don't want to take this too far but I am also planning on doing CF dash trim though that'll probably be a wrap because a one piece real CF dash trim panel would be expensive... Also planning on doing CF turn signal/camera covers once they release the redesigned ones for 2021 cars. Keep in mind that the car came from the factory with a dry (matte) CF rear spoiler so that's already there.

TylerT

iTrader: (1)

I'm on the fence .. I think it looks kind of cool but I also think it looks kind of tacky .

I'd say leave it alone,

00TL-P3.2

I like it.
Current handles are chrome? CF > chrome
If they're black, I'd be on the fence about it.

Since you already have the CF lip spoiler, I think adding some extra CF will work.

SamDoe1

Leave it all alone or just part of it? I'm for sure going to do the dash trim in CF as soon as parts are available. I HATE the white dash trim, it's glaringly bright in the sun so it's gotta go. I'd ship it to swedit to get it alcantara wrapped but that's probably quite cost prohibitive.

Current handles are black. No more chrome on the newer Model 3/Y's. Everyone hated it so they changed it.

I think I'm going to pass on the door handles, that's tacky on second though. Mirror caps and turn signal trim is still up in the air...

00TL-P3.2

Agreed, didn't know they'd all gone to black instead of chrome.

Are OE mirror caps black or body color? Either way, I think the CF will look good.

SamDoe1

Body color so they're the same blue as the rest of the car.

00TL-P3.2

Yeah, I think the CF would look good there.
Less noticeable on the turn signal things on the fender, since they're already black.

cu2wagon

Adding weight intentionally?

I could see *replacing* with CF as a good move... But just adding CF caps *over* existing parts? I've never seen the appeal.

00TL-P3.2

Missed them being add-ons. Sam, are they remove & replace, or overlays?

SamDoe1

Purely cosmetic lol. I don't think the few grams I'd add to the weight would matter and I'll more than make up for it with lighter (and smaller) wheels for next summer.

They're cap pieces that stick or snap on. The parts in question would be almost impossible to fully replace because they're part of the electronic housing with the stalk or camera/signals.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

Kinda tacky imo. I'm sure it'll look cool once installed though.

e30cabrio

iTrader: (6)

Just say no.

SamDoe1

I'm for sure going to do the turn signal caps because they're a subtle mod that I think looks cool. Still on the fence about the mirror caps but leaning towards yes. Said no to the turn signal stalks.

CLtotheTL32

iTrader: (3)

Steven Bell approves.

SamDoe1

First long distance road trip with the Tesla tomorrow. It's currently juicing up to 100% for the first time ever. We'll see how this goes...

00TL-P3.2

Grab your favorite book & nap in the back.

Oh wait, you only have peasant self driving, not FULL self driving. Guess you'll have to drive yourself...

CCColtsicehockey

SamDoe1

Update that there is no update. Ended up having more people than expected traveling with us so we took the Subaru instead. In case anyone cares, an Ascent will easily and comfortably carry 6 people (4 adults, 2 kids) for a long drive.