Shane Colton shared a write up of his experiences attending and sharing his projects at the MIT Maker Faire 2014!
As expected from an MIT Maker Faire, there were lots of electric go-karts, Tesla coils, 3D printers, robots, and…
To this I contributed a set of long-time Maker Faire veteran projects (Pneu Scooter, 4pcb, Twitch) and a couple of new things (Talon v2 multirotor, Grasshopper3 Camera Rig). I always like to bring enough projects that if some don’t work or can’t be demonstrated, I have plenty of back-ups. Fixing stuff on the spot isn’t really possible when you have a constant stream of visitors. But I’ve been to a number of Maker Faires and decided the maximum number of projects I can keep track of is five. Especially since this time I had to be completely mobile, as in airline mobile.
The travel requirement meant that, unfortunately, tinyKart transport was out. (Although it is theoretically feasible to transport it for free via airline except for the battery and the seat…) But Pneu Scooter is eminently flyable and in fact has been all over the world in checked baggage already. It collapses to about 30″ long and weighs 18lbs. The battery is well within TSA travel limits for rechargeable lithium ion batteries installed in a device. Oh, and Twitch fits right between the deck and the handlebar…
Pneu Scooter and Twitch are really all I should ever bring to Maker Faires. They are low-maintenance and very reliable; both have survived years of abuse. In fact, Pneu Scooter is almost four year old now…still running the original motor and A123 battery pack, and still has a decent five-mile range. (I range-tested it before I left.) It’s been through a number of motor controllers and wheels though. Because the tires are tiny, it’s always been a pain in the ass accessing the Schrader valves with normal bike pumps….
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