Lars-Inge and I have been VERY busy fixing a highly clever 12 volt power pack that can be charged through Nimmers 6 volts electrical system. It is really a bodged up thing with 5 switches, two 6 volts batteries and a camper trailer style power outlet of the cigarette lighter type. If you have all 5 switches in one direction, Nimmers battery plus the two other batteries are connected together in parallel but if you flip all the switches the other way, Nimmer is disconnected and the two extra batteries are connected together in serial, giving us 12 volts for lap top and other necessities. The extra bonus is that we will have 2 fully charged 6 volts batteries available should any of the bikes develop dynamo or charging problems.
I have a gnawing feeling that the dynamo might not be up to the challange of charging 3 empty 6 volt, 12 AH batteries without any risk of dammage, but if we make sure that all the batteries are fully loaded over night, all that needs to be done is maintenance charging and the occasional dip of the lap top, which will not be long. Just enough to bring up the mapping program and a GPS fix... So, I guess we will get away with it.
Lars-Inge has mounted three cutesy lil flags. One Swedish for Nimrod, one Scanian for me and one US for Miles. Miles is currently en route over the Atlantic and will land (thoroughly shot, do doubt) in Copenhagen early tomorrow. We hope that the little flag will be some consolidation for his ordeal. It is a beast to fly against the clock..
I have also painted and adjusted the new side car mounts and checked the dynamo brushes of Nimmer, whos dynamo will be up for one tough ordeal with all the amps going on with the auxiliary battery box. It might be that it will be me that will be limping home with a dead dynamo, running on battery alone.. Oh well..
ETD is currently still Wednesday next week but we have yet to decide if we are going through Denmark at all or take the direct ferry to Rostock. The weather has been awfull in the south of Scandinavia with torrential rain. There was even an incident with a woman who drowned in her car on a public road. Flash floods on the freeway is no fun. Especially not if you ride on a bike. But we'll see if the weather clears up or not..
Back to tinkering, packing, planning and other such delightful activities.
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