Last week I visited Elektor because of some rumours about a "strange" two-wheeled vehicle under development. I heard that the two wheels were not arranged in a row
I was interested and wanted to build such a thing myself. Therefore it was very nice to get the possibility to test the prototypes. As a result I started a blog around my (future) ElektorWheelie at
http://ewheelie.blogspot.com/
Having agreed to moderate this forum topic one question passed to me was: How complicated will it be to assemble the kit?
Quote: "The information about the Wheelie in the internet and from Elektor is nice but: before I fork out 1500€ Id like to know about what will happen to me. Just sticking parts together or doing complicated solder work combined with precision mechanics? Is the firmware already inside the controllers or do I have to struggle with this subject? And is it easy to make changes to the vehicle's firmware if so desired?
Claimed kit assembly time says nothing about the time a fool like me would need.
Are there detailed explanations or do I have to wait a complete month until the next edition of Elektor will show up?
Regards,"
My answer: "As I could see it the kit is really simple to assemble.
No major soldering to do, the boards come ready assembled and the microcontrollers already contain their firmware.
You just have to stick the parts together. The mechanical assembly can be done with typical tools for bycicles: You need screwdrivers and flat spanners sizes 10, 13 and 24 mm.
With some technical knowhow and if you do it leisurely it should be possible to assemble the kit without a manual - not botching, naturally...
An assembly manual is included. Even if you work slowly assembly can be finished in less than an hour."
Additional words: Naturally you can modify the Wheelie. The firmware source code is written in BASIC (Bascom) and is open source. You may do what you want with the code. With just elementary knowledge about microcontrollers you should be able to program the deviced controlling the ElektorWheelie. However you do so at your own risk!
Personally I am eager to find a good application for this project - once the kit arrives. And I would be glad to get helpful suggestions out of this forum.
Thomas'