Hi Paul and All,Good to hear EV history being preserved. Motorola engineers
back in 68?, I was 16yrs old, from the local Motorola plant in Sarasota Florida
were doing an EV Show and Tell at the McDonalds with a Henney Kilowatt and 3
conversions, a Renault Dauphine, a Fiat 600 and another, was my first EV
experience. And stuck with me that EVs were viable. I was already an ET at the
time doing TV, audio repair and the only one that understood transistors the
other tube techs hated.So there was EV interest in the company early on.
Jerry
On Friday, February 2, 2024 at 03:39:16 AM EST, Paul Compton via EV
<ev@lists.evdl.org> wrote:
The Motorola Corvette EV is being restored.
https://youtu.be/G7awv5KS3Nw?si=taJWWPcAcKtOgDL_
On Thu, 22 Sept 2022 at 17:15, Lee Hart via EV <ev@lists.evdl.org> wrote:
>
> EV List Lackey via EV wrote:
> > Intriguing! This seems to be the story's origin:
> >
> > https://www.thedrive.com/culture/we-found-motorolas-secret-chevy-corvette-ev-
> > prototype-from-the-1990s
> >
> > or https://v.gd/NbYpwY
> >
> > One wonders why an organization with presumably deep pockets had to start
> > with a used glider.
>
> I agree that the author seems a bit clueless about EVs and their
> history. I sent him an email with additional details.
>
> > The article's author calls this an "EV prototype"
>
> Yes, it was a test bed. Motorola was a big semiconductor supplier to the
> auto industry. They routinely wrote application notes to encourage
> automotive engineers to use their parts. Of course they had to test
> their circuits, to be sure they really worked. The Corvette was a good
> (and fun) way for the engineers to do it!
>
> They didn't make it public because auto company executives would be
> outraged if (for example) Ford knew that "their" circuits were designed
> and tested in a (gasp choke) GM vehicle!
>
> > So a little possibly irresponsible speculation: maybe Motorola management
> > looked at GM's 1990 Impact prototype and the Hughes AC "Vector Drive," and
> > wondered whether Motorola might catch some of the potential EV market.
>
> Many of Motorola's industrial and automotive EV application notes were
> collected and published in the "Motor Control Electronics Handbook" by
> Richard Valentine (c) 1998. The authors and references are almost all
> Motorola Semiconductor employees and application notes. There you'll
> find the 'Vette's motor controller, charger, power steering (and more),
> all laid out completely enough that one could actually build them.
>
> > The article... suggests that it's a series DC motor.
> > But... it sounds more like an AC induction drive of the time.
>
> Yes; it was an AC induction motor. But there were probably DC motors in
> the vehicle as well, for things like the power steering pump and A/C
> compressor.
>
> BTW, the Valentine book also describes a DC traction motor drive system
> in a Ford pickup truck. Maybe another test bed of the Motorola group?
>
> > The Impact, Hughes, and AC Propulsion drives all ran in the 300-400 volt
> > range, though not at 1000 amps.
>
> Not 1000 amps continuous; the batteries weren't up to it. But remember
> that the motor controller steps the voltage down and the current up. It
> could well have delivered 1000 amps peak to the motor.
>
> > Bummer that the article's author wasn't more knowledgeable about EVs. One
> > of us might have figured out a LOT more, given the same opportunity to nose
> > around it. Does anyone here live close to Gurnee, Illinois?
>
> It would indeed be interesting to hear an expert's opinion on the vehicle!
>
> For one thing, I expect that the (few) batteries in it weren't original,
> but added by someone attempting to see if the vehicle still worked.
>
> Lee Hart
>
> --
> "#3 pencils and quadrille pads." -- Seymour Cray, when asked
> what CAD tools he used to design the Cray I supercomputer
> --
> Lee Hart, 814 8th Ave N, Sartell MN 56377, www.sunrise-ev.com
>
> --
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--
Paul Compton
www.paulcompton.co.uk (YouTube channel)
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