electronics “black box” to take care of everything. To make matters worse there is no
understanding of how the electronics functions.
As one of the aims of this competition (and our major sponsors) is to foster and improve
technical understanding it is hoped this regulation change will assist in achieving this.
Since running without electronics requires significantly more knowledge and ability I
expect that only more experienced teams will opt for this. Inexperienced teams and
particularly new starters would be advised to initially run with electronics then consider
deleting it as their experience and competence increases.
CAN A CAR WITHOUT ELECTRONICS BE COMPETITIVE??? YES
At the 2009 Victorian event a car without electronics was only narrowly beaten into 4th
place. When car design is taken into consideration this result could easily have been
different. The 4th placed car had a larger frontal area than the other cars. Frontal area
increases aerodynamic drag. Low aerodynamic drag is critical for good performance.
My expectation is that had this car been constructed with the minimum frontal area
possible it would have won. The even more generous ballast allowance for this year will
give cars potential for even higher speeds. Mathematical modeling predicts well
designed, constructed and correctly set up cars without electronics will generally be
slightly faster than cars with electronics.
FIRSTLY -- WHY IS ELECTRONICS SO POPULAR ??:
Examination of the graphs below will show why electronics has become so popular.
These graphs depict results of actual tests on a Solarex SX 10 panel illuminated by a light
box powering a Faulhaber 2232 6 Volt motor. The accuracy of these results is limited by
the difficulty of measuring the low motor torque. Heating of the solar panel on the light
box and consequent power variation adds further error. Note the downward kink in the
motor power output with electronics graph from about 14000 RPM onwards this is due to
the significant increase in power needed to overcome motor friction and flywheel air
drag at high RPM. Obviously it is also affecting the motor power output direct on panel
but is not obvious on that graph. See graph 3 for details of power consumed as RPM
increases.
However the general trends shown by these graphs are obvious and not in any doubt.