These hoverboards look sketchy. - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: mazzic518
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 11, 2015, 05:43:40 am
content: Been watching a few teardown videos of these things and they just do not look like something I would trusthttps://youtu.be/roDvuVbI--k?t=13m14s

author: mtdoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2015, 06:19:08 am
content: Yep.

author: v8dave
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2015, 06:21:54 am
content: From what I can see, it's kind of useless on anything but a smooth floor. Not much use for outside.My house isn't big enough to need one to get around

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2015, 06:22:23 am
content: What aspect of trust bothers you? Sudden failure? Suddenly going into some wild behaviour? Before I tried one they appeared like something fraught with possible ways to do bad things. Having played with one I only see one potential really nasty thing which could happen....The ones I have tried are very easy to get started with, unless you behave in a very cavalier manner. You need to get used to wiggling your foot in the right way, to get the response you need from the machine. That took me about 5 minutes of working with one foot on the machine, and having it move in fairly wild (although not very dangerous) ways. Once I had that skill sorted out, putting the other foot on the machine and balancing there was trivial. I don't see much potential for any serious injuries during this learning stage, as long as you show reasonable caution.My next issue was what could happen in the event of a massive power failure, while you are travelling at speed. If you ignore the low battery warnings you do actually get to the point where the power is suddenly cut. However, the machine's maximum speed is such that you can step off under such abrupt circumstances, and slow yourself to a halt over a few paces. Again, it seems hard to get yourself into serious trouble if you are moderately cautious.My next issue was what could happen if the control systems go wild. This is the one area where I suspect you could get into serious trouble. When you want to spin in a circle, these machines can do so quite fast. If that happened due to a failure, rather than under your control, I suspect you would have a fairly powerful machine thrashing at your feet, with real difficulty getting yourself clear of it. That possibility does concern me.

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2015, 06:25:33 am
content: Quote from: v8dave on December 11, 2015, 06:21:54 amThey are surprisingly powerful. They works very well on most road surfaces, without too much shaking. They will climb surprisingly steep slopes, even with my 100 kilos on them.

author: mazzic518
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 11, 2015, 06:28:45 am
content: Quote from: coppice on December 11, 2015, 06:22:23 amThe no-name brand who knows what kind of quality control from China construction is what worries me.

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2015, 06:31:07 am
content: Quote from: mazzic518 on December 11, 2015, 06:28:45 amYou should only worrying if the consequences of failure are disastrous. If they are, you should worry about getting one from any source, as nothing is 100% reliable.

author: ataradov
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2015, 06:34:25 am
content: Regardless of how they work, you look like a complete dork riding it. It is Segway all over again.

author: mtdoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2015, 06:37:23 am
content: There was an interestingsegment on Planet Moneydiscussing these and how no one is exactly sure who designed the first one. They even interview Bunny Huang.

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2015, 06:39:59 am
content: Quote from: ataradov on December 11, 2015, 06:34:25 amThe original Segway was so expensive it only made sense if it was a serious mode of transport. The police at Shanghai Airport may have seen them as such, but few others did. I think anyone trying to use one of these low cost things as their daily ride would look decidedly odd, too. However, these are $200 toys to have fun with, and they are a lot of fun to play with for a couple of hours. The kids around our way love them, although it only seems to take a few hours for the novelty value to wear off.

author: miguelvp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2015, 06:42:09 am
content: Quote from: mtdoc on December 11, 2015, 06:37:23 amAt least Planet Money has an episode 666Quote

author: mtdoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2015, 07:27:33 am
content: Quote from: miguelvp on December 11, 2015, 06:42:09 amHa Ha. Ya Dave chickened out. He must be a closet believer...(I kid Dave, I kid....)

author: miguelvp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2015, 07:33:06 am
content: Quote from: mtdoc on December 11, 2015, 07:27:33 amOf course I was kidding too, because we both know the reason.Actually someone blabbed about it, not that it matters because there were 0.66% chances that it was going to be made.

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2015, 10:09:47 am
content: Trading Standards dept are jumping all over them in the UK, the cheap Chinese imports are causing house fireshttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-34975178It's also illegal to use them on public roads, pavements and public areas here, so restricted to private land... Still popular with kids though.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2015, 10:58:34 am
content: Since when does a "hoverboard" have wheels and never actually leave the ground? A Segway is not a hoverboard, and neither is this.

author: SL4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2015, 11:12:28 am
content: I had a look at the tear-down video - and one thing stood out immediately.No mechanical support for the larger through-hole components.Assuming you 'toss it around a bit', or drive on footpaths and the consequential vibrations - it wouldn't take long for a random solder joint to start having problems. Which fault - depends on which solder joint.These factories are certainly getting better - now just a bit more product & quality design - they'll have the game sown up.

author: MagicSmoker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2015, 12:39:43 pm
content: You kids of today don't even know the meaning of sketchy consumer products. When I was a kid Lawn Darts were all the craze:http://mentalfloss.com/article/31176/how-one-dad-got-lawn-darts-bannedImagine being able to buy gravity bomb shaped missiles that you intentionally lob at each other in your backyard! Those were halcyon days, I tell ya...

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2015, 12:52:28 pm
content: Quote from: amyk on December 11, 2015, 10:58:34 amI bet you're fun at parties.

author: Dataforensics
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 11, 2015, 01:15:09 pm
content: Quote from: Gyro on December 11, 2015, 10:09:47 amPeople around my way do not seem to worry about illegal use, but then again we are lucky to see Police more than once every couple of weeks.

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2015, 05:10:29 pm
content: Maybe (edit: hopefully) they'll be tightening up soon.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-35068900

author: Stray Electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2015, 06:06:11 pm
content: Quote from: Gyro on December 11, 2015, 10:09:47 amSeveral major news networks here in the US did a segment about these last night. They also showed a video of one that burst into flames and spewed fire like a Fourth of July fireworks and also several pictures of house fires that had been started by them. These and a lot of the other poorly made junk from China needs to be banned. The US hasn't allowed the production or sale of such poorly made US manufactured electrical items such as these for a very long time but there is no testing or regulation of imported Chinese made items.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2015, 07:30:31 pm
content: Not $200 here, more like $500 instead. Not going to buy one at that price, though I will see if I can snipe some returns if they are cheap enough, just to take apart. I figure I am getting old, no longer as able to heal from injuries as I once was. Was looking at Makro today at the salespeople from TEVO flying around on them, though he did admit he fell off a few times when he first started.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 12, 2015, 12:43:58 am
content: When I was in Shenzen these things were everywhere - there were even a couple of shops selling nothing else - I think there will be a lot of them around after Christmas!Scary amount of power available under fault conditions in the battery pack.

author: rdl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 12, 2015, 03:13:58 am
content: What kind of marketing crap is this? Nothing is hovering! Jeez, I should start selling my time machine.

author: chicken
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 12, 2015, 03:49:03 am
content: Quote from: Stray Electron on December 11, 2015, 06:06:11 pmBe careful what you ask for:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/ucurrent-shipment-issues-to-european-countries/

author: d-smes
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 12, 2015, 08:40:49 pm
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on December 12, 2015, 12:43:58 amThis is the issue (high power density). Video looks like they are using those prismatic LiPo cells like the RC airplanes and quad-copters use. Maybe it's just the high-rate discharge, but there's lots of videos of those going up in flames after use and during recharge. Perhaps a battery pack based on 18650 cells as found in laptops and EV's would fare better. But even those will flame if not charged properly.

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 13, 2015, 10:48:49 am
content: QuoteActually, flying down the street trailing smoke and flame would give them a more authentic hoverboard look!

author: Stray Electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 13, 2015, 05:17:19 pm
content: Quote from: Gyro on December 13, 2015, 10:48:49 amThat would be great, as long as you're not the one riding it at the time.

author: mikerj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 13, 2015, 05:47:47 pm
content: Quote from: d-smes on December 12, 2015, 08:40:49 pmThe fires seem to occur whilst the device is either on charge or short after charging, so I suspect the charge circuitry is not adequate, e.g. no cell balancing, inadequate voltage regulation etc.The "pouch" style lithium polymer batteries are very sensitive to over-voltage.

author: kwass
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 14, 2015, 05:03:00 am
content: This is going to slow down sales of these until they get safer:http://www.theverge.com/2015/12/12/10016416/amazon-hoverboards-pull

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 14, 2015, 09:25:50 am
content: From the article:QuoteI bet they haven't sent a notice to their customers though!Edit: And isn't that something that retailers are supposed to do anyway?

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 14, 2015, 10:40:56 am
content: "Hoverboards" which don't hover,"Ethernet"which uses metallic conductors,not the mythical "ether","Blue tooth"---why blue?,what teeth?"Wireless'----isn't that what Mum called the radio?"Wifi" ----wireless fidelity?--what the hell?"The Cloud"---what bloody cloud?Doc,you were better off back in 1985,or maybe 1955!

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 14, 2015, 10:50:45 am
content: Quote from: vk6zgo on December 14, 2015, 10:40:56 amHuge. Puffed up. Very little real substance to it. Sounds a perfect description.

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2015, 12:22:50 pm
content: Quote from: Gyro on December 14, 2015, 09:25:50 amIt seems I did Amazon a disservice, they're refunding them and telling customers to throw them away:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35109728I bet the recycling centers are going to be doing a roaring trade!I wonder if there's any way of getting some for parts, although I suspect many customers will hang on to them anyway this close to Christmas!

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2015, 12:29:48 pm
content: Quote from: Gyro on December 16, 2015, 12:22:50 pmIt seems this business has gone rather sour. They are selling for about US$120 this week in HK, and the bad publicity in the last few days means nobody is buying. There seems to be only one established name making these things - Ninebot, the current owners of Segway. Anything else you buy is a gamble, even though there are appear to be some very solid designs among the iffy ones.

author: nidlaX
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2015, 01:09:21 pm
content: So many potential factors at play:-The design is an incomplete copy - missing protection / balancing circuitry-The implementation is poor - poorly secured wiring, badly soldered connections-The components are bad - recycled laptop batteries, second hand components-The user is poorly informed - device is put through irregular use / loading, not maintained, etc.But hey, what's the thrill of play without danger?