Electric Beach Luge!

Jeremy S. Cook
Aug 25, 2017 · 2 min read

UK maker John Dingley, aka “XenonJohn” on YouTube, recently completed his Electric Beach Luge — a device inspired by downhill land luge boards, kite surfing rigs, and even Land Speeders from Star Wars. What he came up with is a frame made out of metal tubing that allows him to lie down, while being powered across the sand via a 500W, 24V golf cart motor. He uses his feet to control a single go-kart tire in the front, while two more tires in the back to propel it forward.

“An experiment to build an electrically powered thing for use on long stretches of firm flat sand.” (📷: John Dingley)

Speed control is via a handheld potentiometer wired into an Arduino Uno. In turn, the Uno is wired into a robot combat power controller, which can output an impressive 160 amps continuously. Naturally, ventilation holes and a cooling fan is needed for this massive power handling capability, however the enclosure was made in such a way as to also keep sand and water out of the electronics.

A 500W, 24V golf cart motor helps power the vehicle along the beach. (📷: John Dingley)

As seen in the video below, the beach cruiser looks like a lot of fun, and a special one-wheeled “guest” shows up to ride alongside this vehicle at around 1:30.

More info on the luge can be found on Dingley’s website, or check out his electric unicycle here!

[h/t: New Atlas]

Hackster Blog

Hackster.io, an Avnet community, is the world’s largest network for hardware & software developers. With 1 million members and 17,000+ projects, beginners and professionals can learn and share how to build robotics, industrial automation systems, AI-powered machines, and more.

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Jeremy S. Cook

Written by

Engineer, tech writer, content creator, maker of random contraptions for fun and profit.

Hackster Blog

Hackster.io, an Avnet community, is the world’s largest network for hardware & software developers. With 1 million members and 17,000+ projects, beginners and professionals can learn and share how to build robotics, industrial automation systems, AI-powered machines, and more.

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