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Comment by Matt on June 13, 2011 at 6:18pm

Do you have a link to Alex's amp? Is it here in Bikesound?

I just bought the Shorai battery, yes. But you might recall that for my Christmas 2005 bike trailer (where I was the reindeer- remember that one?) you recommended I purchase two 18aH SLA batteries, which I still have. When you mentioned "your current SLA" I thought you were referring to those. 

Comment by Matt on June 13, 2011 at 6:02pm

I should probably add that when I cite time as an issue with the class D boards, what I mean to say is that my schedule is pretty packed through most of July. Even if I did know what to do, I probably wouldn't be able to devote much time to it for a while.

Comment by Matt on June 13, 2011 at 5:57pm

The Naked Ride was great! I was pleased by the turnout, despite the cold mist that preceded it. The misty rain cleared up just as the ride started. Tons of enthusiasm from participants and onlookers, good support from the cops … except for the cold and Steven's murse, it went well. 

I don't plan on buying the $350 battery right away either. Right now the plan is to make due with what I have until next year. We have had some discussion on this board about Shorai, people appeared curious about their batteries, I just want to sate that curiosity as best I can is all.

I might add the class D amp boards sooner rather than later; the issue there is more time than expense, really. I would have to figure out how to incorporate them into my set-up and presumably make some kind of casing for them that would be weather-resistant. It doesn't make sense for me to buy them without knowing what I would do with them, right? I mean, speaking as a guy who works in technology, how often have I seen people buy cool new toys, only to have them sit around underutilized until the new and improved version is released? (All too often)

My SLA batteries are pushing six years old and don't hold a charge for long. They were great for a trailer, but remember, I am loading up my cargo racks, and that kind of compact weight would make for an awkward load. Yes, the LifePo's are expensive, but the decreased weight makes all good things possible.

Comment by Matt on June 13, 2011 at 11:48am

My sound system is a work in progress. I'll definitely pick up one of those class D amp boards as soon as time and budget allow. Not too worried about the weight of an upgraded Shorai battery. Their largest, a 36aH model, weighs in at just under 5 lbs.

Comment by Spencer "Thunderball" Thayer! on June 13, 2011 at 10:25am

Who are you talking to H?

Comment by Matt on June 12, 2011 at 8:00am

Last night I ran my rig for the World Naked Bike Ride. At a more moderate volume, my Shorai 18aH battery lasted about two and a half hours. Not bad. Ideally, I would like to have that kind of volume for about four hours. Perhaps at some point I will upgrade.

Comment by Spencer "Thunderball" Thayer! on May 30, 2011 at 3:25am

Weird. I guess I have two accounts.

Comment by Spencer "Thunderball" Thayer on May 30, 2011 at 3:24am

I will report back. I ordered two of those batteries and the trailer I am building is designed to house six. So I will slowly collect them and increase running time.

Comment by Matt on May 29, 2011 at 10:08am

Thanks Howard. Once again, I am grateful to you for your advice. Once the ride got under way, I cranked the volume up almost as high as it would go. This drained the battery rather quickly, perhaps 45 minutes or so into the ride. I heard the music cutting in and out, so I disconnected power from the system to prevent the battery from fully depleting.

I had been playing "pre-show" music before the ride started at a moderate volume, so perhaps in total I got a total of 1.5 hours out of the battery. 

This was not a mistake. I don't believe anyone on the list has tried a Shorai battery yet. I wanted to see what it was made of. Next time I will moderate the volume more. Perhaps at some point I will purchase an additional battery and run it in series (or parallel?) to get more time at a high volume.

 

When I arrived at a stopping point indoors, I reconnected the system and played music at a lower volume just to make sure everything was still working properly. It was. In fact, I played music at the lower volume for about 5-10 minutes without any cutting in/out, so perhaps I could have extended the party simply by reducing the volume?

For the record, I used the 12v/18aH battery for this ride. It was nice and lightweight as advertised. I also purchased one of their chargers. So far I am pleased with it. The battery probably takes more than 12 hours to fully charge. 

Comment by Spencer "Thunderball" Thayer on May 29, 2011 at 3:38am

I ordered these http://www.batterystuff.com/batteries/motorcycle/LFX09L2-BS12.html . Taking longer than I thought to get em.

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