Electrathon of Tampa Bay welcomes our new supporter, Batteries + Bulbs in Brandon Florida, located at 1926 West Brandon Blvd. Store Manager Jim Campbell (813-689-3300) provided one of our Hillsborough County Public Schools, High School Team with a great price on new batteries for their Electrathon Cars. Jim has also quoted us a great price on Optima Yellow Top D35 batteries. Unfortunately they are on back order until the middle of November. Please give Jim Campbell a call for all your Electrathon Battery needs and all of your personal needs for batteries and bulbs. Great addition to our family of supporters.
The race at the University of South Florida was a question mark up till the day before. With the weather forcast changing daily and hourly and the tropical storm heading into the gulf what were we going to do.
Turns out the weather was great but we did start early. Light winds and sunny. Out next race at Middleton High School should not have the uncertain weather conditions.
The new course at USF was a real challenge and hard on tires, wheels and drivers.
There were multiple blown tires and this week the Brandon 9 car drove the wheels off of the car when a wheel bearing froze up and locked the rear wheel.
The 9 car took both races last time out but the wheel problems dropped it way down the standings this time out.
The Middleton 365 car kept its wheels on this time out and finished second on the day. The 365 car had a wheel come apart last time out.
The new kids in town, Mulberry and Simmons, both had good days. Mulberry took a 3rd in the second race and Simmons took the top spot for the day in the High School Class.
Plant High had their new car out for the first time. They ran some practice laps for a shakedown run. They have some inspection items to correct and they will be ready to go. Hope to see them on the track next month at Middleton.
In the Open Class it was Rodney in the 4 car taking both races. HCC had multiple problems over the course of two races including when they wound up spinning out late in the second race.
In the Exp. Battery class it was the home team, USF running away from the field in both races.
The new course had more turns and less straightaways which lead to more wear and tear on the cars. The roughness of the track surface didn’t help either. We made a suggestion to the USF team to put in a work order to have the parking lot repaved. They said Yeah, Right we will get right on that.
In Feb. we will be back on the regular track layout for the Engineering Expo at USF.
Observations from the pits: Still having problems with mirrors. Ground clearance is 1.5″ min. We will start failing cars for these problems.
Finish Order:
High School: 1st Simmons #53, 2nd Middleton #365, 3rd Simmons #35, 4th Mulberry #38, 5th Middleton #80, 6th Brandon #14, 7th Brandon #7
Open Class: 1st Tiger Racing #4, 2nd HCC #30
Ex Battery: 1st USF #132, 2nd ProEv #39
The second race of our 2017 – 2018 race season is approaching quickly. The altered road course at USF is 1,493 feet of track which equals .28 of a mile. This course will challenge our drivers and teams on their battery management and tire usage as the course requires a good driving flow through the turns.
The race will be held on Saturday, October 7, 2017 at USF, located at 4202 East Fowler Avenue, Tampa Florida 33620. Once you come in the main entrance on Fowler Avenue travel to the first traffic light and turn left, the parking lot will be on the right side. To enter the pit area you must go to the second entrance on the right and turn in.
We will be selling used tires 6 for $5.00, used tubes for $1.00 each, Helmets for $20.00 each, three bicycles for $10.00 each to use the metal for building or repairing an Electrathon car. We will also start up our 50/50 drawing, 1 ticket for $1.00, 6 tickets for $5.00 and 15 tickets for $10.00, proceeds will be divided, half going to ticket holder and the other to ETO.
A free day of Electrathon Racing for the entire family and friends, come out and support our high school, college and enthusiast while they compete at this race.
The 2017-2018 season got underway with a great day of racing. With the aftermath of Irma it was not certain how many teams we would have for the season opener. At least 3 teams were not able to attend because of storm related issues. Some were still without power and all the school teams lost at least a week of preparation because of the storm. We still had 11 cars which was a good showing considering the last few weeks.
Some of the teams affected by the storm and not here were I Will Mentorship Foundation, Palm Bay Magnet, Silver Bullet Racing and the Electrocutioners for a total of 6 cars. Hope to see all of them back on the track soon.
We want to give a big shout out to the new team from Mulberry High in Polk County. They are using one of our loaner cars and had a good day on the track. They used multiple drivers to give more of their students a chance to drive.
Another big shout out goes to Simmons Career Center in Plant City. They were absent last year but returned with a vengeance with a new Advisor and a whole new team. They are racing two very fast cars by Jim Robinson of Silver Bullet Racing. They are using some old batteries but have a new order of Yellow Tops on the way. When they get them watch out. They took 3rd place in both races and a 2nd place Overall in the High School Division with the 53 car.
In the 1st race Mulberry High School in the 38 car set a blistering pace for the 1st half of the race before the battery bug got them. Cliff with Pro Ev in the 39 car was running away from the field with his Lithium batteries when he had a battery warning alarm sound causing him to pit. That allowed the other Lithium powered car from USF to take first place in the Advanced Battery Class.
Tiger racing with Rodney at the wheel cruised to a 1st place over the host HCC car in the first race when HCC had to make multiple pit stops.
In the High School class it was the Brandon High School 09 car running very fast and steady for a 1st Place finish with the 365 Duck car from Middleton coming in a strong 2nd. The Simmons 35 car had electrical wiring problems and had to withdraw early but made a strong second place finish in the second race.
In the 2nd race Pro Ev had his battery problems sorted out and finished 1st for an overall 2nd place for the day with USF taking the 1st place overall in the Advance Battery Class.
Tiger Racing continued his winning ways with a 1st place and a 1st place overall in the Open Class.
In the High School Class the Brandon 09 car finished with another 1st place and a 1st place overall in the class.
You know the saying he is trying to drive the wheels off of that car. Well it happened today with the Middleton 365 car having a good race and looking at a possible 2nd place overall finish. Right up to the time the left front wheel fell apart. The 365 finished the race in the pits but still managed a 3rd place overall.
The Simmons 53 car had two 3rd place finishes for the day and a 2nd place overall for the day. A great showing for their first race in over a year.
Observations From The Pits:
With all the uncertainties over the last few weeks its not surprising there were not more lapse in attention to the little details. A loose connection on an electrical circuit. A switch in the wrong setting. A battery not fully charged. Some teams need more or better battery chargers. When working with batteries a meter to test Volts and Amps is a must. Long sleeve shirts. Enough Ballast and no duct tape. Proper battery hold downs (NO Bungee Cords)
Other than the mild fall temps (NOT) it was a great first day of racing. Now there is a short turnaround till our second race of the season at USF. So charge those batteries change those tires, fix those wheels, tighten those bolts and lets do it again.
Open Class: 1st – Tiger Racing #4 206 laps, 2nd – HCC #30 165 laps
Advance Battery 1st – USF #132 211 laps, 2nd – Pro Ev # 39 199 laps
The summer was a hot one and we hope everyone enjoyed the time with family and friends.
As we get closer to the first race of the season, we hope our teams have dusted off their cars and started planning for the race season.
We are excited to announce that our team list has grown again this year. We will have Plant HS, and I will Mentorship Foundation joining us this year. We are working with Leto HS and Mulberry HS and have loaner cars available to bring them on board. We will be seeing the return of the team from Simmons this year with their new Teacher William Knight. The Lennard Teams and Jim Reve should be back this year after their car issue at their race last season put them out of commission. Wharton HS should have their car ready soon and return to the track with their team. Jefferson HS has shown interest but has not made the plunge to join us with a loaner car.
We will hold nine races again this year and hope to attend races that others are hosting in Ft Myers, Pensacola, Alabama and Georgia. The race season this year will be exciting and challenging for our teams. We will hold two races at USF in the same parking lot but the courses will be different, the race in March will be a new course at St. Pete College in conjunction with Maker Con and Comic Con. Teams will be able to dress up in costumes to show our support for their event. In April we will hold our speed event at Brandon HS where teams can test their cars and watch as their Team Sponsor and Executive Board race against one another.
The first race of the season will be held on September 23, 2017 at Hillsborough Community College, located at 10414 E. Columbus Drive in Brandon Florida. The race day schedule will be sent to each team prior to the race. We will have a mandatory orientation for all team members. The drivers and pit crew for each team will be given a 25 question quiz on items from the Electrathon America Handbook. Make sure to bring a pen or pencil with you to take the quiz. We will also have a guest at our first race; Bobby Diehl will be presenting information concerning Electrathon races being held at the Desoto Speedway. Here is the course for our first race:
Electrathon of Tampa Bay has been invited to the September 19, 2017 IEEE Meeting to give a presentation on Electrathon Racing and our group in a joint effort to bring on new teams.
The meeting will be held at the John F. Germany Public Library located at 900 North Ashley Drive, Tampa Florida. The meeting will start at 630 pm.
ETO members should attend to support this presentation and to have enough folks on hand to assist with anyone asking questions about our group.
We will need one or two teams to bring their car to this meeting as a display for those attending. Please contact Charles Harrison or Fredi if your team will be able to bring a car.
The ETO annual membership meeting was held at the Cracker Barrel on July 17, 2017.
Charles Harrison gave a breakdown of last year’s season which saw considerable growth for ETO. We met a large number of our business plan goals and objectives. There was a lot of discussion about the upcoming season which will see even more growth and be very busy.
The new season that starts with our opening event at Hillsborough Community College/Brandon Campus in September will see even more growth. Representatives from teams as far away as Fort Myers (I Will Mentoring Foundation) and Orlando (Electrocutioners) were present and teams in South Florida (Pro EV) sent in material that was read at the meeting. We were honored to have the new Electrathon America Vice President, Don Morgan from Quitman Georgia, attend our meeting.
Don went over the changes in store for Electrathon America. Electrathon America has a whole new slate of officers headed by President Kirk Swaney who has a lot of new ideas to move everyone forward.
New rules at the national level are in the works for car and driver safety. They are substantial but will not be difficult or expensive to comply with. The main one concerns the roll bar set up and how it is measured. More info will be forwarded when the rules are adopted in their final form.
Locally we should see the return of Lennard and Wharton High School. Plant High School has a car ready to go for the season opener. Brandon High School is working on a 3rd car but lost their sponsor and needs a new one to step up and help them out. Middleton High School has new drivers and a new 3rd car in the works.
ETO has several loaner cars and we are working on getting new schools involved in Electrathon Racing.
Our local schedule and other out of town events will afford many opportunities for our teams to compete on a higher level and push that one hour envelope.
Sai and his guys from University of South Florida are working on their Lithium Powered car and have come up with some innovative ideas for battery management that will increase the reliability and safety of the batteries. Sai has also come up with a very neat way to implement 2 way communications among the teams, officials and sponsors using our cell phones and an ear bud set up. More info as the system is implemented.
In Electrathon Racing it is all about MAKING THAT HOUR
In Electrathon Racing it is all about the BATTERIES
This information is for the teams that are using sealed lead acid batteries. The information has been around for a while and is presented as a reminder/refresher.
First off, not just any battery charger will do the job you need for your batteries. The charger needs to have an AGM/GEL cell Cycle. A charger meant for a regular liquid lead acid battery has only one cycle to charge a battery. The charger for an AGM/Gel will have multiple cycles to properly charge them. It will also extend the life of the battery.
Charge rates are also important. If you charge the battery at to high of an amp rate you can damage them. The Optima Battery web site has some real good information on battery maintenance. A 12 volt battery should be around 13 volts when fully charged and ready to race.
Testing your batteries is a lot more than just checking the Voltage. I have tested batteries for teams that read 12.6 and only had 400Amps. They would not have made half the race. Each team should have a DIGITAL BATTERY TESTER. This type of a tester will give Voltage, AMPS and also detect a Bad Cell. A battery with a bad cell WILL NOT charge properly and will leave you dead on the track.
Digital Battery Testers are available from most auto parts store and they can be expensive. I have seen them on line for $50 – $80.
Another tool that can come in handy is an Infrared Tachometer. Do you want to know how fast a given gear ratio will move your car? You need to know the motor RPM. The number of teeth on the motor gear, the gear on the drive wheel, the circumference of the drive wheel AND the motor shaft speed will give you the max possible speed for each gear set. You can tailor the gear ratio for the individual track. gokartracing.org has a calculator that you can input the information and get MPH for any combo of gears and wheels.
The proper battery charger, a Digital Battery Tester, an Infrared Tachometer. These will help keep those batteries in top shape and your car on the track.
Electrathon of Tampa Bay will be holding our annual Board Meeting that consists of the Executive Board Members and representatives from every team (Sponsor/Team Captains/Designee) on July 17, 2017 at the Cracker Barrel located by Lazy Days RV, 6150 Lazy Days Blvd, Seffner Florida 33584. Arrive between 430 p.m. and 5 p.m. the meeting will start at 5 p.m.
Please reply to Fredi or Charlie to confirm your attendance and the number of attendees to the meeting by July 10, 2017.
Electrathon of Tampa Bay will be represented at this event thanks to Aditya Chelikani and the USF Team. USF will display their car, hand out Electrathon of Tampa Bay flyers and answer questions about our organization and their car. This event at MOSI will run three weekends in a row. Here is some information from their website about their event.
Discover the science of fireworks, then build rockets and send them soaring more than 100 feet into the sky during MOSI’s three-weekend event.
For three exciting weekends leading up to Independence Day, you’ll be able to get hands-on with science that’s as American as Apple Pi at the Museum of Science & Industry! MOSI’s Rockets’ Red Glare Festival lifts off June 17 & 18, 24 & 25, and July 1 & 2.
Meet real rocket engineers from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on the festival’s first day, Saturday, June 17, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. They’ll show you how to design, build, and launch your own rocket made from paper up to heights of more than 100 feet!
Then that same paper rocket launching fun will continue on every weekend day during the festival, led by the staff of MOSI’s Idea Zone makerspace.
Plus, at various times on festival days, live demonstrations will give you an up-close look into the science that makes fireworks light up the sky, led by MOSI’s STEAM Team (STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math).
MOSI’s Rockets’ Red Glare Festival is included with MOSI admission, as is MOSI’s summer exhibit Cardboard Space Adventures, where families help create a huge outpost in outer space, made out of cardboard — exploring a towering space station, alien base, and maze; building cardboard machines; and even playing a giant Space Invasion video game using cardboard game controllers.
Dads get in free on the festival’s opening weekend! On Father’s Day weekend, June 17 & 18, dads visit MOSI free with a paid child’s ticket. (Some restrictions apply — visit the MOSI ticket office or call 813-987-6000 for details.)
