I thought some of you might be interested in the project I’ve been working on. It’s a small firefighting appliance called a “Mobile Monitor.” The machine is designed to get a remote control fire fighting nozzle (“monitor” in fireman’s language) and water supply in close to a fire in places where it is too dangerous for the firemen to be. Basic specifications: Vehicle is ~28" wide x 40" long and weighs ~550# Able to go through 30" wide doors and climb stairs and gradients up to 45 degrees Uses 2 x 3/4 HP D.C. motors with high performance right angle speed reduction gear boxes Rides on 2 rubber tracks with differential type skid steering Maximum speed: ~2.5MPH Able to drag up to 1000 feet of 2 1/2" fire hose On-board battery power: 2 x 12V 75 Ampere-Hour Optima (Absorbed Glass Mat) batteries in series producing 24VDC for all vehicle power Fully charged available power is 1800 Watt-Hours (or 75,000 mA-H!) On board 3 mode 25A smart charger R/C system: 75MHz Futaba PCM FM transmitter and receiver 8 Channel system with 3 Channels used Demonstrated range in excess of 1000 feet Monitor: Elkhart Brass Co. 250 gallon / minute 3 axis (azimuth, elevation and fog to straight stream) remote control (via the R/C system) Miscellaneous: Typical mission profile is ~3 to 5 minutes response into position, then up to 24 hours delivering water (reposition as incident conditions require) Max desired battery draw down (discharge from full) is ~80% or ~360W-Hrs remaining Chemical (typically foam or gel) options as required by mission Includes OSHA compliant in-motion alarms and lights, self-protection water spray system Numerous options available: GPS, video, thermal imaging, etc. Here are a few very recent pictures of the prototype, built in my shop: Me posing as proud papa. Location is the field in front of my property:
Controls and operational indicators are on back end of vehicle, sheltered from the ‘event:’
This last picture is at a presentation for investors last Wednesday:
A little brag: Delivered on time and for significantly less than budget. Performs better than original wish list / specifications, with outstanding (even to the designers) power, maneuverability and energy statistics. The various fire department officers and insurance officials who have seen it are very enthusiastic about the machine. And a slightly commercial message: (Bob McCowan: Please let me know if this is out of line): The company I designed and built it for is looking for additional investors to bring it to market. Happy RRing, Jerry On Edit: Why does one of the above pix open in the message and the other two are links? FIXED: Thanks to Brian!! Jerry