Program the Beast

Always knew the BBSO2 could be programmed to meet individual likes and different trikes...just did not know there were so many possibilities. Both the Luna  and the Endless Sphere Forum have pages and pages of posts of various combinations and the whys and wherefores. I'm probably more than a bit dyslexic and read much of it over and over again. Hopeless!

Finally decided to take the plunge. Found and loaded the Penoff program that performs the task. plugged in my programming USB cable to the Green plug coming out of the motor harness, fired up the computer and clicked the 'connect' button. Hot Dog! It worked!

Following directions I clicked 'Read Flash' and the appropriate blanks on the page  filled with new numbers. I confirmed they were the stock Luna Hot Rod settings. I saved the file to my computer in case I wanted to revert.

Then I loaded the program with the Penoff .el file I had downloaded from the internet and clicked 'Write' a 'confirmed' message appeared so I clicked 'Write Flash' and in a few seconds another 'confirmed'

I clicked 'disconnect', unplugged the computer, replugged the Green wire to the computer display, returned the computer to the house and checked for any news flashes to insure my action had not triggered a diplomatic incidence or crashed the air traffic control system.

Then I returned to the bike, pointed it towards the door, turned on the power, and gripping the brake levers gingerly applied pedal power. It took off like a B.O.H. Fortunately it stopped when I stopped turning the crank... Actually it wasn't that bad.

As I explained in the previous post my goal was to program "Relaxed" parameters into the Bafang Controller. But there were those dozens of posts explaining all these settings talking about '% Decay', '% Speed', 'Angle' something. I only had the vaguest idea what some meant and no idea what others were. Plus the warning, "Not responsible if you fry your controller". So I decided to try the standard Penoff alternative... he's the guru that wrote the programming tool.

Anyway I took Rover II for a 25 km spin this evening to see how these Penoff settings changed performance. They did indeed change the performance. Some things I liked, others not so much.

The Luna Hotrodded settings I found generally put out too much power. I cruised in Level1 or 2 and ocassionally 3, Levels 4-9 were basically not used.

The Penoff settings were more like a cruise control. Setting 6 cruised at 21.7 kph with wattage output varying from 0 to +400 depending what was required to maintain that speed. In Luna settings max watt per setting was in steps of about 100w.

The cadence required with the Penoff seemed somewhat lower as well. You picked a gear that provided decent pedal resistance just over the cruising speed. If you dropped below that cruising speed a shot of power was delivered to increase you speed. The Penoff setting also tended to 'search' for the cruising speed if your gear was too low or your cadence too fast.

Also the Penoff settings forced you to change Levels if you were slowing down as the acceleration was very strong (BOH) as soon as you started pedaling. Also made smooth shifting a little trickier.

So what did I learn ...so far.

1. Loading the program from one set to another is quick and easy.
2. Determining what figures to use in a program is much more difficult
3. The response of the system to different figures is very broad, hence customizing the system to your likes or vastly different terrain conditions should be doable.
4. Feel like I'm back in kindergarten

I'll put a few picts in this post this weekend and perhaps some more thoughts. Also be looking at some other settings files i.e. JP Labs