AVAS question

Anything but one of those stupid fast n' furious rice burners! Seriously, though. Could something along these lines be done given the time, ingenuity, and cash flow? 'Cause that would be sick sweet!

I have recently had a few close calls with deer on my commute route. I REALLY need a loud sound at 40 to 50 mph.

If one of you that has been into the AVAS ECU could post a more detailed report on changing the input source, or embark on an experiment to generate sound of choice at any speed, that would be GREAT!

I don't have the skill to tear into my MiEV without direction.

Can the AVAS speaker take higher input and put out louder sound without tearing itself up?
Is hacking in to the console wiring to AVAS with an outside source feasible? What source and what connections?

Would it be easier all around to just install an all-weather speaker in a wholly separate system driven by an mp3 player?

This guy came up with a loud horn for his bicycle - maybe you could use something like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9nonCqesLI

Uh, yeah. But seriously...

There are waterproof external speakers that accept USB for power and 3.5mm jack for sound. (Bluetooth wireless sound would require pairing every time, right?)

So one would just have to feed USB and audio cables of sufficient length and firmly mount the speaker somewhere under the hood. Then any mp3 player could drive it. An under $100 solution depending on what you already have.

Does this concept have any flaws anyone can think of?

sorry, definitely not a serious suggestion

How about this - it's a very loud electric bike horn, and I reckon you could extend the wire from the unit to the button so the button was in the car, and the unit under the bonnet/hood:

http://www.thehornit.com/

Top tip - don't press the "play sound" button with the sound on your computer turned up - it's ear-piercing.

I need a continuous sound roughly as loud as my Cummins diesel, with volume and on/off control.

The deer definitely stay away from that truck.

DogMan12 said:

I need a continuous sound roughly as loud as my Cummins diesel, with volume and on/off control.

The deer definitely stay away from that truck.

Click to expand...

sorry, now I understand. I think your MP3 player and waterproof speaker idea is probably the best way to do this, but getting a good level of sound might need a separate amplifier too.

DogMan12 said:

I have recently had a few close calls with deer on my commute route. I REALLY need a loud sound at 40 to 50 mph.

If one of you that has been into the AVAS ECU could post a more detailed report on changing the input source, or embark on an experiment to generate sound of choice at any speed, that would be GREAT!

I don't have the skill to tear into my MiEV without direction.

Can the AVAS speaker take higher input and put out louder sound without tearing itself up?
Is hacking in to the console wiring to AVAS with an outside source feasible? What source and what connections?

Would it be easier all around to just install an all-weather speaker in a wholly separate system driven by an mp3 player?

Click to expand...

How about an $8 solution? A horn like this worked well on my Chevette in the 80s and 90s. http://www.amazon.com/Living-Products-LLC-0001-Save-A-Deer/dp/B003XNGLJU
-Barry

DogMan12 said:

I have recently had a few close calls with deer on my commute route. I REALLY need a loud sound at 40 to 50 mph.

Click to expand...

Living in deer country, I sympathize with your concern; however, deer seem to be unable to respond appropriately to even the loudest rumbling vehicles, even when those are only going 25mph. Biggest problem is coming around a blind curve and finding one in the middle of the roadway. Thundering down the road in an artificially-loud electric vehicle would not be viewed sympathetically by the locals, as our country-living silence is cherished. Granted, deer almost completely ignore my i-MiEV, reacting more to the garage door opening than the car itself as they graze in my front yard. The problem with deer wandering about occurs primarily in the late afternoon, so vigilance at dusk is in order - more than one deer owes its life to the i-MiEV's superb brakes! Now that I think about it, I've never actually honked my horn at a deer - so I have no idea how they'd react to that. Seems to me that deer whistle BarryP is suggesting might be worth a try - can't hurt, and might actually do something. If you're going to program a sound into AVAS, then may I suggest a pack of howling coyotes or the growl of a mountain lion. :twisted:

DogMan12 said:

I have recently had a few close calls with deer on my commute route. I REALLY need a loud sound at 40 to 50 mph. Does this concept have any flaws anyone can think of?

Click to expand...

JoeS said:

Thundering down the road in an artificially-loud electric vehicle would not be viewed sympathetically by the locals, as our country-living silence is cherished.

Click to expand...

I agree - I don't even appreciate the loud trucks going by. I think we should all strive to make less of an impact in every way as we pass by, which is one reason I really like seeing more EV's on the road

Like many other animals, I think deer have better hearing in the upper frequency ranges than humans, so if more 'noise' is your preferred solution, why not target that noise at frequencies which bother the deer more than your neighbors?

My personal take is more noise isn't the way to go though. If I was an animal I'm sure I wouldn't appreciate it anymore than I do as a human. I've often wondered what the whales think of all the noises ships make, especially the sonar devices used to locate submarines and such

Don

Thanks for the advice. In 20 years I have driven my road about 11,000 times. 5 deer strikes. This includes one with the deer flying onto the hood from between some trees near the shoulder. (On, Blitzen! ) None with the loud truck. I have two deer whistles on the MiEV, and all our vehicles. I would say after long experience that whistles help more than not, but it depends on the situation. They can just startle a deer into that stupid "jump into you" mode.

My experience with the MiEV (with whistles) is that they notice me a lot later, increasing the chances of startle suicide.

If my MiEV sounded like a Cummins, no one around here would notice one more diesel truck sound on the road. (Although I agree with you Don, in general I love silent running.) And I believe that the chances of startle suicide would be reduced.

Nothing replaces going slow, and vigilance, for sure.

I will research the output power requirements for speakers and report if I install something.

Today my i-MiEV goes back, end of lease and another was too expensive compared to the alternatives - don't know what they're doing right now but anyway, I digress.

Today I'm re-attaching the speaker.

After two years of peace and quite and zero accidents. I've completely failed on numerous occasions to sneak up on people - dang those noisy tires! - but I believe that silence is, in fact, golden.

I've used the vision orbs in my thought box to track pedestrian movement for the last 150,000 electric miles (not all in i-MiEV) and, have discovered that most look left and right before wandering into parking lots but some, are mind-blowingly ignorant. I once had a whole herd of kindergarten age children propelled in front of my by their guardians at a strip mall because, well, I assume they could be replaced ?!?! But, that was not because of noise, that was more likely because the guardians wanted to instil a sense of 'whatever you do is someone else's fault' kind of mentality in them. We made eye contact as I trundled towards them before the children were pushed out just in front of me... some of the children even looked up at their guardians before reluctantly walking out. Bizarre but true.

The regulation requirement for noise makers in the US continues to be pushed out (hurrah) and study after study continues to seemingly, reluctantly, conclude that it doesn't make a difference. Even the ones that recommend noise makers lack solid numbers and have to fall back on the 'buggy-man' (spelling?)

Thanks for the info on disconnecting and safe, quite travels everyone.

MPT, thank you for your update and sorry to see you leaving the fold. Presumably you will be continuing being a silent EVer(?). When I test drove the Kia Soul EV, the darn thing had an obnoxious back-up beeper.

Disconnecting AVAS is something I had seriously considered, as the distinctive whining space-ship sound is indeed unnecessary noise pollution; however, in this litigious society, and especially this state, …

Wish you all the best with your next, silent, EV.