Hi from Down Under

[tcdev]

Hi all,

I was recently introduced to Segways courtesy of Antony (aka MadSegs) when my sister booked myself and my wife on his Madrid segway tours in June '08. It was fantastic fun - Antony gave a great tour and is obviously passionate (and very knowledgeable) about both Madrid and Segways!

Anyway, that afternoon I was pestering my wife about getting a Segway. She's vetoed the idea outright (they're about AUD$10K here in Australia) but after returning to work and checking out a few homebrew segways on the net with my colleague, we've decided to build a couple for ourselves!

Stage 1 will soon be underway - we've now ordered a couple of motor control boards that we'll use in the final design and a cheapish gyro/accelerometer board for prototyping and together with some bits'n'pieces we already have lying around, we'll be putting together a 'balancing robot' of sorts.

Stage 2 will see us forking out for more accurate gyros etc, real motors and batteries, and endearing ourselves to friends that own welders and other metal work equipment!

Of course, there's no sense building anything that can't match The Real Thing, so we'll be spec'ing it to out-do the Gen2... minus the safety features naturally...

Well, that's the plan anyway...

Regards,
Mark

[mark1qhorsey]

Originally Posted by tcdev

Hi all,

Anyway, that afternoon I was pestering my wife about getting a Segway. She's vetoed the idea outright (they're about AUD$10K here in Australia) but after returning to work and checking out a few homebrew segways on the net with my colleague, we've decided to build a couple for ourselves!

Well, that's the plan anyway...

Regards,
Mark

Hi Mark, Much more "doable" is to buy the real thing. Among the Pluses of a PT is that it pays for itself over 8 to 10 years, and saves your day car if you use the PT rather than a car (15-20 km) daily. Of course, the fun of building a non-working prototype may exceed your desire to glide? Are you kidding? Maybe one can import one to AU by snail boat for less than $10 K?

[tcdev]

Originally Posted by mark1qhorsey

Hi Mark, Much more "doable" is to buy the real thing. Among the Pluses of a PT is that it pays for itself over 8 to 10 years, and saves your day car if you use the PT rather than a car (15-20 km) daily. Of course, the fun of building a non-working prototype may exceed your desire to glide? Are you kidding? Maybe one can import one to AU by snail boat for less than $10 K?

I heartily agree, and if it were up to me alone, then my first post would've been telling you guys how much fun I've been having on my brand new i2!

In my favour, I work only a few km from home, my soccer homer ground is even closer and my gym closer still, so it's very realistic to claim that some weeks (weather permitting) the car would stay in the garage if I owned a Segway!

However, I know an unwinnable argument when I see one, and there's absolutely no chance of me persuading her to OK a Segway atm, regardless of the long-term financial (not to mention environmental) gains. I guess that there's also the risk that legalities here in Sydney (both current and future) would prevent me using it to its full potential - not sure if Segways are still "flying under the radar" here at this point?

Anyway, the dream is still alive. I figured if I can build one for about half the price, with the money being spent incrementally, it'll be easier to gain "financial support" BTW I am an electronics design engineer, and I know a few handy people with metalwork equipment, so it's not as improbable as you may think... (and yes, there's also the fun factor in DIY)

Regards,
Mark

[jgbackes]

I think the project sounds like fun, but you should probably go get a used "beater" seg just to play on while the project comes together.

[mark1qhorsey]

Hi Mark,
You and your buds might consider starting a Seg dealership in Sydney? According to Inc there isn't one in that city, which seems odd. That way, if you get short term financing for your business plan, you can tax write-off the cost of a bunch of Segs, and have your ride and get rich too Good luck!

I have been having a hard time swallowing the fact that people have to ask permission to buy something they want.

I am not trying to start a war here and I do understand that traditionally when people get married, they combine their finances. But when it comes down to making a purchase such as a Segway, it does nothing but cause friction. I hear stories all the time about how money is a sticking point when it comes to relationships.

My wife and I decided before we got married to handle our finances separately, that is, aside from the common household bills and savings for home insurance and vacations. It has made both of our lives MUCH easier when either of us wants to buy something major, like a Segway in my case. If she wants to spend HER money on shoes, clothes, whatever, I say it's her money, she can do whatever she wants with it.

Granted, we are both professionals and have more than our share of disposable income. But I think that the combining of finances is a really antiquated part of a relationship.

My two cents (or more) delivered.

[Five-Flags]

Originally Posted by Moebius

...
Granted, we are both professionals and have more than our share of disposable income. But I think that the combining of finances is a really antiquated part of a relationship.

My two cents (or more) delivered.

I think you pretty well nailed your bias. I've been married for 38 years. When we first married, I was a young E-3 in the Navy, earning enough to barely afford a small three-room (not three-bedroom) apartment, if we ate lightly that month. We each worked at an amusement park (me part-time) within walking distance for the princely sum of $1.10 an hour. Combining incomes was not an optional idea, it meant eating! I walked about 1/2 mile to the nearest bus stop to ride to the base, I walked all the way home (about 3 miles) to save the 60-cent fare. Our first car didn't come for two more years. As an E-5, I could just afford a 7-year-old Corvair convertible and the required insurance.

Now, my retired pay from the Navy is about $1200/month. So if I want to go out and buy a Segway, I'm taking about 4 months of that income. Would that be impossible? No, I have a fairly good job and my wife is doing fairly well also. Would I spend that much of our income without discussing it and gaining her concurrance? NOT A CHANCE!!! I like where I live!

I'm not complaining, just noting that it's a lot easier to consider something as "antiquated" when it's not making a significant impact on your living conditions!

[tcdev]

Originally Posted by mark1qhorsey

Hi Mark,
You and your buds might consider starting a Seg dealership in Sydney? According to Inc there isn't one in that city, which seems odd. That way, if you get short term financing for your business plan, you can tax write-off the cost of a bunch of Segs, and have your ride and get rich too Good luck!

There is this mob.. <http://www.segwaytours.com.au/sales.shtml>

Regards,
Mark

[tcdev]

Originally Posted by Moebius

I have been having a hard time swallowing the fact that people have to ask permission to buy something they want.

I understand your point, and it's great that you've got such an arrangement! In some ways I wish it were the case for me, but it's not, and never will be. We've been married for less than 3 months now, though we've been living together with a mortgage for over 5 years. We're both professionals, working, and since the mortgage we consult each other on "major" purchases.

Now this is the sticking point with me - "major" to her means anything more than AUD$20! Friends of mine think nothing of stopping off at the pub on the way home from work once a week or so and putting $200 thru the pokies - trouble is, in every case they're the sole breadwinner and they don't have large mortgages - or in some cases no mortgage at all.

The other problem is that I've already got a couple of "major" purchases on the queue, namely a high-def LCD TV, a streaming media box and a home gym (those combined still cost less than a new Segway).

No relationship is perfect and you need to take the good with the bad. Knowing her past I can understand why she is this way, so I let it slide. If that's the worst I can complain about, I'm pretty happy!

Anyway, as history has shown, she's always taken to my acquisitions even if I had to "fight" for them initially. Ask her *now* if she wants me to give back my PC tuner card or our DVD burners or reduce our internet bandwidth so I can't download her TV shows for her...

I've little doubt that once I get a Segway up and running, she's going to want one as well.