The Official Powerchair Thread

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powerchair represents a lot about its user he he... hot powerchair makes the user hotter...

Im sure you'll look cool in your powerchair

its not a matter of being cool with me... i dont care if im cool or not... i just want big time mobility and comfort... and maybe a few girls clamoring

Everybody would love a few girls

i know

yeah.. aint nothing better than having a girl with you... i miss my girlfriend... miss how we would both be in her powerchair her on my lap

I just watched the whole power chair movie. I liked all the spinning and frolicking through fields. That's a nice power chair.

If you want to, you can Photoshop a power-chair-related thing for me. Could the theme be reptiles? Is there a way to incorporate reptiles into a power chair? Maybe snakes on a power chair?

Although I have not been in need of chairs or walkers, crutches, etc. for my mobility, I have always found it troubling that people who do need these aids seem to mostly start out with crap.

Institutional wheelchairs are fine for moving some patients around a clinic or hospital, but when living out of one, everyone should have better chairs.

Powerchairs like yours should be more available to the people who can use them.

I see patients with mediocre equipment all the time because they cannot afford it.
Mediocre equipment just puts a different type of obstacle in a person's way towards living as fullfilling a life as possible... at least in my opinion.

I am glad to see more public transit, buildings accommodating people from all walks or life.
Too bad it took a law to do so.

Thanks for posting this... I watched the whole video and liked it.
I really like to see people with the ability and opportunity to go as far as they can in life no matter the obstacles they face.

I know this is not POWERCHAIR! related, but I get a newsletter from WhirlWind International... an organization that not only provides decent wheelchairs to people all over the world, but trains them how to build the chairs from local resources as much as possible.
It is based out of San Francisco State University

--->WhirlWindWheelChair LINK<---

I suppose I could do a google search on powerchairs, but I was wondering how you can run halogen lights and a stereo system off the same batteries that operate the chair and accessories?

Seems like a big power drain to me.

I've seen someone recently that had one of those chairs that basically stands you upright.
I've seen them elsewhere before but cannot remember the name.

The advance in robotics is quite exciting to me when I think of all the possibilities that will come out of it for human mobility.
I think most folks just think about a robot doing the housework for you... but I can see loads of helpful things that will make future chairs so different from todays.

I can imagine an external 'skin' of sorts that may even replace the standard respirator units of today.
With the advance in textiles, microprocessors, micromachines, etc., I think there could be such a huge benefit for everyone.

Strapples wrote:

What aides/equipment have you got so you can keep on typing?

I vaguely recall eye movement controlled keyboards. Do you know more about that?

Helen

hehehe... centrifugal force is great in a powerchair hehe... and talk about little speed machines with 7.5 miles per hour power, although it might seem slow for road travel off road at those speeds is fast, especially for being heavy duty high torque motors. high speed motors wont give you as much torque but i think theres some aftermarket motors for powerchairs that will get you up to 15.0 MPH. mind you any time you reach 15.0 your havin 15.0 miles per hour of G-Force going right into you everywhere, no windshield like a motorcycle just straight on G-Force... i like G-Force though but dont have the money for those aftermarket motors he he....

hehe... yes it is possible for me or one of my other photoshop crew to make you a reptilian powerchair... i would like you to head over to The Photoshop Thread HERE http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt52390.html and post a request... that way all of my photoshop buddies can collaborate on this... im good at actual retexturization of the powerchair but they will have to handle putting the snakes in i think you would like one of your little baby snakes wrapped around your headrest mount rubbing its head on your neck he he

Last edited by Strapples on 30 Dec 2007, 6:49 am, edited 1 time in total.

its about time i got this powerchair... i know all about those institutional wheelchairs and how bad they are for someone like me with spinal problems... ive been in that sh*t for 8 months and you can see it on my websites photo gallery http://gallery.mac.com/alin0 reason it took so long for me to get my powerchair is getting a final diagnosis of neurodegenerative disease NOS that would be able to support the powerchair in the insurance system. personally i dont like how the medical industry is about profit. it should all be based off of non profit. medical is about welfare not profit!! ! if you keep all the people alive and have them "drip" money into the system at a slow low priced rate and they live longer and healthier due to the non profit medical system you in the long run will get more money.

ahh yes... mediocre equipment... one of the hallmarks of disabled living in the first year of disability... luckily here in northwest suburbs we have great insurance systems and the minute you get a supporting diagnosis the powerchair can be ordered... we had to wait a bit for our insurance to clear mine before we couldorder though...

public transit sucks im sorry but it does... you cant have it come to your house... lucky for us in the northwest suburbs have pace dial a ride which is a "short bus" that comes to the house... though i wont use that because i am too autistic for public transport and we are getting me my own van with a lift (not mine as in i will drive but mine as in me being the primary user)

that video shows you "yeah... i can still have fun... disability doesent take that away... changes it... maybe even makes for a little more fun..."
if you ever do wind up in a powerchair think of it as a car... customize it... modify it... make it YOUR powerchair!

nice link... didnt get around to reading it so no comment as of right now...

depending on how big those accessories are some may be wired into the Group 24 batteries using an APU on the powerchair (aux. power unit) and others will require their own battery. Group 24 batteries get about 30 miles on one charge mind you, and thats 90 amps of current... so thats higher current than most small electronic devices take so it just steps down at the APU. hence why it will be possible for my laptop to be mounted on my powerchair and charge off of its batteries...

the standing powerchair is useful for some people with non progressive conditions and who do not have complex spinal conditions. otherwise a properly constructed specialty POWERCHAIR is the best thing, since the standing powerchairs do not allow for specialized seating & positioning systems.

with the advancements in robotics we might see joystick robotic arms on powerchairs for quadriplegics to gain arm movement back with the robots arms instead of theirs he he and if the powerchair is empty you could let kids scream "OH MY GOD MOM!! ! THAT POWERCHAIR HAS ARMS AND THEY ARE MOVING!! ! ITS HAUNTED!! ! HAUNTED I TELL YOU!! ! HAUNTED POWERCHAIR RUN!! !! !"

hmm... external skin medical devices... sure make it from neoprene and ill be happy he he it would possibly happen through the wires of nanotechnology...

there are multiple equipment choices for when you loose arm control...

one of the most popular and easiest to use and adapt to is the head array



mind you mine would have no white tube for sip and puff control since my lungs and breathing capacity tire VERY quickly. however with just that head array a whole computer powerchair pretty much the world if you have ECU (environmental control units) in your house can be controlled from your head array!



there are eye tracking keyboards which are more popular with people who have lost head movement control as they are EXTREMELY expensive like 10,000 and since they are so new they are NEVER covered by insurance... head arrays are a mainstay technology that has been around for about 10-20 years and has received upgrades and continues to be covered by most-all insurance companies who offer DMEPOS (durable medical equipment prosthetic orthopedic supplies) coverage. also if your looking to operate with just one screen, good luck with that because it aint gonna happen for a while. you need a whole nother screen! also the system is pretty buggy, mind you ive tried a head array and eye tracker at my school as part of the "experience disabled life" project a few years before i acqired this disease and the eye tracker was one of my most hated things, i did NOT like it... head array was actually very easy for me and enjoyable... not a pain in the A$$ like this eye tracking thing! it might work better with certain eye colors but mine are very dark brown, not easily trackable i guess sicne the cursor on my screen was going all over the place... not to mention i dont have very good eye muscle control with cerebral palsy...

this is great information Strapples, thanks.
I'm enjoying hearing what you have to say about all this.

When I mentioned public transport, I was thinking more about the technology than the actual service... dummy me!

We have a dial-a-ride service in the county where I live also.
We actually get a good number of our regular patients from public transport.
I haven't seen anyone locally in a powerchair... as in local folks I see often.

thats great you enjoy hearing this type of thingy... make sure to subscribe to the thread so you can get all of the hardware for your mind he he

yeah the technology of public transport rocks, service sucks though, if only it were just ME on that bus...

heh, the area i live in is literally sprawling with people in powerchairs... great for a powerchair geek like me

all of my real life friends are in powerchairs hehe... about 10 people i personally know...