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Technical Articles by Michael Traum

Organized by topic, and in no particular order.
Click to Sort by Date of Publication

Communications
Energy Systems
Combustion Engines
Automotive
The Good Ship Eva


Communications

Glossary of Terms - New terminology coined by Michael Traum.

Photography and Videography - Fixing images and getting them to dance.

Sony APS-C Cameras - Standard size digital sensors abord Eva.

Printing - Putting text and images to paper.

Classes of Errors in Writing

The Internet - From email to Paypal.

The Emoji - Embeded symbols and eight bit storage.

Energy Systems

Lead Acid Basics - An introduction to lead acid storage batteries.

Lithium Ion Batteries - The long awaited highly functional storage battery.

Electric Motors and Generators - Types, application and limitations.

Generator Sets - Turning fuel into electricity.

Solar Electric - Harnessing the power of the sun.

Heating Ventilating and Air Conditioning - Making living spaces livable.

Petroleum - The world's slowest charging battery.

Evolutionary Cosmology - Answering the big question.

Combustion Engines

Diesel Basics - The basics of diesel engine operation.

Small Marine Diesel Engines - A compendium of the few small direct injection engines that have been available.

Fuel Properties - How fuel burns, and what it means for engine design and operation.

Timing - Time of late compression ignition, engine speed, mean piston speed and temperature of combustion potential.

Small Bore - Unique Tuning Challenges for Small Gasoline Engines.

General Trends in Combustion Fuel Properties

Non-Homogeneous Gasoline - Types of potential problems and consequences for engine performance.

The Advance Myth - Correct advance as opposed to lots of advance in gasoline engines.

Compression Ratio Modification - Ease of modification of existing engines by valvetrain type.

Ethanol - The ins and outs of alcohol as a motor vehicle fuel.

Ring Structures - More pop per gallon.

Precise Jetting - Needle Shanks and Half Clip Positions.

Points Ignition Systems - Providing the spark for spark ignition engines.

Canted Valve Engines - Angled valves for better flow.

Camshafts and Valve Timing Systems - How, when and why valves are opened.

Camshaft Conundrum - How the shape of the circle caused excessively long stroke lengths in gasoline engines.

Rod Bearing Size - Oversize bearings mask reality.

Flatheads for (N)Ever - Why sidevalve engines were slow and dirty.

Exhaust and Exhaust Muffling - Quiet does not mean slow, but fast does tend to be loud.

Fixed Crankshaft Engines - Spining the cylinders to eliminate reciprocating losses.

Automotive

2017 Updates on Various 1991 Husqvarnas

Confessions of a Long Stroke Wheeler - A Willies Powered 1942 Ford GPW.

Yamaha WR250F High Fuel Consumption - An open letter to Dirt Bike Magazine.

Wheelin' a 1961 Dodge W100

Car 54 Where Are You? - The 1954 Ford Automobile

Mustang Analysis - Why the first generation Ford Mustang felt slow.

Fuel Hogs - Why motorcycles get such poor mileage.

Dirt Bikes - The real motorcycles.

Husqvarnas - A personal quest for the early Husqvarna four stroke dirt bike.

Resurrecting the 1991 Husqvarna WMX 610 - The original four stroke motorcrosser rides again.

1999 Husqvarna TE 410 - The Lengthened 1999 Connecting Rod and Stroker 610 Ideas

1999 Husqvarna WMX 410 - Suspesion Upgrade

KTM White Power Suspension - 1990's KTM WP Suspension as Upgrade for Husqvarna Enduro Bikes

1986 Husqvarna 400 Enduro - The Swedish Two Stroke

1987 Husqvarna 430 WR - The big bore two stroke gets a manual transmission.

Husqvarna 250 Two Stroke - A Short Stroke Length Water Cooled 250.

Points at 11.3:1 - The rebuilt Husqvarna 610 motor gets a points ignition system.

Regular Racer - The Husqvarna 610 gets a 12.5:1 compression ratio.

A Tale of Two Huskies - Two more 1991 Husqvarna WMX 610 race bikes enter the pack.

A Period Correct Big Cam 1991 Husqvarna WMX 610 - Camming up the stock SEM ignition.

Lean Stumbling - Excessive Stock Spark Advance on the Period Correct WMX 610.

The 475 Big Bore - Going Big for Less Displacement.

1992 Husqvarna Suspension Upgrades - A Sachs Shock Yields Big Improvements.

A 1987 Husqvarna 510 XC - Newer 40mm WP forks and a better Ohlins Shock.

The Lifan Husqvarnas - Small Displacement Big Problems.

Shocking Success - A 1991 Husqvarna WMX 386 and various suspension adventures.

Variation Between Gears - The Husqvarna six speed transmission.

Husky History - 100 years of Husqvarna Motorcycles.

The First Generation Audi 5000 - A lightweight design that still impresses 40 years later.

The 2015 Volkswagens and Audis - Large additional performance improvements.

Maximum Compression Ratios - Putting the squeeze to gasoline.

Traction Control and Suspension - From preventing wheel spin to active stability control.

Steel - It's what's for building.

Structural Analysis - Predicting when something might break and a bit about how and why.

The Good Ship Eva

Failure Fiasco - Equipment failure on board Eva.

Relamination - A new epoxy bottom for Eva.

Fuel Tank Replacement - An integral tank in Eva's bilge.

Drinking Water - Eva's water system and water quality.

A Basis for the Clarification of Nutrients and Drugs

Electric Land Dinghies - Extra Vehicular Activity aboard Eva.

The Norsea 27 - Why this small 40 year old design works.

Sails and Sailing - Turning the wind into a driving force.