International Plug-In Day! Bring out your Plugs!

Generous readers, I'm happy to announce it's that time of year again!  Time to show your friends, neighbors and general passers by our shared love for Electric Vehicles.  Yes, it's International Plug-In Day, the day we all go out and display our love for cars powered by the ubiquitous plug.

This year, Plug-In Day is a two day event, and here in the greater Washington, D.C. area, we're taking it to the neighborhoods!  So mark your calendars, 28 September 2013!

View Plug In Day 2013 in a larger map

Because we have 2 days of events, we've decided to have regional events on Saturday and one huge event in downtown DC on Sunday.  We hope everyone can show their support at their local Saturday event and then everyone come down to Washington for the regional event Sunday on the steps of the U.S. Capital.

Saturday, 28 September 2013, 10:00–14:00: Herndon, VA

Hello from your Herndon Event team captain!  As the organizer of this event, I hope it to be the biggest of all the regional events.  This is the only gathering scheduled for Northern Virginia.  As such, I hope folks from Arlington, Alexandria, Loudoun, Prince William, Manassas and even Stafford Counties and Cities can make it out to western Fairfax to join us in sharing our love for EVs.  Come and commiserate over our failed attempt for equal taxation regardless of propultion and the $64 tax we now have to pay for as both hybrid and electric vehicle owners.  We're planning to have LEAFs, Volts and Tesla Model S a plenty to show, as well as all kinds of electric vehicles.  Learn about Dominion Virginia Power's Time-of-Use Rate Schedules and the Green Option for energy credits.  And teach folks about the around 50% Personal Property Tax discount for Electric Vehicles in Arlington, Prince William and Loudoun Counties.  (Sorry fellow Farfaxians, we still have to pay full price for our tax in our unprogressive county.)

Saturday, 28 September 2013, 10:00–14:00: Waldorf, MD

Overall Waldorf event organizer and my friend Mark Czajka from MDVolt (the current source for LEAF Meetup events).  Ironcially, Mark doesn't own a Volt—he has a Ford Fusion Energi—but is an amazing event organizer and without him this year's Plug In Day wouldn't be nearly as amazing as it's turning out to be.  The MOMs in Waldorf is in a beautiful, new building and will be an amazing place to discuss all the exciting things going on for EVs in Southern Maryland.  This is a must-see event for anyone in the area, I guarantee.

Saturday, 28 September 2013, 10:00–14:00: College Park, MD

The College Park event in suburban Maryland, just on the outskirts of Washington, D.C., is at one of my favourite MOM's Organic Markets, being about half-way between work and the normal EVA/DC meeting in Silver Spring, MD.  Word of warning that the EVSE (Electric Vehicle Service Equipment) stations at this location, two out-of-the-way units around the left side of the building, are often either broken or occupied by a completely occupied by an often full electric vehicle.  However, anyone needing a charge just contact my friend and Team Captain Lanny Hartmann who will help you find a unit that's available and working as well as work to make sure these units are function come Plug-In Day and beyond.

Saturday, 28 September 2013, 10:00–14:00: Timonium, MD and Baltimore

The Timonium event is our closest planned event in the greater Baltimore Suburbs.  Located in Central Maryland, the event is just north of the Baltimore Beltway and just off of I85.  As such, I've never personally been there since getting my LEAF, which was before MOM's in Timonium opened.  However, my friend Barry Larkin is hosting this event and I've every confidence he's going to do an amazing job so please show your support Baltimore and bring out your EVs!

Sunday, 29 September 2013, 10:00–16:00: Washington, D.C.

For the regional Sunday event, we're extremely fortunate to be getting permission to have our display right in front of the U.S. Capital building, on Third Street SW, in front of the Reflecting Pool and near the US Botanical Gardens.  This is thanks in no small part to the work of Maryland's Senior Senator Barbara Mulkulski (D).  This website would therefore like to express their personal thanks to Senator Mulkulski.  We're working on sixty spots to display our EVs so that visitors to the Capital can see just how affordable, obtainable and ubiquitous Electric Cars have finally become!

Everyone Welcome

At each event, we hope to have opportunities to test drive our electric cars including, in Herndon and Washington, CO2Fre, yours truly's very own Nissan LEAF.  So come one, come all, see how easy it is to plug in your car at the 2013 International Plug-In Day events!  And if you'd like to show off your car, just click on the link at the start of each event to register with the Plug-In Website.  Hope to see you there, and thank you!

The Washington D.C. SOC Meter Built-It Project

The parts list is derived from this MyNissanLEAF post and the tentative sources for each part is as follow:

• 7-Segment Display
  • Yellow Yellow - COM-11443
  • Blue - COM-11442
  • Red - COM-11441
  • Kelly Green - COM-11440 (And to again quoting garygid himself, "not recommended")
• Development Board Mouser Part Number: 909-AVR-CAN
• Project Box
  • All Electronics Cat# MB-132 (Black, cheapest and smallest)
  • All Electronics Cat# 1591-CTBU (Wider and Blue Translucent)
  • All Electronics Cat# 1598-ASGY (Largest enclosure, but narrow!)
• OBD Cable
  • OBD2cables Part number: 142601 (6-foot)
  • OBD2cables Part number: 142602 (9-foot)
  • Type B, OBD2cables PN 144507 (6-foot)
• Toggle Switches
  • On-Off-On SPDT mini toggle switch All Electronics Cat# MTS-5
  • DPDT mini toggle switch All Electronics Cat# MTS-12
• Pushbutton Switches
  • Radio Shack 275-1547 (Two Red, Two Black, so split between 2 people)
  • All Electronics Cat# MPB-1B (Black cap) (One)
  • All Electronics Cat# MPB-1 (Red cap) (One)
• Zener Diode: All Electronics Cat# 1N4733 (Five units split between 5 people)
• All Electronics Cat# DB-9S D-Sub 9-pin connector, Female (RS-232)
• Connector Blocks
  • 1×6 Connector Shell
  • 2×4 Connector Shell
  • Wires with Female Pins

The Capital LEAFs is coming to Koons!

I've just got confirmation from Steve Osborne, GM at Koons Nissan in Falls Church, Virginia!  Mark your calendars for Tax Credit Weekend, Saturday, 14 April 2012 from 13:00 (1:00 pm) to 17:00 (5:00 pm) where we will have 3 chargers available and I am looking into catering.  I'll post more details as they become available.  Hopefully we can get everyone from Haymarket, VA to Glen Burnie, MD and have the biggest LEAF EVent yet in the Capital region!

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Nissan LEAF meetup Today

Come see the array of Washington area LEAFs today at Nissan of Chantilly, noon–4 pm! All are welcome. There will be pizza.

Ring out the Old, Ring in the New

This Sunday, Nissan is celebrating Gudy / Olivier Chalouhi's 1 year anniversary of accepting the very first Nissan LEAF.  This momentous occasion none the less brings back a melancholy memory for those of us in the D.C. Area and on the east coast.  It turns out our first Capital LEAFs meetup will be on the 1 year anniversary of, well, let me explain it via the article I published that day: Nah, No LEAF for You.

For the record, we chose 10 December via a poll in the Yahoo! group mainly to make sure we gave time for everyone who could to get their cars before the December holidays so it's quite the coincidence that it falls on the same day of the news from last year.  For those of us in it from the beginning, it's been a long and rocky ride, but most of you either have your LEAFs now or will soon so let's not dwell on the somber past as we celebrate our Electric Future!

But one thing I do ask of everyone, after you return home from our fun celebrations of the comfy, cosy electric that could, at 9pm, Saturday Night, we have 7 seconds of silence for the lost 7 months and all that could have been had we been allowed to order when promised.  Thank you.

Bring Out Your LEAF: The Capital LEAFs is meeting this Saturday

Come one, come all and check it out as we gather our LEAFs at Nissan of Chantilly!

Date: Saturday, 10 December 2011
Time: 12:00 to 16:00
Host and Honored Guests:

• Jeffrey C. Jacobs, Affordable Electric Car NOW!
• Justin Maynard, Nissan of Chantilly LEAF Specialist

14840 Stonecroft Center Court
Chantilly, VA 20151

Everyone is invited to check out the plethora of Capital Region LEAFs as we gather to recount stories of our adventures in the world of EV Driving!

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Capital Area Nissan LEAF Owners Group & Meetup

I've been looking into setting up a meetup for all you Northern Virginian, Washington D.C. and Southern Marylanders to gather and talk shop about their brand-spanking new Nissan LEAFs.  Although I considered using Meetup.com for this like I do my Reston Writers Roundup where I share my work on Project Kronosphere, I decided that since Facebook would give this too me for free, that's the best place to begin this organization.  So hop on down to the Capital Area Nissan LEAF Owners group and help me plan our first official meeting!  Not on Facebook?  We also have a Yahoo! discussion and planning mailing list at Capital Area LEAF Owners!

Of course, if you don't want to do this through the behemoth that is Facebook, please suggest another site in the comments as I'm truly agnostic about the how or the where save that we'll typically meet in Northern Virginia since my beloved EVA/DC typically meets in Southern Maryland.