Questions/builds thread.

get yourself on msn sometime Elis, then i can inflate your ego with praise :lol:

30a cont should be plenty, it'll probably have a slow burst though (Nicad is better for this than Nimh, but the latter has advantages for drive that I forget, Li-Po solves all problems!)

I was just going to say you might want to look into getting a proper charger if your using the drill ones.

I got mine for £8 on ebay, but it tooks weeks to come, and you guys just don't have that time.

I can lend you a couple of Ni-cad Nimh chargers for the event, but they only fast charge up to 8.4v, I dunno what size packs you're running.

I got my Lipo's from here (these guys were so quick, ordered it on a wednesday night, turned up thursday morning no extra cost)...

http://ElectriFlyer.co.uk/

One of these would cover all your power needs assuming that you draw the same amount...

http://ElectriFlyer.co.uk/gens-ace-5s-3300mah-30c/

As for charging...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Turnigy-Accuc ... 1628wt_905

This will charge Lipo's,LiFe,NiCad,NiMh and Pb. Full balance charging, fast charge, standard charge, storage modes and discharge. Easy to use to. Only thing is that it comes with a US plug so you would need an adaptor or just cut off the US plug and fit an UK or EU plug. Simple :)

By what you are describing I would say the capacity in the hot pack has gone. I have had 2 examples of that in recent months, voltage registering what it should, but as soon as you hook it up to try and drive anything it falls flat.

If I was you I'd get some new packs from component shop, they do a wide variety of packs. As for a charger, I'd get yourself a Pro peak constellation. It does all but LiFePo batteries.

Thanks for the help and links guys. We can't really go LiPo; all plastic robot, it would mean quite some doing to get the thing LiPo safe, and we don't have the time to do that.

We're likely going to get a ton of NiMH cells. We sent an email to Component Shop earlier, asking for a quote regarding custom packs. We're looking for about an end result of 5000mah, 60a discharge, from two packs. If their price is too high we will make them ourselves.

Still researching. No point in purchasing until Monday anyway, so we have a few days to work things out. The cheapest we will be able to get the batteries will be about £60, for the raw cells alone. We can't justify another £40 on top of that for a charger without eliminating all other routes, including that of our current charger.

Thanks again guys. All suggestions are being taken in. Interesting to hear about the odd behaviour with capacity, Dave. Sounds like more or less what we have come across...

Edit: why is the pro peak so expensive here in comparison to here?

May be coming to end-of-life and they are clearing their stock.

Hi guys. We have ordered new batteries and a charger. Many thanks to Dave for helping out with the postage!

Quick question: what exactly is a cradle? Is the purpose of it to raise the robot's wheels off the table/floor to reduce the possibility of it escaping if it came alive? Can it be as simple as a couple of bits of wood?

Thanks.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Relentless

Quick question: what exactly is a cradle? Is the purpose of it to raise the robot's wheels off the table/floor to reduce the possibility of it escaping if it came alive? Can it be as simple as a couple of bits of wood?

Thanks.

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Yup :)

Yup, just a couple of bits of wood will do, so long as it raises your robot's wheels off the ground. If you screw them together (in something like a square or 'H' shape) it makes it a little sturdier and easier to carry around.

EDIT: Tony beat me to it :)

My bot was similar in shape to yours (4wd, but with no lifter) and I nailed 2 pieces of wood into an X shape, nice and easy.

I like the edit you've made to your list of bots about Carcinus Jamie :lol: