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Hey all,
Im choosing Batteries for iMPACT at the moment but Im really not sure what to use. To be absolutely honest I only have about £25 left on my budget so does anyone know any batteries I could get for this price? Please can I have the website or phone-number, the weight of the batteries and the output power.
Thanks all,
Rob
Well it depends. What charging equipment do you have and how many volts do you need?
There are loads of places to get nicads but be careful. I went for the cheap option once and bought some nicads from maplins. They barely held enough charge to last a fight and eventually cought fire.
I then bought some packs from overlander and they have been perfect. Was around 50-60 pounds for 2x 12volt 3.7 amp Nimh
So I suggest buy well and buy once
obv link
http://www.overlander.co.uk/http://www.overlander.co.uk/ (great but not a cheap option)
I am sure there will be more links for cheap nicad battery packs to follow.
Thanks mate,
Rob
http://www.modelpower.co.uk/http://www.modelpower.co.uk/
i know you have to be careful with cheap batteries but i brought nimhs off ebay and i have had loads of them now and always been good and give real good performance. their called vapextech (always on ebay for sale) or their site is http://www.vapextech.co.ukwww.vapextech.co.uk.
i have never brought anything else as these have been great and powered my spinner weapon and drive fine. i have the 12v 3700mah that are £20 each, they also do cheaper ones in 7.2 and 8.4 off memory.
a better link for you, just scroll down and you can see the packs i use (yellow ones)
http://www.vapextech.co.uk/acatalog/...Batteries.html
(Message edited by promo robots on February 25, 2008)
Cool. This looks more my type of thing. How fast do they burn out though?
Keep them coming,
Thanks
Rob
This might sound like obvious advice but if you can, buy a charger that charges a range of different types of battery and then try and design any future robots to operate on the same voltage or type as your current batteries, youll save yourself a lot of hassle and time in the long run.
For example, I have one robot that runs on two 6V sealed lead-acid batteries (because they were cheap when I started robotics) and I have a charger specifically for them which I bought at the same time as the batts and that I use to charge the bot up.
I have another bot that uses four 7.2V 1800mAh nicad race packs (when I chose to upgrade to better quality components) that I link in series and parallel to get 14.4V and 3600mAh and bought two chargers that only charge 7.2V race packs to charge those batts (since my SLA charger wouldnt work on them and the nicad chargers were cheap).
And my most recent robot runs on 9.6V 3700mAh nickel metal-hydride batteries (that I needed to use to meet the capacity requirements of that robot) that I then had to buy chargers for because neither my SLA charger or nicad race charger were suitable for them.
Ive finally got myself a couple of chargers that will charge both nimh and nicad packs but over the long run it has cost me much more than if I had saved a bit more money to start off with and invested in widespread compatability battery chargers and specific battery types.
Please can I have websites of chargers as well from here on in. Thanks Jamie.
Rob
i use pro peak constellations, you can pick them up off ebay 2nd hand, just type in pro peak and you will see the different ones. you would also need a psu (power supply unit for them) available here http://www.technobots.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Power_Supplies_29.htmlhttp://www.technobots.co.uk/acatalog...pplies_29.html
the 13.8v 20a one at £50 is the one i have and it will run 2 pro peaks.
this is also a link for new chargers
http://www.technobots.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Universal_Chargers_28.htmlhttp://www.technobots.co.uk/acatalog...argers_28.html
i have 2 of the pro peaks, gots mine off ebay for about £30 each 2nd hand.
it may seem all this is alot of expense but you only buy it once and it will last years.
any PC power supply will be a very cheap alternative 12v power supply too.
I dont know how heavily this rule is enforced, but the Robots Live Events Guidelines say All leads, chargers, powers supplies etc. must be correctly rated and be in good condition http://www.robotslive.co.uk/eventguidelines2008.pdfhttp://www.robotslive.co.uk/eventguidelines2008.pdf
Im not sure that an internal power supply taken from an old PC would conform.
Simon
Well ive never been pulled up about it, and i know lots of others that use the same. Not an issue for most events, I didnt know about that one.
Although - PC power supplies are properly rated with the ratings on the side of them. they also cut off if shorted.
As long as the wiring is done properly there is no problem in using a pc power supply.
O.K thanks. Keep it coming. Any advice would be welcome.
thanks,
Rob
You could improve a PC power suppy by fitting it in a nice wooden box. But dont forget any vent holes
KK, but can it be metal?
Thanks,
Rob
i used to just use the normal case, but bought some tidy screw in connectors for bannana plugs from rs/maplins and mounted those onto the standard powersupply case. that meant no external wires, and a tidy little supply.
Home build electricity, by a young guy asking if a metal casing is a good option....
Doesnt require rocket science to figure out what can go wrong.
Yes Robert, a outside casing for a PC powersupply can be made in metal. But then extra care has to be given to insulation, and avoiding chafing damage to wires.
As Grant says, use commercial connectors suited for the job.
But we use for SLA, NiCd NiMH and even LiPo the Swallow chargers we have, those have a build in powersupply, and to make it even better, can be run from a battery.
Ah, Dumb question. I ask a lot of those.
Rob
Robert, there are no dumb questions.
But my remark was spurred by a distinct lack of sleep and a wish to make the point very clear.
Sorry if it came trough to harsh. But thats me with a morning mood. (I work nightshifts, so that was morning for me)
Robert:-
Heres another site that may help you..
http://www.robowars.org/wikka/PageIndexhttp://www.robowars.org/wikka/PageIndex
(Message edited by woody on February 28, 2008)
Mario thats o.k, I do a lot of that as well. I never ever could really get up and still cant. And Woody thanks for all the links.
Thanks
Rob
(Oh and Mario, Im sorry, I didnt want to come across sarcastic, I do genuinely ask loads of dumb questions.)
I did find this shop cheap:
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/All-Battery-Centerhttp://stores.ebay.co.uk/All-Battery-Center