Getting started, what do I need?

[stu]

LOL! oh dear.

http://www.overlander.co.ukhttp://www.overlander.co.uk seem to be able to tell you nearly everything you need to know about battery packs. go to electric flying packs section and search the pages. Just find a pack which uses the same kind of cells that you have, and it will tell you.

But for instance, the GP3300mAh pack on overlander says 35amps + contin.
It is atually 45amps contin, but thats when the pack has been made up decent. Eg with DECENT battery bars and soldered wire - not spot soldered/welded - thats poo and limits the amount of current coming out of the packs.

Mr Stu

[gizz]

Ok i have been wondering about drillmotors too, have found some cheap 18V drillmotors that are quite appealing (maybe spellt wrong, im swedish ) but then i wonder, do i have to buy a speedcontroller? If im not wrong then there is a speedcontroller on a handdrill right from the start? And one more thing, should i go for like a ~3000mAh NiCd battery pack to a R/C transmitter or something?

Just so you know, a 3Ah Ni-Cd battery is larger than most other battery packs for radio controlled cars. So they weigh more and are more expensive.

Concerning the speed controllers in the drills:
http://www.fightingrobots.co.uk/discus/messages/25/1201.htmlhttp://www.fightingrobots.co.uk/disc...s/25/1201.html

[stu]

Yes its to do with the sizes etc.
A 3Ah Ni-Cd Cell HAS to be a C size cell to get that much capacity into a NiCad cell.

Ni-Mh can be a Sub C cell size and still get 3Ah into it, but less discahrge current thou.

Again you have to mix and match the NiCd and Ni-Mh cells to your robots use. Some people can get away with 2200mAh Ni-Mh packs, some people can only JUST about cope with a 3Ah Nicd pack. Depends on many things.

Mr Stu

[blazerbotics]

alpha runs a 3Ah 24v Botpack, and they still get very hot after use and i only have enough power for one fight (although can do two if im carefull). Where as G3 was running a pair of very old 7.2v 1.5ah Nicads (race packs) and he still had enough for two fights. It just shows you the difference between robots.

[stu]

Yep there you go. Really is on what your robot is meant to do.

Mr Stu

[gizz]

OK i see. Im thinking of a ordinary pucher as it will be my first real robot (except for an ant) so im just glad to get it running ok NiMh sounds like a better choice then

pucher? u mean pusher? if so then use NiCads, NiMh wont supply the power for a decent pusher.

[ewan]

Alan... I think my robot proves you wrong
As long as you get decent cells (GP 3300mah being- I think- the best) then you can make pushers quite easily with ni-mh. But thats only the case if you use the right motors.

[blazerbotics]

but in all fairness MM isnt as powerfull as alpha, and alpha has had a lot more fights then MM.