WIRED UP
[11/24/2004]
It is alive! The electronics are done...for the most part. I still have a connector to
add to the spare battery pack, plus I want to make an additional 4-cell pack (two, actually --
one for the main NiMH pack, and one for the NiCd pack) to boost the power up to 19.2 Volts.
But I don't know if I'll need it. I figured out my new battery charger, so now the NiMH
batteries are getting a full charge. Even at 14.4V, it made quite a difference! The bot
is pretty quick, actually, although I wouldn't mind seeing what 19.2V will do.
I did a quick driving test this evening and had a couple of problems. First, the left motor
was not running. I unplugged the connections and plugged them back in and it worked. This
is a little distressing to me, as this indicates the connection is not reliable. But it is
inside the motor controller, so there is not much I can do.
The other
problem seemed to be an intermittent ability to control the steering. I thought the bot was
just getting hung up on the uneven surface, but after the test drive, I discovered I had spun
a wheel off its hub -- I had not tightened it down, initially! That's why I test a lot.
Anyway, in this picture you
can see the main power switch that I made (the big white block). I can use an allen wrench
to turn the main power on and off without having to remove any panels. I have no similar
access to the receiver power (yet), and I'm not sure what I am going to do about that. I also
do not have any way to charge the batteries without removing a panel.
Here you can see the access hole for the power switch on the outer panel. You can also see
the counter-sunk screws that hold the main panel down. I re-tapped all the holes for 10-32
bolts (since I had a box of them, already). And, hey, they're Phillips head screws instead
of those screwey slotted screws! That's a step up, anyway, in my opinion.
And here is the completed robot. Well, I refrain from calling it complete, but it is
functional. I could put it into battle right now if I wanted to. However, I have plans to
pay a visit to my friend Ed and get some Titanium on one or both of the main wedge tops. I
also need to get some graphics on it. I was thinking if we could print something on some plastic
sheets that could be ironed on, then the graphics could be easily restored after a battle.
Also, I'm thinking the name "Slap Happy" doesn't quite fit anymore, since there is no weapon
on it. I think the robot looks kind of like the delta flyer on Star Trek Voyager, but someone
pointed out it looked like a Tholian ship from the original series (the Tholian Web episode).
For now, it is still Slap Happy, but the name may change before it goes into battle. The
rumble is Sunday, December 5.