Monday, May 20, 2002 10:40 PM
The blade can now be spun up without moving the robot by
turning the steering either direction. The steering itself now also works
reasonably (turns out some of the time I was testing it - it hadn't been hooked
up). With the blade at full speed - the bot itself slowly rotates
counter-clockwise about once every 30 seconds.
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The problems with the blade not spinning up, or staying on have been fixed
since I rewired some stuff (although I'm not enitrely clear why).
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In short - it's just about robot fightin time.
I only get about 5 minutes full power out of the 4xAAA batteries I'm using -
meaning my operating costs are about $25 / hour with cheap batteries. I
think the alkalines are having trouble putting out the required current.
I'm sure running everything at twice the voltage it was designed for isn't
helping the drain. I might have better luck with NiMH or NiCD rechargables
even though they have a lower amp/hour rating...
The blade spins much faster now as I've roughly doubled it's voltage.
Result of about three hits to a drinking glass (fairly heavy weight - thicker
than the beer bottle) - actually got sparks to fly on the first couple hits:
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