Team 1202 Build Diary

[Spaceman]

Thats helpfull to know. I will try a charge later. On that note the battery says charge not more than 2c ( which i assume is 2 amp). In terms of charge setting whats a safe ampage to charge it at. The charger has options up to 5A

[EpicentrE]

"C" ratings on batteries refer to a multiplier of the capacity. So in this case, 2c is 350 x 2, or 700ma (0.7a). I'd generally recommend just charging at 1c (350ma), though, as I believe it makes the battery last longer (correct me if I'm wrong on this).

[Spaceman]

Entry 2

After a surprisingly quick charge I wired up the bot and It looked something like this:



I should add this is just to see if the thing goes. after a fairly painless pairing the machine sprang to life:



(please excuse the clips length. trying to find the stop button)

And the weight of the thing is such



there is a lot of wire tidying to do and I can prob loose a fair amount of weight from shortening wires etc.

I found initial the bot is quite slow and lacks traction sometimes. I think the lack of a proper castor is not helping it. I used 200rpm motors but in future may use faster.

But its coming together

[BeligerAnt]

Your traction problem is down to weight distribution. Many people use those wheels and I don't think anyone bothers with a castor on the front. Get most of the weight over the wheels and you will have enough traction to be going on with.

If you do decide to cut the balance charger off of the battery pack, be VERY careful and cut one wire at a time. Also be sure to insulate the cut ends of the wires. Shorting out one of these battery packs can easily result in a fire and/or a burn to your hand if you're holding the battery at the time.

[Remote-Controlled Dave]

Always nice when something moves for the first time!
As you have a fair amount of weight remaining, I wouldn't bother cutting off the balance wires. Just stick a big weight over the wheels for more traction.

[Spaceman]

Last night I completly rebuilt the ant,putting the weight over the wheels. It now moves really well and at the moment weighs in at 100g

[peterwaller]

Sounds like you are getting the hang of this fast.
One of the good thing about ants is once you have all the drive and radio working, changing the chassis / bodywork can be relatively quick and painless.

[Spaceman]

Entry 3:

Some pics of the new shape:







Its just a basic wedge atm. has good ground traction now.

[Remote-Controlled Dave]

Its awesome! So neat and well designed.

[Spaceman]

Thankyou. Its got a few more features to add. Still got 25g to play with so want to give it a lid and a sharper wedge. I could almost add a lifter arm but will focus on reinforcement for now.