#robotics Logs

Jan 20 2015

13:47 FAalbers And if you wanna do differnt platforms ... is there one good IDE that can do them all well ?
13:50 billmania FAalbers: My favorite from your list is Arduino.
13:51 billmania My favorite "IDE" for that work is a text editor and the Linux command line.
13:53 FAalbers billmania, How do you do your makes ? Make, Scons ?
13:54 FAalbers What I like about IDE's is that they give you a list of possible methods, easy jumping between headers and code files , etc
13:55 FAalbers It's just so many things to learn. I just want to pick out the best chices in advance
13:57 FAalbers And I'm aslo going the way of 'I don't exactly have a project, but want to know what you can do with these things'
13:58 FAalbers Wel, I am a multirotor builder, so I'm starting there. Motor controlling and sensor read handling.
13:58 billmania FAalbers: I use make from the command line.
13:59 FAalbers billmania, Makefile ... Isn't that considered old ?
14:00 billmania FAalbers: Yes, it's ancient. It's also still what everything uses.
14:01 billmania Your IDE just hides it from you.
14:01 FAalbers yeah , true
14:01 FAalbers We use scons at work.
14:01 FAalbers Off course , you have to add Python to your build system
14:02 FAalbers And that is constantly changing and upgrading
14:02 FAalbers Luckaly github seems to be the big revision control system everyone seems to use.
14:03 FAalbers Anyway , thanks for the info billmania
14:04 billmania FAalbers: You're welcome.
14:04 billmania Happy hacking.
22:22 blib what's a good lipo battery charger that I can reuse later for larger batteries. (5Ah to 10Ah)
22:34 adriftatsea blib , chargers are limited by a) number of cells (ie 2s,4s,etc) and b) charge current (ie 5amps).
22:35 adriftatsea fwiw I use an 'Accucel 6' from HobbyKing that does 6amps and 6s lipo
22:36 adriftatsea and larger packs I just 'bulk charge' with an adjustable, current limited power supply and pray for no fires :)
22:39 adriftatsea eh, all that to say the 'amp hour' ratings (5Ah, 10Ah) don't limit your choice in chargers.
22:43 blib adriftatsea: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__71007__TURNIGY_MEGA_400W_V2_Lithium_Polymer_Battery_Charger_Version_2_AR_Warehouse_.html = Iam thinking of getting this one. Any thoughts?
22:46 adriftatsea Looks good to me. As with all lipo chargers, be sure to exert some amount of caution (ie unplug batteries when done charging) as lipos can be a fire hazard and quality control of cheap chinese chargers is kinda lacking.
22:48 adriftatsea Also be aware you'll need a DC power supply (a repurposed laptop charger, ATX supply, etc). Those will most likely not be able to supply 20A...so a cheaper one like the 'accucel 6' might bea better deal since it does 'only 6 amps vs 20amps peak.
22:49 blib adriftatsea: is there one that just plugs in the wall?
22:52 adriftatsea There is a seperate 'power supply' section on the hobbyking site: http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__20968__Hobbyking_60w_Power_Supply.html
22:52 adriftatsea It's only 4A though (going back to the 'get a cheaper charger' comment)
22:53 blib so I need a 400W PSU ?
22:54 adriftatsea I've used the linked hobbyking one for a short while. Now use a Dell laptop power supply I had laying around and the office use normal switching DC power supplies. You should also google/ebay 'meanwell dc power supplies' if you want more power
22:55 adriftatsea It's just that charger will max out at 400W. So attaching a 60W power supply will limit it to <60W. And attaching a 1000W supply, it would be limited to 400W. Hope that makes sense.
22:55 blib adriftatsea: https://www.pololu.com/product/2588 ?
22:55 blib yes it does
22:56 blib seems like this one includes psu
22:56 blib adriftatsea: I've a 600w psu
22:56 blib how do I connect that to the charger?
22:58 adriftatsea The pololu one looks to have an internal supply. So you'd be good. Just attach the supplied 110V AC power cord to the wall, then the batteries to the charger via +,-, and balance plug.
22:59 blib adriftatsea: I've a 600w psu - Is there a connector that I could use to connect the psu to the charger?
23:00 blib adriftatsea: http://www.corsair.com/en-us/builder-series-cx600
23:00 adriftatsea Your power supply outputs DC, so you'd either chop off the existing power plugs and splice in the supplied connector for the charger DC input. Or make an adapter.
23:03 adriftatsea I gotta drop offline for a bit, but spend some time thinking about what connectors you'd like to use. The XT60s supplied with most lipos are fine, but they require soldering to attach. Im partial to Anderson Powerpoles for all my projects which are crimped on.
23:03 blib do they sell anderson powerpoles on hobby king?
23:05 adriftatsea Nope, more a mouser/digikey/etc thing. use octopart.com when searching for electronic parts. Also HAM radio vendors use them a lot, as they are the standard connectors for emergency rescue folks. Also I think 'powerwerx' sells a cheap version of the ratcheting crimp tool.
23:07 blib adriftatsea: I'm getting a turnigy charger and battery. Hopefully that should be compatible
23:07 blib I can connect my psu to the charger manually
23:08 adriftatsea Yeah, they use the yellow xt60s. Good luck.
23:08 riftatsea goes back to cod
23:23 Triffid_Hunter yeah the accucell 6A is nice, I have one of those. I switched the input DC jack for a bigger one so I could plug my laptop supply directly into it
23:24 Triffid_Hunter whew, just dead-bugged a SC70 package (0.65mm pitch, similar to sot-23-6)
23:28 blib Triffid_Hunter: I'll just use the tunigy because I want to buy their battery
23:31 Triffid_Hunter blib: I charge everything with my accucell, from AAA cells to high power lipos to car batteries
23:32 blib does hobby king sell it?
23:41 blib Triffid_Hunter: doesn't look like hobby king sells it
23:50 Triffid_Hunter blib: hobbyking are the only place that sells them afaik
23:50 Triffid_Hunter I think they rebranded it recently though
23:51 Triffid_Hunter blib: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__7028__Turnigy_Accucel_6_50W_6A_Balancer_Charger_w_Accessories.html
23:52 Triffid_Hunter blib: looks like there's a ton of clones under various names, can tell because they all have the same layout
23:56 blib Triffid_Hunter: is there a power cord that they sell for this unit?
23:56 blib how do you use it to charge AAA batteries? Do you have a casing for the charging?
23:57 Triffid_Hunter blib: probably, but like I said I used a spare laptop brick I had lying around
23:57 Triffid_Hunter blib: I just stuff a couple of wires into the ends of the battery container in the device I'm charging batteries for
23:57 Triffid_Hunter then set it on the NiMH charge profile
23:58 Triffid_Hunter I could make a fancy 3d printed case, or get some proper battery holders but there's no need, that method works fine for me