Robonova Batteries...
Robonova Batteries...
by PaulL
Sun Jul 07, 2013 3:17 am
If you still have your original NiMh Robonova-1 batteries, they're probably bad.
Some time back, I forget when, I tried to use my stock battery to power a bot. The battery had gone bad. I have another RN-1 I got off ebay, that battery was also bad.
These came out more than 5 years ago, seems the batteries are giving out right about ... NOW.
I checked the Robosavvy store, and could not find anything to fit a stock RN-1.
I did find a possible solution (even has 1500 mAh instead of the stock 1000 mAH!):
Cells:
http://www.onlybatterypacks.com/showitem.asp?ItemID=11471.21
Battery Connecting Strip:
http://www.onlybatterypacks.com/showitem.asp?ItemID=10731.29
Heat Shrink:
http://www.onlybatterypacks.com/showitem.asp?ItemID=12775.119
Actually, you know what? I just ordered this stuff to try it out. Even though my current efforts are a bit beyond the stock RN-1, I have stock RN-1's but no good packs.
I'd like to try out my hip mod on a stock RN-1 anyway.
The HSR-8498's are said to be able to run on 7.4v, but I personally haven't tried them on 7.4, nor have I tried the MRC-3024 on 7.4.
I haven't had a whole lot of luck finding LiPo packs that fit the stock RN-1 battery location. The best I've found are some IPS 2400 mAh receiver packs, 20C, but lately I haven't been able to find them.
Some time back, I forget when, I tried to use my stock battery to power a bot. The battery had gone bad. I have another RN-1 I got off ebay, that battery was also bad.
These came out more than 5 years ago, seems the batteries are giving out right about ... NOW.
I checked the Robosavvy store, and could not find anything to fit a stock RN-1.
I did find a possible solution (even has 1500 mAh instead of the stock 1000 mAH!):
Cells:
http://www.onlybatterypacks.com/showitem.asp?ItemID=11471.21
Battery Connecting Strip:
http://www.onlybatterypacks.com/showitem.asp?ItemID=10731.29
Heat Shrink:
http://www.onlybatterypacks.com/showitem.asp?ItemID=12775.119
Actually, you know what? I just ordered this stuff to try it out. Even though my current efforts are a bit beyond the stock RN-1, I have stock RN-1's but no good packs.
I'd like to try out my hip mod on a stock RN-1 anyway.
The HSR-8498's are said to be able to run on 7.4v, but I personally haven't tried them on 7.4, nor have I tried the MRC-3024 on 7.4.
I haven't had a whole lot of luck finding LiPo packs that fit the stock RN-1 battery location. The best I've found are some IPS 2400 mAh receiver packs, 20C, but lately I haven't been able to find them.
by PaulL
Sat Jul 13, 2013 7:43 am
Update...
The heat shrink I ordered was too large (edited for 77mm in above post). That's what I get for not measuring. About the best fit will be 77 mm heat shrink.
These packs are SLIGHTLY heavier than the stock ones < 20 gram difference using a cheap postal scale.
Otherwise, these batteries are the same size as the stock ones.
I used some clear shrink I had lying around from my RC hobby days that I ended up trying on one pack, I'll build the other pack and re-shrink the first one once I get the right sized stuff.
If by chance you end up ordering this stuff, or similar, here are a few tips:
* Use battery connecting strip (tin, etc) in the same configuration as the stock pack. The only difference I might recommend is to route the negative strip to the black wire through the middle of the 4 cells arranged in a square (might cut through the heat shrink if on the outside like the stock pack). You'll need to solder the black wire to the strip before you solder the strip to the battery and use caution not to heat the strip and cause the solder on that end of the strip to re-melt when solderiong the strip to the battery.
* If you don't use a connecting strip on the negative terminal of the pack, you'll lose some length on your battery wire.
* Don't cut the stock wiring! I cut the shrink off and de-soldered the old strip from the wire and touched the wire up with fresh solder.
* You can forego the one strip for the positive wire and just solder the wire right to the cell.
* Keep solder amount to a minimum, and try to keep the strips as flat as you can. It helps to straighten them out before you try to solder them down. At the same time, you want a good solid connection with good "flow" of solder between the strip and the battery.
* Make sure to lightly sand the ends of the cells to remove any oxide and provide a clean surface. Tin the ends of the cells with a minimal amount of solder, just enough to "wet" it in an area a bit bigger in diameter than the strip's width.
* Use an iron / gun with sufficient heat. I used my trusty ole' Weller 135 watt. However, try your best not to heat up the cells with the iron or gun, this may take some life off of them. You might want to stop and let the cell cool down if you're having trouble.
* Before you solder anything, glue the cells together in the same arrangement as the stock pack (positive / negative ends). I used thin CA with Zip Kicker from a q-tip to speed up the cure time. Just a drop on either side where the cells touch will wick down the entire length. It helps to use a square corner to line up the cells.
If you've built sub-c RC packs, the process is really no different:
1. Line up and square up the cells and glue them together.
2. Sand the ends of the cells, tin them with solder.
3. Solder battery bars / connecting strips between the cells.
4. Solder the wires to the ends (to strip or battery terminal).
I don't enjoy making up packs - the biggest pain for me is soldering the cells, and I've done more soldering in my life than most (I soldered boards at my first job, thousands of them, nearly 20 years ago). It's difficult to get a good looking result - but, with patience, you can get a result that will work well (good flow, no "cold solder"). That said, these cells are easier to work than sub-c packs.
I did a slow charge on these, 200 mA overnight. I used an Imax B6, I pulled the terminals out of the connector and used alligator clips on the terminals. The cells took a bit over 1800 mAh (over 9 hours). I haven't done a discharge on them to see how many mAh they'll deliver, but I bet it's pretty close to the rated 1500 mAh.
The Robonova battery charger should work fine with these cells (haven't tried it yet), it'll just take a little longer, but you'll get more run time as a result. As with all NiCd / NiMh cells, it's said that the cells will take a few cycles to come up to their potential.
These should make a great replacement for the stock pack, and a few more mAh doesn't hurt.
Take Care,
Paul
PS - A word of caution - if you haven't soldered before, this isn't going to be fun, and I don't recommend this as a first soldering project...
The heat shrink I ordered was too large (edited for 77mm in above post). That's what I get for not measuring.
About the best fit will be 77 mm heat shrink.
These packs are SLIGHTLY heavier than the stock ones < 20 gram difference using a cheap postal scale.
Otherwise, these batteries are the same size as the stock ones.
I used some clear shrink I had lying around from my RC hobby days that I ended up trying on one pack, I'll build the other pack and re-shrink the first one once I get the right sized stuff.
If by chance you end up ordering this stuff, or similar, here are a few tips:
* Use battery connecting strip (tin, etc) in the same configuration as the stock pack. The only difference I might recommend is to route the negative strip to the black wire through the middle of the 4 cells arranged in a square (might cut through the heat shrink if on the outside like the stock pack). You'll need to solder the black wire to the strip before you solder the strip to the battery and use caution not to heat the strip and cause the solder on that end of the strip to re-melt when solderiong the strip to the battery.
* If you don't use a connecting strip on the negative terminal of the pack, you'll lose some length on your battery wire.
* Don't cut the stock wiring! I cut the shrink off and de-soldered the old strip from the wire and touched the wire up with fresh solder.
* You can forego the one strip for the positive wire and just solder the wire right to the cell.
* Keep solder amount to a minimum, and try to keep the strips as flat as you can. It helps to straighten them out before you try to solder them down. At the same time, you want a good solid connection with good "flow" of solder between the strip and the battery.
* Make sure to lightly sand the ends of the cells to remove any oxide and provide a clean surface. Tin the ends of the cells with a minimal amount of solder, just enough to "wet" it in an area a bit bigger in diameter than the strip's width.
* Use an iron / gun with sufficient heat. I used my trusty ole' Weller 135 watt. However, try your best not to heat up the cells with the iron or gun, this may take some life off of them. You might want to stop and let the cell cool down if you're having trouble.
* Before you solder anything, glue the cells together in the same arrangement as the stock pack (positive / negative ends). I used thin CA with Zip Kicker from a q-tip to speed up the cure time. Just a drop on either side where the cells touch will wick down the entire length. It helps to use a square corner to line up the cells.
If you've built sub-c RC packs, the process is really no different:
1. Line up and square up the cells and glue them together.
2. Sand the ends of the cells, tin them with solder.
3. Solder battery bars / connecting strips between the cells.
4. Solder the wires to the ends (to strip or battery terminal).
I don't enjoy making up packs - the biggest pain for me is soldering the cells, and I've done more soldering in my life than most (I soldered boards at my first job, thousands of them, nearly 20 years ago). It's difficult to get a good looking result - but, with patience, you can get a result that will work well (good flow, no "cold solder"). That said, these cells are easier to work than sub-c packs.
I did a slow charge on these, 200 mA overnight. I used an Imax B6, I pulled the terminals out of the connector and used alligator clips on the terminals. The cells took a bit over 1800 mAh (over 9 hours). I haven't done a discharge on them to see how many mAh they'll deliver, but I bet it's pretty close to the rated 1500 mAh.
The Robonova battery charger should work fine with these cells (haven't tried it yet), it'll just take a little longer, but you'll get more run time as a result. As with all NiCd / NiMh cells, it's said that the cells will take a few cycles to come up to their potential.
These should make a great replacement for the stock pack, and a few more mAh doesn't hurt.
Take Care,
Paul
PS - A word of caution - if you haven't soldered before, this isn't going to be fun, and I don't recommend this as a first soldering project...
Battery pack
by Size9feet
Wed Jul 24, 2013 11:11 pm
Hello mate been having same prob with batteries so looked
Around and found these at www.smallbattery.company.org.uk
Under .......industrial batteries ....
NiMH 2/3A 1000 mAh with tags
1.2V, 1000 mAh, up to 1000 cycles, weight 19.0 g, diameter 17.0 mm, height 28.5 mm. Soldered them up, battery charges well but got very warm but my main prob is my led goes out then flashes and will not connect to my pc when I turn it on the servos do tighten up but not like it should , any help would be great
Cheers size9feet
Around and found these at www.smallbattery.company.org.uk
Under .......industrial batteries ....
NiMH 2/3A 1000 mAh with tags
1.2V, 1000 mAh, up to 1000 cycles, weight 19.0 g, diameter 17.0 mm, height 28.5 mm. Soldered them up, battery charges well but got very warm but my main prob is my led goes out then flashes and will not connect to my pc when I turn it on the servos do tighten up but not like it should , any help would be great
Cheers size9feet
by PaulL
Thu Jul 25, 2013 12:15 am
Do you have a volt meter? An oscilloscope would be great. You might want to check the voltage at the battery and see if it's holding the charge with the bot powered on.
How long did the pack take to charge? It should take a good while on the stock RN-1 charger, like overnight. A new pack can false peak...
You might want to check the voltage at the battery and see if it's holding the charge with the bot powered on.
How long did the pack take to charge? It should take a good while on the stock RN-1 charger, like overnight. A new pack can false peak...
by Size9feet
Fri Jul 26, 2013 1:06 am
Well got a volt meter today tested my batteries and got a reading of 7.02 after a 2 & half hour charge connected it to robonova tested other side of white connecter block and got reading of 6.94 is this ok ......?? Even disconnected all servos , then plugged into pc still will not talk and blue led keeps flashing arrhhh doing my head in
Got similar results with my other 2 batteries even the one that I built witch surprised me lol
Maybe my mr-c3024 is no good .......?
I am lost
Got similar results with my other 2 batteries even the one that I built witch surprised me lol
Maybe my mr-c3024 is no good .......?
I am lost
by PaulL
Fri Jul 26, 2013 11:48 am
I looked up your posts, and I see you got this guy off ebay.
The stock program could have been changed, that may be the reason for the flashing instead of this being power related. Does it beep when you turn it on?
The voltage reading of 6.94v is good, was this with the power to the board turned on?
How is this connected to the PC, are you using a serial to USB adapter or anything like that? What version of Windows?
The stock program could have been changed, that may be the reason for the flashing instead of this being power related. Does it beep when you turn it on?
The voltage reading of 6.94v is good, was this with the power to the board turned on?
How is this connected to the PC, are you using a serial to USB adapter or anything like that? What version of Windows?
by Size9feet
Sat Aug 03, 2013 8:46 pm
Hmmm no it does not beep when turned on .... I use com port 1 on my old pc and I am running windows xp and using the original communication cable that came with it ..... When I got it from eBay it was up and running with robobasic I could open it up and controll him via clicking communication click com port 1 and make him do the preset moves like head stand and all the other moves worked as well..... it wasn't till I down loaded v2.72 or 2.82 not sure now but I do remember it asking me something and I just clicked yes then problems started ..... Thinking of putting it back on eBay if cant get it sorted paid £400 for it...... could do with someone else looking at it as its beyond my brain capabilities now
Cheers for your help
Cheers for your help