Joined: 16 Jun 2004
Posts: 11802
Location: Sydney, NSW
The last time I was there to pick up a pottery kiln for my sister, two people came in for metal kiln parts and upgrades. If they had 2 customers in 15 minutes for heat treating then they must have plenty of contacts.
I like a 90W iron for XT90 connectors - gets he job done fast with minimal plastic melting. If you are looking to upgrade, don't bother with Bunnings soldering irons - they are crap and will wear out super fast or the heaters will die. Get a better quality Weller soldering iron from RS Components or similar on-line shop. Also try solder with some silver in the mix; 2% silver in tin / lead solder makes a huge difference to how the solder flows & wets connections. Conversely, ROHS lead-free solder is a PITA to work with; much harder to get that stuff to flow on to connections without much extra heat & flux. _________________ Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion
Sun Jul 16, 2017 8:40 pm
MoonSet416
Joined: 25 Sep 2016
Posts: 436
Location: Sydney
Thanks for the advice. I will try to get a higher powered iron soon.
A place called RJ Heat Treat just said they could do the job for 30 dollars in just a few days. I guess I will go with that then.
Mon Jul 17, 2017 4:09 pm
Nick Experienced Roboteer
Joined: 16 Jun 2004
Posts: 11802
Location: Sydney, NSW
That's an excellent price! _________________ Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion
Mon Jul 17, 2017 4:25 pm
MoonSet416
Joined: 25 Sep 2016
Posts: 436
Location: Sydney
Update:
Finished soldering most things...
However, when I plugged in the battery there was a spark at the plug and one of the drive motors twitched a few times. What kind of problem do I have?
Wed Jul 19, 2017 9:10 pm
Nick Experienced Roboteer
Joined: 16 Jun 2004
Posts: 11802
Location: Sydney, NSW
It might not be a problem - there will always be a spark when you plug in the battery or the power link due to the capacitors on the ESCs charging up. Having the motors twitch may be something that particular model does. As long as nothing caught fire, you are at least half way there . The drive motor ESCs are suspiciously small, what current are they rated for? Also what are the small black devices connected between the drive ESCs and the motors? _________________ Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion
Wed Jul 19, 2017 9:36 pm
MoonSet416
Joined: 25 Sep 2016
Posts: 436
Location: Sydney
Glad to hear that. I'll keep testing the circuit.
The drive ESCs are the Botbitz 30As. The small devices you see are probably XT90s. I just realized that if the motors are soldered the wrong way I can't really do much about that... Is there a way to reverse certain channels in the Tx/Rx?
Wed Jul 19, 2017 9:49 pm
Nick Experienced Roboteer
Joined: 16 Jun 2004
Posts: 11802
Location: Sydney, NSW
Most transmitters have a function to reverse the direction of the servo on each channel. if you are mixing in the transmitter, then changing the direction of steering or throttle should do the trick. _________________ Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion
EIDT: Nevermind... I didn't read the Botbitz page closely enough.
Last edited by MoonSet416 on Thu Jul 20, 2017 9:07 pm; edited 1 time in total
Thu Jul 20, 2017 9:01 pm
MoonSet416
Joined: 25 Sep 2016
Posts: 436
Location: Sydney
Question:
How do I get my bot to Brisbane? I will fly there, but I wonder if ppl here usually carry the bots on the plane or have them as checked baggage? (especially the batteries)
Thu Jul 20, 2017 9:06 pm
chunkulator
Joined: 27 Jul 2016
Posts: 219
Check the luggage rules of the particular airline you're flying on in detail. When I last flew with qantas the rules where that one LiPo can be in the equipment (which you will need to check given that hand luggage must be under 7kg) which must be securely disabled and all spare batteries have to be in hand luggage in a hard case with caps over the terminals. You can get silicone rubber caps for xt60s at hobbyking. Not sure about xt90s.
Thu Jul 20, 2017 9:29 pm
MoonSet416
Joined: 25 Sep 2016
Posts: 436
Location: Sydney
Thanks for the info.
My battery happens to have HXT plugs for some reason... I guess I could seal off another plug with glue and plug it onto the battery.
Thu Jul 20, 2017 11:57 pm
Nick Experienced Roboteer
Joined: 16 Jun 2004
Posts: 11802
Location: Sydney, NSW
Just wrapping some duct or electrical tape over the connectors should be enough. _________________ Australian 2015 Featherweight champion
UK 2016 Gladiator champion
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