Subject:
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Re: A recharge BOT?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.robotics
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Date:
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Tue, 25 Jan 2000 17:04:24 GMT
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Original-From:
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alex wetmore <ALEX@nospamPHRED.ORG>
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Viewed:
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779 times
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From: "John A. Tamplin" <jat@liveonthenet.com>
> On Tue, 25 Jan 2000, Dean Husby wrote:
>
> > > Did anyone try to build a bot with the capability of recharging its
> > > rechargable batteries? I wonder if it is possible. Can you recharge • the
> > > batteries when they are still with in the RCX?
> > > I want to try this without blowing up my RCX. My both should wander • around, and
> > > when its battery status is low it should go to the light source where • it
> > > can recharge its batteries, untill 99%. With this no over-charging • would occur.
> >
> > Sadly, LEGO made the Battery status not avail to the BOT. Only to a PC. • Maybe in
> > the new firmware update they will fix this oversight. That and allow • programming of
> > the Display counter with vars...
>
> The hardware has the battery supply voltage connected to the 4th A/D input
> port, so using legOS you can definitely get the battery voltage, and I • would
> expect other replacement firmware systems (ie, pbForth) to also offer that
> capability. If not, it would trivial to add that support.
A bigger issue is that the RCX doesn't have a battery charger. You would
need to use external batteries that plug in through the power jack found on
older RCX bricks. I'm not sure if the voltage on this input is available.
Finally, most rechargable batteries (especially NiCads and NiMH cells) have
a very flat discharge curve. When their dead your power falls off suddenly.
It is quite likely that your robot would be stranded without enough power to
get back to the charging station. You could use a 6v leadacid battery
(which has a much more linear discharge curve), but they weigh a lot more.
The other advantages to the leadacid battery are that they are cheap and
easy to charge (especially if you get a Gates Cyclon brand gel cell).
Many of the more advanced modern battery systems keep track of the current
being drawn from the battery and know the capacity of the battery to keep
track of the charge state and how much battery lifetime is remaining. This
sort of logic isn't built into the RCX.
alex
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: A recharge BOT?
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| Couldn't you run some wires into the battery pack and have them connect to the leads on a charger mounted on a wall somewhere? Or would you still have to worry about frying your RCX? A bigger issue is that the RCX doesn't have a battery charger. You (...) (25 years ago, 26-Jan-00, to lugnet.robotics)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: A recharge BOT?
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| (...) The hardware has the battery supply voltage connected to the 4th A/D input port, so using legOS you can definitely get the battery voltage, and I would expect other replacement firmware systems (ie, pbForth) to also offer that capability. If (...) (25 years ago, 25-Jan-00, to lugnet.robotics)
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