Please can someone answer my final few questions to finish?

[daveimi]

I have a few questions I wanted to ask with my last few queries so that I can hit my target of getting finished for the spring. If anyone can answer one or all of them I'd be most appreciative.

1. Are Giant Kod Radio's for forty quid any good? Will it work ok in The Roasting Dish of Doom? Has anyone tried one and found it to jump, skitter, lose signal, get interference etc? The final part of this question is will this radio setup work ok with my 2x12 Sabertooth?

2. I want to use double sided sticky foam to stick my receiver and Sabertooth to the bottom of the roasting dish. Does the metal surround of a Sabertooth act as a heatsink thus making this a bad idea?

3. Which events out of all of them do I need to enter to prevent my robot getting smashed to pieces? This is as in which event can I enter that won't have spinners and other mental robots around where I can just learn the ropes?

4. What is the most common way of making the required removable link and LED, and where can I buy these from?

5. Is there a calender put together of all the yearly events from all of the different organisers so I can see at a glance a chronological order of the combat year? If not would anyone be interested in me posting one if it doesn't already exist?

6. Can anyone suggest a crazy powerful pre-build motor and gearbox combination in the same vain as Gimson's that an idiot like me can prepackage into their own body? I'm looking for Speed 900 power without the faff of trying to make a gearbox.

As a final note, to say thank you for any help given by everyone over the last 6 months I can probably answer any of your pc/laptop/server questions and suggest courses of action or give recommendations and to a possible solution.

Thanks again in advance

Dangerous Dave

[harry hills]

Re: Please can someone answer my final few questions to fini

Hi,
If by giant kod you mean giant shark then their cheap radiolink TX/RX's are okay, not the best quality in the world but they will work. I would advise going spectrum. a DX5e won't be that much more and will be far, far better quality.
Best bolt the sabertooth, and shock mount it. Those things are delicate! RX's can be zip tied or probbably held down with the sticky foam.
only the Robochallange featherweight events such as the champs have spinners.
removable links are normally just some deans connectors , not hard at all to make. or you can buy pre made ones and mounts if you so wish from Robochallange. LED's are just LED's. you can buy them from Technobots or Gimson robotics.
events calender is on the FRA homepage.

Hope this is vaguely helpful.

[Max]

Re: Please can someone answer my final few questions to fini

You can buy 12v or 24v LEDs ready assembled from technobots. To make a removable link you conduct one side of a deans connector to one of the wires going from the battery to the sabertooth, then on the male part of the deans connector you just solder a wire across the 2 pins.
With the powerful motors I think the desalt motors from robot marketplace are very powerful, thy also have a bunch of otherPowerful motors on there.

[typhoon_driver]

Re: Please can someone answer my final few questions to fini

1. Are Giant Kod Radio's for forty quid any good? Will it work ok in The Roasting Dish of Doom? Has anyone tried one and found it to jump, skitter, lose signal, get interference etc? The final part of this question is will this radio setup work ok with my 2x12 Sabertooth?

- They work although I can't speak from personal experience. I'd always recommend going for something a bit more expensive as you get what you pay for but if it's all you can afford then it should suffice. It should work with a sabertooth as it takes a standard receiver signal.

2. I want to use double sided sticky foam to stick my receiver and Sabertooth to the bottom of the roasting dish. Does the metal surround of a Sabertooth act as a heatsink thus making this a bad idea?

- Again it will work but I would recommend securing them with bolts. Take the time to do it properly otherwise you may well end up replacing them sooner than you would like.

3. Which events out of all of them do I need to enter to prevent my robot getting smashed to pieces? This is as in which event can I enter that won't have spinners and other mental robots around where I can just learn the ropes?

- Any event. The featherweight championships are the ones with spinners so you may wish to avoid these however they are also the ones with the most interesting variety of machines. The robochallenge guys are having a second event in yeovil which will be more relaxed. Heavyweight event's usually have featherweights at them as well. Contact the event organisers to find out the details or look on the threads in the forum.

4. What is the most common way of making the required removable link and LED, and where can I buy these from?

- I make my own however you can buy hardware etc from technobots http://www.technobotsonline.com/opto-el ... dware.html or ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_trksi ... &_from=R40

5. Is there a calender put together of all the yearly events from all of the different organisers so I can see at a glance a chronological order of the combat year? If not would anyone be interested in me posting one if it doesn't already exist?

- No and no. There are a couple of lists from roaming robots and robots live of some events in the general forum however just take a look through the live events discussion section

6. Can anyone suggest a crazy powerful pre-build motor and gearbox combination in the same vain as Gimson's that an idiot like me can prepackage into their own body? I'm looking for Speed 900 power without the faff of trying to make a gearbox.

- you mean like this? http://www.robotmarketplace.com/product ... UM775.html

[typhoon_driver]

Re: Please can someone answer my final few questions to fini

Oh and if you are running anything with the power output of a speed 900 you WILL BLOW that sabertooth

[psychostorm]

Re: Please can someone answer my final few questions to fini

5. Is there a calender put together of all the yearly events from all of the different organisers so I can see at a glance a chronological order of the combat year? If not would anyone be interested in me posting one if it doesn't already exist?

Nearest thing we have
http://www.fightingrobots.co.uk/events

[daveimi]

Re: Please can someone answer my final few questions to fini

Thanku for the replies that's exactly what I was looking for

@typhoon driver - Yeah thats the type of thing I'm looking at, and I know the 2x12 wil blow. I want to build something a bit La Machine / Punjar for robot number 2 so will be getting something substantial for that.

I'm gonna look at a better radio than a Giant Shark I think.

And thanks for the info on making a removable link with a Deans connector, I'm alright with soldering so I can crack on with that.

I'll have a rummage through the events pages, and with regards to stickyfoaming the Sabertooth I'll bolt it on lol.

Thanku for the advice

[RogueTwoRobots]

Re: Please can someone answer my final few questions to fini

Not sure what the quality or operation is like, but the Spektrum DX4 is a low-cost option:

http://robotbirds.com/catalog/product_i ... ts_id=7111

Compatible receivers can be bought on eBay for ~£10, such as:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_trksi ... &_from=R40

[Bodge Job]

Re: Please can someone answer my final few questions to fini

I think that's a fake

Attention: Horizon Hobby has confirmed that all Spektrum Products being sold by KoKo Technology are counterfeit. We consider it a danger to use these products, waive all liability and will not support any warranty or service in regards to them.

Unless I took this message the wrong way?

[PJ-27]

Re: Please can someone answer my final few questions to fini

I believe the DX4 is a real thing, but there are copies going around.

http://www.spektrumrc.com/Products/Defa ... D=SPMR4400

http://www.rc-choppers.com/index.cfm/pr ... RCChoppers

My experience of the Radio Link set is that it's a waste of time, binned ours in the end.
The Rxs would stop binding, so you replace them, then they stop binding and then when there's loads of interference (like at an event) they refuse to connect.

I wouldn't worry about additional heatsinking the Sabertooth, the current/temp cut off will kick in before any heatsinking can take place. 12v motors on 12v is their max.
Many people advise hot glue gunning the capacitors to the board since they can work loose with shock.
Pretty much any radio set up will work with these ESCs.

[daveimi]

Re: Please can someone answer my final few questions to fini

This is a stupid question but is a Radio Link set the £40 they sell at Giant Kod?

[PJ-27]

Re: Please can someone answer my final few questions to fini

Yarp, they sell several variations:

http://www.giantshark.co.uk/giantcod-24 ... 03779.html

They also sell a FlySky set that is re-branded in many guises.

[daveimi]

Re: Please can someone answer my final few questions to fini

Ok so the radio in the Link is the one you're saying was a nightmare? ie the cheap £40 stuff?

[PJ-27]

Re: Please can someone answer my final few questions to fini

Yeh I wouldn't bother with it, and it's more like £25.

[duff]

Re: Please can someone answer my final few questions to fini

There's a guy on the robotwars101.org forum selling a dx6i for £75 posted. Its a bit more than the others, but you'll never need to buy another transmitter. Definitely worth considering if you can stretch your budget a little.

http://robotwars101.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1986