Help with choosing parts for a first robot, please.

[dotDominic]

I just bought some of these since they were the same as the connector that came with the battery:
https://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/...dProduct=34477

Ok, sure. Heat shrink it is, then. But what thickness of heat shrink is usually needed? I did order some a few days ago but turns out it is the wrong thickness. :/

The link has to be in an easy to reach place, though, right?

Thanks very much for these responses!

[shakesc]

XT60 do close up over time making them a looser fit. You can wiggle the pins apart slightly to make them a tighter fit to reduce risk of the link falling out

[Rapidrory]

But then again, most electrical products don't need taking apart in a hurry :L You're right though, heatshrink is generally better practice, but I have more insulating tape than I do heatshrink or patience!

Going back to removable links; can't remember if it got mentioned before, but make sure it's secure and somewhere it can't get knocked out. Nothing is more annoying than losing a fight cause your link fell out

[Ellis]

I would actually suggest you do try to use heatshrink. It's just good practice. All electrical products use heatshrink, which says something.

[Garfie489]

XT60s make great links because they have a very firm grip onto themselves which means they dont shake off easily.

Inversely however, they can sometimes be quite hard to remove by hand when you need to for the same reason :P

Make sure its either mounted well, or left completely loose and you wont get anything better for the ease of use

[dotDominic]

Cool, thanks very much! I might as well just use insulating tape then.

[Rapidrory]

I just wrap insulating tape around the solder joints instead of heatshrink, but I know most people like to use heatshrink for it... can be a bit of a pain if you forget to put the heatshrink on before soldering it up though.

XT60s are fine for a removable link; it's what I use, as well as quite a lot of people use.

And yeah, those connectors are the same as on the battery, so you'd need some of them... You could also use those instead of XT60s for the rest of the bot if you didn't want to buy 2 sets of connectors.

[dotDominic]

Right ok, thanks for these quick responses! I was also a silly sausage and didn't buy the right size of heat shrink for covering the joins between connectors & wires. Just wondering what do people usually use for that?
Thinking I might need to buy more wire too, so I might as well return the XT90s and buy XT60s instead. Are XT60s ok for a removable link too?
Sorry about more questions, just wanted to double check: Is the connector on the end of this battery I've bought ( http://www.hobbyking.co.uk/hobbyking...Lipo_Pack.html ) the same as this: http://www.hobbyking.co.uk/hobbyking...0pcs_set_.html ?
And if it is the same, I'd therefore need to buy those connectors too, right?

[Ellis]

I tend to use Deans/XT connectors, but anything along that scale is fine. For drills you could use 14awg comfortably, but I would still make the main power lines (LiPo/fuse/link/up to distribution for the ESCs) 12awg. Spinners and big weapons in feathers use heavier (10awg and sometimes 8awg), so you'll use it up for sure.

[Niels - Team K.a.L.M.]

I use 12 and 14 awg wires in my machines.
XT90's are somewhat big but will do the job.

[Rapidrory]

I use XT60s generally, and anything with a rating of 30amps or over is fine for drill motor drive. A good rule of thumb is that the connectors you use don't need to be any larger than the one on the battery, as that takes the most current of all of them. If you have the space, there's nothing wrong with using XT90s, they're just a little overkill unless you have a big electric weapon fitted. 12 AWG cable is about right for a feather if I remember correctly.

[dotDominic]

Ok, so I've just received a bunch of parts from hobbyking. (Yay!) But I'm starting to think I went a bit overkill when I bought XT90 connecters & 12 AWG wire for a featherweight. Not sure why I didn't ask for any advice on here - I was terrified of buying some with too low a rating and having everything blow up. Thankfully I haven't opened anything so it can be returned/refunded, I think.
But anyway, what are recommended wires & connectors for a featherweight? Does it depend on the Motors/ESCs/Batteries used?

[dotDominic]

Haha, thanks very much!

Cool! Well, it certainly looks the business!

[Garfie489]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0088HS52...051_TE_3p_dp_2
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0088HR7L...051_TE_3p_dp_1
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0088HSOI...986871_TE_item
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0088HRPV...986871_TE_item

You will look at the size and think its far more than you ever need in your lifetime, and it is. But something 5 times smaller is only £2 off, so you might aswell get the stupid roll.

And yes, Utopia Mk2 is new to this year. Its first event was at Ally Pally in Jan. Has some problems relating to self righting atm

[dotDominic]

Cool, thanks for the advice. Where did you get the sticker sheets from?

That's a really cool looking robot by the way! Is it new?