hax!

[gfish]

I've spent the last month largely working on code to integrate data from the new LIDAR unit on the robot for the competition next week. We finally got everything mounted and running on the new robot this week, and started testing. It worked great for static tests, but started to fail horribly once the bot was moving. Like the voltage fluctuation caused by the motors running was messing up the LIDAR hardware. Ugh.

So yesterday I hacked up a really ugly power filter... and it worked! (I think. The bot hasn't been free for too much testing yet.)



Yay for getting my hands dirty. This is a great lab, but they don't do much custom hardware. (I couldn't even find a third hand for the soldering, hence the horrible mess.) I miss the smell of machine oil.

T-2 days until we fly to Anchorage.

Comments

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

That's kinda cool... schematic or text equivalent? I might need something like that someday...

Good luck in Alaska!

[niac.livejournal.com]

I think it's:

+V -------+--------- +V
          |
          |
          +--|(---+
                  |
-V ---------------+- -V

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

*nods* I thought that was a filter capacitor... any idea what size one might use? Those little connectors don't pass more than about 25-30W usually... (Your average disk drive is rated at 17W)

[gfish.livejournal.com]

Pretty much, with 2 1N4004 diodes in parallel before the 470uF cap, to isolate the circuit.

[niac.livejournal.com]

A good hack, to be sure. :) Should I send you some 3-in-1 oil? ;)