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Low-Voltage Alarm
Posted Sunday March 18, 2007 at 9:19 pm
(3 years ago)
Well, I got some new batteries on Friday, and the tail's still acting funky, so there's good news and bad news. Good news: I'm up one battery that I thought must've gone bad. Bad news: Still no flying! I ordered a new main motor, since they're cheap and that's the last possible thing that could be broken other than the 4-in-1 controller. Motors are both cheap and short-lived, unlike the 4-in-1. I really rather not have to buy a new 4-in-1 if I don't have to, seeing that they're expensive and will have little value in any future projects.
I did take it out to the park on Saturday morning and did my best to keep it in the air for two battery packs. It's a real challenge when you don't have much control over the tail, but I didn't break anything. I'm starting to think that it's worth the effort to go to a big open area instead of practicing in the dog yard. Looking back on it, I rarely break anything by running into the ground; it's running into trees and fences and dogs that do most of the damage.
I had already ordered the materials to build my own MicroScream low-voltage alarm, so I worked on that today. (As previously mentioned, lipo batteries don't like being discharged below a certain voltage.) When I found the plans online, I thought it sounded pretty cool and ordered the stuff I needed. As advertised, it really is less than $5 per alarm, but you have to order 5 of many of the parts since they're not sold individually.
It was a very challenging project for someone without much experience building electronics. After over an hour of soldering a little and contemplating a lot, I had one. I messed something up as I was building it, but after I figured that out and fixed it, it worked. It was pretty ugly, though. I made a second one with an effort to keep it compact, and it came out much better. (Still ugly by most standards, but trust me it's a lot better than the first.) It took me another good bit of time to figure out how to wire it into my 4-in-1, but I eventually figured that out, too.
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| Low-Voltage Alarm |
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| 4-in-1; Slightly Modifed |
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| 4-in-1; Slightly Modified |
If the 4-in-1 does happen to be broken, it'll be pretty simple to detach my alarm and reattach it on the new unit. And I'll have the experience of having done it before by then, too. And I still have the materials to make 4 more alarms.
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