Solar energy for cheaps

The robot will need all the power it can get, and solar panels has been a part of the plan from the start.

However, two problems with solar power has been evident that I have not been able to figure out:

• They are prohibitively expensive!
• They are fragile

Actually the last point may be a solution to both problems in a wired way, because I just discovered that solar cell manufacturers actually sell left over broken cells cheaply by weight or watt. Since they are already broken they will be less likely to break (smaller pieces) and fitting them into a lattice or grid will provide a flexible layout with the redundancy necessary to sustain power after loosing a single cell.


The plan is thus to buy some broken panels, cut them roughly to size and stitch them together in a grid with redundant connections.

Honda GX25 Update

The Honda GX25 that I un-boxed for quite some time ago has been started and runs great. I have since moved and it is in storage. The plan is to find a suitable alternator for it and also to create a simple ECU that can be controlled from the roboard. To begin with I will most likely just write the ECU as a routine in C on the roboard directly and use one of its many ports to controll a little RC servo on the throttle.

Honda GX25 Unboxing

The original box it came in was surprisingly light and small. The engine itself weighed just over 3 kilograms on my scale.

The engine was fitted with the inner part of a centrifugal clutch attached to the flywheel/fan. Looking at the parts lists online I found that it there is an alternative bare axle version. To make an axle for this engine makes the perfect first project for my CNC Mill!

Pictures:

GX25 in plastic

Surprisingly small and light box.

GX25 From the righthand side

GX25 From the back

GX25 From the front

GX25 From the lefthand side