Bob the Pleo Forums
Pleo Stuff => Pleo Hardware/Software => How-to and Tutorials => Topic started by: Pintokitkat on July 11, 2009, 09:50:20 AM
-
As promised here is a set of instructions for making cheap and easy Pleo battery packs.
They work beautifully for me, but as is always the case in these things, make it at your own risk.
It takes about 20 minutes to make a pack and in the UK you can get all the components from Maplins. You can source cheaper cells on the internet, though.
Feel free to email me if anything isn't clear.
-
It does seem pretty simple- I think I'll try it!!! :) (I likes the other smileys better
And does it take the same time of charge and play? ???
-
Charge time seems to be less than a proper pack - a couple of hours or so - and play time using the 2500mAh cells gives me about an hour and a half, which I think is a little bit longer than a proper pack.
So win all round.
If you can get some 2800mAh cells - even better!
-
This looks useful. I guess I'll try it with my dad's help.... He's great with anything to do with tech.
-
Looks to be a great idea, I will try it, I love stuff like this. ;D
Thank you for putting the pdf together for us. ;)
-
My dad would find a way to break it before he would out it back together...
-
Lol mine is the same!
(Sorry about the off topicness.)
I would try this but i'm afraid about warranty problems etc. Let's say they somehow messed up my Pleo. Could I get it fixed or replaced?
-
Pintokitkat! Thanks! This is great, I'm sure even a complete idiot [such as myself] would be able to figure this out! I should check into this. Thanks for posting, an easy read.
-
Lol mine is the same!
(Sorry about the off topicness.)
I would try this but i'm afraid about warranty problems etc. Let's say they somehow messed up my Pleo. Could I get it fixed or replaced?
There's an "At Reader's Risk" warning at the botom of instructions.
-
As I said at the top and in the instructions, I'm happy to use the packs in Little Jim, but if you have any doubts over your ability to make them, or their suitablility for use, I'd recommend you didn't.
After all, if you make a pack and use it and then your poor old Pleo develops a fault - even if it's nothing to do with the battery pack - then you'll always blame me. I don't want or need that.
I don't want to be negative because these forums are all about supporting each other, so how's this? If anyone does build a pack based on my instructions, then please post a review. It will help others make their decision.
And if you have any queries whilst building a pack, get in touch before you pop in it Pleo's tum and I'll try to help.
-
That's right!!!! I know I would :) :) ;) ;)
-
hmmm, I'm not sure I should trust this one..... Olympia's already messed up enough the way she is, and I think I talked my parents into getting me a nice, splendid, Pleo battery.
-
But you get more time of play with this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-
But you get more time of play with this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Perhaps after I get a normal pleo battery.... Not saying there's anything wrong with the one posted here, it's just that Olympia is so totally messed up right now and I don't want to completely break her down.
-
I see... Precaution... Very Good ;).
-
Perhaps after I get a normal pleo battery.... Not saying there's anything wrong with the one posted here, it's just that Olympia is so totally messed up right now and I don't want to completely break her down.
A good decision - if in doubt, don't.
-
I just don't see how this will destroy- it works perfectly for me!!
-
I just don't see how this will destroy- it works perfectly for me!!
Olympia is just so messed up..... You're lucky to have a Pleo that's not messed up, hence it works fine for you, but might do something to Olympia. :o
-
Did you return her? You should because it's better to have to start all over than to not even have one at all :)
-
Did you return her? You should because it's better to have to start all over than to not even have one at all :)
For once, I completely disagree with that sentence.
If you ask me, it's better not to have a Pleo than to have to start all over again.
-
Great manual you made, good instructions!
Im hoping to start on my home build battery packs soon when the parts are in.
i ordered some generic battery pack cradles (clips around the batteries with springs for contacts) that can hold 6 batteries like pleo's pack.
Ill try to cut those cradles to fit pleo but still keep the possibility of seperating the batteries and use them in a more advanced charger.
The thermothingy amazed me, its pretty cool, i thought that what monitored pleo's heat would be in pleo instead close to the processors or motors, not on the battery itself.
Im not sure if im going to add a thermothingy tho, i care little for the batteries if i can use regular ones and compared to other rc devices i have (planes) that discharge the battery way faster then pleo does this battery doesnt get that hot.
Oh well i see, thx for creating a manual!
and i almost forgot the cradle idea has been done before by the looks of it, found that here: http://robostuff.com/diy-projects/pleo-hacking/looking-for-an-extra-pleo-battery-pack-build-your-own
-
The thermothingy isn't really measuring the heat in Pleo's circuits; it's measuring the heat of the battery in case something goes wrong either with the battery itself or with Pleo, that causes too much power to be pulled from the battery pack at once. For example, if Pleo developed a short circuit inside, that might demand more power from the battery than it can provide safely, so it will get really hot. The thermothingy would then cause Pleo to shut down.
As I say in the instructions, you can manage without a thermothingy, provided you substitute a 8-10k ohm resistor because otherwise Pleo will not accept the battery pack at all, and neither will the charger. Of course, the resistor solution means there is no overheating protection - it just gets around the requirement for some resistance between the two terminals in Pleo's battery cavity.
I originally tried the battery clip solution, but found that I had to do so much filing, cutting and re-wiring of the thing that it lost all it's strength and broke up. Which is why I came up with the tape and tin-lid solution.
Anyhow, good luck. And if I can offer any help, let me know.
-
Did anyone insert eneloops yet?
A test would really interest me because eneloops are extreme powerful and longlasting with short charging-time, although they have "only" 2000mAh.
-
I was planning on doing this, but I'm a bit confused. The confussion is most likely because of the other tutorials I've seen.
My question is I want to use 2700 batteries to replace the ones in the current battery pack or just tape them up like you did in your tutorial.
I thought I had to do something special to get pleo to use the higher batteries and for the charger to charge them, but from your tutorial the only extra piece you use other than the batteries is the thermistor which is only for the temperature.
If I use the exact same pack and replace the batteries in there with the higher 2700 do I need to do anything special to get them to work? I would use the same thermistor that is in the original batter pack and run the same checks you mentioned in your pdf.
-
As long as they are still NiMH, the existing charger should be fine.
-
If I use the exact same pack and replace the batteries in there with the higher 2700 do I need to do anything special to get them to work? I would use the same thermistor that is in the original batter pack and run the same checks you mentioned in your pdf.
I agree with mweed - they should e fine with the existing charger. They might take a little longer to fully charge, but taht's all. I guess that's the cost of extra playtime! ;D
-
Here are my results.
(http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/8566/imag0027hr.jpg)
The battery pack works, but I don't think the heat sensor is working correctly so I will probably put in the one to fool it and will probably also change the connectors on the batteries to something else other than the spring loaded ones.
-
Hey!! Are you the one on Ebay re making the battery packs?
-
No I think I just used the same battery packs as the other guy.
-
For the soldering averse, there's this:
http://www.amazon.com/JVCC-CFL-5CA-Copper-Conductive-Adhesive/dp/B000UZ8SJK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1256971793&sr=8-1 (http://www.amazon.com/JVCC-CFL-5CA-Copper-Conductive-Adhesive/dp/B000UZ8SJK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1256971793&sr=8-1)
-
For the soldering averse, there's this:
http://www.amazon.com/JVCC-CFL-5CA-Copper-Conductive-Adhesive/dp/B000UZ8SJK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1256971793&sr=8-1 (http://www.amazon.com/JVCC-CFL-5CA-Copper-Conductive-Adhesive/dp/B000UZ8SJK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1256971793&sr=8-1)
This looks brilliant. I'll try and get some in the UK and give it a go.
I'll report back.
-
Well I got some sticky copper tape and a set of batteries and so far, this is looking like the battery solution to end all battery solutions!
I made a new pack for Little Jim in about ten minutes - no soldering, just three pieces of insulating tape, one bit of cardboard, a resistor, the copper tape and batteries.. It's currently (sorry about the pun) on charge and looking good. I'll report again tomorrow after I've had chance to run it in Little Jim and if all goes well I'll do another tutorial.
This could be the end of 'official' battery packs for almost all Pleo owners.
;)
-
Woah. Cancel the marching band and put the corks back in the champagne. It doesn't work - at least not at the moment.
There are a couple of problems I'm working on - one is that the tape sticks too well, so as it comes from the positive terminal of the battery, it can stick to the edge of the case of the same battery and short it out. The second problem is that the tape conducts OK through the glue, perfectly through the copper, but not at all from the surface of the tape, so I can't use it to make a simple terminal for the free end of the thermistor.
Basically there's still some way to go before this is a fooloproof idea.
But I won't be defeated. I'll be back.
8)
-
Ok, I've officially given up with the copper tape idea. All my theories about the tape shorting out the cases of the batteries, not being conductive on the surface etc were all wrong. The fact is, it simply doesn't work.
And that's what's so frustrating - it very nearly works. It should, but it's just not reliable. Voltages and resistances are there one minute and gone the next and as Pleo is so choosy about his power supply, persisting would simply drive me mad.
It was worth a shot and I'm happy to have given it a try, but in the end - nothing.
-
Just thought i'd say thanks for the tutorial. I have 3 pleos, all with pretty much dead batteries. I got some 3800mAh batteries and the thermistors - so am about to embark on the journey.
Going about things slightly differently though - since I have a 3d printer I am going to try to print the top and bottom plastic parts to make the new pack as much like the official pack as possible. Of course one option is with the battery pack that is stuffed I could gut that for spares.
Wish me luck!
-
Hello someone
i ordered Ni-mh 2900 mAh battery's and follow the instructions of the battery tutorial but when
i place the battery pack in my charger it stays blinking........
PLEASE PLEASE HELP ME WHAT DID I DO WRONG
-
Hey Denman,
Unfortunately I don't think the person who wrote the tutorial is still around on the forum. I don't know of anyone on here who has repacked a pleo battery so I'm not sure if there is going to be anyone out there who can help. In the other post you said that the battery is getting hot. I am wondering if that might mean that there is an issue with your thermistor - maybe it isn't on quite right or there is an issue with the insulation? I'm just guessing though as I have never done anything like this before.
-
As Kat said, no one here that wrote that is still here. If you can post pictures that might help, but redoing a battery is a very much 'do at your own risk' kind of thing.
-
yeah i know that my battery is the problem but i replaced my original battery whit normal Duracell battery's and my Pleo started to work
so i ordered rechargeable battery's and now it wont work i will buy a new thermostat en try again.
-
Best of luck. :) I hope you manage to work it out. Let us know how you get on.
-
I can't help, I'm afraid ....... but hang on - there are people who probably can but log in less often these days. :pray:
-
Does anyone have the instructions PDF anymore? It's no longer attached to the original posting.
Thanks.
-
Attachments restored. Try the link again, it should work now.
Sorry about that. just a small glitch left over from the upgrades. :-[
-
Thanks ! Much appreciated!!!
-
Download doesn't work again - 404
-
バッテリーパックを作るにはスポット溶接機が必要です。
https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B07ZSCZQDJ/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_dp_U_-PsDEb2Z3N6EV?fbclid=IwAR07YmMAOMa-EdolTxjstf418Dd84ogleeYaiGlwE3RI_E58_3LyAZYiryY
-
Hello,
can someone here give me the download file? there is just an error page 404 :(
would be great if someone here could give me the file!
Thanks a lot!
Florian
-
Hi Florian,
There is one design on thingiverse by a member Pintokitkat.
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:31721
He has since moved on to other projects (I believe).
Now AdamE has sort of adopted the battery making thing. Take a look at his stuff on ebay and his reply on this post:
Test Ugobe Pleo With No Working Battery? (bobthepleo.com) (http://bobthepleo.com/forums/index.php/topic,5560.msg67642.html#msg67642)
Cheers!
Peter
-
Hello All,
The attachment link for Pintokitkat's original design is now functioning again!
Cheers!
Peter