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Author Topic: Restoring an old pleo.  (Read 4756 times)

Barafu

  • Hatchling
  • Posts: 3
  • ru Male
Restoring an old pleo.
« on: November 10, 2016, 04:25:53 AM »

Good day, community! Hello from Russia.
A friend asked me to fix an old pleo. The preliminary examination revealed those things.
1) Battery charges only to 6.5V. If I try to turn pleo on, it emits a snore and nothing else happens.
2) The skin is dried up beyond imagination. Neck and tail have splits at every vertebrae disk.
3) Tail is strangely crooked, but since I can not turn it on, I can not tell if it is a problem yet.
4) I have one leaf thingy. Is something else required to run pleo?

What I have already done:
I build a new battery, using 3D printing and off-shelf AA rechargeable units. It will be charged using a third-party universal battery charger. The original battery had a thermistor. Does Pleo control its use or is it just for charging with original charger?
The skin worries me more. It is ruined. I have just rubbed it with a lot of "silicone restorer for rubber grommets". After it dries up, i'll see if it helps.  An advice on restoring would be appreciated, but remember that we do not have the same chemicals here, so I will need a full description of chemical to find a substitute. In the state skin is now, it is futile to stitch those splits - they would just open nearby.
If all else fails i'll suggest the owner that we cut down all skin, except the head and lower legs, and ask our girls to make some sort of costume for it. Does skin contain any wires or probes? How to cut it down safely.

Any advice would be appreciated, since I never even saw this thing working.
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grumpy

  • Administrator
  • Pleosmith
  • * Posts: 599
  • we Male
  • : 2008 winnerTomato Harvest Festivals
    • Skipper
    • Wile_E_Coyote
    • Statler
    • Lucy
    • Bob the Pleo
Re: Restoring an old pleo.
« Reply #1 on: November 10, 2016, 03:11:25 PM »

1) You will need the thermistor.  Circuitry in the pleo reads this and uses it to determine if the pleo needs to be shut down if it starts to overheat.  The snore is because the pleo is detecting the low power.  This is good, since it implies the pleo still works if you can get a good battery.

4) Nothing else is required.  Not even the leaf, really.

3) Could be a broken wire or broken plastic vertebrae in the tail.  Once you get it running you should be able to tell more.  There are videos posted here on how to replace broken wires.  Broken vertebrae will require 3D printing, and I don't know if all of them are available for download.

2) This is going to be your biggest problem.  The skin is a latex rubber compound.  There are no wires or probes in the skin.  The pleo will function without the skin.  There are video posted here on how to remove or replace the skin s well as several examples of skinless pleos.  No good repair for torn skin has been found.  Suggestions have included the same methods used for repairing or patching latex face masks.  With experience and a bit of luck you can heat up the latex and melt the splits back together or use a latex patch or filler to glue the split edges back together.  This is best done after the skin has been removed.  The heat required to melt the latex will damage the pleo.  Many members do opt for using a clothing to cover the body. 
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Barafu

  • Hatchling
  • Posts: 3
  • ru Male
Re: Restoring an old pleo.
« Reply #2 on: November 11, 2016, 02:22:57 PM »

Thanks for the idea about latex masks. You won't believe what sort of web it led me to.
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grumpy

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  • Pleosmith
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  • : 2008 winnerTomato Harvest Festivals
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    • Bob the Pleo
Re: Restoring an old pleo.
« Reply #3 on: November 14, 2016, 04:34:33 PM »

The internet is a wonderful and horrible place! :O
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Barafu

  • Hatchling
  • Posts: 3
  • ru Male
Re: Restoring an old pleo.
« Reply #4 on: December 18, 2016, 10:18:30 AM »

OK, I have finally had time to construct new battery. I have made a battery out of 5 one-time batteries so that they sum up to 7.7 Volts. I have used a thermo thingy from the old battery, it measures 9 kOhm at room temp.

But I am still having problems. When I turn pleo on, it emits a roar, moves for 1 to ten seconds and halts. In a few seconds it roars again, moves and halts. And so on. What could it be now?
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pnhicks

  • Guest
Re: Restoring an old pleo.
« Reply #5 on: December 27, 2016, 02:28:02 AM »

I'm no expert but I expect it could be lack of available current flow from your 5 cell battery setup. As you don't specify the cell capacity and configuration its hard to say for sure.

The original battery back uses either 6AA nickel metal hydrideNi-MH cells 2400mAh in series (i.e 6S battery pack) or at lithium-poly battery with 4 1200 mAh cells in a 2S2P configuration.  The Pleo can consume at least 3 amps at peak periods.

Hope this helps!

Peter
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