Alt-BEAM Archive
Message #07113
To: beam@sgiblab.sgi.com
From: JVernonM@aol.com
Date: Thu, 28 Oct 1999 09:56:12 EDT
Subject: [alt-beam] Re: Car bot's
In a message dated 10/28/99 9:41:20 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
phillip@ryals.com writes:
> I was just curious, while we're on the subject, how do carbots stand up to
> the heat in a car? I'm in Oklahoma, and the midday sun tends to cook stuff
> left near the windows. Winter's coming, so it shouldn't be a problem for a
> while, but I'm still curious.
>
Hi Phillip,
They stand up to heat very well. I was concerned about that too. I live in
Southeast Georgia, and the days can get excruciatingly hot down here in the
summer. 110 degrees F., with a heat index as high as 130! I've had Carbots in
several vehicles and for over a year now, and they still work perfectly. I
have noticed one or two things though. If you use electrical tape for
decoration the ends should be glued down so they won't unravel (use shrink
tubing as much as possible). Don't use the run of the mill black variety,
heat turns it's glue to slime. If your Carbot is heavier than most, check the
suction cups every now and then to make sure they have a good grip. They
stick really well (especially on glass), and the Walmart variety I use, are
rated to hold up far more weight than these little bots, but, heat and weight
can loosen them over time (I've really only had this problem on one Carbot
and that is because it only had two suction cups, I recommend at least three,
four being the best). Other than that, I've seen no other problems.
See ya,
Jim
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Exhibit/8281/beamart.html
7114 Thu, 28 Oct 1999 08:08:28 PDT [alt-beam] Re: Car bot's beam@sgiblab.sgi.com "Jim Cook"
>
>Hi.
>
>I was just curious, while we're on the subject, how do carbots stand up to
>the heat in a car? I'm in Oklahoma, and the midday sun tends to cook stuff
>left near the windows. Winter's coming, so it shouldn't be a problem for a
>while, but I'm still curious.
Well, I put my first one in the car in july and the only problem it had all
summer was a melted suction cup. even then I found the cause...I have a
light cannon ( 750,000 CP flashlight ) in my car and it was tilted funny so
that the reflector was catching the direct sun and aiming it back at the
bot, only the cup melted.
my other bot has a giant fan, made from old soda cans, that spins and blows
a fair amount of air. I think that kept the other one cool.
Other than the common sence of not using hot glue. I haven't done anthing
different.
Sincerely,
Jim Cook
beamboter@hotmail.com
http://www.geocities.com/boter_99
______________________________________________________
7115 Thu, 28 Oct 1999 12:30:15 EDT [alt-beam] Re: Carbot's beam@sgiblab.sgi.com JVernonM@aol.com In a message dated 10/28/99 11:29:41 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
beamboter@hotmail.com writes:
> my other bot has a giant fan, made from old soda cans, that spins and blows
> a fair amount of air. I think that kept the other one cool.
>
Good idea! I never really thought of using the antenna for something useful.
You must have a good sized cap on that critter. I usually try to get 3-5
spins out of the antenna for every 5-8 seconds of charge time in full sun
(usually about 9400uF or 2- 4700s with a pager motor and mid sized solar
cell). BTW, Carbots are a great bot to build with local supplies of pager
motors. You don't have to remove the weight! Just glue the antenna to the top
of the weight and it will give you a good 3-5 turns in full sun. I really
don't see a difference in performance between Carbots that have the weight
and those that don't.
See ya,
Jim
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Exhibit/8281/beamart.html
7116 Fri, 29 Oct 1999 12:47:20 -0500 [alt-beam] SolarPSHEADfest Part numbers beam@sgiblab.sgi.com SG some of you guys have been writing asking about the
Cap and the 1381 trigger
they can both be found at DigiKey.
The 0.047 gold cap DigiKey part number is:
P6951-ND
$2.51
the 1381 "L" which is not found at Solarbotics
doesn't look like your "J"'s will werk)
DigiKey part number is:
MN1381-L-ND
$1.02 OR ten for $8.48
Hope this helps
-Sparky
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