@baqui63 Hey baq. I’ve been well. Life has had some ups and downs but overall things are much better then they were going back. For the first time in who knows how long I can say I’m happy. Hope all is well with you and your family!
@cpierce The level of excitement I had over a Taser, particularly as I thought about how much power is available in these battery packs, made me uncomfortable with myself.
I was just testing a USB power bank earlier this evening.
It is the red thing on the back of the car. The car ran for more than an hour without a battery related problem.
The car did suffer some damage from the small child. It was all minor and easily repaired. The child was never damaged by the car, even when the car failed to stop on its own.
The class is for child/adult pairs. The youngest student is eight. The goal is to design, build, and program a “smart car” that can stay within the lines on the “road” and not hit other vehicles or obstacles.
The mechanical car parts are Lego, but the electronics are all from eBay. We could do a similar class entirely with Lego parts, but then the robots would be too expensive to take home at the end of the course.
The robots draw about 1.3 Amps from the USB power bank. So today’s Meh offering would not be sufficient. The ones that I bought for the course were advertised as 2 Amp, 5000mAh. I bought one for testing and it could actually do 1.6 Amps at 4 volts into a 2.5 Ohm load and was closer to 4000 mAh. The important thing was it could handle two stalled motors without the voltage dropping so low that the Arduino would reset. So I bought 20 of them.
While suitable for driving the Arduino robots, I would not recommend them for phone use.
@hamjudo Yes, it can certainly suck the life out of you…
I mentored an FRC team for two years (when my daughter was in FTC and didn’t want me too close) and slowly moved into refereeing FTC… this past season, I was at all ten NYC tournaments (as head ref) and worked as a ref at 5 or 6 other tournaments in upstate NY and NJ, plus the East Super-Regional…
My gf is a FIRST widow, not a football one…
Part of me is very much looking forward to next season and another part is dreading it.
@JoetatoChip I learned something new today. I will share it with anyone else who didn’t know what a 510 connector was.
The 510 connector is an electrical connector designed for a high temperature environment. They are often rated for 20 or more amps. They are typically used in low voltage circuits as the power connector for a one (or rarely two) cell lithium battery case.
Googling found a few adapters going the other direction. These let you charge your cell phone from a battery pack with a 510 connector. Oddly, they all had just single USB output. I was hoping to find something with 4 or more USB ports, since the 510 connector can handle a minimum of 80 watts.
I didn’t find any USB power banks with a 510 connector. Could be my google-fu is limited.
The name comes from the female connector, which has 10 threads and is 5mm long. In engineering speak, it is an M7x0.5 socket with 5mm of thread and the mating male M7x0.5 with a center contact. It is a center positive connector.
The connectors are widely available online. This is probably due to a lack of google-fu, but I didn’t find any references to the use of these connectors for robotics.
@sohmageek I starred it because I want pass-through charging too.
Some extreme chargers can charge while passing on the full rated output current. This requires multiple USB inputs, one of the not quite standard very high current USB connections, or a really wimpy output rating.
I have a couple wimpy pass through chargers. They each have a single 1 amp output.
Let me know when ones with 2 amp outputs break the ten dollar pricepoint. They would make a great prebuilt UPS for Raspberry Pi projects.
How about something to… you know… “relieve tension”?
@baqui63 You want yours to vibrate?
@TheCO2
Pretty quick on the uptake there.
@baqui63 dirty old man!
@Raider Hey! Raider!!! long time no talk! How you been?
@baqui63 Hey baq. I’ve been well. Life has had some ups and downs but overall things are much better then they were going back. For the first time in who knows how long I can say I’m happy. Hope all is well with you and your family!
Had to vote hand blender, as I am constantly trying and failing to blend my hands while out and about.
/giphy 20,000+ mAh with a built-in plug-in fast charger
@2many2no Was not dissapointed.
I’m just waiting for a multitool with a built-in battery pack. Heck, I’d be surprised if there isn’t one. In fact, to Google!
/giphy no luck on Google
Though I found some pretty odd ones. And one that is a hammer with tools in the handle.
I’ve yet to ever feel the need for a portable battery, so, can I just get like a double flashlight?
Maybe they should just turn it into a phone with an amazing battery life.
I was thinking"more battery" until I saw the taser option. Hell yeah I want a taser!
@cpierce The level of excitement I had over a Taser, particularly as I thought about how much power is available in these battery packs, made me uncomfortable with myself.
@jqubed
/giphy embarrassed squirm
ALL OF THE ABOVE
Does it come with a plug for a Tesla Model 3?
Lighter?
@AnnaB That would be cool. I found out USB rechargeable lighters existed a while back and it’s awesome.
The ability to make phone calls, send text messages and emails, and install applications…
Hot Wheels launcher
How 'bout a LeakFrog?
Raspberry Pi.
I would like a slot to hold the stick of a corn dog. Charging your phone while walking around eating that Pronto Pup… Livin’ the dream.
@DRBLAW
/giphy corn dog
I was just testing a USB power bank earlier this evening.
It is the red thing on the back of the car. The car ran for more than an hour without a battery related problem.
The car did suffer some damage from the small child. It was all minor and easily repaired. The child was never damaged by the car, even when the car failed to stop on its own.
The class is for child/adult pairs. The youngest student is eight. The goal is to design, build, and program a “smart car” that can stay within the lines on the “road” and not hit other vehicles or obstacles.
The mechanical car parts are Lego, but the electronics are all from eBay. We could do a similar class entirely with Lego parts, but then the robots would be too expensive to take home at the end of the course.
The robots draw about 1.3 Amps from the USB power bank. So today’s Meh offering would not be sufficient. The ones that I bought for the course were advertised as 2 Amp, 5000mAh. I bought one for testing and it could actually do 1.6 Amps at 4 volts into a 2.5 Ohm load and was closer to 4000 mAh. The important thing was it could handle two stalled motors without the voltage dropping so low that the Arduino would reset. So I bought 20 of them.
While suitable for driving the Arduino robots, I would not recommend them for phone use.
@hamjudo Awesome! You do anything with FIRST? (I am an FTC ref in NY and NJ.)
@baqui63 I have been (mostly) FIRST free for 2 years.
I mentored for 4 years. I am not good at saying “no”, so it consumed all of my time from the start of build season until the last competition.
@hamjudo Yes, it can certainly suck the life out of you…
I mentored an FRC team for two years (when my daughter was in FTC and didn’t want me too close) and slowly moved into refereeing FTC… this past season, I was at all ten NYC tournaments (as head ref) and worked as a ref at 5 or 6 other tournaments in upstate NY and NJ, plus the East Super-Regional…
My gf is a FIRST widow, not a football one…
Part of me is very much looking forward to next season and another part is dreading it.
A self inflating raft for larger ones (14,000 mAh and up). A life vest for smaller ones.
@duodec
Very practical. I like it!
I really think either teleportation or time travel. Wait! BOTH would be great. How big is that portable battery?
@idahowingrider
The universe is in constant motion. We’re spinning around the sun at 66k mph, and the sun is part of an expanding universe.
So any time travel had better include teleportation, cuz Earth won’t be where you left it when you get out of the box.
@idahowingrider well it would obviously be bigger on the inside. So
A 510 connection.
@JoetatoChip I learned something new today. I will share it with anyone else who didn’t know what a 510 connector was.
The 510 connector is an electrical connector designed for a high temperature environment. They are often rated for 20 or more amps. They are typically used in low voltage circuits as the power connector for a one (or rarely two) cell lithium battery case.
Googling found a few adapters going the other direction. These let you charge your cell phone from a battery pack with a 510 connector. Oddly, they all had just single USB output. I was hoping to find something with 4 or more USB ports, since the 510 connector can handle a minimum of 80 watts.
I didn’t find any USB power banks with a 510 connector. Could be my google-fu is limited.
The name comes from the female connector, which has 10 threads and is 5mm long. In engineering speak, it is an M7x0.5 socket with 5mm of thread and the mating male M7x0.5 with a center contact. It is a center positive connector.
The connectors are widely available online. This is probably due to a lack of google-fu, but I didn’t find any references to the use of these connectors for robotics.
Pregnancy test
a speaker and a lightning port, along with a pass-through charging (charge both the item and the battery at the same time…)
@sohmageek I starred it because I want pass-through charging too.
Some extreme chargers can charge while passing on the full rated output current. This requires multiple USB inputs, one of the not quite standard very high current USB connections, or a really wimpy output rating.
I have a couple wimpy pass through chargers. They each have a single 1 amp output.
Let me know when ones with 2 amp outputs break the ten dollar pricepoint. They would make a great prebuilt UPS for Raspberry Pi projects.