King Arthur, the king of mouse droids

[lynellephi]

I promised that I would start a build log on King Arthur, but I'm having problems with my rotary cuff/upper arm at the moment. So, here's a pic of him so far. Yep, that's the Flaming Excaliber on the side. He might not win any races but he'll look good racing!

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OK, why is my pic humongous? I guess this forum doesn't re-size like other forums? Kinda fitting for the King, though. LOL


Edit: Long live the King! Click on the image for the full size version -- the management

[lynellephi]

So, I got a new small solar panel for laptops from my boss.  I'm considering hooking it up to KA, but I'm having troubles with my research understanding how solar panels work.  I know it has to do with the sun, but all the websites I found on converting RC cars to solar says to hook up panel leads to battery terminals.  Now, I may not be the sharpest pencil when it comes to electronics, but doesn't hooking a solar panel to a battery defeat the purpose?  I thought they were suppose to replace batteries. 

Well, now I've come to the real meat of the matter.  How does one actually convert an RC car (which is basically what a mouse droid is) to solar?  To put it another way, what the heck am I suppose to do with this goofy laptop solar panel?  (and, no, not going to use it on my laptop.  LOL)

[kresty]

Hmm that's a little cart before the horse (to have a King Arthur period phrase).
Generally solar doesn't provide a lot of power, so you often use it to charge a battery, and then use that. Solar panels are rated in Watts/Amps and are often much lower than your motor's going to want to draw... Also, how many volts is it? Lots of laptops have 19.6V inputs...

[savagecreature]

One of the main reasons solar panels are almost always used in conjunction with chargeable batteries is the sun (or other full spectrum light sources) are unreliable. That is to say, what if you want to drive your droid at night? Or in a dark room? That's where the batteries come into play. Think of solar panels as a replacement for the generator, not a replacement for the batteries.

[kresty]

Tell us the volts & amps (or watts) and that might help with suggestions.

[kresty]

How's King Arthur doing?