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tician, no that image was put there by mistake.

a few years ago I went to 1" shafts, and 1" ID hubs, I have not had any 1" shaft failures yet.(sweet)


I've tried a few things(enclose the...

7674it was cheap, but I hate that it's needed.(so noisy)

jwatte, even better 6hp for $20 on facebook marketplace, came from pressure washer with bad pump.

only has pull start so can't see it surviving the winter.

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with all the snow and Ice we've had so far this year I had to put
something together for more power. 6hp engine runs the alternator good, just very noisy.

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perigalacticon, as this is a temporary application I could see laying down masking tape over the path, then
setup the Minecraft Creeper prop as a two wheel drive line follower(other two wheels as...

jwatte, if a cars cooling fan failed, and something in the charging system shorted to ground( causing a constant 40Amp draw)
and the car moved at very slow pace(lawn mower speed), I could see the...

With all the failures I've encountered with the mowing deck it should not surprise me that
I failed to get a warm & fuzzy feeling with the gas engine mounted internally on the mule.

the first...

danniel, yes the internal fan type alternator did run much cooler then the external fan type.

With the external fan type alternator I would have to monitor the alternator temperature very closely...

with the failure of 2 external fan alternators in 2 seasons I installed a internal fan type.
it does run much cooler (160deg).

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960rpm


because I'm not interested in the pitch axis data it seems I would be better off using the top image layout
for the pitch axis, maybe even the roll axis.(use gravity to balance the gyro,...

Plan A

looks like a us digital encoder that can give me 240000 counts costs $200.00(doable)

the top shaft is longer for mounting the encoder.


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brass stock for flywheel
7633


plan A for powering the flywheel

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plan A is to build an old school range limited gyro compass.

pitch limit +/- 90deg.
roll limit +/- 90deg.
yaw limit +/- 400deg.

with a 60mm brass flywheel spinning at 3000rpm.

they now...

jwatte, I had good results on the bench with mems based IMUs (like an MPU9050) ,the best
bench results came from the phidgets spatial 3/3/3 (1044_1), but each failed in real world
applications, the...

with only two weeks until the start of the winter season project (ABS angle senor)
I'm still conflicted on the best technology to use. seen some good results posted on-line
with using optical flow...

jwatte, seems like good way to help control temperatures of the alternators, an fuel use.

plan A for remote engine start.

the engine is going to have it's own arduino nano with a (4)relay shield(because I have one)
(1) relay contact(NC) for the engine kill control
(1) relay...

After using the Mule for a few summer/fall season tasks(pulling, and carrying things)
it is clear I'm going to need to steer the front wheels(tears up the lawn). I got a feeling
that with the...

jwatte, looks like I don't have to, connected the current meter and tested current
value without the bucket and doing ZTR (26A), then installed the bucket and did
the same test(36A), then had next...

first tests of the four wheel drive went sweet!

I also used the same analog voltage to control both sabertooth drive.

it was easier to install the motors I got today($70.00 + free shipping from...

while waiting on the front drive motors to get here I have time to work
on the chains for the front wheels.

replacing the links with smaller ones in hopes of keeping snow from bouncing
out of...

jwatte, it's possible with four wheel skid steering that it could drop below the dc/dc cutout
voltage every time I do a ZRT(takes lots of current).


because the four drive motors are 500W...

jwatte, that's what I used last winter, but had problem when a high load on the drives
dropped the 24v too low, and the dc/dc converters shut down causing the cameras to reset.

not a big problem...

jwatte, I don't get buyers remorse too much anymore, now I just think what's plan B.



tician, it just got even more under-powered for this build, the documentation for the engine
lists the...

found a small briggs engine with 12vdc starter motor on craigslist for $100 to power the 24Vdc 100A alternator for the mule.


started first try and doesn't smoke (sweet!)

seems to be a 1982...

not even going to try it...

if I could pick the mule up and bring it back home if it fails when it's dark and -20degf outside
then it would be worth looking at. but I currently can't.

having...

gotta wonder....
this season's task was a standup mower using (2) 4 pole 1000W servo motors(mowing 2 acres a week).

the frame used was a commercial 48" brand(gravely) that weighed 300lb alone,...

more baby steps.

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jwatte, not this season, but next summer it is.

this problem became obvious the first season's build(mowing), the first build used open-loop
control of the drive motors which ended up creating...

jwatte, difference between Sabertooth 2x32 and the Sabertooth 2x60 is more about convenience to me.
with the 2x60 a max232 chip and pc software(describe) are needed to set things like current...

jwatte, I'm wondering that also.

with the front motors not connected to the front wheels turning is a battery sucking operation
with these fat wheels on pavement and the bucket installed. should...

more baby steps on way to four wheel drive.

7596

I was wondering how the linear guides wound hold up in the harsh wisconsin
environment.

image below is after one winter.

7594

I do get this is a deadhorse type topic, but.

I got big plans for the mule this fall and winter.

the picture in my head for this next build(all wheel drive) has changed from
just last winter....

jwatte, lucky for me I got all that kind of stuff out of my system as a youth.
my first job in electronics back in the mid 70's was fixing radar guided missiles for the army, so now I think ...

jwatte, I was thinking more like big 110vac inverter for backup power for when the lights go out, or a 110vac weed wacker.

but, lidar looks like something that would be fun to play with.

jwatte, seems it tops out at 190F with heavy mowing, hilly terrain. when on flat blacktop 175F.

the only problem with having unlimited batteries, is you then end up adding things like computers,...

after 3 hours run time with outside temperature of 80degf, Alternator temperature 190degf, right motor 120degf, left motor 135degf, servo drive 100degf.

Sweet! new 100A alternator is charging batteries again.

for no other reason then to test the blowers for controlling the temperature that
the alternator operates at, I got the same type...

Thinking the alternator in the image below with it's fan internal may keep
cooler with 500+ cfm of air movement then the enclosed type I tried first.

maybe.

today the outside temps reached...