Hank Fletcher
New Member
I was wondering if anyone might be able to tell me whether it's reasonable to try and power a small robot using a tamiya double gearbox with solar panels.
Presuming something like four solar panels about 4" square or so, with each about 400mV for a combination of 1.6V and maybe a short circuit current of about 1A, would that be enough to roll my robot around on a smooth floor? The weight of the robot I'd guess to only be that of the panels, gearmotors, wheels, a light chassis and r/c receiver, and not much else.
Am I dreaming, or am I in the ballpark? I just don't know how the short-circuit amps of the solar panels would compare with the current requirements of the gearboxes (I read somewhere between 1A and 2A stall, but I have no idea). Speed's not a big issue, but I would like it to be fun to operate the final product without wishing it only had a little more juice!
Presuming something like four solar panels about 4" square or so, with each about 400mV for a combination of 1.6V and maybe a short circuit current of about 1A, would that be enough to roll my robot around on a smooth floor? The weight of the robot I'd guess to only be that of the panels, gearmotors, wheels, a light chassis and r/c receiver, and not much else.
Am I dreaming, or am I in the ballpark? I just don't know how the short-circuit amps of the solar panels would compare with the current requirements of the gearboxes (I read somewhere between 1A and 2A stall, but I have no idea). Speed's not a big issue, but I would like it to be fun to operate the final product without wishing it only had a little more juice!