my signiture is so cool 8)
Nice 
ha, my wife is a teacher and I can tell you that students are not the only ones having to work part of the “summer vacation” these days, or getting bummed out about having to go back to school/work in a couple weeks. 
8)
NNOOO, DON’T SAY THAT!!! 
Funny that I get a very similar reaction at home.
Well,I’m not going to be bummed out when i go back to school,because i enjoy school
I second!
Well, i’ve arisen from the dead.
I have not had much time with football and everything, busy busy.
I also have no money right now, i had to quit because of football and i need to save my remaining money for my permit and driving lessons ($180 total, thats if i pass on my first try X_X)
I am going to try and make a LED board soon. I plan to make someone like a circle, what i want to do is cut some flat aluminum strips from the C channel, and use a template (probably just a tin can) to make the strips into circles, from there i want to try and fuse the aluminum together with a propane torch (let me know if there might be any issues with that)
im not sure wat i will use to mount te LEDs, but i am thinking some thin plastic or maybe some cannabalized lexan from my old LM rover
Also, i would like some opinions on whether i should use 4 15 LED each spot lights, or 2 large lights with 30 LEDs each, i am leaning towards the 4 LED tower, 2 in front and in back with 360 degree rotation each tower on a Pan and Tilt base, to achieve the 360 rotation, i am going to convert a few of my servos to continuous rotation and add tilt servos…maybe 3 towers (1 large 30, 2 small 15s or 3 20 LED towers) Im not sure, i need to see wat will fit best, but i would like to see wat you guys think, keep in mind this bot will have a camera or 2 on it and its an exploration bot
well, i think thats about it, still have yet to make the rest of the body (complete the top , front and back) and finish the idlers (yes i’ve been VERY busy)
anyway, i would like your opnions and i will get pictures wen i complete the body of the rover 
-Jared
Okay, since you asked: There are issues with that.
Aluminum is not fun to work with, from a welding standpoint. My understanding is that it oxidizes very quickly upon contact with oxygen, and that the oxide has a higher melting point than the non-oxidized metal underneath it. I’m no fabrication expert, but most of the time when people talk about welding aluminum, it involves an inert gas sheath and lots of skill and experience.
I’m having a hard time visualizing the assembly that you’re describing above, and am therefore at a loss to offer advice on how it might be achieved. Maybe a quick sketch of what you’re trying to do would help…?
looks like someone peaked into my “to do list” 
Im currently running the same small project to accomodate better lighting for my 1.2 and 2.4GHZ cameras on the MARC Robot. Although, thats all the information I can give you about it. Im not going to disclose much more information about the project beyond this point. I know it sounds extreme, but Canada-Wide Science Fair is big
All I can say is I found a lot of valuable information on the internet which helps determine how many LED’s you will need for the best lighting compatible with your cameras.
Good luck! Maybe later we can compare our ideas.
lol, i didn’t check anyones post at all i posted this and then checked everyone elses, i hadn’t seen ur thread yet
Instead of building the LED light, I’d just use a flash light like below. I saw them the other day at walmart for ~$5.75 including three alkaline batterys. You probably are not going to “fuse” aluminum, but you could try to braze it using rods like below. Note that the temperature is probably twice as high as similar soldering. Don’t get your hopes up too high. A MAPP gas torch might help.
harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d … mber=93712
harborfreightusa.com/usa/ite … egoryName=
hmm, i would love to go that route, but then i have 60+ LEDs that is wasted my money on 
working on my rover today, i sprained my ankle in football and im in a brace and on crutches 
. So, today im taking a break and relaxing for today .
I was wondering if i could some how make the rover itself a radio anteana (sp), maybe just solder the wire on to the frame, or would it be mroe complicated. If this doesn’t work i am going to see wat i can make with a couple feet of normal copper wire and make that into a zig zaggy pattern to catch more radio waves
Sounds like someone had a fun day yesterday
Give it a try
i do see that a lot in RC cars and trucks,they sometimes solder the antenna to the frame.
Oh ya, Im sure everyone that sprains their ankle calls it “fun”
Break a leg
I’ve typed this all too many times to want to do it again, but these are the basics:]You want your chassis and structural elements to be at ground potential. In the case of a metal chassis, make sure that all of the panels are solidly connected both mechanically and electrically. In a non-metallic chassis, you can make a ground plane by laminating metallic (not fiberglass) window screening to the insides of the panels./:m]
]You want your antenna to be electrically isolated from this ground plane, and as vertical as possible, in as much free air as possible. Straight is good./:m]
]You want your radio’s ground to be common to the chassis ground. this provides a large counterpoise for the antenna to work against, and can do a great deal to improve reception, provided that your antenna is installed properly (see above)./:m]
]You want suppression caps on all motors, and you want to do whatever you can to knock down electrical noise and RF interference. From the receiver’s standpoint, your transmitter’s signal is very quiet, and any noise generated on your bot is very loud. Minimize the electrical noise, and your signal will get through better./:m]
]Your radio receiver is supplied with an antenna of a specific length of wire for a reason - it forms a part of the receiver circuit, and helps the receiver discriminate between signal and noise. The effect may not be as important for a receive-only setup as it is for a transmitter, but every little bit helps, and significantly changing the length of the antenna wire can de-tune the receiver enough that it makes a noticeable difference./:m]
I was just going to say, connecting the antenna to the chassis is the silliest thing I’ve ever heard. But you said it better. 8)