Planet Arduino

If there’s one bright spot on the blight that is this pandemic, it’s got to be all the extra time we’re spending with our pets. Dogs especially love that we’re home all the time and want to spend it playing, but sometimes you need to get stuff done. Why not head outside with your laptop and keep the dog happy with an automatic ball launcher?

This is a work in progress, and [Connor] plans to publish a BOM and the STL files once it’s all finished. For now, it’s a working prototype that shoots a ball into the air and about 25 feet away, from the looks of it. Far enough to be fun, but not so far that it goes over the fence.

All [Connor] has to do is drop the ball in the top, which you know is going to lead to training the dog to do it himself. A proximity sensor detects the ball and starts up a pair of 540 R/C motors, then a servo drops the ball down the internal chute. The motors spit the ball out with great force with a pair of profiled, 3D-printed wheels that are controlled by a Turnigy ESC and an Arduino Nano.

In the future, [Connor] plans to print a cover for the electronics and enlarge the funnel so it’s easier for the dog to drop in the ball. Check out the brief demo and build video after the break.

All dogs should be able to get in a good game of fetch as often as they want, even if they happen to be blind.

Skateboards are fun, but you have to do all that pesky kicking in order to get anywhere. That’s why [Nick] decided to build his own electric skateboard. Not only is the skateboard powered with an electric motor, but the whole thing can be controlled from a smart phone.

[Nick] started out with a long board deck that he had made years ago. After cleaning it up and re-finishing it, the board was ready for some wheels. [Nick] used a kit he found online that came with the trucks, wheels, and a belt. The trucks have a motor mount welded in place already. [Nick] used a Turnigy SK3 192KV electric motor to drive the wheels. He also used a Turnigy electronic speed controller to make sure he could vary the speed of the board while riding.

Next [Nick] needed some interface between a smart phone and the motor controller. He chose to use an Arduino Nano hooked up to a Bluetooth module. The Nano was able to directly drive the motor controller, and the Bluetooth module made it easy to sync up to a mobile phone. The Android app was written using MIT’s App Inventor software. It allows for basic control over the motor speed so you can cruise in style. Check out the video below for a slide show and some demonstration clips.

It’s a popular project, and eerily similar to the one we saw a couple months back.

The Hobbyking SS series comes with a limited range of programming functions and are designed to be plug-n-play.
A perfect ESC for those looking for something simple to use and economic.

Spec.
Weight: 63g
Size: 55x35x8mm
Cells: 12-24Ni MH ~ 4-8S Li Po
Max Current: 60A
Burst : 70A
No BEC
Timing: 1/7/15/30 programmable
PWM: 8/16K

Features.

Constant current 60A Max 70A

Li-Poly 4-8 cells

Low Resistant 0.0017 Ohms;

Dynamic Braking

BEC: opto

Auto shut down when lose signal

Slow down at 3.0V per cell Lipo, Cut-off at 2.9V per cell Lipo 0.8V NiMh

User Programming options.Battery setting
Throttle Range
Brake setting 4 options: Direction and Cutoff Type
Timing Mode Setting: 1 / 7 / 15 / 30
PWM setting: 8K/16K

Marinize an aero ESC with a TicTac box some epoxy Aluminium tube and hot glue. A nice water tank directly on the heatsink over the FET's lots of volume flow seems more than adequate  Its epoxied on with hot glue over that to seal any holes.

My plan is to use this ESC on theis motor

OutBoard Motor Set - Sprint F3 Tunnel Hull Racing Boat (630mm)

It don't have much specification on HK's site but my understanding is it a 

2185KV 28mm diameter ,33mm length with a 3.17mm shaft weight 230g  I got the 32 mm prop too.

Looks like a nice quality device seems to have great reviews on HK's site

 Its air tight and if it get hot enough to melt the hot glue its probably toast in any case