Those of you who have played with a Pleo know exactly where this is going. The Pleo averages about 30 minues per 2-3 hour charge. Just swap batteries you say? Nope, the battery packs aren’t available. Fortunately, you can make your own pretty easily. The basic frame is a standard battery pack for 6 AA’s. There are only a few modifications necessary to line up the leads and make it fit once you’ve loaded it with batteries.
Might be nice to include a link to explain what a pleo is.
here
wikipedia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0C55PEcj5E
love it, did the same thing with an mp3 player and extended the life over 6 times
this page mentions that the third battery contact is for an internal thermister used during charging, which is common in rechargable packs…
http://www.pleodreams.com/node/5
Might want to verify that, but perhaps that is only used in the charger and will have no affect on the pleo.
ugly soldering, but likely functional ;-)
@_matt
Just don’t take it on a plane :P
@eldorel – seriously? three ‘stories’ before this one is about the Pleo, with a picture!
On the subject of increasing battery life, I wish I could increase the battery life of my ebike without spending a small fortune… large lithium packs aren’t cheap, & other affordable battery technology is magnitudes heavier (nicad,nimh,lead acid)
Some good news for you guys.
“Jetta Company Limited, based in China and Hong Kong, the company that manufactured the Pleo baby robot dinosaur for Ugobe, has bought the intellectual property rights and other assets at the Ugobe bankruptcy sale that occurred on May 21. Jetta is an established company with a 32-year history in manufacturing. They have issued a short press release announcing Pleo’s rebirth. Steve Ohler, the US liaison for Jetta, confirmed the news, saying that the company is firmly committed to re-launching Pleo and continuing the line including producing accessories such as the vital battery and charger components. Jetta, as the original manufacturer, is the best possible company to have acquired Ugobe’s intellectual property and to announce plans to re-launch Pleo. Ohler remarked that all of the equipment needed to produce Pleos and accessories is still intact and ready to go.”
the website link is above on my name. oops.
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/09/06/09/028252/Pleo-Robot-Dinosaur-Back-From-Extinction?art_pos=1
@haku Actually, if your reading the main site it was 3 stories below. I did see it 10 minutes later, but didn’t have time to come back and laugh at myself.
As for the batteries, has anyone looked into making one of these wired? I don’t think you would end up going more than about 6 feet, so perhaps a tether for power would work well.
The resistance of the spring wire on those cheap plastic battery holders is really high. For heavy loads, it’s worthwhile to upgrade to an aluminum battery holder.
http://www.keyelco.com/products/prod39.asp
aluminum battery holders are *way* easier to solder wire onto. they have tabs for soldering, and no plastic to melt.
http://parts.digikey.co.uk/1/3/aa-battery-holder