Duration: 16:00

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Disaster strikes. I quadruple checked the wiring I did tonight in order to give a first test to the electronics. Unfortunately I forgot to check my connections on the 5v converter and shoved 24v into the 5v output wires because I had the wire pairs swapped.

I'm more upset about making such a dumb mistake than I am about the $240+ worth of electronics I just fried. The Astrocomms board has 2 clearly blown chips and may have more unseen damage, the converter is damaged, the breaker on/off switch smoked and even the tool battery smells of magic smoke.

I guess it's a good thing that I already have all the boards for a 'traditional' SHADOW-MD system ready and programmed.

I've also recently read on the astromech.net forums that Lowes Kobalt batteries only have some of the battery management electronics inside the battery. Evidently the discharge circuitry is in the tool, which means that it may be possible to drain the battery past the 'safe' discharge level if used in something that doesn't have discharge protection. I have now decided not to use tool batteries in my R2 and will instead use 2 Dakota Lithium 12v batteries.