molecule said:
bro can run through the modification steps/parts for the scooby charger?
Modifying the charger block is rather simple. (Of course it is easy for me to say now, since I had done it. Haha.) I had read quite a lot previously before doing it but I can only share experience on my Scooba charger block. Roomba's charger block is slightly different as it will require a 47uF@400V capacitor. Thats the only difference, I think.
Before starting, if you have a multimeter and a step down transformer, you may want to check the output voltage of your charger block through a step down transformer. You should get around 22V. I did not do that as I do have a multimeter with me. Then this is what you do:
1) Buy a 100uF@400V electrolytic capacitor from Sim Lim Tower (about S$2). Get a small one. If your capacitor that is too big, you will need to bend its legs later or the charger block casing may not close properly.
2) Buy a 360 V varistor (optional, about S$0.80).
3) Pull out all 4 rubber legs of the charger block.
4) Unscrew all 4 screws.
5) Unscrew 1 screw that attach the PCB board to the plastic casing.
6) Locate C1 (the 100uF@200V capacitor) and RV1 (the varistor).
7) Test your heated soldering iron by removing RV1 (To do this, remember where RV1 is, turn the PCB board over and heat the underside contacts of RV1 to melt the contacts. Pull RV1 out of the PCB board, using some force if necessary, depending on how much of the contact is melted by your soldering iron.)
8) Remember the orientation of C1 before removing it as the way the RV1 was removed(Electrolytic capacitors have polarity. So you must remember which side is positive and negative. If you already removed it and cannot remember, fear not. The '+' sign should be printed on the PCB board to indicate where the positive side should be.)
9) Replaced the now empty C1 with your 100uF@400V electrolytic capacitor. (Poke your new capacitor's legs through the C1 holes on the PCB board. Remember to check the polarity. Check the height of your new capacitor when the legs are fully in. Will it be too high for the plastic casing to close later? Mine fitted in properly. It it is too high, bend the capacitor's legs to allow the capacitor to be parallel to the PCB board. Turn the PCB board over to the underside and cut off the remainder length of the capacitor's legs leaving only a very short length for soldering. Solder the legs to board on the underside.)
10) Solder your new varistor to RV1 just as you did with C1. I skipped this step as I was tired already. The varistor is to protect your charger block from excessive voltage, I think. So it is not needed during 'normal' operation.
11) Of course if you have a multimeter, you can test if you solder properly. I did not. Just crossing fingers helps sometimes. Haha.
12) Screw back the PCB board back to the casing with the 1 screw.
13) Close back the casing and scew back the 4 screws. Plug the 4 rubber legs back.
14) Plug the charger block into your power point on the wall. Do not attach your Scooba to the charger block yet.
15) Say a prayer and stand back as you switch on the power to the charger block (wrong capacitors could result in it 'blowing/exploding'). The green LED light on the charger block should turn on.
16) Test with a multimeter to check if the output is still 22V (of course now, without the step down transformer). I did not do this.
17) Switch off the charger block and plug in your Scooba. Switch on the charger block again. You should see Scooba slow blinking light on indicating that it is charging.
Congrats! You now have a working self-modified charger block that will work with any power supply from 100 to 240V. Please note that you will void your warranty when you do this modification and I cannot be totally sure that it will work for you as it had for me. Just to cover my backside. Haha.
if you are getting roomba discovery, wait for woot.com offer lor, every mth they will have roomba for sale.
It's fun too! For the lighthouse, there's some trial & error u need to do to try it, at first I didn't managed to get it to work, kept on circling around the same zone. But others times it did move on to the other zone. In fact I'm still trying to figure out exactly how much run time it takes before proceeding. The best places to put it is where there's a narrow opening like a doorway or walkway that can seperate into 2 (or more lighthouse) zones. The roomba should be able to contact the lighthouse frequently (blinking sometimes). For more than 1 lighthouse, the concept should be the same.
