On the way down to Baxter you stopped at H.R. Distributors to buy a LM317 variable voltage regulator. This regulator was supposed to regulate any voltage entering the circuit to a specific output which is controlled by using different resistor values. After leaving the electronics store you headed to a local hardware store to pick up 6-32 hex bolts for the camera pots. Unfortunately, they did not carry the bolts you guys needed.
You then met Josef at Baxter. At Baxter you worked on connecting the ESC controllers to the motors. You used liquid electrical tape and heat shrink to connect the motors. You had to fix the setup twice, but by the end of the day you had finished one section (two through holes). An image of the motor + controller setup is pictured below. While you were doing this Nick and Liam worked with Mr. Amory on the rear thruster design and Josef worked on finishing the OCU code.
After returning home at 14:50 you worked on creating the power system for the BeagleBone before you headed to Jess's softball game. You found out that the LM317 regulates the voltage linearly in relation to the supply voltage (although it's not supposed to!). You decided to use a combo of the LM317 and UA7805 to created a regulated 5v supply for the BeagleBone.
After going to Jess's game between 16:00 and 17:20, you headed with your swim coach to a meeting in Northport. After a 2.5 hour meeting from 19:00 to 21:30, you headed home. In the car you wrote this blogpost. It was a long day, but you got a lot done. You can't wait to finish potting the computers and cameras with epoxy this weekend and especially can't wait to finish the thrusters on Monday! Hopefully you guys will have something in the water next week.
