Q: Can you use a flip channel on a speed controller for your weapon instead?

A: No. The 'flip channel' available on some speed controllers is an input from a spare receiver channel that changes the on-board mixing to correct the steering controls when your invertible 'bot gets flipped upside down. There is no power output corresponding to the flip channel input, so no possibility of running a weapon from it.

A: I'm guessing that you planned to use the 42mm BaneBots gearmotors. That's not a bad choice, but kinda overkill for a BBIQ Mini. A pair of the Banebots 36mm 16:1 RS-540 gearmotors will provide good performance. With 3" wheels at 14.4 volts the motors will give a top speed near 11 MPH, reach top speed in 21 feet, and will break traction and spin the wheels at less than 11 amps. Weight is 11.6 ounces, price is about $41, and they are in stock. Don't worry -- they'll run fine at 14.4 volts. Just make sure you run in the motors unloaded for several minutes at reduced voltage to properly seat the brushes before putting them under load at full voltage.

If you want more power you can replace the RS-540 with the M2-RS-550 motor. It bolts right up to the 36mm gearbox and will give more speed and power, but I really think the RS-540 is plenty for a 15 pound robot.

If you're looking more 'heavy duty', the Piranha 36:1 Gearmotor could work for you. The gearbox is very well constructed and has a 1/2" output shaft. With 6" wheels the top speed and max amp draw are comparable to the BaneBots RS-540 gearmotor but acceleration is better, reaching top speed in 14 feet. Weight is 1.5 pounds, price is about $94, and they are in stock.

A: Tough one, Mike. The motor could be almost anything. I don't recognize that number, but many DeWalt motors have six-digit numbers stamped on the case, and the size is about right. Browse thru the pictures and see if anything matches up.

A: 'The guy who made Toro' would be either Reason Bradley or Alexander Rose of Inertia Labs. They used and sold the IFI Robotics speed controllers. If those don't look right I'm gonna need a decent description. Alternately, you can contact Reason and Alexander thru the Inertia Labs website.

Q: The speed controller is small and is for the insect classes. It has two receiver plugs and a black screw down terminal on the side. The circuit board is green and has two mounting holes. There is a black plastic thing sticking up on the board and another cylinder shaped thing that is half silver, half black. The letters and numbers on the cylinder say: 47 VFC 3T1. It looks like the flip channel plug was removed. Merci.

A: Yea, that's the Barello Ant 100. The color/style of the screw connectors changed with availability. The Barello speed controllers are no longer in production and Inertia Labs now sells them only with their full antweight kit, but you may be able to find a few in stock somewhere.

A: Combat robots of any weightclass need some method of controlling the direction and power of the motors. It's possible to use relays with R/C interfaces to get forward/off/reverse motor operation, but for reliability and precision driving control you need speed controllers.

A: My first guess is that you didn't bother to read the Scorpion XL manual. You just wired it up and turned it on, didn't you? If you can't find the time to read the entire manual, at least read the Scorpion XL quick start guide with particular attention to the radio calibration step.

A: RobotShop has them in stock as of 8/12/08. Warning: that gearbox has been reported to have a high failure rate.

A: How far a motor can be overvolted depends in part on how much load is placed on it. If you set up the wheel diameter so the motor can spin the wheel before it bogs down below about half the free RPM of the motor, you will get much better results than if you let it get close to stall and start to pull high amp loads. The Team Tentacle Torque & Amp-Hour Calculator can help you select wheel sizes that will keep the amp load reasonable.

That said, I would be comfortable running the ML-50 around 18 volts -- but don't stall it!

A: Mark J. here: Jeti ESCs are made in the Czech Republic, and the manuals are a somewhat difficult translation. Assuming that you have the Jeti Spin 99 Opto, there are two options in changing the programming of the controller:

1. If you have access to a 'Hacker Master Spin Jeti Programmer Box', you can use it to set the 'acceleration' parameter directly. The instructions are contained in the JETI-Box manual.

2. Without the programmer box, you can only assign the controller to one of the six pre-set modes. You'd probably do best with mode 4 'Glider outrunner' which enables motor braking and minimal start-up ramping. Instructions for setting modes are on page 3 of the Jeti Controllers SPIN Manual. Mode 4 is enabled in the setup sequence by waiting until after the fourth set of five repeating tones before pulling throttle to zero.

A: For drive power, two Ampflow E-150s will cost about $160 and come without gearboxes. You'll have to fabricate your own gear reduction and drivetrain. Overvolted to 36 volts (not recommended for drive power) two will deliver 2.25 horsepower - overkill for a big-weapon middleweight. Top speed with 6:1 gearing and 3" wheels is about 10 MPH in 2.2 seconds. The motors would weigh 7.8 pounds without the drivetrain.

Four BaneBots 42mm 27:1 RS550 gearmotors will cost about $200 and come ready-to-mount with gearboxes -- no additional expense or effort required to fabricate a drivetrain. At 14.4 volts (maximum recommended) four will deliver about 1.5 HP. Top speed with 3" wheels is about 8 MPH in 2.3 seconds. The motors would weigh 4.5 pounds including the drivetrain.

Going with the Ampflow motors is false economy. You'll spend a lot more money to get your drivetrain assembled than the difference in cost. You'd also add a lot of weight. I'd keep it simple and run the BaneBots gearmotors.

A: Massive horsepower overkill. They would be suitable for a middleweight rammer or wedge, giving a top speed near 20 MPH. With a large weapon, that much speed would make the robot as dangerous to itself as to the opponent.

A: Speed controller selection depends on more than the motor(s) you plan to control -- it also depends on how you plan to use them. If your application runs motors heavilly loaded at or near stall they will require a controller that can either source the enourmous amperage draw they will require or a controller that can limit amperage to protect itself and the motors under those circumstances.

The Team Tentacle Torque & Amp-Hour Calculator can help you figure out how many peak amps your motor set-up will require in a specific robot. Use that for a guide in selecting a controller.

A: Mark J. here: if you want to 'push the limits', you should first know what the limits are. Acceleration and pushing force are both limited by the weight pushing down on the wheels. When you add more power than needed to break traction and spin the wheels at peak horsepower, additional benefits are very small. You can gear up to trade that excess torque for greater speed, but controlling a lot of speed in a small arena can become a real handfull.

Old-school lightweight 'Dr. Inferno Junior' used four 18 volt DeWalt drill motors at 24 volts. That's 6 horsepower in a 60 pound 'bot. Run that set-up thru the Team Tentacle Torque & Amp-Hour Calculator with 4" wheels. You'll see that the motors are wildly under-utilized; the wheels break traction and spin at less than 1/6th the stall torque of the motors.

I'd say that there's no good reason to push lightweight power limit any further than it's already been pushed, but people seem to enjoy ignoring my advice. If you're determined to demonstrate real insanity, how about 4 of the 36 volt DeWalt hammerdrill motors? That would set a 'high water' mark that would stand for some time.

Q: How about three 16:1 RS775 BaneBots 42mm gearmotors per side with 4 inch wheels at 16.8 volts?

A: Six RS775s at 16.8 volts would give you just about the same power as four 18 volt DeWalts at 24 volts. The difference in gearing would make the BaneBots setup considerably slower (15 MPH vs. 22 MPH). It would certainly be powerful, but not uniquely so.

A: The number of wheels is not an issue -- the weight of the 'bot and the expected performance is what matters. A second or third wheel can be driven by chain or belt from the hub of the wheel directly attached to the gearmotor.

A pair of DeWalt 14.4v gearmotors can provide good performance in hobbyweight or featherweight combat robots no matter how many wheels you choose to power with them. You can check the performance of all popular combat robot motors with a variety of gear, voltage, and wheel combinations at the Team Tentacle Torque & Amp-Hour Calculator.

A: Mark J. here: different ESCs handle overload in different manners. Some have current limiting circuitry that allows them to cut back loads exceeding their capacity. Others, like the Victor 883, can handle only very brief overloads before they fail.

If this is for a drive system, the Team Tentacle Torque & Amp-Hour Calculator will provide the expected amperage needed to spin the wheels based on a given drivetrain configuration. Keep that under the max amperage for your ESC and you should be OK unless you somehow lock up the drivetrain.

If this is for a weapon system, the calculation is more difficult. Two RS-550 motors in parallel would pull 170 amps at stall -- almost twice the 90 amp continuous rated capacity of the Victor 833 SC. You could feather the throttle at the start of the spin-up, but you really don't want to be doing that in combat.

My advice: don't scrimp on your speed controllers. It's less expensive to buy what you actually need than to keep replacing inadequate equipment.

A: The Axi model number is a simple code:

• The first two digits represent the diameter of the motor stator in millimeters.
• The third and fourth digits represent the length of the motor stator in millimeters.
• The number after the slash is the number of turns of wire wound around each pole of the stator.

See comments on calculating the output of Axi motors in this section of the archive.

A: Depends on what you mean by 'safe'. Any overvolted motor will have a reduced lifespan, and that reduction increases very rapidly with voltage increase and with the amount of time spent pushing near stall. If you gear the RS-540 to keep it from bogging down you'll be alright at 14.4 volts. I'd keep a couple of replacement motors in my spares box, but you're gonna do that anyhow, right?

Alternately, you could upgrade to the RS-550 motor. It bolts up to the BaneBots gearbox and will run all day at 14.4 volts without trouble; I've seen them run at 18 volts in combat. You'll get increased torque and reduced stall amperage, but you'll loose some RPM and gain a few ounces of weight. I'd go with the RS-550 if you're building a speedy 'bot that could bog down when pushing, and I'd stick with the RS-540 geared down well for a pushy-bot.

A: The published performance specs are the same: speed, torque, max current, power. However, it is heavier by more than 7 pounds (28 versus 20.8 lbs.) so you could say it's not as good as the original.

A: I'm gonna have to guess at how long you've run the motors, what voltage you run them at, and what sort of abuse you've put them thru.

I suspect that you didn't break in the motor brushes properly before subjecting the motors to heavy load. New brushed motors should be 'run in' at about 1/4 speed for at least 20 minutes before turning up the voltage and the load. This allows the graphite motor brushes to contour to the radius of the commutator and maximize the contact area. Failure to do this can cause the brushes and commutator to overheat, deform, crack, or rapidly wear.

Remove the motor brushes and inspect them for signs of overheating or wear. Make sure they move freely in and out of the brush holder assembly without sticking. Minor defects can be corrected with a small file. Also inspect the commutator. A drop of WD-40 on a Q-tip can be used to clean the commutator. It may appear blue if it has been badly overheated.

Reassemble the motors and run them in for several minutes to re-seat the brushes. If this doesn't cure the problem, you've cooked the motors and they should be replaced. Many successful robots have run Harbor Freight drill gearmotors -- just make sure to break them in properly and they should work well for you.

A: No. Maximum motor current is the allowable current draw for a specific time interval. The Etec-R can be loaded down to draw 320 amps for 2 minutes before something ugly happens, or loaded to 150 amps for as long as you like. I'd estimate stall current to be over 800 amps at 48 volts.

A: Electric lifters require a lot of power and a very sturdy gearbox. I believe Wipe Out uses a Magmotor to power it's lifter -- possibly the S28-150.

A: It appears to be a good old fashioned Small Johnson motor. Proves that you don't have to run expensive brushless motors to be competitive.

A: The motor comes with two screws that fit holes in the gearbox faceplate. Assuming that you have a flat plate chassis, you can make a wide metal L-bracket that bends back under the gearbox and fastens down securely. Drill holes in the L-bracket to match those in the faceplate and fasten with the provided screws.

The far end of the motor should also be secured to the chassis. If the high-stress gearbox end is well mounted, a zip-tie thru the chassis and around the motor end will do to secure the other end in an insect-class 'bot.

A: I don't have a source of replacement parts for the Sanyo Micro gearmotor. You could spend a lot of time and effort trying to find a suitable gear -- I'd replace it and save the stripped motor for parts.

A: No. Their gearmotors are all very small, low-output units. Also, most are geared way too low to provide enough speed for a combat robot. You could use their GM18 mini metal gearmotors in a 150 gram fairyweight, but the peak power output is only about 1 watt.

Now, I have seen Solarbotics gearmotors used in autonomous ants and ants with really huge weapons that just need to be pushed around slowly. There are 'special circumstances' were you can get away with very low drive power, but most ants and beetles will require much more power to be competitive.

A: Mark J. here: you've been browsing British websites, haven't you? Petrol is what they call gasoline in the U.K. -- short for 'petrolium spirit'. A 'petrol engine' is your standard internal combustion engine (ICE).

A: Mark J. here: a thwackbot needs enormous spinning speed and lightning acceleration to be effective, and that translates into power. This is the one application where I'd go for total motor overkill and reach for the big gun: DeWalt. A pair of 14.4 volt DeWalt drill motors and gearboxes locked into high range and overjuiced to 18 volts would give you a screaming blur of a thwacker. Yes, you can use the 18 volt DeWalts pushed to 24 volts if you really want to, but there's overkill and then there's total madness.

You're correct that NERC and Robot Battles are not RFL affiliates, but they may very well use a similar 'Damage / Aggression' scoring that works against thwacks. I'd check on this before building.

A: Dead Metal, like all the early HouseBots, was powered by Bosch GPA 750 motors: 97 inch pounds of stall torque at 24 volts. The motors were geared way down; none of the early HouseBots were very fast.

I never saw 'Mr. Psycho' in person. I'm told that it was propelled by twin 5 HP Briggs and Stratton motors at 48 volts, but I don't know which specific motors those are.

A: Mark J. here: Magmotor makes dozens of different motors for a variety of purposes with a wide range of output power. Three models are sold for combat robot usage:

• S28-150 - 3.0 HP, 1970 oz-in torque, 6000 RPM, 3.8 pounds
• S28-400 - 4.5 HP, 3720 oz-in torque, 4900 RPM, 6.9 pounds
• C40-300 - 3.8 HP, 3840 oz-in torque, 4000 RPM, 11.9 pounds

You have to know what you're buying on EBay. Descriptions are often incomplete and sellers may not know much about what they're selling. Stick with motors you know.

A: A normal DC electric motor has a rotating armature of copper wire wound around an iron or steel 'core'. The core supports the copper windings and helps to direct the magnetic field, but it's heavy and adds to the bulk of the motor. The actual force generated to turn the motor is exerted against the copper windings themselves so, although convenient in manufacturing, the core is not required.

By embeding the windings in epoxy resin the steel core can be eliminated, resulting in a motor that is lighter and faster to respond. The down side is extra expense in manufacturing and less sustained power handling capacity due to the loss of the heat sinking and radiating effect of the armature core.

A: Way too little information. Any gearmotor will 'work' on a 4-bar lifter, but I can't even guess at the performance of the resulting lifter since you gave me no clue about the 4-bar geometry or the weightclass of the 'bot.

As a general comment the motor is very heavy for the power it puts out, and the worm drive gearbox is built for windshield wipers -- not heavy lifting. It's a poor choice for a lifter motor.

A: The NPC-41250 is quite durable and easy to mount, but it is also fairly expensive ($150+) and very heavy (7.5 pounds) compared to gearmotors with similar performance. Worse, the gear reduction is too great for use with reasonably sized wheels: with 6" wheels at 24 volts it tops out at a hair over 3 M.P.H. -- way too slow!

If you want to stick with an NPC setup, look at the 'Build Your Own Gearbox Kit' at the bottom of the NPC-41250 page linked above. You get 14 M.P.H. for the about the same cost and weight.

There are plenty of popular alternative gearmotors. The BaneBots 42mm 27:1 gearbox with the upgrade to RS-775 motor is about $75 and weighs just about 1 pound. Acceleration and speed with 6" wheels would be similar to the NPC 'BYOG' kit. Other good choices would be the popular cordless drill gearmotors: 18v DeWalt, Harbor Freight, etc.

You can 'test drive' a wide selection of motor/gearing/wheel/weight combinations at the Team Tentacle Torque & Amp-Hour Calculator.

Q: What batteries should I use for a pair of NPC 'Build Your Own Gearbox Kits' in a lightwight?

A: Here are the steps to estimate needed battery capacity:

1. Go to the Team Tentacle Torque / Amp-Hour Calculator.
2. Put in your motor type (NPC 02446), Weight Class (60 lb), Motors per Side (1), Wheel Diameter (6" 4"), and Gear Ratio (5.5:1 4:1).
3. Click the 'Battery Chooser' button.
4. Read off the estimated Amp Hours of battery capacity needed for 3 and 5 minute matches.
5. Compare that to the 'real' output of a specific pack by selecting that pack in the pull-down menu and checking the 'Reserve Capacity'.

Q: Would I only need one BattlePack PN-3000-24 with a pair of NPC gearbox kits?

A: The 'Battery Chooser' estimates the power consumption of all the motors entered into the calculator. I made an error when I first did the battery pack calculations for a pair of NPC BYO Gearbox kits. I thought the gear reduction was 5.5:1, but it's actually 4:1. That changes things a little.

With the correct gear ratio, the 'Battery Chooser' shows that a single BattlePack 3000-24 would be fine for two NPC BYO Gearbox kits in a lightweight with 4" or 5" wheels. The performance difference between wheel sizes is small -- I'd go with the 4" wheels in an arena up to 24 feet across; 5" if you fight in a really big arena or just wanna brag about top speed.

With 6" wheels, the 'bot could completely drain a BattlePack 3000-24 at the end of a tough 3 minute match. You do not want to run out of juice at the end of a match! A single BattlePack 3600-24 would be a better choice for 6" wheels.

A: National Power Chair (NPC) is a company based in Minnesota that rebuilds motors and gearboxes for electric wheelchairs. Their gearmotors became very popular for combat robots back in the BattleBots days. All of their motors are brushed, as are other industrial permanent magnet DC motors built for economy, reliability, and prolonged high torque output capacity.

Brushless motors are found in electronic and computer applications where tightly controlled speed and compact dimensions are needed. The model airplane industry adopted brushless motors because of their very high power to weight ratio. High performance brushless motors are designed for high speed / low load operation and are not useable in combat robot drive systems where they would experience prolonged high loads at low speeds. They rapidly fail under such conditions. Robot combat use of brushless motors is restricted to weapons.

A: No, sorry. The NPC kit is simple, durable, and easy to mount but is less powerful than some other gearmotor options of similar weight. In my opinion, it's still ample power for a lightweight.

A: Depends on how much load you put on the Harbor Freight motor. For use as a hobbyweight drive motor with reasonably sized wheels, it should be fine up to its maximum rated 12 volts -- 14.4 volts might be pushing it. Controlling a big spinner weapon is likely not advisable. Note that the 'Super Rooster' does have a bothersome delay before it will switch from forward into reverse.

Hobby R/C ESCs are rated for operation of R/C cars -- not combat robots that spend a lot of time pushing. If the motor is stalled, your Rooster isn't going to live long. Don't trust the amp figures given by hobby R/C ESC manufacturers; they are purely theoretical and for instantaneous loadings only.

A. The Black Max has been used in some terrifying robots, but it is much heavier (15+ pounds) and less efficient than some more recently available motors. The S28-400 Magmotor weighs less than half as much and produces more horsepower at a similar amp draw, but I'd go with the still smaller and lighter S28-150 Magmotor for a middleweight wedge. That would be plenty.

A. The text description of the Piranha gearmotor at Robot Marketplace only says is that the gearbox is, "strong, lightweight and reliable". It's too new to have a combat record -- I don't know of anyone who is using it. Like any new product, this one is 'try at your own risk'.

What you're really buying here is the gearbox. For $93.99 it comes with an inexpensive 550 Johnson motor attached, but any 540 or 550 size motor would bolt right up. There are plenty of other 550-size gearmotors available, most of them quite a bit less expensive than the Piranha. It does have a big 1/2" shaft and beefy dual bearings in a tough-looking case. Mounting should be easy. It is a little heavier than the comparable BaneBots gearmotor. The 36:1 gear ratio is a little to high for my taste -- with the Johnson motor @ 18 volts and 3" tires, it would only give 7 MPH.

A: ESC stands for Electronic Speed Controller.

A: Mark J. here: the EV Warrior was an electric bicycle built back in the 90's. The company went bankrupt and thousands of the Bosch-built motors hit the surplus market at very reasonable prices. The motors were compact, weighed around 3.25 pounds, and pumped out about 1.5 HP when overvolted to 24 volts. A lot of combat robots made good use of the motors.

Unfortunately, the last source of these surplus motors dried up in 2005. You might get lucky and find a few on EBay, but buy a couple of spares -- overvolted EV Warrior motors were not known for longevity.

Q: If the 'EV Warrior' motor was so popular, why where they discontinued?

A: They were popular because they were dirt cheap -- as little as $15. They were only dirt cheap because a warehouse full of them was dumped on the surplus market after the electric bicycle company went bankrupt. When Bosch was making them they cost ten times as much and were not a bargain for robot builders.

A: Brushed motors use a set of physical sliding contacts (brushes and commutator) to control the direction of current flow through the armature windings and keep the motor spinning, so all the ESC has to do is control the speed by limiting current flow.

Brushless motors have no sliding contacts and rely on an 'intelligent' motor controller to perform the duties of both the commutator and the speed controller. A brushless motor will not even run without a suitable motor controller.

See also a previous post on this topic in this section.

A: Too slow! The Team Tentacle Torque Calculator shows a top speed less than 3 MPH for that configuration. It'd be OK with 6" wheels. Better yet, use the 900 RPM drill motors with 6" wheels.

A: BaneBots is, if anything, a little conservative with their voltage ratings. I've seen the RS-550 motors run at 18 volts in combat, so the RS-775 should take the voltage nicely.

Plugging the numbers into the Team Tentacle Torque Calculator indicates that 4 of these gearmotors would give a wild ride to a featherweight 'bot. Top speed comes out to about 14 MPH, which would come in 1.3 seconds or 18 feet. The tires would spin at less than 11 amps per motor (127.5 amps is stall current). Might be overkill.

I was using the Hitec Digital Robot Servo with an additional 4:1 spur gear drive before -- remember that it got hot at stalling when trying to hold things? I have a choice of a 5:1, 10:1 or 20:1 worm reduction for the final stage of the new motor. With size and weight in mind, what gearmotor would you consider to be the best choice to replace my servo?

A: Take a look at the BaneBots RF-370 20:1 25mm Spur Gearmotor. Coupled to a 20:1 worm drive, it will give better torque and speed than your 4:1 geared Hitec servo at the same 7.4 volts.

If you're willing to run at a lower voltage the BaneBots FF-180 30:1 25mm Spur Gearmotor is lighter and at it's maximum rating of 4.5 volts with the 20:1 worm drive would provide torque and speed similar to the 4:1 geared Hitec servo at 7.4 volts.

Q: Can the BaneBots FF-180 Motor be overvolted to 7.4 volts? Specs says that its operating voltage is from 3 to 4.5 volts.

A: The Mabuchi FF-180SH-2860 sold by BaneBots is a metal-brushed motor. Metal-brushed motors don't generally put up overvolting as well as carbon-brushed motors, particularly in applications where it will be even briefly stalled. I'd advise against trying to run it at 7.4 volts in your application.

Q: If I choose the 4.5V Banebot gearmotor for my gripper, what would be your suggestion for dropping the 7.4 volts from my LiPo battery to 4.5 volts? I tried to use a solid-state voltage regulator in a previous project, but I wasn't happy with the results. Should I try to regulate the voltage or get a different battery for the gripper?

A: Mark J. here: I don't know how you're controlling your gripper motor, and that makes a difference. The problem with mildly overvolting DC motors is the extra amperage that comes with the increased voltage -- not the extra voltage itself. Amperage creates heat and increased heat will destroy the metal brushes in the BaneBots FF-180 motor.

If you're using an R/C system with an Electronic Speed Controller (ESC) to control the BaneBots gearmotor you can limit the amperage to the motor either by setting the ESC to deliver less than full power, or by setting the Adjustable Throttle Volume (ATV) on your R/C transmitter to prevent 'full throttle'.

If the motor will be controlled by simple switching, adding additional resistance to the motor circuit will restrict the maximum amperage and will keep the brushes intact. How much extra resistance is needed to hold the stall amps constant at the new voltage?

How do you add 0.43 ohm that will carry 6.7 amps? AWG 22 gauge wire will carry 7 amps of current and has a resistance of 16 ohms per 1000 feet. A loose coil of 27 feet of 22 gauge wire will not overheat and works out to 0.43 ohm.

Plugging in values for the Axi I get 2194 watts. Thats comparable to a Mini-Magmotor and only 1/6th the weight! Can that be right?

A: Mark J. here: Axi and other brushless hobby motors do put out a huge amount of power for their weight. They were designed for model airplanes that can't afford extra mass. They were also designed to spin along at high RPM and high efficiency and to never be bogged down into the rev range where they produce peak power. Their small mass means that they will fail very quickly from thermal overload if they are required to operate in a high-torque range for more than a very small percentage of their run cycle. We can just barely get away with using them for spinner motors.

Magmotors are designed for combat robot propulsion. Their extra size and mass enables them to perform for extended periods at near-stall speeds and in the max power range of their torque curve. All that extra mass is wasted if the motor spends most of it's time at low power output keeping a spinner weapon up to speed. Conversely, an Axi would fail quickly if used as a middleweight propulsion motor.

Also remember that my formula for estimating brushless motor output is theoretical. All sorts of things will work to decrease the actual performance in use: additional circuit resistance caused by the motor controller, inability of the battery to provide full voltage at large amp drain levels, power loss from the gear/belt drive, etc.

A: Mark J. here: they are not as different as you think. The shape of the torque, amperage, and power curves for brushed and brushless motors used in combat robotics are effectively identical. Both brushed and brushless are Permanent Magnet Direct Current (PMDC) motors -- the only substantial difference is that brushed motors use a set of physical sliding contacts to control the direction of current flow through the windings, while brushless motors use an electronic controller box for that purpose. The elimination of the sliding contacts reduces arcing and friction, making brushless motors more efficient.

The Team Run Amok Spinning Weapon Excel Spreadsheet works equally well for brushed and brushless motors.

A: How many volts are you willing to run? Up to 12 volts, I'd run the 2826/8. For 4 or 5 cell LiPolys, switch to the /10.

Q: So in order to get the most power out of a Axi gold 2826, I should use maximum number of batteries allowed with the highest number 2826? For example, the most powerful Axi 2826 combination would be 2826/12 with 18 NiCd cells?

A: Mark J. here: NO -- stop looking for short cuts and do the math.

On paper the 2826/10 (0.042 ohm) on either 16 NiCads (19.2 volts) or 5 LiPolys (18.5 volts) puts out more power than the 2826/12 (0.062 ohm) on 18 NiCads (21.6 volts). The number after the slash on the Axi model number refers to the number of turns of wire around each armature pole. The sequence for the Axi 2820 series just happened to work out with a larger number of wire turns providing greater power at max recommended voltage.

Q: How are you finding the terminal resistance of the different axi's? I could do the math if I knew how to find that.

A: Most sites that sell brushless motors provide the 'internal resistance' (same as 'terminal resistance') for each motor in the specifications. I get my specs straight from the Axi website.

A: Mark J. here: from other equations I've given here, adjusted for the specs usually provided for them:

• Axi 2820/8 @ 9.6 volts = 883 watts output
• Axi 2820/10 @ 12 volts = 917 watts output
• Axi 2820/12 @ 16.8 volts = 1192 watts output

Q: Say a hobbyweight has a spinning bar weapon with 3500 joules of energy. That means that the bar could be spun up by an Axi 2820 in about 3 seconds, since 1 joule is equal to 1 watt second. So once it spun up, how long could it spinning before it melted?

A: Your calculation of spin-up time is over-simplified. The output of a permanent magnet DC electric motor operating at constant voltage is dependent on the RPM of the motor, with peak output at 1/2 of the no-load RPM. The power consumption, torque, and total power produced by the motor all change with RPM as the weapon system spins up. A full analysis of weapon spin-up time is provided by our Team Run Amok Spinning Weapon Excel Spreadsheet.

Amperage creates heat. Spinning up the weapon requires high motor torque output and coresponding high amperage draw. Once the motor is up to a high-speed spin, the amperage draw is greatly reduced as very little power is required to maintain the weapon speed -- just enough to offset frictional drag. In this situation a properly geared Axi 2820 would spin along happily until the battery goes flat.

The problem of meltdown becomes a worry if the motor is used for robot propulsion and is used for extended periods in high torque/amperage pushing, acceleration, or rapid reversing.

A: Batteries produce Direct Current -- use a DC motor.

A: Like most R/C car hobby motors, very little performance information is provided for the Mamba Max. From what is given there isn't any way to tell how much power it puts out. It does claim to spin 82K RPM at 14.4 volts, which could be difficult to gear down to useable weapon speed.

The Mamba Max is an 'inrunner' style brushless motor. Outrunner 'rotating can' style brushless motors are much more popular for weapon motors because they produce much greater torque at lower RPM. Stick with a proven motor.

Q: Which Feigao motors are best for hobbyweight spinning weapons?

A: I haven't seen the Chinese-made brushless Feigao motors used in robot combat, so I can't comment on their suitability. The limited information they give for their 540Y-15/7 outrunner motor looks about right for a hobbyweight weapon, but why not stick with one of the proven brushless motors?

Q: Alright, are there any hobbyweight weapon motors you can recommend?

A: It would really help if I knew something about your weapon other than it goes on a hobbyweight. Full Body spinners, drums, bars, and disks of varying sizes all have different power requirements. We've said all this before on the site:

• Look at what other 'bot builders are using in similar situations. You'll find a lot of builders using Axi brushless motors for spinner weapon power. The 2826 and 4120 series Axi motors are commonly used in hobbyweights and have proven to be powerful and reliable. Similar motors are made by Lehner, and Himax.
• The Team Run Amok Spinning Weapon Excel Spreadsheet will help you to calculate the kinetic energy and spin-up time for your proposed weapon and motor combination.
• Help in figuring out the stall torque of a brushless motor from commonly listed specifications can be found in our previous post on Brushless Motor Selection.
• 'Outrunner' style motors are preferred because they run at lower RPM with greater torque than 'inrunner' motors. Keeping a belt drive on an inrunner motor spinning at more than 60,000 RPM can be a problem.

A: The Team Tentacle Torque/Amp-Hour Calculator has listings for 83 different combat robot motors, including the Harbor Freight 9.6, 12, 14.4, and 18 volt drill motor/gearbox combinations.

A: Mark J. here: I estimate the peak power output of an Axi 2814/10 at a little over 830 watts. A pair of those in a hobbyweight would give more than 140 watts of drive power per pound of robot -- about eight times what you could effectively use in a small arena. The extra power will just be lost in wheelspin, and keeping it pointed in a straight line would be a real challenge.

You could go with a smaller Axi, but the motors have tight limits on their maximum sustained amp draw: they melt if pushed too hard. An Axi makes for a great weapon motor, but they aren't ideal as drive motors.

A: Mark J. here: the primary market for brushless hobby motors are model aircraft, and model aircraft builders don't care about the specs we use -- model aircraft don't stall their motors! You can find formulas and definitions for all the motor specs aircraft guys use at the bottom of the Aveox technical page.

The Team Run Amok Spinning Weapon Excel Spreadsheet needs only two key motor specs: stall torque and no-load RPM. Brushless motors usually have an RPM per volt specification that lets you calculate the no-load RPM at your voltage. The stall torque can be calculated if you can find the 'terminal resistance' for the motor:

If you can't get the required info for the motor you're interested in, I have a couple of low-tech solutions:

• I've said this a dozen times before on this site: look at what other 'bot builders are using in similar situations. If someone else has already done the trail and error work, don't repeat it -- copy it.
• There is a 'rule of thumb' that model airplane guys use: a brushless motor puts out about twice the power of a brushed motor of the same weight. So, find a brushed motor that has the specs you need to drive your spinner and shop for a brushless motor that weighs half as much.

A: Would you believe it doesn't make any difference? You've got three black wires with male connectors from the motor and three black wires with female connectors from the controller -- plug 'em in any way you like. If the motor spins backwards, switch any two of the connectors to reverse the spin direction.

A: Your RS-540 motor is fine, but you picked the wrong gearbox. Try re-running the calculations with the 16:1 gearbox, and change the 'Gear Ratio' box on the Team Tentacle Torque Calculator to 1:1 (it defaults to 6:1). That will give you better than 9 MPH and lightning acceleration with 3" wheels -- perfect for a small arena.

Q: If I decided to build a pushy bot/rammer instead of a wedgebot, would the RS-540 16:1s still work well?

A: See the previous article on propulsion power requirements. The RS-540s will give you plenty of power for anything you might want to do with a hobbyweight.

A: If you wire two identical motors in parallel to a single channel of an Electronic Speed Controller, the potential total amp draw from the ESC will double compared to a single motor. Each motor will have 100% of normal power output.

If you wire two identical motors in series to a single channel of an Electronic Speed Controller, the potential total amp draw from the ESC will be cut in half compared to a single motor. Each motor will have only 25% of normal power output.

See a related post on multiple motors.

A: Your dad treating the motor like a Buffalo Wing isn't the problem. Take a minute and read thru the instruction sheet for the ESC. If the battery voltage is too low, the BaneBots GWS ESC will not start-up and will make a continuous 'dong-beep' sound. Charge up your LiPoly (the ESC only works with LiPolys) and you'll be fine.

A: Mark J. here: the motors you will need depend on the style of 'bot you're planning to build. A 'bot with a massive weapon that just needs to push itself around the arena will need a lot less drive power than a ramming brick or wedge. It comes down to matching the power-to-weight ratio of your 'bot to the type of attack strategy you're planning.

Want still more power? Use more gearmotors! Four RS-550s would be enough for a 60-pound lightweight wedge, and six RS-775s would power a 120-pound middleweight rammer.

A: Mark J. here: at stall, a Permanent Magnet Direct Current (PMDC) motor produces maximum torque and will consume:

The mechanical power output of a motor is a product of torque and RPM. At stall, a PMDC motor produces zero mechanical power: the torque is at maximum but RPM is zero.

PMDC motor torque and amperage consumption decrease linearly toward zero at no-load RPM ¹. At maximum no-load RPM the motor again produces zero mechanical power: the RPM is at maximum, but the torque is zero. The product of torque and RPM is at maximum at 50% of the no-load RPM, where the motor will consume very close to 50% of the stall amperage:

The efficiency of a PMDC motor in converting electrical power to mechanical power varies with motor design, materials, and RPM. A value of 50% at peak output is typical. This gives an estimate of power output as:

This simplifies to:

¹ Actual amperage consumption does not reach zero due to torque required to overcome friction.

A: How much drive power a combat robot needs depends on the design and attack strategy of the 'bot. A wedge or rammer will need a lot more drive power than a full-body spinner. Several top-ranked middleweight wedges run a pair of S28 "mini" Magmotors -- that's 6 horsepower worth of go-power! A middleweight 'bot with a large active weapon could get by with as little as 500 watts of drive power, but common practice calls for more like 1500 watts to keep the 'bot in the fight. One horsepower equals approximately 750 watts.

Wheel diameter isn't a factor in motor selection. For larger wheels, just increase the gear reduction to keep the torque high enough to avoid stalling the drivetrain. See the Optimum Gearing article at the Combat Robotics Wiki.

A: Mark J. here: Reliable robot motor speed controllers are expensive, but at around $260 the Robowars IBC controller isn't more expensive than comparable dual-channel controllers like the Vantec RDFR23, or Robot Solutions RS80D. Don't confuse the power ratings of robot controllers with the advertised ratings for R/C car controllers. The R/C car controller ratings are entirely hypothetical -- try to pull the full rated amperage thru an R/C car controller and you'll very quickly get an expensive puff of smoke. Remember: the most expensive speed controllers are the ones you overload and blow up!

The Robowars IBC controller is popular for hobbyweight and featherweight robots, but with a 50 amp-per-channel power rating I wouldn't try to build a middleweight around it.

A: Mark J. here: I don't think 'most popular' is a good way to select a weapon controller. The controller should be matched to the specific motor and weapon loading for your 'bot, not just to it's weight class. I've seen a very wide range of weapon motors and designs in hobbyweights. If you can tell me more about the weapon you plan to build, I can be of more help.

I'm planning to use two Mini EVs or HTIs to power a vertical disk weapon.

A full analysis of your weapon system power requirements and energy potential also requires the weight and diameter of your disk, and the speed reduction of your drive system. Assuming an 8" disk weighing 3 pounds and a 3:1 reduction, your twin-mini-EV powered weapon running at 12 volts would spin up to 3780 RPM in about 1.6 seconds with 530 Joules of energy, and will eventually reach over 1000 Joules. Killer for a hobbyweight!

If you have a no-slip drive system for the weapon (chain, gears) and switch power full-on, those twin Mini EVs will pull an average 117 amps during that 1.6 seconds, with a peak inrush of almost 170 amps. That's killer too, but not in a good way.

The easy solution is to use a hefty battery pack, a Victor 883 controller, and a belt drive. You'll be able to feed the power in quickly enough to keep a great spin-up time while avoiding that nasty sudden amp spike you'd get with a solenoid/contactor. A belt drive set-up with a little slippage will help keep you from melting down when the weapon stalls. The 833 is reversible to allow you to clear the weapon if it jams.

There are other options:

• Use a solenoid/contactor and a separate high-amp battery pack for the weapon. This will keep the big amp surge from glitching the other systems on your 'bot, but adds weight.

• Use a high slippage belt drive with a solenoid/contactor to avoid high amperage draw during spin-up. This will lengthen spin-up time and will be difficult to adjust properly.

• Use a lower capacity motor controller with a Team Delta Digital Servo Slower between your receiver and controller to slowly ramp-up the amperage delivered to the weapon motor during spin-up. This will lengthen spin-up time and you'll still need a high-slip belt drive to keep everything healthy when the weapon stalls.

A: Mark J. here: mechanical switching control of brushed weapon motors has a number of drawbacks. Solenoid operated switches are called 'contactors', and a reliable contactor isn't much less expensive than a weapon ESC. If you get a cheap one, the contacts can weld shut under the high current loading encountered when suddenly dumping full voltage to a loaded weapon motor. That high current draw is also hard on your battery pack and may cause a voltage drop that can glitch other 'bot systems. A smooth transfer of current available with an ESC avoids these problems.

A contactor requires an R/C interface to trigger, like the Team Delta solid-state R/C 'D' switch. The R/C switch plugs into your receiver and controls a small current load to activate the coil of the contactor. The contactor then switches the high current load to the weapon motor. You can control as many weapon motors as you like with a single contactor -- as long as the total current draw of the motors does not exceed the capacity of the contactor. This also applies to ESCs.

Oh, and did I mention that contactors are heavy? They are not commonly used in high power sub-light 'bots. I'll say it again, 'cheap' and 'robot combat' don't mix.

A: It's not easy to compare performance figures for the brushless outrunner motors -- manufacturers often don't supply the type of numbers you really need for comparison. Also, there are different versions of the AXI 2208 (2208/34, 2208/26, 2208/20) that have very different performance figures.

Browse around the Aeromicro website. They have what specs are available for AXI, Park, Himax and other outrunner motors. The E-flite Park 370 Outrunner has seen good use in insect class 'bots and would be a good place to start.

A: Not a toggle switch -- some very early robots used an R/C servo to close microswitch contacts to turn motors on and off. It was unreliable, and suitable only for very slow robots. Also, some early R/C dune buggies used a servo to rotate a mechanical speed controller based on power resistors - both heavy and unreliable. If you really need cheap, you'll be better off to hack a radio/controller module out of an R/C toy or pull the low-power speed controller out of a low-end servo.

A: There are lots of motors you can use in your robot. You can find pictures, descriptions, and specifications for dozens of popular motors at: www.robotmarketplace.com/marketplace_motors.html.

A: Mark J. here: check the Frequently Asked Questions section of the archive for general comments about cheap robot parts.

Speed controllers are the heart of your 'bot. They are key to the function and usability of the entire machine, and if they fail you're toast. To be useable in your 'bot, speed controllers must:

• Handle the current and voltage requirements of your motors;
• Transition seamlessly from forward to reverse motion;
• Interface with your R/C system; and
• Be small, light, and reliable.

I don't recommend scrimping on robot electronics -- you can bet your opponent hasn't.

A: Inexpensive cordless drills are a very popular source of compact and powerful gearmotors. If you really want to 'salvage' something, permanent magnet DC gearmotors are used in automobile electric seats, windows, and windshield wipers. Your local auto salvage yard can be a good source.

Note that the power and output speed for gearmotors varies widely. You may have some difficulty finding something that meets your needs, so be ready to improvise!

A: Thwackbots are not popular in the insect weight classes. They need time and a clear area to spin up that just doesn't exist in a small insect class arena. If you really wanna try a beetleweight thwackbot, the B16 High Speed Gearmotor at RobotMarketplace might be worthwhile.

A: Mark J. here: to calculate the spin-up time and energy for a specific rotary weapon system you need to know the stall torque and top speed of your electric motor, the shape and dimensions of the spinning weapon, the type of material you'll use to make the weapon, and the gear reduction between the motor and the weapon. With that information, you can use the Team Run Amok Spinning Weapon Spreadsheet to get the performance specs of the weapon.

It may be difficult or impossible to find accurate torque information for small hobby motors like the Park 730. If you run into this, my suggestion is to learn from the experience of other builders. Find a robot with a weapon set-up similar to the one you wish to build and see if it performs well. Based on what I've seen, a Park 370 outrunner should have no trouble spinning up a 6 ounce drum of reasonable proportions. I'd use a belt drive with a 2:1 or 3:1 reduction, depending on the diameter of the drum.

A: Bosch makes several motors used in combat robotics:

• The Mini EV Warrior is available at Robot Marketplace. I don't think Bosch actually makes this motor, but it kinda got lumped in with them. Weight is just over one pound with an output of about 1/3 HP at 12 volts.

• The Bosch GPB, also known as the `EV Warrior' is no longer available. It weighed 3.25 pounds and produced just about 1 HP at 24 volts. These motors were on the surplus market for as little as $15 each and became VERY popular.

• Run Amok used the large Bosch GBA 750, purchased from Team Delta. This motor was popular in England and even powered some of the Robot Wars Housebots. The GBA 750 weighs a little over 8 pounds and can produce more than 3 HP when overvolted to 36 volts, but is more often used at 24 volts.

Q: How much Horsepower does a Bosch 750 motor produce at 24 volts?

A: Mark J. here: There's a simple formula to calculate the horsepower of a DC permanent magnet motor at different voltages:

The Bosch 750 makes 3.375 HP at 36 volts, so horsepower at 24 volts = ( 24 / 36 )² X 3.375 = 1.5 horsepower.

A: Check the motors, mounts, and gearboxes at Team Delta.

A: Mark J. here: real specifications for R/C hobby motors are just not provided by the manufacturers. They offer all sorts of variation in magnets, armature winds, and can designs -- but they won't give real-world numbers on the performance differences. Without figures like amperage draw, torque curves, and real RPM it's a pure guessing game.

How did you decide that two 550 motors are the right number to power your FBS weapon without specs for the motors you want to use?? How are you going to select an ESC for the weapon if you don't know how much amperage the motors draw??

I'd stick with motors that provide real specifications, like the Mini EV. If you go with a hobby 550, try to find a bot that's using something similar and use their experience. Otherwise, you're on your own!

A: Mark J. here: a 'machine wound' motor has the armature windings done quickly by a machine. The windings are not neatly and compactly arranged on the armature. A 'hand wound' motor is wound by a human who can take care with the wire and make the windings more regular and uniform. A hand-wound armature usually starts off better balanced and requires less drilling or grinding in the dynamic balancing process. The more uniform wire winds also result in a little more efficient use of available current. The overall difference is small and is of more interest to an R/C racer than a 'bot builder.

A: You can see a whole bunch of different drive and weapon Electronic Speed Controllers at Robot Marketplace - speed controllers page.

A: Mark J. here: Axi brushless outrunner motors are built for the model aircraft market and the specifications they list are designed to make it easy for an airplane builder to pick the best Axi for their purpose. It's not easy to extract robot type specs from the information provided.

The simple answer to your question is no. At the same voltage, the Axi 2208/20 will produce both more torque and more RPM than the Axi 2208/34. It will also pull almost three times the amperage at stall and will require a larger battery and an ESC with greater power handling capability.

A: Mark J. here: The manufacturers don't tell, and the R/C racers don't care. To find out, you'll have to buy one and do your own testing (or find someone who has). A procedure to measure the performance specs of a DC motor, including stall amperage, can be found here.

I dug thru my box of old R/C parts and found a 17 turn hobby R/C motor. A quick test using the 'D-cell method' shows 31 amps stall current at 7.5 volts. That seems a little low. A 19 turn motor would pull less stall current, but I can't say how much less.

A: Mark J. here: there are several methods for determining the maximum current a permanent magnet DC motor will draw at stall. I think the simplest for most builders is the 'D-cell' method. You will need:

• a new, fresh alkaline D-cell; and
• an ammeter capable of reading at least 15 amps;

The reading provided by the ammeter is the stall current at 1.5 volts. Current is proportional to voltage, so the stall current in operation would be this reading times (V / 1.5) where V is the operating voltage of your 'bot. This all assumes that your 'bot battery can actually deliver the calculated amps, and that the resistance of your speed controller and wiring is negligible.

A: Mark J. here: an insect class FBS has a disadvantage -- it has to spin-up really fast because of the small arena it will fight in. That's why you don't see many beetle FBS designs. A pair of Speed 400s will give you about 150 watts of power -- too little to spin up a heavy shell before your opponent gets to you.

Q: If I still want to build a beetle class FBS, what kind of motors would be adequate?

A: Mark J. here: I've posted before about calculating power requirements for spinning weapons. 'Adequate' power depends on:

• the rotational inertia of the spinning weapon; and
• the amount of time available to spin the weapon up.

The cardinal rule of FBS design is: "There is no such thing as too much power." For a beetleweight friction-drive FBS, there many not even be such a thing as enough power. I'd consider another design.

A: I really don't think that there are worthwhile options to a good speed controller, but I have seen some other things tried:

You can use the Team Delta RCE225 dual ended switch. It plugs direct into your R/C receiver and will give forward/off/reverse control for a single motor (rated 24 amps) for $42.50. Works best on slow 'bots.

If you're really hurting for funds, I remember seeing some early 'bots that converted the variable speed trigger that came from the same cordless drill as their motor. They removed the trigger spring and used a servo to move the throttle. Another servo ran the converted forward/reverse switch. Clunky and hard to drive, but it did work.

A: Sorry -- I've never used either a Jeti or Phoenix. Try asking that question at the Delphi Antweight Forum.

A: You need to be very careful when interpreting motor amperage specifications. Brushless motor specs may list a "maximum loading" which is a recommended amperage over an extended period of time that is much lower than the peak amperage draw! Electronic Speed Controllers are usually rated for the peak amperage they can provide over a very short time period.

It doesn't hurt to use an ESC with a higher amperage rating than you need, and it may keep you from cooking the ESC. When in doubt, use a higher rated ESC.

A: Tech question, Mark J. here: In a brushless motor, each of the three leads is directly attached to different spots in the stationary field windings of the motor -- just as a commutator would be attached to the rotating field windings in a brushed motor. You can see wiring diagrams for brushless motors at: www.megamotorusa.com.

Since brushless motors have no commutator, they require some electronic 'intelligence' to correctly assign the current flow to the field windings of the motor as the armature rotates. This intelligence is built into the motor controller matched to the brushless motor you have selected. The motor controller also acts as speed controller on hobby brushless motors.

A: Mark J. here -- You can turn your weapon motor on and off with a simple mechanical relay or contactor, but that puts a really big momentary drain on the battery. The drain can drop the voltage so low that your radio receiver cuts out. A speed controller allows you to feed power smoothly to the weapon and avoid the voltage drop.

With some designs, it's also handy to be able to reverse the weapon direction if you're inverted or if the weapon gets fouled on something.

Also, the new 'brushless' motors require a controller to run at all. You can't just hook them up to a battery -- it won't work!

A: Technical question - Mark J. here: The wire colors are different, but the signal and polarity is the same on Futaba, JR, and Hitec radio systems -- they are fully interchangeable. Some Airtronics radio gear has the polarity reversed, so always check before mixing anything with Airtronics. More info on the different connector types can be found here.

A: Technical question - Mark J. here: A twin motor controller can handle two (or more) motors in parallel on each channel (four total) if the total current draw is within the amperage rating of the controller. The specific controller recommendation would depend on the total draw for a pair of the motors you plan to use.

If you want four motors each with independent control, then you'll have to use two, two-channel controllers.

A: If you want to go hard-core there are some tiny new brushless outrunner motors like the MSYS-300T that could make you 'King of the Fairies'. Only 20 grams, plus 2 grams for the controller!

On a lower budget, I think I'd try a warmed-up 130 size motor like the 'Hyper Dash 2'. They're light (17 grams), cheap, and put out crazy RPM at low voltage.

A: I'm getting tired of plugging Robot Marketplace, but how about trying their antweight motor section?

A: They're the same size and they weigh about the same, but the Speed-300 spins faster, puts out about 3 times as much power, and consumes about three times as many amps. There's also a Speed T-280, and a Speed S-280 that each have their own specs.

A: The T-280 draws 5 amps at max power output, but much more at stall. If your application makes sure it never stalls because of high gear reduction or slip clutches, and your ESC can really handle 5 amps for as long as you plan to abuse the motor, then maybe - but I wouldn't.

A: All sorts of motors are found in R/C cars. Many toys have the 130 or 230 class motors that are popular in antweights. Larger scale hobby R/C racers have motors too heavy for most antweight designs, but they might work well for beetleweight weapons or hobbyweight drives.

A: The 130's are more than enough, but heavy. Take a look at the Sanyo NA5S motor/gearbox at Robot Marketplace. Less than 0.3 ounce each!

A: 'Best' depends on your design needs. The 'outrunner' style (Axi, Park) motors are widely used because of their high torque and reasonable RPM. I like the Axi 'cause it's easier to mount.

A: You don't see many ant thwackbots! Thwackbots use their high turn-in-place speed to spin an attached hammer or axe up to dangerous velocity. In a small ant arena you'd better be able to spin up quickly. Remember to keep your track width as narrow as possible to maximize spin RPM. More power is better, but I think a pair of hot Speed-280s should be enough to get you some respect.

A: The 'Speed 280' motor is a good choice. It's inexpensive, light weight, and has enough power to be feared! The current trend in weapon motors is 'brushless' -- but these are expensive and require special controllers. Try a Speed 280 for your first spinner! They are used in R/C aircraft, so your local hobby shop may stock them. If not, check out the ant motor selection at The Robot Marketplace

A: Technical question - Mark J. here: NO! Most micro electronics have a very narrow range of operating voltage. Raising the voltage can fry them. Unless you're very sure you know what you're doing, keep the voltage to your electronics at the original specified levels.