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Unread 24-01-2017, 12:45
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Re: How to power Mini-PC on robot?

I think it's vaguely clear that by "integral", they mean, like, the battery isn't an external device that plugs into the power supply port in lieu of a regular power supply. A laptop not only has a cutout for a battery, but a port purpose built for its use, and hardware integral to the laptop to regulate its charge. I think it's not THAT hard to understand the Q&A on this.

All of that being said, I think the rule is stupid and pointless and has no business making this distinction. USB batteries for custom circuits should be allowed. I know they aren't, so I won't use them, but they should be. It's silly that they aren't allowed, and it arbitrarily makes some solutions (more expensive ones!) better than others (more accessible ones!).

Rules for USB batteries don't have to be complicated. Allow a USB powered custom circuit to connect to it using standard ports and cables only. Make it like pneumatics where you can't modify the cables or the battery or use custom wiring or whatever. Maybe even regulate the size of the USB battery if you must. This is not prohibitively difficult.
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