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I am building a (fork of) the Lawnbot-400 robot found on Instructables.com and in the book Arduino Robotics.

The author, while brilliant, tends to gloss over and omit details, one of those being how he actually connected the 2 recommended 12 V DC batteries to anything (I realize for the more experienced builder this is probably obvious though).

Could you please provide guidance on the types of cables to use to do this?

It seems like I have seen some which use little clamps on one end and / or which have a plastic terminal in the middle of the cable that can be disconnected while the other 2 ends are connected to the battery and motor controller. Do I need those features?

The batteries I am using are Mighty Max 12 V 6 Ah high-rate gel series.

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If you search for "battery quick connect" you will see for little plastic connectors that will enable you to connect/disconnect the batteries.

These are not 100% necessary, yet they do make life easier when working with things: you just unplug the batteries when you don't want your circuits "live".

The "cables to use to do this", just your regular cables. The size of the cable depends on what power you will be transmitting through it. There are nice charts on the net giving you info on what size you should use depending on the power draw. You can search for "cable sizing chart" to check which would work for you.

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  • $\begingroup$ Thank you. So when you say regular cables does that mean alligator clips on one end? and what should be on the other end if anything? As of now I ordered some with alligator clips on both ends and I presume I will remove and strip the wires on the end which connects to the motor controller. $\endgroup$
    – Hack-R
    Jan 30, 2017 at 12:42
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    $\begingroup$ @Hack-R Ah sorry. Well, no. In this case, say you buy a spool of cable. You cut the length of cable you want. Then, on the "quick connector", you "crimp" the cable to a "terminal". So you have to get a "crimping tool". The quick connector will probably bring the "terminals". On the other side (battery or motor-side), you have to check which type of terminal you need. Then you crimp that other end to that terminal. Terminals are the elegant and correct way of doing things. In truth, and for dirty testing, you can just jam the cable to the motor and hold it there with your hand/zip-tie. $\endgroup$
    – AJ.
    Jan 30, 2017 at 12:56

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