Battery Choice: 12v / 12 amp and Arduino Power

After lots of debate, forum searching, annoying the desk clerk at Sandy's, and general anxiety, I settled on a beefy 12 volt 12 amp hour battery. Got it for $70. I probably could have found it cheaper online, but the guy at Sandy's has been really helpful and curious about my build. That kind of local attention, even if it's a bit more, is worth it.

I plan on having a power port inside the detail door (or maybe the power port door) on the front of R2 so he can easily be recharged. I got this wall plug, stripped off the alligator clips, and soldered on a 2.1mm plug. It matches the female recepticle that will (eventually) get placed inside the detail door. Now I'll be able to recharge R2 by just opening the door and plugging in. No stupid alligator clips or opening the dome to get to his guts. Ideally, I want him to hang out in the front hallway, plugged in. There'll be a lot more in this area soon, but for now, I'm just taking baby steps.

Also got my Arduino powered up using the external power option. I soldered some 21 and 22 gauge wires to another 2.5mm plug and eventually, it will be tied into the 12v battery (along with everything else). My main goal this weekend is assembly of the Teeces Arduino logics, and figuring out how to do the LEDControl library thingy. I've got the basic upload idea down, but how to get the custom sketch into the Arduino is a mystery to me right now. I need to hunt through the Arduino tutorials more. I'm really hoping it will make sense once I have the logics built and can see (or not see) the results as I upload. We'll see....