Tough at a sale price of $ 150.00. I haven't seen it working in person. My only concern is if the movements are smooth and not Rocky like most others I have seen.

A somwhat long, but informative video:

Thanks for the video. It does a lot better than I expected... The movement's are quite smooth. A possible ezb candidate down the road.

I wonder if a transmitter hack could be done?

Ron

Here is a video of the internal mechanism

I purchased one of them and it works VERY well, it’s a little miracle... but I absolutely wanna use its internal mechanisms to build a full-sized one. I’ve got the 3d printed full size body and head, but the problem is modifying the mechanism (leverages, motor, batteries, wires...) for the new use. Did anyone have some experience about that?

I managed to take advantage of ebay and got a handful of bb8 for 20-30 each. I want to mod them to look like the different versions of star wars robots and ofcourse put a ez robot mini board in them :)

I would really like to figure out two things, 1 being replacing the bottom weight with a charging coil and maybe extra batteries. Second is a charging coil under the head so it doesnt need to charge seperatly. This way at the most I just flip the main on switch.

The spin master really is super cool, I almost started building a 3d printed bb8 but nonw I have something to start with.

I purchased one of these a while back and love the thing. Only thing I wish worked a little better is the follow me mode.  I was building an infra red flashlight thinking that's how it figured out where you were but I don't truely understand how it works.  Any input is greatly appreciated

Re: 2017 Spin Master's Hero Droid BB-8

Greetings,

I purchased my little droid back in 2017. As everyone knows sooner or later the rechargeable batteries will no longer accept a charge. In addition, Spin Master never anticipated the consumer having an interest in replacing the batteries. I am sorry, I spent $229.00 on this toy. I am not about to throw this toy in the trash, or place it on the shelf to collect dust.

Well, I reached the point where the batteries (Body/ Head) needed replacement. I have taken my BB-8 apart and replaced the Six AA battery pack (light green in color) with a Six AA Battery pack that I found on amazon. NI-MH 1800mAh 7.2V dc. The unit moves slowly (Sphere Only), and the play time has been shorten, fifteen minutes to be exact. Now, we all know that the play time with the OEM batteries was limited. Half an hour of play time at best on a full charge.

I found another brand battery (HyperPS (UPC: 616929581751) on eBay, This battery pack is designed for RC Toys. I installed that battery, and it takes (2 1/2 hours) for a full charge. However, the unit (sphere) moves slightly faster. It still runs half the time if you want BB-8 to follow you, or if you use the remote control. If I do not use the remote and allow BB-8 to run on his own, he lasts longer between charges. About half an hour to forty five minutes.

As mentioned above, I replaced the battery in the head as well (3.7V 400mAh) 702035. But didn't make any performance improvements. When I am referring to slow, I mean the sphere. His head, and reactions to my voice are normal.

I do recall how fast BB-8 at the time purchased. It was difficult to maneuver him in small areas. I was aware of the head connecting the body issue. However, all you had to do is twist the head ever so slightly, you would feel the magnets making full contact. Needless to say, my BB-8 never came off in that fashion.

I did contact the company, Shida Battery Technology Company, Ltd. They did not respond. Then, I contacted another battery company, and they only sell these batteries in bulk. I was also informed by a Chinese Customer Service Representative  that these batteries are dangerous. Well, if that is the case, why are they being placed in Children's toys in the US?????

A few years back, I purchased two Hasbro Star Wars Astromech Interactive R2D2 Droids. I am so happy that they require house hold batteries as opposed to rechargeable batteries.

So I am here to discuss the reasoning for the slower moving sphere. Are there missing specs on the OEM battery pack that were not printed?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Jonathan

Could it be another issue and not the batteries? Maybe age has hardened up lubrication somewhere or motors are wearing out?  Maybe overheated solder joints or bad connections linitting amperage draw?

I believe not, and I will tell you why.

I purchased another BB-8 off of eBay. It did not come with a head. I placed my BB-8 head on the sphere  from eBay, and it performed as expected. Fast!

I dismantled the sphere from eBay, took the battery out, and placed it in my sphere. BB-8 ran like new.

In reference to liberation, my hands were covered in white grease. I checked all wired connections by unplugging the connectors, removing the wires for inspection. I even removed the board and examined the soldering points. Everything appeared to be in fine shape.

This toy doesn’t have that many miles on it. I never took it outside as documented in the manual. In short, it has been exposed to light usage.

This is puzzling, and I am determined to find out the reason why.

Question for you. If I were to purchase a battery with the specs of 2000 mAh or higher. Would that make a difference? Or am I just wasting my money?

jonathan

Well, I'm not a battery guy. I'm know more about AD & DC power. However I do know that amps are where the power comes from. Voltage is just the pressure that pushes the amps. If you are delivering the rated voltage then you probably need a bigger amp pool to draw from.

I did a quick google search on your module of BB8 and found several videos on replacing the batteries on this little guy. there is one youTube vid where the guy gives an Amazon link to the body battery in both his description and the comments below. Both batteries links are not available anymore but one shows that he used a 7.2V 2400mAh Ni-MH AA Battery Pack SM-2P 2Pin Plug. After he replaced his old battery with this one the BB8 rolls nice and quick. Here are a couple of the links I got this info from for reference to find the proper battery. Do your own Google search for more results:

Link to the battery - (Not available) 2400mAh battery on Amazon - Not Available