Low-end Prop BoeBot
Since I first got Bob, I've wanted to upgrade him to a Propeller, but other things kept coming up. This week I decided to revisit the project.
I looked at the Prop BOE and the Eddie boards, but both have things I don't really need and are a bit out of reach financially at the moment. So it was just use what was on-hand. I have the MSR1 board and it worked okay, but the lack of a breadboard area was a problem. The Quickstart board presented the same issue. Both fixable, but a bit more work/$$ than I had in mind.
The Gadget Gangster Prop Platform USB with the Proto Plus board seemed the best solution, although the breadboard is still the tiny one as on the Stamp BOE. Rummaging through the parts bin and plastic stock, I came up with the following:
The small breadboard on the GG board can be used for the things that don't change often. And the section of board from the PE Kit gives me a lot of extra room to play with.
I removed the 4xAA battery holder in favor of a 9.6V NiMH pack, mounted under the logic board. The boards sit on a 3 1/4 x 5 inch section of expanded PVC and the stand-offs were shortened to help hold the battery pack in place.
Still some cleanup to do, but so far everything is going well!
Happy Independence Day! (Explosives and Alcohol... what could go wrong! :-> )
Amanda
I looked at the Prop BOE and the Eddie boards, but both have things I don't really need and are a bit out of reach financially at the moment. So it was just use what was on-hand. I have the MSR1 board and it worked okay, but the lack of a breadboard area was a problem. The Quickstart board presented the same issue. Both fixable, but a bit more work/$$ than I had in mind.
The Gadget Gangster Prop Platform USB with the Proto Plus board seemed the best solution, although the breadboard is still the tiny one as on the Stamp BOE. Rummaging through the parts bin and plastic stock, I came up with the following:
The small breadboard on the GG board can be used for the things that don't change often. And the section of board from the PE Kit gives me a lot of extra room to play with.
I removed the 4xAA battery holder in favor of a 9.6V NiMH pack, mounted under the logic board. The boards sit on a 3 1/4 x 5 inch section of expanded PVC and the stand-offs were shortened to help hold the battery pack in place.
Still some cleanup to do, but so far everything is going well!
Happy Independence Day! (Explosives and Alcohol... what could go wrong! :-> )
Amanda
Comments
Very cool. I think all robot really wish they had a Prop controlling them.
Doesn't the GG board have a SD card holder? If so, you might want to try out my path record and play back code I wrote for the PropBOE-Bot (code attached to post #16). You'd probably just need to change the pin constants. It does require the use of a RC transmitter and receiver.
Another very nice robot. Thanks for sharing it.
Looks great! I would not say low end at all...
My first "Prop Bot" was Propeller Proto Board mounted on a Boe Bot Chassis. Still one of my favorites.
Enjoy your Prop-Bob!
-MattG
@Duane - Thanks! Despite the slightly more complex code, the Prop makes doing more things easier.
I've been looking at your code. Perhaps I'll have time this weekend to play with it.
@Whit - Well, he's low-end in that changing over to the Prop didn't incur any out of pocket expense. Everything was already in the parts bin.
@photomankc - Thanks! He runs pretty well, but I need to stop the battery from moving around. The shifting CG makes figuring out timed routes pretty tricky.
@Matt - Thank you! Real estate indeed. That's why I got the 4-wide breadboard for the PE Kit. Of course adding the second Prop and its bits and pieces kinda compromised the gain, but there's still room for multiple experiments.
Thanks again, y'all... and have a great weekend.
Amanda