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Get Yer Hero Jr Right Here — Parallax Forums

Get Yer Hero Jr Right Here

ercoerco Posts: 20,256
edited 2012-09-17 12:43 in Robotics
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Heathkit-Hero-Jr-Free-Ship-/150900495638?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item23225ed516

Decent price if it works and you get it for under $400. Free ship.

Comments

  • RobotWorkshopRobotWorkshop Posts: 2,307
    edited 2012-09-17 07:20
    And if anyone here ends up buying the robot I can help with any repairs and upgrades to get it back into shape......

    Robert
  • Martin_HMartin_H Posts: 4,051
    edited 2012-09-17 08:29
    As near as I can tell the Hero Jr can roam around using sonar and do odometry. But with modern components you can do that with a much smaller and cheaper robot. Does it do anything neat besides having nostalgia value?
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2012-09-17 09:01
    Nope..........
  • RobotWorkshopRobotWorkshop Posts: 2,307
    edited 2012-09-17 09:06
    Martin_H wrote: »
    As near as I can tell the Hero Jr can roam around using sonar and do odometry. But with modern components you can do that with a much smaller and cheaper robot. Does it do anything neat besides having nostalgia value?

    I guess you've never seen one working before. It was meant to be a home/personal robot and had quite a few built in routines to act as a security guard, play games, and act like a robotic pet. There was also a library of programs on cartridges (12 different ones) that had a variety of routines for the robot from BASIC programming, educational games, and even an exercise partner. It can also talk.

    Once you start adding on all the equivalent features and talk a comparable size (with finished body panels) then you can make a valid comparison. Otherwise it is like comparing apples and oranges. Different classes of robots. Small robots can cost less. Larger robots may cost more.
  • xanaduxanadu Posts: 3,347
    edited 2012-09-17 09:32
    Martin_H wrote: »
    As near as I can tell the Hero Jr can roam around using sonar and do odometry. But with modern components you can do that with a much smaller and cheaper robot. Does it do anything neat besides having nostalgia value?

    If the chassis is in good shape that alone is worth some money.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2012-09-17 10:48
    I have one and love it for nostalgia. It's big and vaguely R2-D2 like. Lots of empty space in there though

    Odometry was never HERO Jr's (or HERO 1) strong suit. It had tricycle steering, one steerable drive wheel and 2 free-rolling wheels. It didn't go straight reliably, as there was no hard centering stop or switch on the steering mechanism. It used a geared stepper motor for steering, and a leaf limit switch for each full left of full right steering stop. It counted pulses between extreme limits and used half that count for a center position. You could manually bend the leaf spring limit switches to tweak it, but it was never 100% satisfactory. An accurate center position switch would have made all the difference in the world.

    Robert is right in that there was a lot of software for various applications & games in the form of plug-in cartridges. HERO Jr. wasn't marketed to the experimenter/hacker like the HERO 1 was. The Votrax voice was high quality and fun to play with. Hardware wise, though, it didn't have tons of sensors or I/O. PIR sensor, microphone (handclaps), voice, one Polaroid sonar unit, wheel encoders, one photocell, 8 LEDs, 4 button radio control, and a battery voltage sensor.

    You could actually do more with a BoeBot or even a Scribbler 1 with some hacking and some programming.
  • Martin_HMartin_H Posts: 4,051
    edited 2012-09-17 12:13
    Here's an example of someone making a clone of an RB5X using modern components:

    http://letsmakerobots.com/node/31158

    It's 6/10 the size of the original, but seems like it's just as functional. I'm surprised no clones using modern components of the Hero have popped up.
  • RobotWorkshopRobotWorkshop Posts: 2,307
    edited 2012-09-17 12:43
    Martin_H wrote: »
    Here's an example of someone making a clone of an RB5X using modern components:

    http://letsmakerobots.com/node/31158

    It's 6/10 the size of the original, but seems like it's just as functional. I'm surprised no clones using modern components of the Hero have popped up.

    I believe there is one in the works but its not completed quite yet......

    Robert
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