To mount the servos and encoders on the ActivityBot, we use 3/8" pan-head screws. These screws are the same ones included in the current Boe-Bot kits. How old is your Boe-Bot?
I haven't ever personally had to trim the board to make it fit; the only other thing I can think of is that there may be a very minor difference in chassis size due to the age of your kit. On my bot, I have maybe 1/16" clearance or less between the board and the tail-wheel end of the chassis.
Maybe, as you suggest, my chassis is slightly different than the current one. My BOE-Bot is a few years old but not more. I'm away from home right so I can't measure it. I'll try to remember to do that when I get home in a couple of weeks. Thanks for your help!
I just thought I'd let you know that I finally got my rechargable battery pack installed in my ActivityBot chassis. I had to reverse two of the servo screws and also had to assemble it in a slightly different order from what the instructions suggested but it seems to be solid. Thanks for your help. Now I need to find time to actually program the ActivityBot!
All this talk about an ActivityBot got me to purchase some encoders during Parallax's last sale. The encoders were the only part of the ActivityBot I didn't have. The encoders arrived today. It looks like I'll be joining you in converting a BOE-Bot into an ActivityBot.
All this talk about an ActivityBot got me to purchase some encoders during Parallax's last sale. The encoders were the only part of the ActivityBot I didn't have. The encoders arrived today. It looks like I'll be joining you in converting a BOE-Bot into an ActivityBot.
The conversion was quite easy. What I had a hard time with was installing the rechargable battery pack. The fit is very tight.
The conversion was quite easy. What I had a hard time with was installing the rechargable battery pack. The fit is very tight.
Oh, and another thing that will be challenging for me. I don't have an ActivityBoard to put on my new robot chassis so I'm going to try using a PropBOE instead. I'm not sure whether that is going to work with Andy's ActivityBot code though.
Oh, and another thing that will be challenging for me. I don't have an ActivityBoard to put on my new robot chassis so I'm going to try using a PropBOE instead. I'm not sure whether that is going to work with Andy's ActivityBot code though.
The PropBOE's ADC chip is different than the one used on the ActivityBoard so any code using the ADC would need to be changed. The PropBOE's ADC is I2C and the ActivityBoard's ADC is SPI.
Can you point out where you needed to tweak the directions listed in the instructions? No need for anything super-specific but it would be useful to know how your build went for the next time we modify the instruction document.
Can you point out where you needed to tweak the directions listed in the instructions? No need for anything super-specific but it would be useful to know how your build went for the next time we modify the instruction document.
Here is what I did to install my battery pack:
From Boe-Bot-Li-ion-PowerPack-v1.0.pdf:
Step 5. Loosen, but do not remove, the (2) #4-40 screws that are closest to the “bottom” of the Boe- Bot, as shown in Figure 2.
I removed these screws entirely because they got in the way of tightening the screws that hold the battery pack to the metal standoffs. I put them back in after assembling everything else.
Step 6. Remove the (2) nuts and (2) screws that are closest to the top of the chassis, as shown in Figure 2.
I didn't remove these because they hold the encoders in place. Instead, I reversed them so the screw heads were inside the chassis instead of outside the chassis.
I also replaced all of the nuts with nuts with nylon inserts but that has nothing to do with installing the battery pack.
I found it very difficult to work inside of the robot chassis because there is so little clearance. I ended up having to use a nut driver instead of plyers because there wasn't enough room for my pair of plyers. I also had a hard time attaching the power cable to the battery pack because it is jammed in so close to the servo power cables.
However, I did manage to get it together and I believe it works okay. I hope I don't ever have to take it apart again though! :-)
I will pass your experience along to the rest of the Education team. Changes will need to be made so that the directions can account for both Boe-Bot and ActivityBot users; encoders make a big difference in how Step 6 is approached, for example.
Thanks for being so open about your Boe-Bot -> ActivityBot, 5-AA to Li-ion conversion process.
I will pass your experience along to the rest of the Education team. Changes will need to be made so that the directions can account for both Boe-Bot and ActivityBot users; encoders make a big difference in how Step 6 is approached, for example.
Thanks for being so open about your Boe-Bot -> ActivityBot, 5-AA to Li-ion conversion process.
I found it very difficult to work inside of the robot chassis because there is so little clearance. I ended up having to use a nut driver instead of plyers because there wasn't enough room for my pair of plyers. I also had a hard time attaching the power cable to the battery pack because it is jammed in so close to the servo power cables.
When I got some encoders for testing they came with a little plastic wrench that made it MUCH easier to get those nuts and screws on. I think I would have thrown my BOE-Bot against the wall had I not had that wrench (and mine goes back to 2000 or so, so it's quite an old one). I just checked and there's no mention of the little wrench in the encoders page. You can see a picture of it on the Activity Bot page. (FWIW, this wrench, being AFAIK lasered out of some kind of softish plastic, "hugs" the nuts for a firm grip. It's quite ingenious.)
I didn't try with an Li-Ion pack, but with the 5-cell holder it's also very tight under there. I wonder, with all the new stuff coming out, if Parallax shouldn't do a Magnum version of the BOE-Bot. Doesn't have to be huge, but large enough for bigger batts, a Ping, and other stuff they didn't have when the BOE-Bot first came out.
Comments
We'll make it work.
I just thought I'd let you know that I finally got my rechargable battery pack installed in my ActivityBot chassis. I had to reverse two of the servo screws and also had to assemble it in a slightly different order from what the instructions suggested but it seems to be solid. Thanks for your help. Now I need to find time to actually program the ActivityBot!
Thanks,
David
All this talk about an ActivityBot got me to purchase some encoders during Parallax's last sale. The encoders were the only part of the ActivityBot I didn't have. The encoders arrived today. It looks like I'll be joining you in converting a BOE-Bot into an ActivityBot.
The PropBOE's ADC chip is different than the one used on the ActivityBoard so any code using the ADC would need to be changed. The PropBOE's ADC is I2C and the ActivityBoard's ADC is SPI.
Can you point out where you needed to tweak the directions listed in the instructions? No need for anything super-specific but it would be useful to know how your build went for the next time we modify the instruction document.
From Boe-Bot-Li-ion-PowerPack-v1.0.pdf:
I removed these screws entirely because they got in the way of tightening the screws that hold the battery pack to the metal standoffs. I put them back in after assembling everything else.
I didn't remove these because they hold the encoders in place. Instead, I reversed them so the screw heads were inside the chassis instead of outside the chassis.
I also replaced all of the nuts with nuts with nylon inserts but that has nothing to do with installing the battery pack.
I found it very difficult to work inside of the robot chassis because there is so little clearance. I ended up having to use a nut driver instead of plyers because there wasn't enough room for my pair of plyers. I also had a hard time attaching the power cable to the battery pack because it is jammed in so close to the servo power cables.
However, I did manage to get it together and I believe it works okay. I hope I don't ever have to take it apart again though! :-)
Thanks for being so open about your Boe-Bot -> ActivityBot, 5-AA to Li-ion conversion process.
When I got some encoders for testing they came with a little plastic wrench that made it MUCH easier to get those nuts and screws on. I think I would have thrown my BOE-Bot against the wall had I not had that wrench (and mine goes back to 2000 or so, so it's quite an old one). I just checked and there's no mention of the little wrench in the encoders page. You can see a picture of it on the Activity Bot page. (FWIW, this wrench, being AFAIK lasered out of some kind of softish plastic, "hugs" the nuts for a firm grip. It's quite ingenious.)
I didn't try with an Li-Ion pack, but with the 5-cell holder it's also very tight under there. I wonder, with all the new stuff coming out, if Parallax shouldn't do a Magnum version of the BOE-Bot. Doesn't have to be huge, but large enough for bigger batts, a Ping, and other stuff they didn't have when the BOE-Bot first came out.