Recent blog entries for Botnerd

Hi everyone. I've just been working lately. I'm a stocker at a grocery store now. I'm hoping to get some money soon for robots. I got my arm controlled by the infrared remote now, at least somewhat and I hope to have the whole thing controlled soon. After this I might do some telepresence stuff and a few other ideas I have. I hope to have the arm finished soon and start on some other ideas I have. One of my future projects is going to be really awesome. I'll post more later. Till then, cheerio.

Hey everyone. I'm mainly just chilling right now and looking or a job. I have fooled around a little with my robotic arm and I got the infrared control circuit to work with the remote, which I bought before I left for the Navy. Now that I'm a Navy dropout I'm looking for a job. I hope I find something soon so I can start college in the not too distant future. It looks like my robot projects are put on hold once again due to the lack of funds and soon time. I'm waiting on a computer I'm going to borrow till I get my own computer, whenever I get the money. I need the computer to program my robotic arm so I can finish the project. I'm hoping to get a job soon though so I can be financial stable and hopefully make some extra money to fund my robotic endeavours as well. I'm planning to have some more interesting blog entrys in the future. Till then, peace.

I'm still not doing any robot work right now because there are more pressing things going on at the moment. I live with my parents still and they're really getting on my case for spending money. The good news is I may have a job soon because I have a interview with Wal-Mart Monday. Hopefully I'll get the job, get enrolled in college taking computer science, buy a car, and hopefully have some money left for robots etc. I am waiting for parts to alter and finish working on T.R.A.P. I hope to have it purdy much completed soon. I still need to fix some of the mechanical problems, and make the actual arm a little smaller because it's a little heavy. I plan to have it remote controlled soon along with other stuff I plan to add. Hopefully I'll figure all this stuff out soon.

Well I'm back home. I am back home because I got a general disharge from the Navy. I'm dyslexic and so I had an extremely hard time fuctioning, not to mention I can't think under pressure. I am really sick because I caught something from all the people in basic training, germs from all around the country and world. I want be doing anymore robot stuff until I get over this sickness and get my room back together. I still need to find a job and enroll in the local college where I will hopefully be taking computer science.

This is my last day as a civilian, for tomorrow I leave to finish processing and then go to Navy basic training. I guess I will have to do more with T.R.A.P. and robots in general once I have some free time, which I won't have for a while. Once I finish T.R.A.P. I plan to start some new projects probably using somekind of PIC. I plan to start experimenting and learning about sensor arrays, mechanics, and programming architectures, etc. I plan to learn more about robotics in all areas is what I mean. I plan to build somekind of humanoid or another in the not too distant future. For now I have to make it through basic training, make it through technical training learning how to be a "Gas Turbine Systems Apprentice", and making it through the Navy period. I guess I will not get to build or work on robots ales I use my leave time to do so, that would be well spent in my book though, of course, it's robots. Maybe I'll even get to visit Japan while in the Navy and get to check out the robots. I sure am going to miss robots and Mountain Dews!!! Wish me luck. At least they're going to pay for my college so I will hopefully get a degree in computer science and work towards getting a job in a robotics related field.

Hi all, I finished fixing the mechnical problems on T.R.A.P. two days ago. I added another Hitec 422 servo to the shoulder for more lifting power, an aluminum servo horn to the base servo for more stabability and strength, a two servo bracket for the shoulder for the two servos to mount onto, and I added two rubber belts from a tape mechanism to hold the arm back a little but mostly help with loads on the lower arm. I also made a neat little LED light for T.R.A.P., the light uses an ultra-bright LED along with a 470 ohm resistor and clips right onto my Basic Atom Bot Board's pins because I used female crimp pins and it works nice, their also insulated because I put heat shrink tubing over the solder joints and the 1K resistor. I might put information on making them later on my site. They can bend and everything because I used solid copper wire. The ultra- bright LED can't be powered by an I/O though so I just hooked it up to the positive and negative 5vdc and it comes on when power is applied. I like it though, it lights up the electronics and everything in the dark, it's really bright. I also made one with a regular LED and it can be driven by an I/O, naturally. I'm glad I got all the mechanical issues worked out for the most part. I also added a 6 vdc 2A power supply for the servos. Now I just have to get my PS2 controller controlling T.R.A.P., I hope I get it working. I'll try to post pictures soon and hopefully some videos when I get it going, the only bad thing is they want have sound because I don't have a nice camera yet. I hope to get one soon.

Hey y'all! I still have a few mechanical problems to fix on T.R.A.P., and since I got my parts today I will start working on them tomorrow. I am going to clean up my weights for the base, paint em, and then I'll mount them onto T.R.A.P. I also have to tighten up the shoulder of the arm. After I do this stuff all the mechanical problems should be fixed. I may also go for a higher power AC adapter to power the servos and give them more power. I've already tried a few programs out. And when I finish fixing all the mechnical problems I am going to try a few more, and then I am going to start on the PS2 controller and getting it to work. Over and Out

Well, I got my OOPic-C working after all. I can't believe it took me so long to figure out what was wrong but I had to figure out which pin on the Atom Bot Board correspondid with the pin and I/O line on the OOPic-C. I tried a servo program out and it worked. I am glad that the microcontroller is still good because now I get to program in C. I guess I will either sale my Basic Atom or save it for another project. Well, I'm going to start on programing T.R.A.P. now and hopefully find some code for the PS2 controller or come up with some myself.

Well, things are taking a little bit of time on T.R.A.P. I got the microcontroller hooked up and it was blinking its oboard LEDs that let you know it is working(a diagnostic.) Everything went wrong when I tried to program my OOPic-C though. I was testing it out with a LED which I was trying to get it to blink. I had the LED hooked to the right pin inline with a 1k resistor and to ground, but the thing would just not blink, and I know my code was good too. I also tried a simple program that makes a servo motor spin all the way around, but to no avail, that didn't work either. I do not know what is wrong with my OOPic-C. I hope that I didn't fry it, but I am getting a reading from its EEPROM, I don't know. I guess I will have to look at it later. As far as I have read you put in the code, compile it, and then it should start executing, but mine is not doing a thing. For now though I have just ordered a Basic Atom. With the Basic Atom I will not be able to program in C, but at least I should be able to move on fairly quickly. I am also working on a few mechanical things on the arm, like adding the weights to weigh the base down, but also I have noticed that the servo horn that the actual arm is connected to is bending a great deal, so I am going to have to do something to ease the stress, asize that everything should go smoothly after I get my new micro put on and programed.

Well, I finished T.R.A.P.'s base and have mounted the arm onto it. All I have left to do now is mount and hook up the electronics. I also need to weigh down the base so that the arm doesn't tip over when it's fully extended. I hope to have T.R.A.P. going soon. Here is a link so you can see a picture of it: http://madcybo rgscientist.tripod.com/