Another Project Funded by RoboToons T-Shirt™ Sales Robotics 101a - building a robot - What is Robotics? A mix of Mechanics, Electronics, Programming, Arts & Crafts ... So much of the time the Arts & Crafts are forgotten but they do play a huge role in all robotics. For those interested to get started it's very easy and affordable. Learning and playing with robotics doesn't take a rocket scientist because most of what you need has already been invented, designed and developed ... including the programs to do most things. So we start off with COTS = Common Off The Shelf ... parts and programs. First go buy a few things ... spending as little as $200 you can build a very basic robot including Power and ReCharging, but everything here will be used over and over in other projects. For the first project you will need; Two Continuous Rotating Servos ... $26 do a search online and you will find prices range from $13 on up ... I suggest getting the $13 servo motors as these will be used over and over on the different various projects. example: Futabas from Parallax.com Remote Control Radio & Receiver ... $45 I've seen some good 6-channel systems starting about $45 online. example: HobbyPartz.com The most difficult choices are your battery and charger ... you want something you can use for all your R/C projects not just this one beginner robot. One battery pack about 6V - 8V DC Lithium preferred LiPo ... $45 The trick here is to find a brand and stick with them so your charger can have one balancer to fit the cells for recharging. I use ThunderPowerRC.com ... Be sure to ask for standard R/C servo connectors on the power leads or you'll have to solder them yourself. If your radio is Futaba they use a keyed connector ... so you can ask for a Futaba compatible connector ... but it's not too important as long as you pay attention to + and ground (-) when connecting to the receiver. Amazon.com Lastly for radio gear is a channel mixer $4 Commonly known as a "V" Tail Mixer ... hobbypartz.com One battery charger LiPo preferred ... $80 Get the charger that best fits your battery pack so you don't have to screw around with adapting cables and wires. This is a very basic and very useful for home hobby robotics charger for ThunderPowerRC batteries; Amazon.com Charger wallwart $30 Amazon.com Finally ... a small cardboard or stiff-paper box about 100mm(4") wide ... 100mm long and 50mm tall. Now you've spent about $200 but all these materials you will use over and over as you explore your creativity with robotics and automation. A great resource for good useful parts and these beginner instructions is to start with a simple Parallax.com Boe-Bot ... I've seen them online for as low as $50 and have bought several just for all the parts! Check eBay.com for a good old Serial Boe-Bot kit ... Be sure it's the full kit not just a parts kit. The cheapest BoeBot online after eBay seems to be Carl's Electronics $144 about $15 cheaper than direct buy from Parallax.com These are great kits and include a comprehensive manual (my own guide to these online lessons) a STAMP module and BOE for experiments besides some other very useful and very reusable parts. If you want to save money learning and experimenting start with the Parallax.com BOE-Bot Now will assemble a most basic remote controlled bot.

Support US ™ Buy a T-Shirt Sponsor links R affordable Have an active link to your Robot / Hobby Shop in this column Find a commercial sponsor get a FREE link to your own personal robot site ... a posting worth $25/yr. 175x200 pixels max. Affordable WebSite/Domain Hosting

- Robot Parts Design/Drafting Services -

- what do you need designed? -

Robot Resources