armatron

If it's the regular Armatron, and not the Mobile Armatron, there are no special items for it. The Armatron is completely mechanical inside, using just a single motor, and a series of cams and clutches.

Years ago some people worked up various solenoids and motors and things to operate it remotely, but more as a challenge than something truly worthwhile. You can probably find the articles about it on microfiche at any good library. Start with your library's guide to periodicals (which will either be in print form, or more likely, on their computer system). There is a slight chance that some of the old magazine articles have been copied on the Internet.

Do note that some references you find may be for the Mobile Armatron, which *can* be readily connected to a parallel port. But it's a different animal from the regular Armatron.

-- Gordon Author: Constructing Robot Bases (Forthcoming) Robot Builder's Sourcebook, Robot Builder's Bonanza

Here's an article for interfacing the Armatron to a Commodore 64 (my favorite retro computer.)

Radio-Electronics May 1985 has an article on giving computer control to a non-mobile armatron.

scanned copy of the article can be found at