New to the realm of robotics

I suggest starting with the mechanical stuff adding motors and gradually working you way into the electronics

dan

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote:

Very good advice. Start by getting hold of a little DC motor, say from one of those toy cars at Radio Shack which you should be able to find at the first neighborhood garage sale for a buck. Take it apart, then on your own try to make a remote control wire from a battery to the motor so that with one little switch you can make it go forward, and then backward. This will introduce you to the double pole double throw concept so essential in DC control as you move into H bridges. Also you will learn about voltages and how you can't just put a resistor in line and with the snap of a finger say "6 volts... go to 2!"

Then, the next time you see an RC toy at another garage sale, pick it up, take it home, try to see how it works by getting interested in servos and circuits.

All the time asking questions in this forum, Goggling robotics, studying vendor catalogs and product descriptions.

Wayne

I'll weigh in here.

Go the public library. Even an old book on robotics is still valid for the basics. You can't Google if you don't know what key words to look for. Typing in 'robotics' isn't all that helpful.

You can also ask the reference librarian to help you locate other materials, like magazines. Some libraries have microfische of Nuts & Volts -- 15+ years or so of robotics info. Check Reader's Guide to Periodicals for back issues of magazines like Radio-Electronics, which ran several complete robot building series. Can't get these on the Internet.

The best part about the library: it's free.

-- Gordon

Wayne Lundberg wrote:

on that I'd suggest not trying to dig into microcontrollers right away, its an expensive way for a starter to make smoke. play with electronics for a while before going there, but realize that people have more problems with teh mechanical end than they do the electronic end.

dan

Gord> I'll weigh in here.

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote;

Before you listen to all that talk about motors and controllers and processors, try the all but forgotten "Top Down" approach. Why are you interested in robotics? Are you really interested? Do you have a burning in your belly that there is something unique you want to do? Are you going to wind up with a ton of junk parts 6 months from now and not have a plan about what to do with it? Do you have an idea you want to try or are you going to be just another "robotics nerd" who would be better off playing some hoops and getting some exercise for their body? Unless you are sure, and have something you really want to do, there are lots of other things to play with. Not to discourage you, but robotics is no big deal unless you have a burning desire to get into it. It is just sort of the fad of the day, so to speak. If you have something you want to do, then go for it.

RedCrow

Thanks all, for the all the advice, it's all being gratefully recieved:) keep all the advice coming, I need all of it:)

to Redcrow all the hobbies that I have taken up I have stuck with:) and Dad will pinch all the parts before I even blink;) Manga:)

I think it's the other way around. While it's always good to learn basic electronics (which you can do with a $25 lab kit), microcontrollers make it far easier to create the type of circuits most often desired for robotics, with little or no wiring, and therefore far less chance for a connection error. Unless you're wanting to make everything yourself, there are store-bought solutions where you basically just plug things together.

Everyone has their favorites, but for beginners I suggest the OOPic R (about $80), which directly interfaces to multiple RC servos. The BOE-Board is also good, though more expensive. It comes with an extensive manual, and if you follow it, it makes it pretty hard to blow smoke out of the BASIC Stamp.

-- Gordon