After running some errands this morning - including picking up some metric hardware - we're ready to get to it, and see if we can't finish up the drumbot build. We need to install the new drive motors/wheels and finish up the wiring. Once this 'bot is done, all we'll have left is the walker. Let's see if we can get ourselves down to just one 'bot left ... [More]

After wrapping up our featherweight yesterday we're left with the 12lb drumbot and 3lb walker to work on. As the hobbyweight is closer to completion than the walker we'll start there today. We need to wire up the drive train and take it for a test drive! [More]

Almost a third of the intended Motorama 2013 fleet is yet to be completed, and we jump in the BotMobile in five days! Fortunately it's not as grim as it sounds - both the featherweight and hobbyweight aren't actually that far from completion, and the beetle walker is essentially a kit, so fingers crossed that one goes according to plan. Today we'll focus on the featherweight Intrusive Interloper 3.0. [More]

Tonight's efforts were predominantly directed at the twelve pound drumbot Nihilistic Naysayer 2.5, which sustained damage back at the Franklin Cup at the hands of Fiasco, which damaged a drive wheel. Our goal tonight is to swap the dead wheel and make sure the speed controllers work, now that we've got the hang of programming and calibrating them. [More]

After all the problems we had trying to get the pistol radio working with these speed controllers in Intrusive Interloper 3.0 we're going to take a swing at getting it running with the Spektrum radio instead. If that doesn't work, then we're at a loss as to where to go from there ... [More]

Now that we've actually made a start on the beetleweight walker, we need to seriously consider a weapon for it. The plan all along has been an overhead hammer, so we need to work out how to build one and affix it to the body. We've not made a hammer before, so it's been a challenge trying to figure out the best way to put one together, and here's our initial design for it. [More]

Time is ticking away before Motorama 2013, and we still have some unfinished 'bots to deal with. There's a 12lb drumbot with a dead drive train, a fairyweight that needs some wiring sorted out, a featherweight needing assembly, and a walker that's still very much in kit form. Tonight we're going to start with the 30lb'er and see where we get to. [More]

After running a few errands, including a trip to the hardware store for some more #6-32 taps, it's time to get to work - specifically on the drive train for Intrusive Interloper 3.0, and whatever other tasks we want to cross off the lists. [More]

We ran some errands this morning, giving us a later than normal start in the Build Space, but the enthusiasm is high, after finishing the Sportsman yesterday, and we're hoping to keep that going as we finish the featherweight Intrusive Interloper 3.0. We have pretty much everything we need, so let's get to it! [More]

We're reallllly close to having the Sportsman finished, so our goal this evening is to finish the 'bot and cross it off the To Do list. We only have a few things to wrap up, so fortified by a home-made pizza, it's time to hit the Build Space! [More]

We got a late start tonight, but really wanted to make more progress on the Sportsman Palindrome30 as it's the next 'bot closest to being finished, and one that we have everything we need for. [More]

We're still looking for the easiest way to make our beetle walker respond to remote commands. To that end, we ordered a pair of wireless modules from Pololu which turned up today. We didn't have the Servotor32 board handy to work with, but we still wanted to see these doohickies in action. [More]

We knew the moment we woke up this morning that we were finally going to receive our fancy new parts from FingerTech Robotics (despite obsessive refreshing of the USPS tracking page not showing any updates) and we wanted to finish another 'bot tonight. Things had stalled a little in our timeline, although things were getting crossed off the To Do Lists. To the Build Space! [More]

Now that we have a mess of metal geared servos, it's time to perform a servo transplant on the Hexy Kit, and upgrade him. This will, by all accounts, mean replacing servo horns, and then we need to test whether these servos have the torque to move the 'bot if we double its weight. [More]

Finally! Two packages have been dropped off by USPS - both containing servos. One came from Hong Kong, and the other from Washington state. Let's check them out ... [More]

Having had fun with our new lathe yesterday, we decided to put some effort into our other big 'bot - the Sportsman Palindrome30. We need to get the drive train wrapped up, which means installed and chained up. Then there's the weapon and wiring. After fixing up some work issues, we finally headed out to the Build Space. [More]

There are a number of pieces we need to chuck up on a lathe in order to finish the remainder of the fleet, and we feel bad pestering Chris every time we need to make circular operations, so we checked out our lathe-buying options this week. [More]

Our day started with the usual round of obsessive checks on our packages in shipping. The FingerTech order seems to have stalled in Calgary, and the box of servos from Hong Kong has somehow ended up in Newburgh, New York! At least we have the Arduino kit to play with. [More]

We knew we weren't going to have a whole lot of time this evening, but we did want to get at least one speed controller installed in a drive pod for the 30lb'er, just to verify they'd fit. [More]

The first of our two Hobby King packages showed up today, featuring some electronics and motors - hurrah! The second package, with metal gear servos for the Hexy kit is looking like it might show up by Friday - fingers crossed! [More]