The Undying Desire to Make

This past weekend, I had the wonderful experience of running four robot making workshops at Maker Faire NY. I've organized the Let's Make Robots presence at Maker Faire for the past two years. Last year, I was able to sit down with a small handful of kids and make a very simple robot. This year, I wanted to do a lot more. Thanks to the sponsorship of PICAXE, I did.

PICAXE makes a Microchip PIC microcontroller with their own bootloader, as well as project boards and other products. The boards are easily to program with a BASIC style language, making them a great choice for beginners. They sponsored us, providing enough funds and their PICAXE-08 Motor Driver Boards for 100 attendees to build and take home their own fully programmable robot. Cost to the attendees: FREE.

There was so much demand, we had to turn people away. Everyone was excited to try to make their own robot. My feeling is that anyone can make a robot, and in fact everyone should make a robot. It's a great experience, involving mechanical, electrical, and programming skills. 

It was great to see so many young makers come out. It all starts with them.

These kids did a great job. They sat and listened for a full hour. They concentrated. They followed instructions. They asked good questions. Quite a few also skipped ahead of the instructions I was giving. They figured it out for themselves. Sometimes they made mistakes. All to the good. They learned.

But it's not just about the kids. Four years ago, despite a strong technical background and education, I was not working with electronics or robotics at all. It wasn't until my son was a few years old, that I was struck with the desire to make things again. I re-tapped into something from my youth. It was a desire to build, to discover and learn. I had that when I was a kid, and I wanted to give my own children the opportunity to make. 

We had young adults, parents, educators, and even one senior citizen participate. To some this was new, or like me, they were re-discovering something they hadn't done in a long while.

This was a hands on workshop. Here you can see a young lady attaching the wheels of her robot. 

One mother said to me, "I've never done anything like this. Is my son doing this right?" He sure was. I was glad to see a parent willing to sit with her kid through the workshop, even though it wasn't her own interest. 

A middle-aged man attended with an older gent  in a powered wheelchair, that I assume was his father. After the workshop, I sat with the older man for a while. He was so happy to work on a project that used his hands and his mind. We actually had a very nice conversation comparing the robot we built to his powered wheelchair.

One couple sat down to work with their own two kids. They even lent a hand to some other kids when they had questions. Most of the grown ups were more than happy to lend a hand if their neighbor was stuck on something. It was that kind of crowd. It was great to see.

I heard a lot of positive feedback after the workshop. Parents thanked me for giving their kids this opportunity. Everyone went away happy. 

This kid right here? The one on the left with the smile? This is my favorite moment from Maker Faire. 

That's pride. He made his very first robot. He did it himself with almost no help. 

He's just discovered something wonderful about himself. He can make. My fondest hope for him is that  he never loses that. I hope he takes that feeling into the world and does amazing things with it.

Those kids, boys and girls, those adults from teens to seniors, those people made this event my favorite way to spend my weekend. I can't wait until next year!

User Serviceable Parts Inside

Don't open that! Here there be monsters!

Why do some hackers and hobbyists get their panties in a twist over the phrase, 'no user serviceable parts inside'? What's the big deal?

For many that tinker a lot (like me), there's a mindset about fixing something instead of replacing it when it breaks. Just the thought of tossing out a perfectly good piece of consumer electronics for a minor problem annoys me. People used to fix their appliances all the time, or have them fixed at a local repair shop. This is less and less of an option in our modern world. The costs for electronics is so low, it is often easier to buy new rather than repair. Few repair shops even exist, though there are some options if you really want.

We are discouraged from trying to repair our own electronics. "Your warranty may be voided." "It will be $170 to repair, or for just $40 more, you can buy an upgraded model."

A recent example

I just went through the experience of repairing a car stereo. The display back light was not working; since the only clock in the car is on the stereo, this was especially annoying. Also, the CD player had an appetite for chewing up CDs. 

To be honest, I first tried to replace the radio. I searched for an inexpensive option on craigslist, and found a likely candidate for just $15. Well, at least I would be re-using, rather than buying new. However, when I got the new-to-me stereo home, I found the tuner didn't work. However, it turned out this stereo was the same brand as my own (Sony), and the insides were pretty similar. In fact, the CD player module had the same model number internally. I figured I'd get some value back on my $15 and swapped the CD player out. 

As long as I had the stereo partially disassembled, I decided to try to fix the back light. I figured it would be a simple LED or two. As it turned out, it actually used two little neon lamps. I was able to track down a place to order them. It more than I wanted to spend; the shipping alone was more than the cost of the part. Nevertheless, I decided to go for it.

Don't be afraid, there are no monsters in there.

When the part arrived a week later, I opened up the stereo again. Each time I had to open it, there were many screws, clips and things to remove. I got to be pretty familiar with getting to the guts of this device. Finally ready, I set up my soldering station, and opened the bag with my new neon lamps. 

What I found was that my "new" parts were in pretty bad shape. The leads of the little lamp appeared a bit rusty. As I held the tiny green lamp, it actually fell apart in my hands. The glass bulb underneath the green cover was cracked. It was dead on arrival. 

So... I contacted the supply house I had bought the lamp from. After some discussion, they agreed to refund my money, and placed a new order for me. Another week of waiting. Another chance to practice putting the stereo back together.

When the new lamp arrived, guess what? It was exactly like the last one. Leads rusted and glass broken. I'll be contacting the seller shortly for a refund. However, I was able to repair my back light after all.

I poked around with my multimeter and figured out how the lamps were powered. The two lamps were wired in series, so if either lamp burnt out, the light would not work. I replaced them with two LEDs and a current limiting resistor. 

In fact, as long as I was repairing and re-engineering, I figured I might as well customize. A red back light would look much cooler with the rest of the things in my car's dashboard. So I installed two tiny bright red LEDs in place of the green neon lamps.

So what's the point of all this?

What did I gain from all of this? I spent some money and lots of time. What do I have to show for it? Was it worth it?

Here's why I do this sort of thing.

1. I consumed less, by extending the life of a product.
2. I recycled, by using parts from another used product.
3. I saved money, by avoiding buying a brand new product.
4. I customized, getting exactly what I wanted, instead of what someone wanted to sell me.
5. I gained experience, so next time I'll feel even more confident about repairing something.

Was it worth it? Hell yes, I'd do it again. 

Build a Shadow Avoiding Robot

You can build a simple robot that responds to a stimulus (the lack of light) by stopping one wheel and reversing the other. This simple maneuver may help the robot leave the shadow it entered and find the light. Once it does, it will drive forward again. Sometimes, the poor little robot will get caught in the shadows and will spin in circles until you rescue it.

This robot is an excellent project for beginner robot builders of any age. I used this design successfully to teach a class full of kids aged 6 to 12. If an instructor or other adult pre-solders the wires to the two motors, it can be built by the student entirely without soldering.


By making this simple robot, children and students of all ages will learn several basic concepts used in robotics. These concepts include differential steering and motor control, sensors, and automated behaviors. In addition, students will gain experience with hands on construction and prototyping a circuit on a solderless breadboard.

You can find complete instructions, materials and parts on Instructables.com at:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Introduction-SpurtBot-ShadowRunner/

Solder Fume Extractor From Old Hair Dryer

I have made a couple of solder fume extractors using Altoids tins. You can find instructions for these on the Internet. However, I always found that I had to get the extractor very close to the soldering, and this was not always easy to do.

The other day I was clearing out my workbench, and I found an old hair dryer saved from another project. It struck me that with this, I could make something that was much easier to position close to the source of the solder fumes.

It turned out to be very simple. I think the video explains it well. Here are the parts, materials and tools I used.

• One old hair dryer with most of the guts ripped out
• One 7.2V 3800mAh NiMH rechargeable battery pack (from Tenergy)
• One CTMF 7.2V Connector Set for Tamiya (from Muchmore Racing)
• A piece of Cut-to-fit carbon filter
• Some 18 gauge black/red wire pair
• Electrical tape
• soldering iron and solder
• screw driver
• Pliers

Easy.

Why I Love LetsMakeRobots

My Robotics Journey

Most of what I've learned about robotics, I've learned through the support of an online community called Let's Make Robots. While there is an abundance of information on the Internet and in books, LMR is where you can get the encouragement, advice, and inspiration that will get you someplace.

Whether you are an experienced robot builder, a tech-saavy artist, a teacher, a retiree or a student, you will not find a better place to move you further and faster.

Never built a robot before? The now famous start here robot project has gotten hundreds of people from dreaming to actually building and programming a complete robot. It's how I started, and I still use many of the basic techniques learned on that project today.

Though I wanted to build a robot since I was a kid, it wasn't until I found this place that I managed to do it. Now, I blog on robotics and have taught kids at a local museum, a learning center, and at Maker Faire. I've got a lot more stuff cooking, and I owe it all to the other members of LMR.


What You'll Find at LMR

LMR is a free and volunteer based initiative, originally started by Frits Lyneborg in 2008. LMR is 100% produced and maintained by members of the community.

The site is packed with projects, tips, blogs and forums contributed by members. Anyone can contribute, and everyone is encouraged to do so.

Unlike some other sites, where content is controlled by a central group or individual, LMR is uniquely democratic.

It is worth saying that I'm constantly impressed by the quality of young builders that come to LMR. They come in with energy and a dream. They quickly learn how to guide that excitement into the necessary steps to make something cool.


How You Can Get Involved

Well, join the site, obviously! Add your voice, your imagination, your expertize, or just your questions to this thriving community of thousands of users. We have over 10,000 registered members and thousands of visitors every day. There have been over 3.3 million individuals who have visited over the site's lifetime.

Join us!

(Pictured: LMR members map)

There's something else you can do too.


Help LMR Get Even Better

Just to be clear, this is a shameless plug for money.

Whether you are an LMR member, or just want to support a geeky friend or loved one, we could use your help. We are raising money for the development of an updated LMR website. The site is non-commercial, free to users, and supported by generous donations by a few.

But there are big plans for LMR, and it's going to take some help to get there.

Version 4 of the website have been in the works for quite some time. Our developer Hugo has been working unpaid all this time, but he's a professional programmer and cannot continue dedicate time to LMR forever.

The new version will look as much as possible like the present site. Under the covers, however, it will completely new! Each underlying element that makes up a project (robot brain, ideas, components, etc.) can be used and cross referenced by others. This will kick collaboration up to a whole new level, allowing you to drag other people's elements into your own posts.

So, please come visit the LMR donation page. 

In addition to the great feeling you'll get from supporting this community, there are Fabulous Prizes to Win

In appreciation of your contributions, all donors:

• Earn LMR's eternal gratitude, and will be listed as a contributor on the LMRv4 'About' page.
• Will be invited to participate in the LMRv4 beta test.
• Will be invited to the LMRv4 Virtual Launch Party!

Plus, donate before May 1. 2012, and be entered into drawing for some fabulous prizes from Seeedstudio:

• Grove - Motor Shield (worth $19.50)
• Seeeduino V3.0 (worth $22.50)
• Grove - Starter Kit (worth $39.00)
• Seeeduino ADK Main Board (worth $64.90)
• DSO Nano v2 (worth $89)

Thanks for reading!

Tinman and Lemonhead

My son and I built a couple of those little fume extractors so we can stop breathing in so much solder fumes.

Of course, we used some candy tins for the cases. We used  a big Altoids tin for one, and a little novelty one I got from Target for the other one.

Here's William working on the second one. The first, in silver Altoids can, is already being used to keep the air clear.

Right now the front is just opened, but I've ordered a big sheet of filter material, which I will cut to fit each fume extractor.

To the right you can see a close up of the bigger extractor in action.

  

I used one of these old switches that I've had lying around forever. William is de-soldering the contacts with a solder pump, which he loves to do. The old solder was pretty stubborn, but we got the job done.

I love the little lemons on the sides of the box. Lemon-y, lemon-y, lemon-y!

Actually, now that I look at it, they look a little like Charlie Brown.

  

 Excellent results. Lemonhead!

Rotating LED Thingy

Idea and Design

My son William wanted to build an LED light chaser. So I hunted around for a circuit, and dug around in my spare parts.

I decided to build something based on this circuit.

The only differences are, I used a 4069 hex inverter instead of a 4049, because I have a bunch of them, and I changed out the 100 kohm resistor. I replaced the resistor with a 10 kohm fixed resistor in series with a 50 kohm potentiometer. That gave me a nice slow speed at one end and a very peppy speed at the other end.

BTW, the parts list for this project listed on the web page above specifies 150 ohm current limiting resistor, which is what I used, not the 470 ohm resistors shown in the schematic.  Also not clear on the schematic is that the ends of all those current limiting resistors need to to to ground.

The Gathering

As it happened, I had a circular prototyping board from Radio Shack. I did have to go out and buy a 4017, plus I picked up five pair of different color LEDs, and a bunch of 150 ohm resistors. Radio Shack didn't actually carry a 4017 chip, but they had their own LED chaser kit for sale that used the same chip. So I picked it up and stole the chip. I'll order a replacement and build the kit or give it to someone at some point. 

As I was laying out the circuit on a breadboard, I remembered I had the wooden base of a snow globe that had broken lying around. Then I found a plastic dome that almost fit. I would have to route the hole in the base a bit bigger. A toggle switch for power and a potentiometer and a few other parts and I was ready to go.

The Build

Here's the thingy all breadboarded out. I used a small multi-turn pot for the breadboard. It was replaced with a panel mount pot for the final build.

(click image for close-up of the breadboard)

As I mentioned, I had to route out the edge of the base to fit the dome. That was a bit tricky, but I managed fairly well and didn't even endanger myself. I can't recall what the dome was from. Some broken toy or something. It's fairly thick plastic, though. I'm glad I saved those two pieces, and that they found each other in this project.

The base also needed some other work. I drilled out holes for the power switch on one side and the potentiometer directly across. Some careful measuring and drilling were required. The sides of the base are pretty thick, so I had to countersink the mounting holes using Forstner bits.

Quick tip: When making countersunk holes for a switch or potentiometer or whatever, you need three sized bits. First a very small bit to drill a pilot hole. Next the largest bit to make room for the fastening nut on the outside. That cut doesn't pass all the way in, but stops at an appropriate depth. Lastly, a middle sized bit just slightly larger than the diameter of the mounting shaft is used to drill all the way through. With this method, you always have a small pilot hole to keep everything centered.

I mention this, because I forgot to do that when I drilled the holes for the power switch. So my last cut was a little rough without a proper pilot. Compare the cut for the power switch on the left, with the cut for the potentiometer on the right. You can also see some of my sloppy routing along the top of the left picture. It's not perfect, but it look OK.

Last cut on the base, I countersunk two more holes to hold the mounting screws.

I used brass tubing to make some standoffs, and some 6-32 threaded rod and brass nuts to mount the circuit board.

Despite the crazy nest of wires above and below the board, and the solder blob jungle underneath, the project came off rather well.

Here's the finished product. If you click on it you'll get a higher resolution view. I still need to find a nice knob for this project.  It looks very Victorian to me. I won't say it looks steampunk, because integrated circuits are really, really not steampunk.