tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20570780464763344552024-03-06T01:44:04.687-05:00Builder of Life Size RobotsThis blog is the place for me to document various building projects of life sized robots and other projects. After the project is complete, it's often nice to have a record of how you did things at various stages of production.
Robots include B9 (Lost in space robot), Robby (Forbidden Planet), R2D2 and C3PO (Star Wars), Bender, and the infamous "Bus Stop Robots" from the 50's scifi magazine cover artist Virgil Finlay. A movable Rosie the robot is next on the list.Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333318035470813141noreply@blogger.comBlogger508125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057078046476334455.post-15655428126800754062014-12-20T07:20:00.001-05:002015-07-28T06:24:27.956-04:00Post Script - 4 years laterWell, it's been a little more than 4 years since I posted the last blog entry here. Since then, all robots have been sold and are happily living all around the country. <br />
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The B9 Lost in Space robot now resides in a conference room of a successful Robotics company in Indiana ... the kind of robotics that run in factories and manufacturing facilities.<br />
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Robby the Robot lives in a computer museum in Bozeman Montana and Yvonne and I were lucky enough to be able to stop by and visit him on our way home from Alaska this past summer. Also the Virgil Finlay Bus Stop Robots were also donated to the museum and have been on display there.<br />
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R2 and C3PO live in a private residence southern California just outside of San Diego and are still together as they didn't want to be split up.<br />
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Selling Bender was an eye opener. Where he was one of the more popular Robots at conventions, it was very difficult finding a buyer for him so I practically gave him away. And he was a lot of work to build. He now happily lives in Las Vegas at a private residence and I'm quite sure at night he can be seen sneaking into casinos and some of the more risque areas of the city. He was ecstatic when he heard he was going to Vegas.<br />
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The one Robot I kept was the battle droid. He sits on a garden bench holding a butterfly and occasionally playing a trumpet while contemplating his previous life and the role he played in the great Clone wars. He now lives a peaceful existence keeping watch over our Bee Farm.<br />
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I still occasionally build robots but they are more abstract art creations and some of them will reside in a new mini farm we're building. The farm is completely solar powered, has bee hives, and organic fruits and vegetables. Blog is @ floridabeefarm.blogspot.com.<br />
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<br />Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333318035470813141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057078046476334455.post-33988087486779068622010-09-02T07:40:00.002-04:002011-10-06T13:23:31.723-04:00Final Story?After going to Celebration, I came up with a few realizations. Even though we had a great time, I made a decision that it will be our last con with robots or droids. It's just too much work, expense and vacation days that could be spent in other areas. We need to spend more time in the mountains and less time at conventions. <br />
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Another thing I decided is there will be no more new robot projects. I plan to sell all my extra parts and robotics components and may even sell some of or possibly all my life size robots collection in the next couple years. Still not sure about that decision though.<br />
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Instead of robots, I'll be turning my attention into more art related projects. I've been learning a lot of metal working techniques and enjoying that immensely. Plus it will be a good thing to carry over into retirement where I could even make a few dollars with it now and then. But we'll see.<br />
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So I guess this is the official end of the Life size robots blog. Thanks for following.Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333318035470813141noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057078046476334455.post-70182287714523951142010-08-16T21:24:00.002-04:002010-08-16T21:28:03.996-04:00Celebration V was a blastI've stayed away from the computer for the last week while we were away in Orlando, Fl attending Celebration V which is a massive 4 day Star Wars party.<br />
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The R2D2 builders club had a room where we displayed around 80 droids and got to hang out with other builders. It was a good time meeting builders in the club from all around the world. We all had a very good time and I learned a lot talking to the other builders. Also had a good time with the 501st attending the "bash" at the Doubletree. We were lucky to meet up with a couple members in our local garrisons to have a few drinks and talk. <br />
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The highlights of the convention for us were the droid races and the droid parade in addition to wrangling R2D2 among all the convention attendees .... especially the kids. If I had a nickle for every smile that R2 generated, I'd just about be able to retire.<br />
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My R2D2 performed flawlessly until the last day when I was unhooking my charging cable. I made a mistake in designing that cable and made it where it could short out when disconnecting it from the charger. Which is exactly what happened on Sunday morning before the droid parade. The short started a small fire in R2 with a lot of smoke and melted wires and a melted switch. Since the switch melted, I had to pull the hot wires out manually to stop the short. But by this time the battery wires to the switch / charging unit were completely melted and fried. These were thick wires too ! After picking the melted plastic out of the circuits, I borrowed some wire and bypased the switch to power on R2. Fortunately all my main circuits were protected and all the important electrical components were intact. I was able to run R2 for the rest of the day but with no on/off switch. I had to manually disconnect from the battery to shut it off.<br />
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Another lesson learned. I'm going to redesign the charging port to be a little safer.<br />
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Here's a few pictures and a link to the droid parade. I'm the guy who has his hand in a brown leather bag controlling his droid.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9kW8Ou0wdJ6XYLWKSEqRdDsUPyGCyOSb0lkaGxEjcDw-K91CKnBU0nC-5JJ0_rKtFMi2Ib2bbmaCqbiRSw5UhAhk4pqlvurRsExg46HYloi7m0caBh1o71HdUjZXkeZvuFpiO28x7Fffy/s1600/CV+046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9kW8Ou0wdJ6XYLWKSEqRdDsUPyGCyOSb0lkaGxEjcDw-K91CKnBU0nC-5JJ0_rKtFMi2Ib2bbmaCqbiRSw5UhAhk4pqlvurRsExg46HYloi7m0caBh1o71HdUjZXkeZvuFpiO28x7Fffy/s320/CV+046.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/TGniVUEAx1I/AAAAAAAAB4A/s_ApdCX37y4/s1600/CV+061.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/TGniVUEAx1I/AAAAAAAAB4A/s_ApdCX37y4/s320/CV+061.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/TGnimH25mfI/AAAAAAAAB4E/CeKus8AdUT8/s1600/CV+069.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/TGnimH25mfI/AAAAAAAAB4E/CeKus8AdUT8/s320/CV+069.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/TGnjw5-vhWI/AAAAAAAAB4M/BZzdMQ1HXMw/s1600/CV+033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/TGnjw5-vhWI/AAAAAAAAB4M/BZzdMQ1HXMw/s320/CV+033.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333318035470813141noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057078046476334455.post-77393715247598710532010-08-10T20:00:00.002-04:002010-08-10T20:04:35.312-04:00Star Wars Celebration V - Packed and ready to head out to OrlandoR2D2 and C3PO are fully operational, packed up and ready to head out to Celebration V. <br />
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Here's a pretty good video of Celebration IV which was in LA 2 years ago. This video starts out pretty slow but ends with a great chase scene and George Lucas. <br />
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<object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9b_m4YBfN6w&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9b_m4YBfN6w&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333318035470813141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057078046476334455.post-61437039608538822802010-08-08T18:34:00.004-04:002010-08-09T06:50:34.020-04:00Jumped the gunI sure jumped the gun on the last blog entry I posted this morning. I don't think I've ever posted twice in the same day but today was one of those days I considered finding some Jawas to see what I could trade R2 for. It was crazy.<br />
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As I was debugging the computer code to turn lights on and play sounds, the electronics panel hinge completely failed and the whole assembly needed to be replaced. After that, I prepare to drive R2 closer to the work bench and the right motor doesn't work. I tested the wiring to the right motor - ok, the switch that controls the motor - ok, Hook the motor up to 12v directly - ok (sigh of relief) and then diagnose the Vantec RDFR23 speed controller the best I can and it appears the right channel isn't sending a signal. Plus when I power it up and shut down the left motor, that infamous hum didn't happen. Just silence. Found the problem.<br />
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Fortunately, I happened to have a spare VANTEC controller on the shelf and was able to configure and replace the other controller. So R2 is back on his (2) feet again. After that, the thumb drive that contains all the scripts and sounds got corrupted ! I had to dust off my DOS skills to CHKDSK the drive and cleanup the corrupted files. Geez !<br />
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R2 has been running just about flawlessly the last couple years and has been to many events. So the mechanical challenges of the last week have been unusual to say the least. I'm glad they happened at home because trying to fix these problems next week at Celebration would have been awkward. <b> </b><br />
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<b>Thank the maker !</b>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333318035470813141noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057078046476334455.post-75963977147716218862010-08-08T09:07:00.003-04:002010-08-09T06:50:51.958-04:00Ready to partyI finished the front ankle/wheel assembly and added a coat of paint around 9:30 pm last night. What a busy day that was. At 4:30 AM I awoke to reassemble R2 and run tests to see how the new front wheel assembly worked and most importantly ... to see if the new design fit on the ankle and foot shell correctly.<br />
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After putting everything together, it started raining so the test drive ended up being in the garage. Everything seemed to work perfectly. Only negative event was the electronics door hinge broke. It still kind of works but one of the sides broke off. It's a plastic removable hinge which seemed like a good idea at the time but when I get around to replacing it, I'll use an old fashion metal one.<br />
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To fix the front foot I used a piece of 1" square tubing and cut one side off with my plasma cutter. This gave me a nice square piece of strong steel. The next thing I had to do was cut most of the steel away from my existing ankle/wheel assembly. Because it wasn't a consistent size and I needed it to fit the square steel tube. It took a lot of cutting and grinding but eventually I got everything to fit. I used the MIG welder extensively to strengthen and lengthen the back edge of the assembly and also used it to add a strong glob of steel to the front of the assembly so there would be no play or pivot in the assembly. Even a small amount of play will wreak havoc.<br />
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When putting it all back together, I made sure to use loctite so the bolts wouldn't loosen up with all the vibration. That's a very important detail that I left out last time and allowed the bolts to loosen somewhat which gave it a bit of lateral movement. Now it's nice and tight all the way around so we're good to go.<br />
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That gives me time to weatherize C3PO's packing crate and add some foam padding.<br />
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Just about ready for a road trip !<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/TF6qSl1ZJhI/AAAAAAAAB3k/M-ezrA5S8qM/s1600/PreCV+018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/TF6qSl1ZJhI/AAAAAAAAB3k/M-ezrA5S8qM/s320/PreCV+018.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cutting one side of square tube using a plasma cutter</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Welding / formulating front bracket</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Final result - most ugly weld marks won't show</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv9UBYVCFAMkJPjPYxXn-VEFptSFPzSZALJvPzqFDO37Cqk1m9wmPaE0EZWIjADQQLs91YBjl6vCrwMuKyJ8BX-Spos31cnRgyQzjZ8H4mppt2H206Lm07_gcV0JXdCxz2Eb3MTMyy3VeH/s1600/PreCV+038.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv9UBYVCFAMkJPjPYxXn-VEFptSFPzSZALJvPzqFDO37Cqk1m9wmPaE0EZWIjADQQLs91YBjl6vCrwMuKyJ8BX-Spos31cnRgyQzjZ8H4mppt2H206Lm07_gcV0JXdCxz2Eb3MTMyy3VeH/s320/PreCV+038.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">R2 Ready to go</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">C3PO waiting in his moving crate</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</tbody></table>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333318035470813141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057078046476334455.post-21124979077054496172010-08-07T09:30:00.001-04:002010-08-09T06:51:45.187-04:00Troublesome droidAfter working through a million electronics challenges, I finally got all that straightened out. And then the trouble started.<br />
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I decided to experiment with driving him and test the drive system out one last time. The new front foot I built failed !!!!!!!!!!!!! Back to complete teardown. And I'm not even sure I'll have time to fix it. The stress of the droid on the foot was too much for the foot and I may have to put some ugly welds on the outside of the new ankle piece to strengthen it. But worse than that there is a minor listing there which makes the droid pull to the left. And that's not good at all.<br />
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I'm helping someone move later this afternoon so my build time is limited but if I have to I'm working til 2 in the morning to get this fixed. Only a few days left until Celebration.Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333318035470813141noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057078046476334455.post-19818216640283815002010-08-01T11:07:00.008-04:002010-08-09T06:51:23.733-04:00Electronics problem solved<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/TFWR9KucMmI/AAAAAAAAB3Y/el579SGSq1g/s1600/electronics+002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/TFWR9KucMmI/AAAAAAAAB3Y/el579SGSq1g/s320/electronics+002.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>The electronics problem that was dogging me recently has finally been resolved. It turns out that the Jedi controller and VMUSIC2 module does not play well with modern miniature (motorcycle) amplifiers. The amplifiers cause some type of feedback that fries the mp3 chip that's in the VMUSIC2 module. That's what plays the R2 sounds. I was told the VMUSIC2 module has 3 processors and the best way to tell if the mp3 processor is fried is to use a pair of headphones in the VMUSIC2. If the headphones can hear the sound then the VMUSIC2 module is ok still. If no sound then it's trashed. <br />
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I ended up buying 3 amplifiers and 3 VMUSIC2 modules before I got it to work. The successful amplifier was an ancient old school car amplifier (Alpine 3542 60 watts x2) that I heard one of the other guys on the R2 forum used successfully. It was a lucky EBAY find as the one I bought was the only one listed. The down side is the amplifier is quite large so it took a lot of thought and re-arranging inside R2 to get it situated.<br />
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While R2 was all torn up I decided to install a new aluminum claw arm in one of the front doors. This took a lot of thought because I had JAG breadpans inside the door and they technically aren't supposed work with with the arms. That is unless you cut a large notch out of the top of the breadpan and build something to hold the arm in place. My solution worked pretty well but will need to be redone when I automate the arm/claw to open the door, reach out and pinch pretty girls.<br />
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That's a project for after Celebration V. Now I have to construct a crate for C3PO that can be lifted with my crane into my truck. We scored tickets to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers training camp this afternoon so C3PO will have to wait until tonight for his crate. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/TFWJ-H5LWVI/AAAAAAAAB3E/-jQB7xp0gQk/s1600/electronics+003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/TFWJ-H5LWVI/AAAAAAAAB3E/-jQB7xp0gQk/s200/electronics+003.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/TFWKFD-sJ3I/AAAAAAAAB3M/W5ROU6e8aJc/s1600/electronics+004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/TFWKFD-sJ3I/AAAAAAAAB3M/W5ROU6e8aJc/s200/electronics+004.jpg" width="200" /></a>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333318035470813141noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057078046476334455.post-35118751385896608082010-07-30T16:48:00.007-04:002010-08-09T06:52:09.803-04:00Borg Alcove is complete !My good friend Brad finished his Borg Alcove today. Unbelievable prop. After watching this video that I made, my wife agreed it looked very cool.<br />
And then looked at me and added "We don't have room for one".<br />
<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Jm8xPXm9L40&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Jm8xPXm9L40&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333318035470813141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057078046476334455.post-86833713238223212042010-07-25T20:01:00.003-04:002010-08-09T06:52:51.402-04:00My droid sounds like a 1930 Ford Model 'A'After an entire weekend of wiring and rewiring R2's electronics, I'm starting to realize that one of the components has a major problem. The vmusic2 sound module seems to be the weak link because instead of playing the R2 sounds, it sounds like an obnoxious noisy engine.<br />
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It's frustrating because there are only 17 days until <a href="http://www.starwarscelebration.com/">Celebration V </a>and this droid must be fully operational by then. To remove these new electronics and rewire the old back is my last resort. But it's beginning to look like that's going to be my only option unless I can figure out what I did wrong or find out the cause and then find a suitable replacement component.<br />
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Normally things like this don't rattle me but when you have a hard deadline it can drive you crazy. I tested the amplifier independently and it works just fine. My guess is the vmusic2 module is the bad guy. <br />
<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/VXU4EUUY7yA&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/VXU4EUUY7yA&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333318035470813141noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057078046476334455.post-39214935709341305312010-07-22T21:17:00.000-04:002010-07-22T21:17:50.453-04:00Slip ring wiring R2D2Wires wires everywhere<br />
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<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/M45Q1ThMuiI&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/M45Q1ThMuiI&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333318035470813141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057078046476334455.post-34511485966086512442010-07-20T08:25:00.001-04:002010-08-09T06:53:09.108-04:00You get what you pay forI don't know how many more times in life I'm going to have to learn this lesson but trying to get by on the cheap comes back to bite you more often than not. Again, with this JEDI Controller I lost an entire weekend of work due to problems from buying a cheap component. Normally I spend a little extra$ and try to get good quality over cheap but this was one of those impulsive EBAY purchases with very little thought behind it.<br />
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Because we needed our dining room table back to entertain friends coming over for dinner, I ended up moving the entire mess of wires and components back out to the garage. After the move, JEDI controller stopped working with an insistent error regarding the VMUSIC2 module. I rewired the controller completely double, triple and quadrupled checked all connections. I tried a different VMUSIC module, a different flash drive, a different receiver board, a different jedi controller board all to no avail. It was starting to drive me nuts (again).<br />
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So after good advice from Todd in Orlando, I disconnected the piece @@ @%#@%# cheap amplifier I bought off EBAY and instead hooked up a pair of headphones. <br />
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All of a sudden everything started working perfectly and the sound problems also went away. So once again cheap ended up being much more expensive in the long run.Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333318035470813141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057078046476334455.post-83361827608803128502010-07-18T17:05:00.001-04:002010-08-09T06:53:27.553-04:00Resistance is futileToday was loads of fun. First we stopped by a good friend of ours house and took video of his almost completed life size Borg Alcove (from Star Trek). This prop is very cool and very detailed. <br />
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Later in the day we stopped by R2's #1 fan (Jeremy) and enjoyed hanging out with the 501st at Jeremy's birthday party. His family and friends are the best and we had a ball. What a great day !<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/TENsCrgrbSI/AAAAAAAAB2k/c_RJjJwySgQ/s1600/July2010+011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/TENsCrgrbSI/AAAAAAAAB2k/c_RJjJwySgQ/s400/July2010+011.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333318035470813141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057078046476334455.post-72332184386890339702010-07-15T06:27:00.004-04:002010-07-15T17:14:42.533-04:00Smile for the day<object height="350" width="600"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/J5gCeWEGiQI&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/J5gCeWEGiQI&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="385"></embed></object>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333318035470813141noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057078046476334455.post-10709453816869448402010-07-09T07:33:00.003-04:002010-08-09T06:54:04.008-04:00The countdown beginsWith only a month to go before<a href="http://www.starwarscelebration.com/"> Celebration V</a>, my to do list all of a sudden sounded an alarm within me. I'll have to work overtime to finish all the projects required for <a href="http://www.starwarscelebration.com/">Celebration V</a>. First of all, the massive rats nest of wires on the dining room table needs to be finished and then integrated into R2D2. Then the transmitter needs to be reconfigured and tested. Plus, I'm still not even sure where I'll have room to mount the new electronics in R2. Mounting the periscope is a possibility but that's going to probably be put on the back burner for now.<br />
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Next I'm going to have to build a special droid transport crate for C3PO and my friend Brad Carpenter's Hoth K3PO. The plan is for them to ride in the back of my truck along with R2 in his Escape Pod. It will be tight but do-able if we can build a suitable container.<br />
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The "Blown up" R2 foot that is 90% complete needs to be finished. Then R2D2 needs to be weathered correctly and I will also need to install the new MGA Waterset aluminum claw which is scheduled to be delivered in the next couple weeks. I'm not sure how that's going to work out.<br />
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So it's going to be a busy month.<br />
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On the Giraffe front... This week, Yvonne and I enhanced his spots with a black outline around them. Makes them stand out and be more distinct. Much better effect because in the bright sunlight the copper spots tended to blend together. After a few weeks of heavy rain, I noticed rust in a few spots which is inevitable. They were mostly around the welds and holes. It will be interesting to see how this projects weathers. A little rust will add character to the sculpture. Hopefully not too much though.Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333318035470813141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057078046476334455.post-76716410769336146302010-06-30T20:31:00.005-04:002010-08-09T06:53:49.656-04:00J.E.D.I. Controller for R2I hate to take apart a perfectly good running droid but in this case the new JEDI Controller that a member of the R2D2 builders club created, warrants a few modifications to R2's existing electronics. The JEDI Controller (Joystick enhanced drive input) allows the transmitter to control a high number of devices on the droid allowing you to overcome the 6 channel limitation of the transmitter. Plus you can control the sounds on a single transmitter.<br />
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The JEDI controller is programmable and the genius developer (Scott Gray) of this microchip even gave it a language that we can program. He aptly named the language "JAWA"script and it seems to have a rich array of features. For instance, I plan on programming the droid to go on standby where sensors (hooked into the controller) can detect people walking by and activate the droid to wake up and interact with the person autonomously. Which gives the droid wrangler a break now and then. The droid acts like he's aware of his surroundings. Not sure how good I'll be at programming this but I think it may be right up my alley. Oh and when I say autonomously, that doesn't include him driving around on his own. That would not be practical.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/TCvg2uNoKfI/AAAAAAAAB2Y/EXyUnNsA9-E/s1600/jedi+002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/TCvg2uNoKfI/AAAAAAAAB2Y/EXyUnNsA9-E/s400/jedi+002.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Tonight I got a lot of the electronics hooked up and we're on our way.Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333318035470813141noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057078046476334455.post-35664533391520193282010-06-26T16:36:00.004-04:002010-08-09T06:55:18.744-04:00William the Giraffe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/TCZiAoOTqsI/AAAAAAAAB2A/py1y2Cq4ZIo/s1600/painting+043.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/TCZiAoOTqsI/AAAAAAAAB2A/py1y2Cq4ZIo/s640/painting+043.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br />
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In the cool morning breeze my wife and I finished the final coat on the last of the spots. It was a lot of work painting all the spots on this giraffe. I noticed small rust areas forming that were a result of water getting in the giraffe and leaking out from some of the weld areas. So I did what I could to copperize those areas to minimize any rust lines that will be appearing on "William". Yes, William is the official name of this giraffe. William is giraffe and part time "Smile Machine". Named after the original giraffe artist (William Allen) that helped me with this project by giving me encouragement, advice, and pointers. William Allen creates beautiful sculptures and if you're looking to buy a giraffe like this pay a visit to <a href="http://www.mainstreetgalleryleland.com/bill-allen.shtml.htm">Mainstreet Gallery in Leland Michigan</a>. <br />
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I had a great deal of copper coating left so it was time to spruce up the ugly mailbox in front of our house. The flag and plastic pieces were faded so I used plastic primer and paint to rejuvenate them. Then the mailbox was painted silver and copper spots applied. Looks pretty good and didn't cost me a cent.<br />
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William still isn't anchored down in cement yet. Fortunately, we've had some pretty good storms with wind and all and he doesn't even move a bit. Giraffes are known to be steady on their feet though.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/TCZiSPuj9oI/AAAAAAAAB2I/EGmieY6jLEs/s1600/painting+039.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/TCZiSPuj9oI/AAAAAAAAB2I/EGmieY6jLEs/s400/painting+039.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333318035470813141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057078046476334455.post-8971382236017811592010-06-20T21:00:00.001-04:002010-08-09T06:55:01.357-04:00The final touches<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/TB64cPUSuoI/AAAAAAAAB14/zzq8ESOSku4/s1600/painting+026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/TB64cPUSuoI/AAAAAAAAB14/zzq8ESOSku4/s400/painting+026.jpg" width="300" /></a></div> With the help of my artistic niece, Mr. Giraffe started looking pretty spiffy in his new spots. The copper patina we applied looks absolutely beautiful when the sunshine hits it. Looks like real copper.<br />
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So as of now, we have a giraffe keeping watch over the pedestrians and vehicles driving behind our home. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/TB64WG-qYlI/AAAAAAAAB10/CIBGJdWGuIs/s1600/painting+028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/TB64WG-qYlI/AAAAAAAAB10/CIBGJdWGuIs/s400/painting+028.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333318035470813141noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057078046476334455.post-5411242809811806812010-06-17T19:31:00.000-04:002010-06-17T19:31:06.722-04:00Metal prep and patina<b>I'm lazy today so I'll let the video do all the talking</b><br />
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0JpRNB9Hv0w&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0JpRNB9Hv0w&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333318035470813141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057078046476334455.post-19553344169852784292010-06-15T19:17:00.001-04:002010-06-15T19:21:53.378-04:00Time for a beer<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/o8BNRlcHXAc&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/o8BNRlcHXAc&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/TBgKrzTMQyI/AAAAAAAAB1o/dGLkC3pCh8Y/s1600/June2010+067.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/TBgKrzTMQyI/AAAAAAAAB1o/dGLkC3pCh8Y/s400/June2010+067.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br><br />
Giraffe is done. The final piece (the tail) was fabricated and installed today. No more welding and no more re-do's. I'm glad because this project was a lot harder than I originally planned. Moving this beast outside to get a few pictures was a real challenge. <br />
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Still quite a bit of work to do installing the cement pilings and welding something that I can bolt the giraffe down with on the pilings. <br><br>Can't wait.Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333318035470813141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057078046476334455.post-19035167906214847262010-06-13T18:49:00.003-04:002010-08-09T06:57:27.053-04:00There's a giraffe in our attic<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/UfwBoGLVTbs&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/UfwBoGLVTbs&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br />
There was a crazy amount of work on the giraffe this weekend. I'm pushing very hard to have him done by the fourth of July as there's more significance to this sculpture than just being a giant steel giraffe. <br />
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Well in the redo department, I completely redid the thighs AGAIN. They were too skinny. I'm still not completely happy with them but they'll have to do because that was a lot of work. This week I also finished the feet, legs and knees. Everything went pretty well and the only complaint is one leg is about an inch shorter than the others so I'll have to come up with a method to shim when it's installed.<br />
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One thing I learned is it's very difficult to sculpt an animal when it's laying on it's side or back. Especially for me who is not very artistic. So that's why I needed to stand him up while working. My wife reminded me of our original idea of working on him underneath the open attic door. That way his head can extend into the attic while I work on the lower extremities. The downside was the heat pouring out of the attic on a hot Florida day really heated things up during the peak of the day. The second day I aimed a fan at the attic and that seemed to keep the heat from dropping onto me while working.<br />
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So the last item to fabricate is a tail. That shouldn't be too difficult. I'm just about out of co2/arg so I called it an evening. When this project is complete I'll take a little break from summer welding.Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333318035470813141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057078046476334455.post-7860960345016734332010-06-07T20:45:00.003-04:002010-06-09T08:24:38.330-04:00Runaway Giraffe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/TA2PgJ2CMkI/AAAAAAAAB1c/GdB_ioN9Pd8/s1600/June2010+050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/TA2PgJ2CMkI/AAAAAAAAB1c/GdB_ioN9Pd8/s320/June2010+050.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>As many mistakes as I made on this giraffe, I probably could have made two of them with the same materials and time if I knew what I was doing. I spend more time redoing things and it sometimes drives me crazy !!! Yesterday I decided that the removable leg idea was a bad idea because it compromises the stability of this large top heavy metal beast. And come to think of it, I really don't plan on taking this Giraffe on any road trips in the near future. I was going to get him sandblasted but instead I think I'll use oxysolv (or the Eastwood equivalent) over the surface rust before I topcoat it. <br />
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Just when I'm about ready to finish him up I add ankles and Hooves pads. They look great and are solid as can be. BUT .... they add about 5-6 inches to the leg which makes the giraffe look grossly out of proportion. Big time. Like he grew overnight. So the only option is to cut 6-10 inches off the lower 4 legs which will be a bit of work. Very disappointing. I took him out to stand him up and it about killed me with the weight and cumbersome bulk. The wife helped a little but then she gave me this serious look and told me I need to start making smaller projects. I had a heck of a time getting him back into the garage. Between heavy robots and now this giraffe I can see her point. Oh and a large vice from my welding workbench fell from the bench onto my big toe yesterday (just thought I'd throw that in for sympathy : ). <br />
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Moving this beast to the back yard and positioning him will be a major crazy challenge. I have no clue how that's going to happen. Maybe I'll have to run cables and stake him down. But that will take away from the look. He needs to withstand wind and the elements. It's the old "be careful what you wish for" scenario. After all, this is a wild giraffe we're talking about.Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333318035470813141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057078046476334455.post-57565713523427050552010-06-05T07:30:00.002-04:002010-06-09T08:24:38.331-04:00Standing tall<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/TAoxbaAhAiI/AAAAAAAAB1U/gpxhAuEObPc/s1600/June2010+034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/TAoxbaAhAiI/AAAAAAAAB1U/gpxhAuEObPc/s400/June2010+034.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>After a couple tries I finally got my removable legs working on the giraffe. At first I bought all stainless steel hardware to weld to my steel legs. But in addition to a poor design on my part, welding thick stainless nuts and bolts to the steel legs just didn't work. The welds were not good and failed. It's partly due to my inexperience in welding and not having the correct gas mixture for my MIG welder. It was worth a try and a good lesson.<br />
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No worries though ... I went out and bought Galvanized hardware and made sure to grind off all the coating before welding because the fumes generated by welding galvanized metal can be very dangerous. <br />
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Our son Jeff was visiting us last week and had some good suggestions how to strengthen the bolts in the legs. The final design came out great and it's strong enough to withstand a hurricane. The steel will bend before those welds break.<br />
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Now that the leg connectors are complete I can spend some time this weekend finishing the legs and fabricating hooves for the base. Then I need to figure out a way to mount the giraffe solidly to a concrete pad or ????? so it's secure in the wind. And finally the finishing. I bought a couple cans of an automotive rust protectant from Eastwood that has a hose that I'll insert into the giraffe. The hose disperses a protectant inside the giraffe to retard the rust process. I'll probably then have it sandblasted and apply a galvanized shiny finish that will be highlighted with copper spots. <br />
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I woke up to an interesting surprise the other morning. See the video for details. <br />
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<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/UvS4D6AnU7I&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/UvS4D6AnU7I&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333318035470813141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057078046476334455.post-13854137618781517792010-05-21T20:57:00.000-04:002010-06-09T08:24:38.331-04:00Giraffe progressing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/S_cpTt7tjGI/AAAAAAAAB08/zqdxYI-AAkA/s1600/May2010+022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/S_cpTt7tjGI/AAAAAAAAB08/zqdxYI-AAkA/s400/May2010+022.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />
The Giraffe is coming along nicely and the giraffe (less the tail and mane) is complete less the knees and lower legs which need to be fitted outside. I'll need to hoist it with a crane because this beast is getting heavy and my back isn't getting any younger. I think it will look pretty cool when he's standing tall and I can't wait for that phase to begin. The outer skin for the feet, knees and hooves should be pretty simple compared to the rest of the giraffe. Can't wait to position him in the yard after he gets finished.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/S_cptCXpiDI/AAAAAAAAB1A/NUmwKt6tcik/s1600/May2010+026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/S_cptCXpiDI/AAAAAAAAB1A/NUmwKt6tcik/s320/May2010+026.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/URUythGQzjM&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/URUythGQzjM&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333318035470813141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057078046476334455.post-71256289546339807912010-05-10T20:11:00.002-04:002010-05-11T18:59:04.119-04:00R2 Front foot DONE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/S-ifi05kaTI/AAAAAAAAB00/ufjdJzfmrQU/s1600/frontfoot+002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_c94BTNPEczs/S-ifi05kaTI/AAAAAAAAB00/ufjdJzfmrQU/s400/frontfoot+002.jpg" width="400" /> </a>Tonight I finished the front foot / ankle mount and gave R2 a good test drive around the neighborhood. This ankle mount works GREAT and it's solid as can be as well as very level. So technically R2 is back in service.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One thing I like about this new design is only 2 small bolts hold the assembly together with no shims or other things to complicate the design. Less to go wrong. Functionally it couldn't get any better in my book. Oh yeah, a softer lighter tire replaced that massive thing I had before.</div><div style="text-align: right;"><br />
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