| Where to start:
If you're just starting out, this hobby can be a little intimidating.
Let's face it, the thing that scares most people is electronics.
Most folk can figure out gears, and how to bend aluminum.
It's that voodoo stuff that you can't see that scares 'em
off. So that's where I concentrate here.
The book list above is a good resource, but that's a lot
of reading to do. I have written a small booklet that condenses
the high points about electronics that you'll need to figure
out basic electronics. It is broken into 2 pieces, each of
which has 4-5 chapters of about 5 pages each. So it's only
a few hours to read the whole thing, not several days.
- click here to download a pdf of section
1 of my summary of electronics
- click here to download a pdf of section
2 of my summary of electronics
Tools needed: Click
here to see a page I have put together about tools, divided
into categories of "Gotta have it", "Hmm, that's
nice. Maybe I'll get that", and "Oooo, I'd love
to have that, but Jeez look at the price".
Kits: If you're the type that says "Ah to hell
with it, I'll figure it out as a I go" then you might
try a kit to start out with. The nice thing about kits is
that all the parts you need are right there. They list the
tools that you'll need and they have instructions that you
follow. Check out the suppliers list above. Graymark Intl
and The Robot Store are good sources for kits, ranging from
$15 - $300.
Electronics kits: A cheaper way to start out is to
get more experienced in electronics with some kits that are
available. Radio Shack has several 50 in 1 type of kits for
electronic experimentation. These things are a blast and are
considerably less expensive than the kits above. They are
a great way to get your feet wet and to learn the skills that
you are going to need later anyway. These kits run from $30-100.
Some examples are the
Electronics Learning Lab – Radio shack part number 28-280
$59.99
Electronic Sensor Lab – Radio shack part number 28-278,
$49.99
Timer Kit, $6.97 part number 990-0202.
FM microphone kit. Make an FM radio transmitter. Turn an FM
radio into a PA system, part number 990-0191, $7.95
Sumo Robot kit, $29.95 on sale, normally 49.95, part number
990-0409
Lego Mindstorms set. This is a kit made by the famous
Lego company. But it is more than just the familiar toy construction
set. It includes motors, sensors and a programmable microprocessor
“brain”. You can build a robot, program it with
your own software to control its behavior and let it go. But
beware the $200 price tag. The kit keeps the simplicity of
Legos at its heart, but it gives one the power to remarkable
things with robotics projects. The software programming interface
even has a Lego look and feel to it. The programmer assembles
logic blocks that look like Legos in a windows interface.
The user can also download another language compiler into
the micro such as NQC (Not Quite C) or recently a Java Compiler
for more advanced programming. NOTE: I FOUND ONE ON EBAY FOR
$90. Look around if you are interested in this. You can get
it at Toys R Us, www.amazon.com, www.robotstore.com, or www.acroname.com
(they also have a store in Boulder)
Parallax
Boe Bot: A microcontroller (programmable computer
like chip) based robot kit. Their most versatile kit is the
Boe Bot which is a wheeled platform robot that comes with
the computer chip (called the BASIC STAMP), prewritten software
routines to control the motors, etc. This kit is very well
documented and there are hundreds of website resources that
are free. This is a great kit for those that like the simplicity
of the Lego Mindstorms kit, but want to expand and do more.
Price: About $230. Available from The Robot Store (www.robotstore.com)
or Acroaname Robotics (in Boulder, CO) or directly from the
Parralax web site. You generally will not see these on ebay.
People that get them, keep them.
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