Advice Need For Hasbro R2-D2 Hack
Hey guys. Hope everyone is cool.
I’m looking to start a new project and need a quick bit of advice and/or information from anyone who has hacked a Hasbro 2002 R2-D2 Interactive Astromech Droid (the voice activated one with beverage holder).
I managed to score one off eBay for my girlfriends granddaughter, got it for a good price and it’s in full working order, but with it using 16 year old voice recognition hardware/software, voice commands are a bit hot and miss (mostly miss, lol). So I’m thinking about doing an EZ-B hack with her.
I haven’t taken a screwdriver to it yet so it’s still in one piece, so...
Q1: what I wanted to ask, was about the original drive motors which I would like to use. Has anyone who has hacked one or these R2’s used the original drive motors, and if so how did you connect them to the EZ-B (what type of H-Bridge/motor controller did you use)?
Q2: I want to run the EZ-B and droid off a 7.4v LiPo so I also need to know what the voltage of the original motors are rated for as well in case a need a second battery with matching voltage.
Any help or advice anyone can offer would be a great help.
Thanks guys. 
I also put the camera on a servo so it can tilt up and down.
I did use an IoTiny instead of an EZ-B v4, but that's because i was being cheap lol
Ron
Hey buddy. I was hoping you would be one of the guys who replied. I knew you did an R2 hack but couldn’t remember which one you used, but I had a search through the YouTube archives over the weekend and found your video (I remember you posted one) and watched it a few times. I must admit that I was a little reluctant to tear my R2 apart, but watching your video has given me the nudge I needed, lol.
That’s great news about the H-Bridge and using 7.4v. I have got a couple of EZ-Robot L298’s in a box somewhere and hoped I could use one. I’ve also got a EZ-B V4/2 dev kit I’ve been looking to use (and an IoTiny as well, lol), so time to get the tools out. Quick question for you DJ, did you use any of the original dome LED’s?
@Ron.
Good to hear from you too. Will deffo post a project showcase. I had another look through you R2 thread, good looking through that again. Did you ever post a video of your lil droid in action?
I will charge him up and see what I can do.
Ron
@DJ. In one of the Robot Program episodes
(ep 026 around the 8 min 9 sec mark), you made reference to a video you made showing the R2-D2 build/hack. I’ve had a look but not come across it yet. If the video is still floating about, could you post a link to it when you get a chance please? I’d like to show it to my girlfriends granddaughter.
Thanks.
https://youtu.be/v_Jw3489l1U
Look near the bottom of the page, there’s a lengthy list
Going to start a showcase thread soon. Pretty much completed the dome with new RGB LED’s, couple of sound sensors, light sensor... and of course, the all important camera.
So far it’s been fun and glad I’ve got my hands dirty again. I’ve missed robot building.
looking forwart to see your r2d2 in action.
Just started a project showcase for this lil guy.
Hasbro R2-D2 Project Showcase
Otherwise, you can always Contact Us if you're looking for something specific. NOOO ! I was looking forward to this. I got my operating table ready and a pc to use with it and starting a list of what is needed to stat rebuilding R2
.
The page you are looking for is the page that you made a comment on, project showcases stayed on the Sythiam site. That's just an old link that didn't get redirected back to Synthiam for some reason.