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B9 Robot

hi,
i just brought a full sized b9 robot(from the tv show lost in space)..and had it shipped to me .all the internals were damaged.i have a limited working knowledge of robots however this project to rebuild it might be a problem for me.i have tried the b9 builders club with no luck.i just keep getting passed from person to person.does anyone have any ideas how i could proceed?i am completely lost on this one.or perhaps there is someone who works on these things that could help?any help would be greatly apreciated....
thanks,
steve


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#1  
Absolutely no offence but without much prior knowledge in the area of robotics and/or electronics what you want to do will have a seriously steep leaning curve... However, there are a few B9 projects on here, most notably this one Dave's full size B9 But as mentioned starting out with no real knowledge in robotics will be challenging... I think you are going to have to learn at least some basic concepts even before you turn a screw on your and "might I add, lucky to find" full size B9... The ez robot concept will definitely help you so the first thing I would do is purchase the EZ Robot developer's kit and start messing around with that first... I am sure Dave (creator of the link above) will be able to help you a fair bit, but you're going to have learn a lot yourself as well...

I wish you good luck and sorry I can't be much more help...
#2  
Hi Steve,

Richard is completely correct as usual. ;) However all is not lost. Before we continue I need to know something about where your B9 came from. There are generally three kinds of full sized B9's out there. 1) B9 Robot Builders Club Robots. 2) Commercially built B9's. 3) Home built B9's build prior to the club or commercially built robots.

1). I did read your post over on the B9 Robot Builder's club asking for assistance. There is a ton of helpful guys over there but many are in the same boat you are in not really knowing much about robotics. Most of us over there just loved the TV show so much that we wanted to have one. Most were either hand built from scratch or placed together from a combination of vendor parts and homemade parts. As far as being functional; they either range from costumes articulated by a person inside the robot (like the original), a display like robot that has limited control function and blinking lights to full fledged robotic nightmares. :P Anyway most all B9 builders over there have or are building their own robots from the ground up. You may have one of these. One note about the guys in this club; Building a B9 is a very intense job that takes any builder to the limits of their skill set. These are projects that usually take anywhere from a few years to a decade. I've just passed my 5 year point of constant building. In the past 5 years I've rarely seen anyone willing to take on someone else's B9 project and build or rebuild it for them. They usually are so involved in their build that they have no time to build for others. Also, by the time they "finish" their build they're burnt out and ready to either just sit back and enjoy what they just did or move on to building a different robot like R2D2 or Robbie. This is not to say these guys won't assist with advice on how to fix or build. They are always ready to help someone help themselves. They just need to know what you want. If you don't know then they can't help. *tired*

2). There is another generation of B9 robots that your B9 may be part of. There were three commercial attempts to build a B9 Robot for the public. Icons, Classics Reborn, and B9 Creations. B9 Creations was the most successful, most accurate and led directly to the B9 Robot Builders Club.

3). Home built B9's that were built before, after or during and apart from the above mentioned robots are surely the most interesting. They are attempts from avid fans of the Robot trying to make their childhood dreams come true. They range from surprisingly true to life copies to total nightmares. In each case they were built with love and passion with the B9 in mind regardless of the skill and availability of specifications to the builder. :D

In all the cases mentioned above the internal electronics very widely and the spectrum of what they should do is wide open.
*Do you have any idea where your B9 came from and who built it?
*Do you know what all it is supposed to do? Should it roll around? Should the arms and claws work? Should it talk and what kind of sound system does it have?
*Should different parts of his body move?
*Do any lights blink and should any of the chest or programing bay buttons and switches operate anything?

My opinion (without knowing more about your B9) is that any electronic control systems inside the robot are probably outdated technology and may be beyond repair. You may have to gut most of the poor guy and rebuild the control circuits that move and activate parts of the robot that don't now work with new updated light and motor control boards. *stress*

If you can answer my questions and attach good hi resolution pictures of the inside and outside of your B9 I may be able to point you in the right direction. If you don't have the skills to to any of this then you may be doomed to prop your poor B9 up in the corner of the room and string some blinking christmas lights inside of him go give the illusion of greatness. :( I know this all sounds harsh but it's what I think is sad reality. I can think of a few ways to move forward from here if you can't get someone to personally rebuild your internal electronics; 1)*Learn how to do this on your own (5 years ago I knew nothing about electronics or robotics. Check out my project here on this forum to see what a dope like me has been able to learn), 2)*find a local collage electronic class that may want to take on this project for classroom teaching, 3)*find a local electronic student or hobbyist willing to spend most of the next few years getting your B9 to work. *eek*

Please try not to get too discouraged. Let's start with the history of your robot, what you think he should be doing that he is not and some good pictures of what he looks like inside and out.

OH BTW Steve, Where are you located?:)
#3  
thanks everyone,
just to recap,first i want to say thanks to all of you guys for the replys.its nice to know that there are many people out there that took the time to reply...
this robot was home built,i got it from a private person.he was in california,i live in new york
let me state a bit more about my experience,i am an electrical contractor,i know alot about electronics,i can fix almost anything however here is my problem.i have no idea what internal equiptment should be in this robot.i have no diagrams,no parts list and such.if i had a detailed diagram of the internals,a good parts list i truly believe i could do this.i have contacted the b9 builders club however i keep getting passed around with no luck.
my goal is to make this robot workable and have every option that is available.
i have almost no hair left as i pulled out most of it in fustration..once again,thanks and any help would be greatly apreciated.
thanks,
steve
#4  
Steve, I understand your flusteration. As I mentioned above I'm very familiar with all the different B9 generations and am a member of the B9 Robot Builders Club. Sadly the fact that your robot is a home built unit and has no sketches or part lists there is little anyone can do to help. There is no standardized components or ways to wire these. Home built B9s are all different. If you Don't want to gut the wiring and control boards your going to have to sectionalise each circuit that's not working, ID and test components and repair as needed. Being a electrical contractor should give you some basic knowledge of how the circuits work. Figuring out the components may be a challenge. You may need to find someone who can place eye and hands on to help. There is no way something of this scope of non standard design could be done remotely. Sorry. I know this is not what you want to hear. Where are you located? Please see my above post for suggestions on finding local help.
If you drill down to known problems then we can help and give advice. If you do do a total rebuild then we can give lots of advice angry guidance. ;)

Good luck! :)
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USA
#5  
Steve,

I'm from New Jersey, were are you located in NY ?

Is the B9 group local too ?
#6  
Oh ya, he did say he is from NY. Sorry, I missed that. No, the D9 Robot Builders Club is nota local club. It's an international group much like this EZ Robot forum. The best Steve could hope for is to find a member local to him or a kind soul like you willing to spend some time with him. I'd love to get my hands on his robot for a few weeks to try to figure this out for him. Sadly I'm in the Midwest and can'ttravel there to troubleshoot and repair. *tired*
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