Check the fuse in the ezb4 base...

and how would I do that? And why would that have a problem given that it is brand new and this is the first time I've plugged it in?

Check out this tutorial... Fuse replacement

@kd208, often it is very simple things. I might be something more significant, but I'm sure we can help you.

I would take a deep breath and get our your millimeter then:

1. check the voltage coming out of the batteries at the barrel plug
2. plug the batteries into the base and check the mini deans connector in the base (the EZB sits in) and check the voltage there - be careful as the connector is tiny, you might need to stick a wire into the connector to get a connector for your meter on the female side - you don't want to create a short

If 1 and 2 check out correct and your EZB still does not power on, that is when I would check the fuse as Richard suggested.

You said> "Also, I see in the documentation that it is recommended to have the 7,.4 v lipo pack. Why is that not included? I have made two orders from Canada and no one has recommended that. Now I have to make a third order for a $10 battery and pay and additional $10 in shipping? Come on guys....."

I'd like to respond to that. I own many EZ-Robot kits and parts. The 7.4v lipos are "recommended" because they are "viewed" as optimal. The EZ-Robot kits like JD, SIX, Rollie, Adventure bot all have lipos and more importantly their bodies are designed to hold the lipo batteries. Lipos are rechargeable, reliable, viewed as better for the environment than traditional alkaline batteries - for these and many other reasons the lipos are always going to be "recommended" but "recommended" does not mean "required".

If all is well the 6 AAs in your battery pack will be more than enough to power on your EZB, which is why the back is included. I have used the AA packs and power bricks many time, what you read was not and indication to you that you must go and purchase a battery (and the charger) in order to make your EZB work.

The dev kit is for developers and experimenters. So the kit includes a minimal power brick (small in size to make it easier to fit in your own projects) and the minimal AA power pack because developers and experiments often have their own power requirements.

Does that make sense?

Also, have you reviewed the Learn Section for the Dev Kit

I think the knowledge in the Learn section adds a lot of value, especially for new EZ-Robot owners. I know you probably just want to see it power on, but I found the videos very helpful to me.

If you indeed followed the tutorial in the learn section on your product, the polarity of connecting the battery wires to the barrel jack is important. This means the red wire connects to the + and black wire connects to -, as demonstrated in the tutorial.

Lastly, if there is no sign of power, check the batteries to ensure they are fitted in the holder correctly. The ends of the batteries are conductive surfaces which must mate with the terminals in the battery holder. Perhaps one of the batteries is not mating and making a connection.

To verify this, you could probe the black and red wire with a volt meter to check for current.

As for the lipo, alternative power sources are only necessary for the amount of peripheral current that you're project requires. The lipo is unnecessary for average use to familiarize yourself with the developer kit. If you're building a custom robot, decide the best source of battery that suits the power requirement.

Recommended additional parts are also listed in the store product page as a tab, next to the Getting Started and 3D Printable CAD files, etc.

Report back with the result of probing the red and black wires of the battery holder.

Thanks for your reply. I checked the fuse and it was fine. After multiple times of taking the batteries out and putting them back, I got it to power up. I think one or more batteries was not seated properly.

I got it powered up, connected to its wifi, then when I attempted to connect to the software, I get a message that "this is not an Ez-B device". I read the tutorials and the only I think it could be would be my AVAST anti-virus software. Now I'm trying to figure out how to temporarily disable that? I don't want to have to uninstall and reinstall every time I work with the Ez-B,

If I could offer any feedback as a completely new person to the Ez-B its that while there are lots of tutorials and lots of videos, many of those have changed over time. Some are dated. There needs to be a place, that says, "If you own this or that robot, click here, and all the information from getting started to building your first robot, is located there. The Ez kit is spread over a wide area. For example, the building the Ez box bot. Started out as great tutorials, but it looks like they were never finished. Once you get the box built tutorial 3, now walk me through the set up in the software? I haven't found those tutorials or at least provide cross links to other videos that do address those topics. Everything the video shows that robot doing, needs a tutorial and how to get it to a mobile app. Its a simple robot and perfect for a class project. Once that one is mastered we could move on to building different form factors. Such as hacking a toy.

I teach STREAM at my son's school. If this platform is to be widely adopted, then the information needs to be made a whole lot simpler. People just don't have the time to chase it.

Thanks for your detailed reply to my question. ;-)

The tutorials you request exist.

1. Press the learn button at the top menu of this website.

2. use the scroll bar on the right of your browser window to scroll through the products on the learn section. Locate your product and press the button to start the course.

3. when the course opens, there are topics listened on the left and information for the highlighted topic on the right.

4. follow the topics in order. There's hundreds of videos to make learning easier and enjoyable.

Prompts for the learn section can be found in more than the menu option as I described above. You are also prompted for learn section when ARC loads. The pamphlet in the product directs you to the learn section. The ezb has a yellow sticker on the side which directs to the learn section. The signup emails and emails notifying you of replies to this conversation directs to the learn section. We got it covered

Have fun!

Hi, Yes, I've watched 46 of those lessons so far. These are not all specific to the kit, so for a new person it can be a little confusing. Also as I evaluate this product and platform for class use, 46 + videos is a lot for students to set through.

The tutorial I'm referring to are these.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSA_IRnNan4
Ez-BoxBot by DJ Shures. This is a perfect little project for a beginner with this kit. But stopped short of delivering all that it said it would do. Either I can't find tutorial 4 or it just ended there. But when the videos start, they give an overview of what it will cover. So it seems there is info missing.

thanks

That was an old video - good find

I'll think of something for a future The Robot Program series to make an updated boxbot. Generally, the developer kit is for developers. For classroom use, our sales department would recommend AdventureBot, Six or JD. There are educational bundles on the store to learn more. Contact Us with questions to speak with someone who represents education.

Thanks, I'm looking at this kit because I want the kids to "invent" more. I'm taking more of a STEAM approach to the curriculum. There are lots of robots out there Dash/Dot, VEX, Lego. But I think the potential for this kit has more "craft and inventive" appeal which also appeals more to girls.

I love the boxbot. Please give that some consideration and include the steps all the way to driving it with an ipad or phone. Let the children give their bots their own personality. Ipads and chrome books are what schools have invested in.

Thanks so much, Keri

Hi I have a new question but the form w ont let me start a new field from my phone so posting here. Hopefully someone will see ir. I'm away from my computer . I connected ev4 to network and to the builder software. Connected 360 servos to d12 and d13. Added the same in project details but the servos do not respond in the continuous motion control. I've tripped checked connections. Does anyone have any ideas what else it could be? One thing I noticed is the option to control multiple servos is not in my version of builder. Its in the 90 degree control but not in continous motion controller.

I would like to build the boxbot. Buts it's example files are no longer in Builder either. Thanks

Hi @kd208,

If you click on the small gear icon on the upper left of the "Continuous servo movement panel" have you selected port D12 and D13 for your Left and Right servos?

Yes

@kd208, BoxBot example are in the latest ARC still, they are still under Examples and Legacy Robots.

I will say one thing that is different in the Legacy example is that both the Connect and the Camera are by default NOT set to find my wifi EZB4 but instead Connect is set to try to use my serial port and Camera is set to try to use to my USB camera. - The reason is BoxBot was a Legacy robot when the EZBv3 (and Bluetooth connection) was the standard.

So if you did not manually switch those from the default in the example you will want.

@kd208 are you connecting to your ezb4 via AP mode or client mode. This Learn Lesson explains the different modes and how to connect to your EZb4 https://synthiam.com/Community/Tutorials/15?courseId=4

@kd208 what type of AA batteries are you using? Alkaline or rechargeable?

Alkaline AA

edited out

Thanks. Thank goes back to the beginning if thus thread. Why aren't they included then in the kit? I have now place two orders in the last three weeks to Canada and now this will be the third. What I've paid in shipping I could have bought other accessories. Not cool! Not to mention a waste if my time. I was trying to get thus simple box bot to work for our school fundraiser which was today for Robotics!

The aa batteries will drive the 360 servos without an issue. Please disregard the above post.

There is a question mark (?) next to the close (x) button on every control. Add the continuous rotation Movement Panel and press the question mark to view the configuration page. Here's the manual page for it: https://synthiam.com/Tutorials/Help.aspx?id=12

The learn section is an excellent place to get started. We receive praise from those who use it, and follow it. You'll enjoy it as well

Also, the developer kit is still easier than any other diy product, and way easier than arduino, etc... but you to maintain versatility, it does require a bit of reading how things work. Try the question marks and watching the tutorial videos etc..

Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither will your complete custom robot. Keep rock'n it!

@DJ you might as well delete my post as my intent to help isn't welcome... I still stand by my comment... Alkaline batteries (AAs) are better suited for other electronics that don't required much current... Anyway. I am done helping here....

I can confirm that Alkaline AA batteries will drive the 360 servos, it is a higher voltage than we recommend and they may drain faster than rechargeable AA batteries would but they will work.

Quote:

Does anyone have any ideas what else it could be? One thing I noticed is the option to control multiple servos is not in my version of builder. Its in the 90 degree control but not in continous motion controller.

Hi kd208, can you go into more depth on what you mean by this? Maybe a screenshot. If you are using the "Continuous servo Movement Panel" control there is definitely an option for 2 servos. Here's a screenshot:

Ok thanks everyone. Assuming AA will work, I've set up the ports on ezb correctly and in the project detail as well as the settings for the servos, is there any other place I've missed or should check?

I've been watching the videos and tutorials. Been up till 3 am every night this week working on this.

Yes, you haven't setup your Left and Right ports!

Thank you! I thought I had done that in the project details!

No prob! Yeah I can see that the initial wording in the control's summary window can be a bit confusing. The key word is "descriptions". The Project details are no more than descriptions rather than real port assignments.

Yah! As Jeremie said, the project details are for reference. This is because every control has unique settings. The camera control has its own servos. The continuous rotation Movement Panel has its own servos. Everything has its own servo settings. This is because your robot may use different servos per feature. Each feature has a configuration.

NA means Not Available, as in "you hadn't selected anything". It's an acronym that you will see often in technology, specially with options such as this.

But! Since each control has its own configuration, as described in the learn section regarding servos, the Project Details was created. The project details feature allows you to define what servos you use on what ports for reference.

There is a blue question mark in the project details that explains more.

3 am? Man I truly respect your passion! Sometimes though, it helps to step away for a day or two and let the brain process what it just learned. There's a lot of info to learn in a short period. It's dizzying! But absolutely fun and rewarding

Here's a good read on what a control is, and how they each have a configure button: https://synthiam.com/Tutorials/Lesson/21