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!