Have you looked into using IoTiny?

Speaker breakouts here: https://synthiam.com/Tutorials/UserTutorials/controlId/199

faengelm, I need all the servo inputs. Thanks DJ Sures.

I hope you don't take offence to this but, Ouch. That's an ugly modification. I totally understand the difficulty of properly soldering and unsoldering on any board. Believe me, I've destroyed my share of solder pads and traces. I did this power mod on a few of my EZB's and also destroyed a solder pad or two. I had to properly repair the pads before I continued so it would be safe.

I know you are planning on selling this to department stores to display fashion. Is this model just your personal prototype? If so then this mod may be no big deal as long as it's safely done under that tape job. If you are you planning on personally building more of these to customers for a display mannequin perhaps you should either learn how to desolder and solder or subcontract this task out.

Also If you don't want to solder there are much better ways to connect power to the EZB. Instead of just bending one pin and shoving in another one, you can get the proper connectors and a tool and make a decent adaptor. You can even buy an already manufactured adaptor. Heck, you've already spent all this money on servos and hardware making a state of the art robot manakin. Don't skimp on the power delivery system. It not only looks cheesy but it's a dangerous hazard that could burn down your home or your customer's business and kill someone. eek Also don't leave out a main fuse.

@Zxen Have you looked into a micro Deans adapter?

www.amazon.com/dp/B001BHLWI0/ref=cm_sw_r_em_tai_c_t3auzb246FHJX

If that protrudes too far, there are other micro Means adapter that have wires attached which make it much easier to solder than on those small pins

Regards, Frank

@Zxen I agree with Dave... I assume this is just a prototype? Because I don't think should not be sold or even given to any customer the way it sits... You are going to have to "up your game" and make it much more professional (and much safer too)...

@Zxen Have you tried just plugging in the micro Deans connector assembly that's in the $9.99 USD Power Shell?

That would also give you a LiPo Battery Harness compatible barrel jack connector on the other end

It also has a safety fuse in case of shorts

Regards, Frank

Of course I'm not going to sell a product like this, guys, but thanks for all the insults. Your mothers would be proud. I had already said I did a bad job. I've fallen in the mud and you guys tell me I'm clumsy. I don't think the power base is a reasonable part of the EZB, and by the time I need to release this, if its ever finished, I hope EZB power bases will be part of the board (EZBv5?). Thanks for the suggestions on chunky and moderately chunky solutions. It would be great if someone who is good at doing this showed the instructions on video - I think everyone would prefer not to have the power base (although I'm sure most people want a fuse).

There are probably a thousand different youtube videos with instructions for learning to solder, but here are two sites I found helpful in learning:

https://mightyohm.com/files/soldercomic/FullSolderComic_EN.pdf

http://www.aaroncake.net/electronics/solder.htm (this one you will need to change the URL because the EZ-B website auto-converts it from http to https and it is not an SSL site).

The only thing I am still looking for and haven't found is a good guide to what temperature to set on an adjustable temp soldering station depending on what object I am soldering. All the sites and videos say an adjustable temperature iron is best, and none say how to best use it (in my admittedly limited searches).

Alan

Zxen, I don't know your time schedule but I suggest you build a power distribution board for the servos. Run 2 rails for the power and 1rail for signal. Look at David's thread to see how it connects. Install a good size fuse to prevent any big magic smoke on the input line. ,(InMoov d.cochran style)

The connectors for the ezb are also available on eBay. I believe there is a fused power cable available in the store also.

I have had experiences with "Magic Smoke" and damaged fingers trying to pull the wires off of the battery, as many others here on the forum can agree to. Install a master switch and fuse on your supply battery or power unit soon. This will save you much rebuilding time in the event of an error or short as your prototype gets more complicated.

@Zxen,

No one here meant to offend you...if it makes you feel any better, you have had a mountain more replies than i have had to questions i have asked, so you need to take it as constructive criticism and simply learn from it.

You've had that many replies, and i so little it made me change my actual project to something i didn't and still dont want but i have to live with it...no hard feelings it simply is what it is...because end of the day im not that intelligent, and yada yada yada.

You have had so many people here help you, you should feel very humbled...where i feel as though i am not that welcome here for i have had hardly any replies to any of my posts...so i hope that makes you feel better.

You need to take back your low blow of how their mothers would be proud comment...i was embarrassed to be australian after reading that.

You need to realize what ez-robot have given us here and the community that has arisen as a result. I have been very humbled by the recent replies i have received from people on the other side of the world taking time out of their day to help someone like me.

Here are some pics which i hope can help. I made my own wiring harness thingy, on/off switch with a 2200mah lipo which is what my humanoid will run on. There is nothing wrong with the base at all, you don't even need ANY of the case/shell. Nylon screws work a treat.

You should see the flight controller on my fpv 250 racing drone, everything is soldered to it, it runs everything and is bare bones, attached to a carbon fiber frame...hence why nylon screws are very important for carbon is crazy conductive.

These are pics that were supposed to be for my first showcase thread, hope they help for i wont be posting them again.

If you need a speaker, steal one from anything, in my case an old TDK alarm clock...because TDK does amazing things to my system.. solder it where it says 'Speaker'

Hot glue to protect plus heat shrink to protect from edges

Get your harness ready, choose an adapter, i prefer XT60

Easiest part done

All done. You could just attach the ezb4 like it is with nothing else. of course whole ezb4 isn't pictured.

Wire in an On/Off switch-Old speaker was just too loud...sounded great though.

Im running the base because i have the room for it, but yeah Lol Tiny it if you concerned for room.

See the red part? Chop it!

You will be greeted by 2 lovely solder pads.

You MUST...or rather should use solder flux and a sponge.

Tip must be clean, dip end of wires into flux before you tin them..it will make your soldering so much easier...picture buttering toast with a fork...if you don't have flux on the tips of your wires.

I watched a video on youtube awhile ago for soldering and it opened my eyes right up, but i haven't been doing it long at all so i'm not the best, just keep at it for as they say.....

@thetechguru Alan I found this https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/1980/what-s-the-proper-soldering-iron-temperature-for-standard-031-60-40-solder. but in my trials and tribulations found hot and fast to be the best practice

@Zxen,

The part of your design that is holding the EZ-B, is it possible to modify that part to hold the fused power board that is in the power-base from EZ-Robot? If so, it is pretty easy to remove the barrel plug and wire to that end. It is marked with + and -, or the board is easy enough to figure out. It will make for a cleaner install and allow you to put in a switch pretty easily.

@NEWAGETOMY, I am sorry that you feel this way. Unfortunately people have jobs and other responsibilities. Their "Robot build time" is pretty valuable to them. Many times you will simply be directed to posts or information that is already available because people want to help, but don't see the need to re-write topics simply because the information to get you well down the path to the answer is already available.

Please understand that this is a community of people willing to help. Don't take offense when people offer help in their own way. It is simply someone saying "hey, you might not want to do that" and most of the time it is because of their own experience, and they are trying to prevent you from making the same mistake.

Robotics is about learning and discovering. You both know that or you would never have gotten as far as you have. Most of the time the answer isn't that difficult, but requires work and understanding. The best way to get the understanding is to do the work, mess up, and do it again from what you have learned. Research is probably the most important part of robotics, just like it is for almost anything technical. People will not just give you the answer normally, until you do some work to try to communicate intelligently about the issue. Please don't take offense to the last statement. I will give an example.

I manage many employees. Some are older and some are younger. If an employee comes to me and asks about something, and from their statements I can tell that they haven't researched the topic, then I normally send them a link in Google. If they come to me and sound like they have some understanding of the topic, I will spend time with them discussing and trying to come up with a solution. If the employee comes in acting like they have all of the answers, I won't correct them until they are so far down the wrong rabbit hole that they then understand that they don't have all of the answers and admit that they need to do the research and get help. If they don't come to this conclusion, the don't last long. Unfortunately, this is where a lot of people fail. They think too highly of themselves and their abilities and don't do the research. Some are too lazy to do the research and just want the answers given to them without doing the research. This is where I direct them to the locations to do the research.

This might sound harsh, but really it is teaching these employees a very important lesson. "How do I do the research and learn" is probably the best lesson anyone could give anyone.

I knew nothing about electronics, but was interested in it. I did the research and learned.
I knew nothing about paint and body work on cars. I wanted to fix up an old car so that I could learn how to do not only paint and body work, but a lot of other valuable skills with cars. I knew nothing about 3D printing. I did the research and learned. I knew nothing about programming, but learned because I was interested in it. and so on and so on.

I couldn't begin to tell you anything about pop culture. I don't care so I don't learn it.

Each of us have a huge desire to learn. The highest pleasure centers of the brain are centered in the parts that we use for learning. We are hard wired to learn. In order to learn well, you have to have a subject that interests you and is on the fringe of your familiarity. If it is too unfamiliar, you will get frustrated. If it is too familiar, you will get bored. The key is not to jump to the unfamiliar before it is on the fringe of familiarity. In other words, learn and understand the parts that are familiar enough to you to keep you from getting frustrated. That advances you to becoming more familiar with a topic, which then pushes you forward to more understanding of more complex topics.

With all of that said, I am simply trying to encourage you to try something, make a mistake, learn from it and then advance, not depending on this community as your only source of answers. Where this becomes dangerous is when you are doing something that might cause a fire, blow up a battery or something like that. When people tell you the you might not want to do what you are doing, it is normally the latter situation and you should spend the time researching for a better solution.

@CochranRobotics,

no need for an apology at all, but to be honest the information i need to get me down the path is not readily available..if it is can you please post a link showing me this information? It has been a 2 week process, and i have gone backwards in my endeavor. It has delayed my project by quite a margin, so as bad as this may sound, i have given up on trying to do it now for nothing is working.

I joined another forum and asked for the same help...not one single reply and its been many days. Again i spent hours trying to do this before i even asked for help.

I've seen others ask for assistance for something really straight forward and they received pages of replies..i think i now know why i haven't received the level of help i was expecting....karma is a bitch it seems...

Having a dry sense of humor reply from someone telling me to get an rgb set was actually a be-littling thing to say. In other words im on my own. sleep

@Newagetomy https://synthiam.com/Community/Questions/10471&page=5

5 pages of replies with some in depth information provided. PTP may be working...

https://synthiam.com/Community/Questions/10425 answer given from Alan

https://synthiam.com/Community/Questions/10413 issue was pasting code. You now know how to do that.

https://synthiam.com/Community/Questions/10364&page=2 Board replaced and it is working now

The other posts you have made are general conversation type posts.

Make a post with the question you have and I will do my best to answer it. The last month had been very busy for me at work so I haven't spent much time on the forum. I know others have answered your questions. I don't see the question you asked in order to provide an answer if I have one.

@newagetomy

Which thread are you still looking for answers in? (I know about the RGB LED one. It is 4 pages long and still active. Lots of mis-information because it wasn't clear at first what kind of LED's you had, so it isn't actually as simple a question as it at first seemed). Is there another thread you aren't receiving help in? I looked at all of the threads you started, and any that have been questions it looks like you received several answers (harder to search for your questions in other people's threads, so I might be missing something). Heck, Nomad even offered to do a Skype session to see if he could help you out live (not sure I would take him up on that, his answers are wrong as often as they are right, but he tries hard....).

I tend to not get involved in threads that have well documented answers, but if there is something you are still having trouble finding, I'll be happy to help.

Alan

I saw the code PTP posted, i added it into the script, and nothing worked, i mentioned that in my actual thread, but its a thread that gets lost easily...

This is the thread i made-It says RGB LED Help Needed? https://synthiam.com/Community/Questions/10471

I added the code in the script, nothing worked, but i was very grateful for the assistance.

I know Nomad offered his help, he was the only one offering me help for awhile. I said i would accept his offer for that, but this has deflated me to the point im just wanting to move on and complete my first robot.

But yeah i will admit the eyes were important to me...its a humanoid so the eyes are somewhat important, but now im left with a cyclops looking robot...who knows i might just grow to like it..

I posted some suggestions in that thread, let's move the conversation there to now hijack @zxens's discussion. I'll reply to this actual comment there.

Alan

I was going to say the same thing, we hijacked this thread bad. I spammed it with photos hope the OP forgives me for that.

Quote:

I was going to say the same thing, we hijacked it this thread bad. I spammed it with photos hope the OP forgives me for that.

I think your photos were right on target for answering his question, so no issues there.

Note: there are two ways to connect a speaker. The one you used uses the built in amplifier of the EZ-B. If you want a louder speaker or volume control, than there are different connectors to wire to an amplifier. The tutorial link that DJ posted has tutorials on both methods.

Alan

The speaker i used first was crazy loud...but it gave me a fun idea for a project that's for sure. That built in amp is awesome. The speaker im using now is from a small radio, much smaller but so loud still, but the TDK speaker had the uber bass.

Thanks for letting me know about the pics.

@Zxen I wanted to mention that your original board is still very much salvageable, you just have to connect to different spots now. Check out this picture for some suggested new contact points:

@Techguru I don't work with lead-based solder anymore but when I do I usually use 650-700°F depending on what I'm soldering and the thickness of the tip. Although there are many different reasons to increase or decrease the temperature based on a variety of factors, I use 750°F as a general rule for lead free solder.

@NEWAGETOMY I was debating about doing a quick video tutorial on RGB LEDs, would it still help or have I missed the boat?

@Zxen, too bad you choose to get upset about being told that you can do better. The people who you think hurt your feeling (including myself) just want to see you succeed in producing a quality and safe robot. I've reread my post and I personally don't see anything mean or offensive about anything I said and believe it to be the truth. I suggest that if you can't deal with your work being analyzed and commented on then don't post pictures and ask for opinions and help. Just be careful that you don't seriously hurt yourself or others messing around the things you may not understand (like electricity).

Btw, my mother tought me to gracefully accept constructive criticism and learn from it. She also tought me to speak the truth and help others when I can. I have no doubt that if she were still living today, she would be very proud of me. cool

@Jeremie,

i would love to see a video tutorial..you read my mind for i was almost going to ask last night. It would help me and many others..so the boat is still anchored!

@DaveSchulpius,

i read it also and there was nothing offensive at all. Richard R is very direct, but again he is 100% correct in saying he has to up his game...but the words he chose were 100% wrong. I never would have said it in those words.

@Zxen,

I just read a page of replies i missed, the fuse can be relocated anywhere, please look at the pics i posted and you will see how easy it is.

For a noob i thought i did an average job and it all works really well.

Jeremie is going to do a video tutorial i think.

@DaveSchulpius,

yes she would be very proud.