thanks jstarne1 confirming what we also know! "I've decided that DJ Sures and the EZ-Robot team has done a FANTASTIC JOB on this board and with promises of endless free upgrades and improvements (DJ, if you are reading this, PLEASE ADD KINECT SUPPORT!) and perfect product support, this robotics board, software, and kit, the E-Z Robot system is the best on the market and I am recommending it to all my fellow robot nuts. This concludes my EZ Robot review. "
I'd say that was 9.5 out of 10! (Thunderous applause from all the two handed robots, waves from the one handed robots and whistles and flashing LED's from the rest!)
I found it interesting that the reviewer, and so many who comment here, don't understand that EZ-B requires a computer and is not standalone. It was so clear from the video tutorials to me, but seems to pass a lot of people by (even one of the commenters on the review page as asking about a bootloader, so he didn't get it even though it was clearly stated). Maybe DJ needs to add something on the web page about system requirements that makes it clearer.
I do agree with the reviewer that it would be great to have a written manual and use the videos to compliment that rather than having them be the primary source of information, but I also understand that EZ-Robot is a 2-man operation and technical writing is time consuming and requires very different skills than programming. (If I had more free time, I would volunteer to write a manual in exchange for a second EZ-B, but no way I could finish it before it would be obsolete at the pace DJ adds new features.
This forum is a great source of supplemental instruction too, but can be hard to find exactly what you are looking for unless you just read all new messages every day.
Maybe we should start a WiKi and have the community here document the features, relying on each other to proof read and improve as we go along.
A wiki or at least an easiier way to find out how to wire the hbridge I am using would have been awesome a couple of weeks ago. I found what I needed but it could have been easier.
But, that said, what we got works and personally I would rather the EZ-Robot team spend their time ironing out bugs in the software or adding new features than writing countless pages of a manual that probably wouldn't get read too often (unless I'm the only one who learns by trying).
I'm glad I'm not alone in being surprised people don't realise the EZB needs a PC to operate it. It was clear enough to me that the EZB needed a bluetooth enabled PC to work when I first found DJs Omnibot on youtube some 6 to 8 months ago... I know it shouldn't surprise me but it does when I see just how dumb some people can be...
The Tutorial section is a wiki of every single control. There is the word Tutorials on the top of this website. Press it, and you'll be directed to an amazing resource of everything you'll ever want to know.
I don't know how to make the ? button any more clear... Every single control in the entire ARC software has a ? next to the X (close) button. If you press that button, you will be directed to a tutorial/help page for that control.
@RichMR2 if you would have pressed the ? button on the HBridge control, you would have been directed to a video which shows you how to connect it. If you would have pressed the ? button, you would have been directed to here: https://synthiam.com/Tutorials/Help.aspx?id=70
oh, I found your video for connecting up the HBridge I used (although not the one the ? sent me to). I used the sparkfun hbridge http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfZjgH6wMJY but even then, I can't print a video for reference when soldering away from my PC. The forum search was what helped me. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't complaining (and I am very aware of the ?, I use it very often, it is clear enough)
I'm glad you figured it out though! We have many thousand units sold now - and it impresses me at how well the website is documented actually. Out of many thousand people with EZ-B's, only a handful actually post on the website in a day with questions. The rest found the ? button and follow the tutorials. Makes me want to do a little dance!
The suggestion I would make is this: add a section to the manual/wiki that allows user to add content for hardware and code implementaions not covered in DJs tutorials.
Things such as alternate hardware; h-bridges, lasers, sound cards, etc.
Alternate code implementations.
Etc.
We could help build the wilipedia of ez-robot! EZ-wiki-robo-pedia!
thanks jstarne1 confirming what we also know! "I've decided that DJ Sures and the EZ-Robot team has done a FANTASTIC JOB on this board and with promises of endless free upgrades and improvements (DJ, if you are reading this, PLEASE ADD KINECT SUPPORT!) and perfect product support, this robotics board, software, and kit, the E-Z Robot system is the best on the market and I am recommending it to all my fellow robot nuts. This concludes my EZ Robot review. " I'd say that was 9.5 out of 10! (Thunderous applause from all the two handed robots, waves from the one handed robots and whistles and flashing LED's from the rest!)
I found it interesting that the reviewer, and so many who comment here, don't understand that EZ-B requires a computer and is not standalone. It was so clear from the video tutorials to me, but seems to pass a lot of people by (even one of the commenters on the review page as asking about a bootloader, so he didn't get it even though it was clearly stated). Maybe DJ needs to add something on the web page about system requirements that makes it clearer.
I do agree with the reviewer that it would be great to have a written manual and use the videos to compliment that rather than having them be the primary source of information, but I also understand that EZ-Robot is a 2-man operation and technical writing is time consuming and requires very different skills than programming. (If I had more free time, I would volunteer to write a manual in exchange for a second EZ-B, but no way I could finish it before it would be obsolete at the pace DJ adds new features.
This forum is a great source of supplemental instruction too, but can be hard to find exactly what you are looking for unless you just read all new messages every day.
Maybe we should start a WiKi and have the community here document the features, relying on each other to proof read and improve as we go along.
Alan
A wiki or at least an easiier way to find out how to wire the hbridge I am using would have been awesome a couple of weeks ago. I found what I needed but it could have been easier.
But, that said, what we got works and personally I would rather the EZ-Robot team spend their time ironing out bugs in the software or adding new features than writing countless pages of a manual that probably wouldn't get read too often (unless I'm the only one who learns by trying).
I'm glad I'm not alone in being surprised people don't realise the EZB needs a PC to operate it. It was clear enough to me that the EZB needed a bluetooth enabled PC to work when I first found DJs Omnibot on youtube some 6 to 8 months ago... I know it shouldn't surprise me but it does when I see just how dumb some people can be...
The Tutorial section is a wiki of every single control. There is the word Tutorials on the top of this website. Press it, and you'll be directed to an amazing resource of everything you'll ever want to know.
I don't know how to make the ? button any more clear... Every single control in the entire ARC software has a ? next to the X (close) button. If you press that button, you will be directed to a tutorial/help page for that control.
@RichMR2 if you would have pressed the ? button on the HBridge control, you would have been directed to a video which shows you how to connect it. If you would have pressed the ? button, you would have been directed to here: https://synthiam.com/Tutorials/Help.aspx?id=70
:)
oh, I found your video for connecting up the HBridge I used (although not the one the ? sent me to). I used the sparkfun hbridge http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfZjgH6wMJY but even then, I can't print a video for reference when soldering away from my PC. The forum search was what helped me. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't complaining (and I am very aware of the ?, I use it very often, it is clear enough)
You can print the wiring image on the ? page
I'm glad you figured it out though!
We have many thousand units sold now - and it impresses me at how well the website is documented actually. Out of many thousand people with EZ-B's, only a handful actually post on the website in a day with questions. The rest found the ? button and follow the tutorials.
Makes me want to do a little dance!
Thats my my good friend THOMAS site,thats done posts here mostly on his annidroid design with EZB
The suggestion I would make is this: add a section to the manual/wiki that allows user to add content for hardware and code implementaions not covered in DJs tutorials.
Things such as alternate hardware; h-bridges, lasers, sound cards, etc.
Alternate code implementations.
Etc.
We could help build the wilipedia of ez-robot! EZ-wiki-robo-pedia!