Wow. It is as if you are setting up your own little business on the website, but the products are free. I definitely think this will be popular. A question related to MP3's. If I used Say(Phrase) instead of an MP3 would it come out of a speaker connected to the EZ-B. If not I could definitely use some of these. And don't give me the wrong answer because you want to start selling

Hey Creativita

IM pretty sure when using the Say function the synthesised voice comes out of your defualt soundcard which would be on your computer. Unless you have a sound card on your robot using a usb soundcard and usb adaptor/wifi thingy.

Mp3 database to use for voices and stuff sounds like could good idea to me!

As the old guy in the room I've got what should be a simple question. I've never saved any mp3 files before. Where and how would I save an .mp3 file. All you younger guys are prob thinking; wow! He"s never saved music files! Wha an old dude!

It is just like a .wav sound file except bigger and more clear. I save mine in my computermy musicrobot or something easy to remember. Doesn't matter where as long as you can remember lol and keep all your robot voices and music together, but near your other music and sounds in case you want to edit and change the sound/voice, it will be easy to find.

I only charge if I provide a service that takes a lot of time, effort, work, or if I have to pay for the item I'm selling. I pay for my website domain and hosting at TheGoodRobot.com and TheBadRobot.com (still under construction) but since I want to help others, I want to provide a free robot sounds/voice database. I will work on it this weekend. I bought a $10 toy voice changer at Walmart and going to do some hacking and record sounds and phrases for you guys!

TheGoodRobot.com sells some basic things but eventually I want to have online battle bots. You can choose your side "good or "bad" (TheGoodRobot.com or TheBadRobot.com) then you log in from that site. I will have a giant arena in my warehouse with live webcams for every one to log on and view the battle.

There will be prizes. It is going to take me a while, but with help from ez-b it's going a lot faster!

Thanks for the reply goodrobot. I see you have done some wheelchair robot conversions. I have one out in the garage I want to make into a bot. What motor controller have you used on them? I know those motors draw a lot of amps. How do you have them set up? Are you using R/C ?

Loyd You may be interested in some old toys i made a few years back with wheelchair motors...

electric RC lawnmower

and my first one the gas basher

I also made this can crusher

The lawnmower's are not robots (yet) but there fun. And my neighbors think im crazy so they leave me alone lol

I love using wheelchair motors.... there so well made there nearly bullet proof.

Ron

Those are some awesome projects Ron. I see you went R/C with them. A robotic lawn mower has been a project in the back of my mind for quite some time. What did you use for motor controllers? Got any recent sources for good motor controllers? I have a Power wheels jeep I'm working on for a security bot, and maybe hook a riding lawn mower wagon to it for general purpose use around the yard. It's pretty much finished except for a steering servo. Got to be a really beefy one as the front end is made using go-kart parts. Very nice.

lost creek,

first, you need to order a $130 motor controller. (expensive i know, but for the high amperage, i think you will be glad you paid the extra money instead of burning up a smaller one.)

You need to buy a Sabertooth 2x25 motor controller.

buy it from TrossenRobotics.com

or buy it from DimensionEngineering.com (best since i think they made them)

first, you have to open up the 24 volt motors and disengage the brake. they are naturally engaged when no power is on them, until 24 volt is applied to release it. if you do not take the breaks off, you can burn up the breaks, smells like fish (not that i would know...) it will also make the motors burn up or cause them to draw more current which could start fires or burn up the motor controller.

the sabertooth 2x25 has a few screws to make connections, i will tell you later what goes where. the sabertooth supposebly slightly recharges the batteries each time you slow down, it may allow you to play longer without charging as much as you normally would. it has a regenerative circuit.

you need to buy a Spektrum dx5e 5 channel airplane remote control, plus make sure it comes with the spektrum reciver. i suggest you use mode 2 and not mode 1. the difference is the way the joysticks control things. mode 2 seems to work good for me. buy used from ebay for best price, a new price is about $70 and may or may not include a receiver. receivers are usually about $50 by itself.

you can buy this here:

buy dx5e from HorizonHobby.com here

here is a cheaper receiver that is compatible with spektrum transmitters. we call transmitters Tx and receivers Rx. also we need to only use DSM2. here is a pic of the OrangeRx compatible receiver:

buy spektrum compatible receiver "OrangeRX" here at HobbyKing.com for $6 plus s&h you may use an orangeRX receiver that is only about $10-15 on ebay with free s&h but sometimes it doesnt seem to work exactly right, its the same as the $6 plus s&h above. make sure when you buy cheap electronics on ebay you turn on "USA LISTINGS ONLY" if you dont want to wait 1-6 weeks to get things from China, but if you can wait, then you will get it a LOT cheaper.

ok now, while those items are being shipped to you, you need to take the 24 volt motors apart and disengage the brakes. unscrew the 2 black screws on your wheelchair motors. (this only works if you have a joystick controlled wheelchair that is zero turn radious because the scooter type with handlebars have a differential gear system and only has 1 motor.) now when you take the black cap off of the end of the motor, cut the small wire. then using a hex key or alan wrench, and pliers, take off the center nut, you may have to take off some of the other hex screws around the edges. be careful it may be spring loaded. next put the cap back on, you successfully disengaged the brakes! watch this other guy's video on disengaging the brakes...

now you need a digital volt meter. you can buy them cheap at Harbor Freight for about $10.

buy volt meter for $4.99 at HarborFreight.com

now you have 2 batteries, they are gel. that means it does not spill as easy and is good for multiple recharges and last very long. they are deep cycle like marine batteries. normally they are approx. 32 Ah (amp hour) i believe.

if 2 batteries were connected in series it would be 24 volts. if they were parallel, it would be 12 volt. the benefit of parallel is it will have twice the battery life. you can hook up 2 of DJ's AA adapters in parallel to give a 7.5 volt battery pack that is twice as long as just 1 (just make sure you dont hook it up in series, and push 15 volt through it! if you dont know for sure how to do this, dont try it!)

so using the volt meter, test the battery terminals to find out which ones you have to touch to get the 24 volts. those are the posts you need to attach the 12 volt clamps too. try to buy heavy duty ones good for at least 20 amps if possible, preferably 25 since thats what we are trying to use (25 amp or less). you will also need a master in-line fuse. you may use any type of HEAVY DUTY fuse holder on the positive side. i also included a MASTER EMERGENCY SHUT OFF SWITCH in line after the fuse, before i get to the sabertooth 2x25. you can get this at harbor freight for about $10.

you will not need the joystick on the wheelchair (until its time to charge the batteries) using the standard wheelchair recharger, you can buy these on ebay for $20 if you need one. 24 volt 3 prong is standard.

also plan on getting some battery powered LED lights, i like the led lights from Harbor Freight. They use normal AA batteries and are very bright. attach with zip ties or velcro so you can use the light as normal flashlight when needed. (makes me sad because i feel like i'm taking the eyes off of my robot)

now, make sure you take the chair off of the electric wheelchair and put the "bot" on wood blocks, because you do NOT want it taking off while you are near it. mine has went out of control a few times and it is VERY VERY dangerous. it will spin like a battle bot and rip off your shin. (for example) so block it up!

you can use a piece of wood, but i used a plastic lid to a $1 tupperware container to mount my electronics to. it looks shiny white and looks good. i mounted my sabertooth 2x25 (i cut holes in the plastic under the fins so it can breath and not melt the plastic.) then i mounted the spektrum receiver. the sabertooth can actually power your receiver, make sure you do NOT connect it to 24 volts! there is a high voltage side and low voltage side of the sabor tooth.

on the low level input side, you see 0V,5v,S1,S2. this means negative (black) goes in the 0V. then the positive (red) connects into the 5V. the S1 and S2 stands for signal wires. this is where you connect the signal cable from the receiver's 2 channels you are using. it will say something like rudder, throttle, etc. the spektrum receiver will have about 6-8 channels total, so you can use those later for something else, (lights, whatever). It does NOT matter which channel you put in S1 or S2. if you dont like the results, switch them later.

you will need to buy servo cables in bulk from ebay, get the quantity 20 from china if you can wait a few weeks, search 20x servo cables for best price on ebay.

you will need just the data wire (white or yellow) on channel 1 and channel 2 going into the sabertooth into S1 and S2, do not connect the black and red wires when you connect to the rudder,throttle, etc because you are not needing to power any servos! when you use the servo wire to connect the receiver to the 0V and 5V, remember you do not need the other wire connected to anything on that cord, just cut it, usually it is white or yellow. (i need to double check this section so i may update this. re-read this part when you are ready for this. i will update this if needed.)

now when its time to connect the motors and power to the sabertooth, do the motors first. make sure its blocked up off the ground. make sure it is not plugged up and charging. you have a red and black cable for each motor. (may be red and blue, assume red is positive and blue is negative.) You can cut the wire, or you may wish to use some type of flat connectors to crimp on the wires going to the sabertooth, and push them into the wheelchair motor's connectors, so that you can reuse the wheelchair later. make sure you use gorilla tape to secure these connections if you just push them in, so that it does not start a fire later or a short circuit. cutting the wires are the best way to go. make sure the connection will NEVER touch any other metal or you will have a bad fire that you may not be able to put out.

now, you will see M1a, M1b,B+,B-,M2a,M2b

connect motor 1 positive to M1a connect motor 1 negative to M1b connect motor 2 negative to M2a connect motor 2 positive to m2b THEN connect main power positive to B+ connect main power negative to B-

now, very very important. BLOCK UP YOUR BOT! DO NOT LET THE DRIVE WHEELS TOUCH THE GROUND!

put new batteries (AAx4) into the Spektrum dx5e transmitter. using the bind cable...

you need to bind the transmitter to the receiver. make sure you have the batteries connected and the master emergency switch is on. make sure the transmitter is off. you should see a light on the sabertooth and receiver. if you see sabertooth and receiver on correctly, good, now turn off the master switch. take off the batt/bind cable to the receiver. put the bind cable in the receiver, where the batt/bind connector is. now, turn on the master switch again, wait 10 seconds. now on the transmitter, (before you turn it on...) hold the trainer switch and do not let go. now turn on the transmitter, while holding the training switch, for about 3 seconds, then let go of the trainer switch. the lights on the transmitter will flash. if the receiver light stays on solid red, then it has been binded correctly. now turn off the master switch and quickly, take out the bind cable, and plug up the power servo cord back into the receiver. now turn on the master switch.

your transmitter should control your wheelchair now!

your spektrum transmitter has the option to reverse the signals, right there on your transmitter. so adjust it how you want. if you can not get the motor to turn properly, you may switch ONLY ONE of the inputs on the sabertooth, such as M2A AND M2B. it is OK to switch these two cables, if you have the master switch turned off at the time you switch them.

turn it back on, and it should work!

now i'm trying to put ARC on my bots to make them smart, obstacle avoidance, voice activated, and also hooking up an auto turret system to shoot anything that moves with an airsoft or paintball gun.

you may also buy parts (more coming soon) at my website, and also see some of my bots there: click here to visit TheGoodRobot.com

hope this tutorial helped!

TJ aka TheGoodRobot

you can also use this site to convert your .wav files to .mp3 you can go to start, programs, accessories, then sound recorder, record your own voice. it will save as a .wav file. remember where you save it. visit: media.io --- free .wav to .mp3 converter site

Loyd I use a speed controller from robot power. The xxl model i also have a sidewinder witch is sweet! but spendy scorpion xxl The handy thing about these is they provide the 5v power to the radio receiver. No need to use another battery pack for the radio.

I use a spektrum dx3.0 it has a steering wheel and a pistol grip trigger. works great.

ok lets stay on topic.

please list what words or phrases or robot names you want me to create mp3 files of.

TheGoodRobot

I must thank you for the tutorial on the wheelchair mod. I had no idea that those motors had a brake on them. You saved me from burning them up! I tell ya; I've been learning so much since I've been a part of this forum!!! Great bunch of people here. As for the R/C thing. I've already got a Hitec 6 channel radio. I got it for my robot jeep project. I have one of the older Sabertooth 2X25 controllers for the jeep. Its a power wheels jeep. I used the 12 v motor and axle assembly from an electric garden cart that PEP Boys used to have. That thing was capable of pulling a 300 lb. load!! I'm thinkin" I have more then enough power !!!! I'll try to post some pics as soon as I can find the URL for my pics. I have them on Shutterfly.com The price on the Sabertooth sure has gone up since I bought the first one!! I'll be sure to read over your wheelchair post later on. Thanks again. Lloyd

Anytime. I may not see posts here but anyone with questions about converting electric wheelchairs can email me at theGoodRobot@yahoo.com Or text me at 502~682~7777

note: turning the electric wheelchair runs down battery 4 times as fast, or more.