Gunslinger Bob - Bob Gets An Upgrade

Yup soon you will get your first goody box!

2 x New Cyberforce Defender automatic airsoft guns Modded nerf launcher case NEW 12V Yusa 7ah battery 7 inch LCD display Roll of dynamat Servo ext wires Ez board 40mm cooling fan

We want to get gunslinger bob going so he can show off his skills at makefare (I think I spelled it right lol)

Josh, you da man!

Second Goody Box set to go out tommorow

Robie SR helmet and torso topper New 12V Yusa Battery 7ah Laser pointer Xt60 turnigy high amp connectors Spare rotary tool Omnibot 2000 motors

Edit: Also included 2 x EZ Robot High Torque servos for arms (the guns might be too heavy for standard servos) Craftsman electric screwdriver

Josh, I don't know what to say except thank you.

@brett no problem man , we gotta make ourselves and EZ Robot look good at makefare.. This should give gunslinger bob everything he needs to get moving and shooting stuff.

That's right, and RoboRAD can haul drinks around for us in his cooler trailer. I think we can make a good showing. I should have at least 3 bots to bring. It would be cool if DJ would come too.

Well between radb9 , gunslinger bob, robotrad, dusty, Jarvis, cyler, Rad Rattler and dusty we could potentially bring 8 robots to the show. I dont know if he would want to fly in but looks like so far we could bring a handful of robots.

Something just occurred to me! We should install those brackets that use laptop locks or somthing so we can lock the robots individually down to the table or to each other so someone cant walk off with one of the robots and we could enjoy the fare without being paranoid a robots going to walk off (thats not supposed to)

Hmmmm....god idea. Like a restraining bolt from Star Wars.

Goody box 1 arrived safe and sound. THANKS!

Coool second should be there tommorow or monday. If you deside you dont want to use the helmet I have ideas for it so keep it safe. I did realize if you want to use a rad head you could use the torso top I included to mount the rad head.

That's a good idea. I'll look at both and see how I like them. How did you hook up the firing mechanism on the airsoft guns? And did you just supply power from your bot's battery?

I have not hooked up the guns yet. I was thinking of just using a switching transistor and getting 6 volts direct from battery.

Bob loses his bubble - on his way to Gunslinger Bob. Once I get my new bot building room set up I can get to real work on Bob.

Yay! Thank the wifey!

So Bob looks on in dismay as his dis-assembly begins. I have to admit it made me a little sad to take him apart. But I know I can build him better, faster, stronger and emerge as Gunslinger Bob!

Yay the upgrades begin , cats and dogs beware ! Lol

Yeah, I finally made the leap into the world of Josh and am working on several bots at the same time haha! So you should be getting a gift for Christmas in the form of your Sr. head and a couple of arms....

Woohoo , multiple projects is fun

Not much progress to report, just further dismantling and test fitting of a Robbie Sr. topper Josh gave me. It fits like it was made for it! Now I can do a cool head on a pan and tilt like the rest of you guys. I have the old RAD 1.0 head (I love the design) and I think I am going to see how that looks. I'll take some pics tonight and post for comments or suggestions.

okay, this is what I am thinking for Gunslinger Bob's new look. What do you guys think?

Personally I would get the head low as possible and only do left right pan w no tilt. If you really want the cam to be able to angle up theres ways to do that without tilting the whole head backwards. If you could drop the head 2 inches I think it would look sick.

I think I can do that no problem. So just do rotation on the head and tilt the camera on the inside? That will work. So you like the head on this torso? Also, I can paypal you some cash today - to your email address?

Thanks bud . Yea I think it will look cool provided you lower the heads height a couple inches.

Here is the latest cannon for Gunslinger Bob - a Nerf Speedswarm. Only 10 darts but good enough. Only question now is where to mount it on Bob? In the chest like Josh's, or make it one of his arms so he has the airsoft machine gun on one side and the nerf cannon on the other?

Make it an arm so you can aim..... take those yellow side pieces off and mount that bad boy to a servo. Runs on 6 volts

That's what I was thinking too! But I did need input from my bot building bud! I also have this tread system coming in to replace the wheels on Bob.

Started modding the base of Bob today. Cut out the swivel well and will fill the hole. Then I removed the gear box so I can install my vex tread kit.

Now I have original omnibot gearbox and tires if anyone wants them. The treads are good and so are all the gears. There are NO motors as I have used them in another project, but if you need replacement gears or wheels, here you go. Email me and we can talk a deal. bret.tallent@gmail.com

Hey keep the swivle and mount ing cup you cut out. I would love to have it if your not gonna use it.

Sure, I'll throw it in your goody box.

Thank you sir

Hey I jusy realized you descided not to use your gearbox . I would love to have the spare gears for dusty if you don't need them. Dusty uses the exact same gearbox.

Yeah, I'll pack that in too. Sorry about not shipping until after Christmas, cash flow issues you know. But I will be sending everything in the new year.

Its no rush buddy for the sake of planning I would like to start brainstorming our makerfair trip that seems far away but its right around the corner. Any ideas for a battle arena for the fare?

I was thinking one square city block with a single tall building in the center and smaller building around. Then the cross streets would be just long enough for a bot to hide there. I am also thinking of making the buildings out of foam core board so they will be easy and light. I just don't know how much room we will have to set this up.

Thats true. What happens based off info from maker fair planners is we must let them know what we plan to set up and the size of the area and they reserve the space. First come first serve. Heres some pics off trossens arena.

I figure pvc pipe would be a good /light /cheap frame to go around the arena..... and maybe a white banners with zip ties. I wouldn't be opposed to displayng EZ Robot.com banners on the front or sides of the arena with large zip ties to the pvc frame.

I like that idea. EZ-B all over the place. And that city grid would be easier than my idea. It only has four buildings.

So I made a great score yesterday. Checking Craigslist I found someone giving away a large powerwheels (Kawasaki 4 wheeler) needing some repair. I went and picked it up for the motors and it was so big I had to pull the tires off to get it into my car. But it has a lot of great parts and I am thinking of using the drive motors and gearboxes on Gunslinger Bob - to drive his new track system.

Oh, and Josh, I forgot to pack that gearbox in your goody box so I will be sending that separately.

After all of my work getting VEX tracks and gear motors, and planning out how to add this to my Omnibot. I just remembered that I have 1/16 scale RC tank that will perfect as tracks for Gunslinger Bob. Just a little modification and I can add Bob onto the top of the tank base. Duh.

Lmao..... we had this discussion earlier when you descided to use the tank for bob and the rad base for roborad.... forget?

Heck I ordered several rad robots to rob their gearboxs. If you wanted you could have a rad base for him.

Hey I'm old and my memory is going haha. I looked at the tank base more closely and it has beefy motors and really beefy gear boxes. Way stronger than RAD, so I think I will use that. Plus I like the tank suspension. But thanks for the offer! You have already done so much for me I couldn't accept. Oh, I did manage to fit that omni gear box into your goody box so it is all coming in the one box. You should be getting it this week.

I took a look at the previous pages and saw your Jimmy Neutron. It would look funny to have him inside behing clear plexi pretending to drive it. lol

That's funny...I like that idea

Ya, Jimmy would so build a giant robot to drive. lol

And one with really big guns...

Here is an idea of how Bob is going to look on that tank base - painted of course.

Chest looks easiest. Get something to wall off behind him. poster foam board maybe? Draw some techy stuff and fake screens behind him? Btw I love the tank treads and paint scheme.

That tank base looks tough. Like rambo meet armored core or somthing.

Doesn't it? I really like it for a battle bot/mech warrior.

So I started working on Gunslinger Bob again and figured out how I am going to mount him to the tank base. I also stripped down the nerf cannon and test mounted the EZ-B in the battery compartment. I think I may cut the airsoft gun down to a smaller version - not sure yet. I am concerned with weight and the servos.

Since I had already mounted HD metal gear servos in the shoulders of Bob I decided I wanted to go ahead and use those for my guns. The problem was the depth of the servo in the mounting block.

Since I didn't want to cut down these shoulder pieces I decided to manufacture a servo stand off. Using two identical servo horns and some stand offs I came up with this.

In looking at my stripped down Nerf Cannon there is a good mounting point very near center of gravity.

So I will secure the stand off to the side of the cannon with screws, then attach that to the servo, then screw the gun back together. First I need to paint the gun - Black of course, with some silver accents...

Are you leaving the case off? I guess you don't need it if you don't want it.

Yeah, I am going to leave the case off. I also cut down the airsoft gun to make it a little lighter and more compact to match the other side.

Then I can mount half the gun to the servo, place the firing mechanism back in, and screw on the outer cover.

Nice idea with the servo stand offs, I may need to do something similar with my bots arms after cutting the arm piece down too much and making it difficult to attach it to the servo

Nice! I have been debating cutting the handle off of the bottom of the gun. Are you filling the whole or just leaving it open? I believe I will cut all mine down too. Gonna put lasers on them? I picked up 6 laser pointers at the auction to add laser dots to both arms and chest im concerned they arent bright enough for daylight to see tthrough the camera but we will see great job making the custom servo mounts.

Thanks! Yeah, I'm going to fill in the holes and I have already drilled the hole to mount my laser. Now I am thinking about paint. I was going to go with a black white and grey camo theme like from WWII ships, but now I am thinking a gloss black with silver accents (he is a gunslinger after all). What do you think?

I think camo patterns on a mech warrior is awesome.

I'm thinking of doing a Dazzle Camouflage paint job like they used on ships in WW1 and WW2.

What do you think?

Looks kinda like a futuristic zebra , yea that could be cool

Well, after much debate I have made a decision about paint. But I am going to keep it a secret until Gunslinger Bob is revealed. Mua Ha Ha

I got Bob's guns and shoulders painted and tonight I should be able to assemble his guns. Or at least mount them onto the shoulder servos. I am still waiting on a module to power my laser sights.

No love for Bob last night, had to do some touch up paint on the guns and shoulder mounts. So tonight I should get the guns mounted to the servos. My biggest problem is going to be the re-assembly of the airsoft gun as all the parts fell out when I took it apart and I am not sure how they go together. Oh well, puzzles is fun.

Bob gots guns!

Machine gun

Mounted each to stand-offs attached to servo horn

Awwww MAN! Josh, you better bring your "A" game! This guy means business!

THat's right, he's like...Darth Bob

Speaking of games , we gotta figure out how to keep score! We need to get a couple shock sensitive panels and connect them to a couple ofn ports to register hits. Any ideas guys?

So I wired up the motor for the airsoft gun to a TIP 120 to control from a DIO port.

I also drilled a hole in the front of the gun under the barrel to mount my laser sight.

@Josh - yeah, we will have to come up with something.

What about some sort of pressure transducer and we can measure the impact on an analog port. Then we can write a script to total the impacts and when you hit a certain level a light goes on or something.

Hmm yea , we need to find / pick a panel. I will find a couple ideas and copy n paste to see what you think.

I dont know how to do it. Is there a way to rig a microphone to trigger on the hits on the plastic? Adjusted for only the loudest {CLACK} against the robot. Maybe someone that is an expert with sensors can make a circuit for that.

Explodes in laughter! Well see

:)

So I got my laser sight mounted and all the wiring tucked inside the battery compartment. Then I drilled a hole in the battery door cover to fish the wires out.

Robie Sr. topper Josh gave me. I enlarged the hole in the topper and inserted the neck from my Rad. I just need to epoxy it in place and the head will screw right onto it.

When it sits on the omnibot it looks pretty sick. Now I got to mount my camera and paint it all.

I decided that rather than have the head rotate, I am going to have the whole torso rotate. That way my guns will always be pointing where I am looking. So now to do some cutting on OmniBob so I can make the torso rotate....

Started the torso rotation mod to Bob. First was to cut down the bottom of Bob - wish it was that easy for me haha.

Next I took my ABS and put some tape on it so I could mark the pattern.

Then a simple cut and I have a nice base to mount to Bob. I can attach a lazy susan bearing and the torso will rotate - Yay!

It's looking really good Bret. Cutting the base apart would be a hard step for me. I'd be worried I would screw it up. Yours is great! I'd like to do that someday with servo City turn tables and heavy duty pan.

I figure I can always fix it if I screw it up, or think of something else to do. So I drilled some holes and mounted my turntable to the base.

Here is a video of the torso rotating freely - it is just sitting on the turntable but moves nicely. Now I need to make the mechanism for turning it.

That's a nice swivel. Where did you get it? Oh yeah, any luck with the sound trigger sensor?

Oh wow you really made a advantage , you should hook a high torque servo to it and press a button and it rotates directly to 90 degrees as a preset point. I like the idea. By the way that plexi bearing you sent me , where did you get it. I could do a rotating waist but I need a smaller bearing.

I got that swivel off Ebay some time ago and it has been sitting in a drawer. Can't remember who I got it from but they did have a bunch of them.

@Josh - that's my plan, using the AutoPosition function. Before I went to bed last night I applied some glue and screws to the front half of the torso to secure it to the swivel platform. Tonight I will epoxy it in place to be totally solid. The back half of the torso screws together as usual but also has 3 screws to secure it to the swivel base as well. That way I can take it all apart if needed.

Ya know troy you should make a mech warrior bot and remote control it , just saying that could be really fun.

LOL Josh. Its hard enough trying to keep a Skype connection going as bad as the wifi is here.

Aww come on troy , you are a journeyman radio tech arent you , lets here some more can do attitude lol

That was the title back in the military days. alas my best days are behind me. unfortunately wifi responsible people are on the computer network side of the house. Also active duty. They wouldn't appreciate me poking around their stuff.

After a lot of wet sanding on Bob, I just finished putting a plastic primer on him and should be able to top coat in an hour. Then I can start some assembly of the torso section. Still got lots to do before he is mobile though.

Lol once he is mobile you are almost ready to fight!

Bob sporting some new paint and his EZ-B

Very nice work!

Yes Brett suuuuuper cool setup man. Your build is going very smooth I like it.

Black is a nice look!

Well, I figure since he's a gunslinger haha. THanks guys!

As a previous coworkers would say..."whadayamean? Gunslingers gotta be black?"

I think Bret is gonna do a white camp like paint scheme

I was, but I think I am going for the intimidation factor rather than the camo factor. I did get my camera mounted, much like Josh - in the same place at least.

Then I drilled some holes in the headlights to mount ultra bright LEDs for real head lights! I am not going the IR route, I want light haha.

What to do when you mess up a part you are working on and don't have a replacement? Make one. I was drilling out the head lights for Bob and ruined one of them.

Dental Cement can be found on Ebay and is great for fast work, filling or bonding.

Ah so you put something on the ABS first before the dental cement. I was wondering how it didn't stick then I looked closer at one of the pictures to see the smudge around it. I thought it was excess dental soup wiped up. This is a good idea to keep in the mental toolbox. Thanks!

Got my new head lights wired up and they are pretty bright and work really well.

Then I replaced the red LEDs in the eyes with Ultra Violet LEDs.

Wow, that looks great! I love your method of making a new headlight out of dental cement. I've gotta remember that one. It would be great if you could get it in different colors. If not I wonder if color could be added somehow without messing up the chemistry. Clear would also be great. What did you have around the top of the ABS to keep it's form? Looks like silicone or Vaseline.

I don't know if you can get it in colors or not. I have seen it pink before so maybe. Yeah, that was some grease - vaseline works great too.

Another thing, as I was wiring up my lights I put some yellow heat shrink over the wires and use a sharpee on that to identify them.

and here is my cooling fan for the EZ-B I secured it with screws and dental cement.

On the other side of the mounting surface for the EZ-B is my 3.3V buck regulator for my Lasers and LEDs. It takes 12V and gives dual outputs at both 3.3V and 5.5V so will work well for me.

Here is my rear panel (covers EZ-B) with my voltage monitor in it so I can easily see how many volts I have left. I also did some flat black and silver accents on the gloss black.

Here are some more pics of the flat black areas.

Amazing! Great work. I think deep down you want to be a dentist.

Hahaha! Here I have Gunslinger Bob showing some love for EZ-Robot

Wow this is really impressive! I love the paint scheme. Did you use a silver paint pen to get the details?

Nah, just a brush and model paint. Thanks!

Good job, this being really nice, I have to add to my list that cement dental adhesives.

I have a couple of things on order that I need before I can button up the head. I have ordered a cable and larger antenna for the camera. It will be coming out the top of the head. I also am going to add a cable and large antenna to the blue tooth module on the EZ-B to increase my indoor range (as this is an indoor fighting bot).

Got my cables in today so I mounted one to the Bob's head.

This screws right onto the camera where the old antenna was.

Then I add my new 2.4Ghz antenna (three times the size of the old one) to the top of his head. No obstructions here....

I have another cable and a much larger antenna that I am going to add to the blue tooth to improve my range without having to buy and Xbee or something.

Wow dude I love the crazy antenna. FYI there are class one Bluetooth module from spark fun , 350 ft range https://www.sparkfun.com/products/158

Just an idea for awesome range to match the range of the camera.

This module has a small sma connector specifically for the antenna connection.

Got Bob's head finished up and mounted today. Looks pretty good on an omnibot.

that's a little bit of flexible duct I used to fill in the neck gap.

This week I got the filling and sanding and painting completed on the tank topper so I could mount the torso onto it. This weekend I hope to finish the drive section.

Nice that looks soon good man. How are ya going to turn the waisted? Yes my robot is getting nervous just seeing yours

Wicked! Need I say more?

I know right! We really need to convince another member or two into making a air soft battle robot. Heck I would even provide a robot to mod and a air soft gun. This is the June maker faire we are talking about.

Thanks Guys!

That antenna outside is the best thing you could do a fine job and nice.

To make my torso rotate with a servo I had to do a little work. I made a mounting bar out of aluminum flat bar and drilled it out to fit a servo horn. Then I tapped to mounting holes with 10/32 threads.

I made a plate out of ABS and secured it with 4 screws. It works perfectly and is easy to assemble and disassemble if needed.

Then I mounted the motor controller under neath the grill that sits on top of the transmission. It sits perfectly in the space there near the motors and has plenty of ventilation from all of the grills over the tranny.

Mounted my antenna cable to the bluetooth antenna to extend the range.

and on the back side of where the EZ-B is mounted is my Buck Transformer to give me 6V for servos and guns, and below that is my 3.3V transformer for the laser sight.

Now I have to wire up my switch, charger jack, battery, etc.

yay

Spent last night designing my wiring scheme and today I will start with all of the wiring. Getting closer....

Mounted my power distribution block.

I sent power to the ESC for the motors and routed this thru a switch so I can shut power to the motors if I need to. There is also a main power switch for the electronics.

got my power lined out for the EZ-B, 6V for servos and guns, and 3.3V for laser. I also got the TIP 120 for the laser wired up. Still need to make some for the guns and the lights in the head.

Be sure to ground the shielding of your coax cable or the Bluetooth RF signal won't make it up to the antenna. Have you tried it out. The antenna help any?

I receive the 2.4ghz WiFi adapter yesterday for direct replacement . I believe I will wait till I get the Class 1 ( that's 300ft range vs class 2 30ft) Bluetooth 2.4ghz to make a direct comparison. If the class one Bluetooth remotely has similar integrity it will be the way to go for ad hoc direct connections without the need of a WiFi router.

For sure let me know if the external antenna made range / signal integrity improvements. You should be able to compare by testing it without the antenna plugged in and with it plugged in.

Have you tried the l298n with that tank base yet? Do you think they draw more than two amps?

The cable shield for the antenna is grounded but I have not tried out the antenna yet. I will test it once I have him moving around. I halso have not tried my motor controller with the tank base yet. That should be this week. I will keep you posted.

Did you descide not to use the other air soft gun or did you end up using it for parts?

I still have it - unmolested. Might be a back up if I screwed something up on the one mounted to Bob - I haven't tested it yet!

Ah ok

Do you need it/want it?

Sure I can use it on the guest robot for the faire

Just make sure your setup works well first. Ok

okay

Thank goodness for old computers for parts. Now I have a plug for my motors to the motor controller so I can pull the top off.

Well, I tried to put the base together today and discovered my measuring skills are somewhat suspect. The battery sits too tall in the space and I can't close it up. I am going to order another battery that is not as wide (as I am laying it on its side) and it should fit fine. But, gotta wait for it.

Going order a lipo? That's what I'm going with. Compact , light , and charge quickly.

not sure yet everything is set up for 12v really just see what fits the best

Oh OK. If its setup for 12v and you want a lighter and smaller battery. Use a 3s lipo they are 11.1v when discharged and 13 ish full. A 2200 ma or 5000 ma pack are both small and light and under 20 bucks from hobbyking.com. I of course I like turnigy lipo packs.

That sounds like a great idea Josh. I will check those out. Thanks!

yW! I will order probably 3 of them soon for the mech warriors , even if you can't make it to maker fair maybe you could have a local relative bring your robot for display and I could lock it down to the display table so even if it doesn't fight at least everyone see your skill and work you put in for the exhibit.

Or just have him sit on the table and watch people walk by lol , ya know motion tracking

That could be cool - I could write a script so he brings his guns up if someone gets too close haha.

Then says clint Eastwood phrases , " make my day..... Punk" lol

Have not checked on BOB since the move, don't know yet how he fared. Either way, I will be getting back to him soon. I really want to get him finished as he is so close to being done. It is a real shame he will not be there in NC to battle Josh.

Exactly why Bob should be smuggled in a suite case to NC on a "business trip" you gotta go to , I mean you just got hired you don't wanna make it look like your not a team player right? ::evil grin::

He looks awesome! Maybe my (possible) rad will have a gun for an arm.

I know, guns are awesome on little bots. Thanks to Josh for this idea!

Well I am slowly getting my bot room set up so the first order of business will be to finish Gunslinger Bob.

Looking forward to seeing you get back to building on your robots.

Yes those months roll off the calendar quick don't they! I'm sure this will be a cool one.

@Brett awesome BOB build! and its nice to see a collaboration of creative ideas (josh) I am envisioning a "shoot out" ...if you can find a friend/neighbor who wants to build a copy!..............Better yet how about a new YT series similar to the TV program (?)Robot Wars but using paint ball for a dramatic splash effect!

@Brett nice to see u back on the forum

Gunslinger Bob is now for sale. He needs to be completed but everything is there except the battery. two guns, one with a laser sight on a tank chassis. He is nearly ready to rock and roll. If you are interested, please email me at bret.tallent@gmail.com