Special Thanks go to Avery Pennarun from Apenwarr, for now you can utilize several means to control the Robie Sr. ® Robot. I have utilized his program to create the Computer Program and Control for the Omnibot 5402 ® Robots. All of the following programs modifications/examples has been created, tested, completed, and do work.
(figure 1) |
EXAMPLES:
a. With the Original Controller. (See the Operating Manual)
b. Without a Controller, but with Original Tape. (Analog to Analog)
c. Without a Controller, with original tape from the internet. (Digital to Analog)
d. With/Without controller with computer on-line or off-line. (Computer Programming and Control - Preferred Method)
COMBINATIONS:
d1. With the Original Controller.
d2. With a 49 MHz Two Way Radio. (Modifications will be necessary)
d2-a Operating R/C frequency:
(Remote 3 Frequencies: 49.860 Mhz (US), 27.145 Mhz (Europe), 40.680 Mhz (TAL))
d3. With a Computer with #d1 or #d2 and/or #d4, #d5, #d6. (Software will be necessary)
d4. With the Internal Cassette with #d1 or #d2 or #d3.
d5. With a External Cassette with #d1 or #d2 and #d3.
d6. With a External CD with #d1 or #d2 and #d3.
d7. With any or all of the combinations above. |
d1. With the Original Controller.
A. Robie Sr. ® or Omnibot 5402 ® works with his controller (figure 6). You could record a program onto a cassette tape (figure 8, 9) and play it back, and he'd do what you programmed him to. You can modify the controller and move into the world of computers and programing, without the robot activated. d2. With a 49 MHz Two Way Radio. (figure 2, 3) (Modifications will be necessary and use of (#d3).
Note: (d2-a) Operating R/C frequency: (The Remote came in three (3) Frequencies: 49.860 Mhz (US), 27.145 Mhz (Europe), 40.680 Mhz (TAL) ). This modification does not deal with the Europe (EU) or Asia (TAL) frequencies, due to the fact that the equipment and robots was not available. However the software should work if you can obtain a Two Way Radio operating on those frequencies.
A: What to do for present day control? Get a 49 MHz Two Way Radio that broadcast and received on the same frequency as Robie Sr. ® or Omnibot 5402 ® to replace the original controller that will work with your robot. Add a switch and an audio jack in parallel with the microphone, so that you can switch between the two, thus allowing you to input and transmit whatever signal you want to over the airwaves to control Robie Sr. ® or Omnibot 5402 ®
d3. With a Computer with (#d1) or (#d2) and/or (#d4, #d5, #d6) . (Software will be necessary) A. With the computer and software you can run to the external cassette (#d5) or the CD recorder's (#d6) (figure 4, 5) or through the original controller or the 49 MHz Two Way Radio directly to the robot, and/or to the internal cassette (#d4), or all of the above. What this gives you is the ability to create a cassette tape to the robot without the controller directly through cables and adapters (figure 7) from the computer. With the controller or the 49 MHz Two Way Radio this can bring you into the age of CD's that is readily available today and eliminate the need for the cassette. Audio cassettes are not readily available today, and not easy to hook up to a computer and connect to the internet to read and write.
Your upgrade is now complete and your next step is to downloaded a .wav recording of Robie Sr. ® or Omnibot 5402 ® original demo tape (it's important to use plain .wav format, as mp3 compression risks disrupting the pure signal) and burned it to a CD. To resolve these issues you need a means of communicating, recording, playing and programming.
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49 MHz FM Two Way Radio
(figure 2) |
49 MHz FM Two Way Radio
(figure 3) |
CD Player
(figure 4) |
Two Way Radio & CD Player
(figure 5) |
Click to Enlarge |
Click to Enlarge |
Click to Enlarge |
Click to Enlarge |
Robie Sr. ® or Omnibot 5402 ® Controller
(figure 6) |
Demo Tape and Cables
(figure 7) |
Cassette Tape
(figure 8) |
Cassette Recorder & Player
(figure 9) |
Cassette Recorders & Player(figure 10) |
SOFTWARE:
The software program is an extremely basic form of frequency shift keying where there is one frequency for each button on the remote control. The sound would be emitted from the remote for as long as you held down the button or pulled the joystick in a particular direction.
From the Robie Sr. ® or Omnibot 5402 ® 1980's remote control, the control mechanism is still exactly how most remote control devices work to this day.
The remote control would form the sounds it wanted to send, then modulate them to 49 MHz FM (the usual frequency used by consumer remote control devices in the past). The robot would receive the signal, demodulate it back to listenable sounds, thenrecognize the different frequencies.
In the case of a tape program,it would simply skip the modulation/demodulation steps and process the sounds directly from the tape. |
Computer Controller Programs
Programming: Add a computer and software. (figure 11, 12) Computer Control is the last step: Once you have a digital file and the ability to transmit from any audio equipment you want, the real answer is clear: computer control! Use the application in Delphi, thanks to the TJvWavePlayer component in the awesome open source JVCL library by Avery. After clicking the "Sound On" button, any sound from my computer can now be beamed into Robie Sr. ® or Omnibot 5402 ® , so I can have him move around and play astonishingly - low - fidelity MP3s at people! |
(figure 11) |
(figure 12a) |
(figure 12b) |
DOWNLOAD :
For further information on the Robie Sr. ® or Omnibot 5402 ® Computer Controller Conversions, please Email me.
There is no warranty expressed or implied with this procedure. By using any information from this web site, you agree not to hold responsible this site, me, nor any of its representatives, for any injuries and/or damages, both physical and/or psychological, that may arise from the use and/or misuse of anything derived from this site. The user further agrees that such information/pictures/software does not constitute any guarantee of accuracy, safety or reliability, and that cannot be held responsible for any way. This software is not supported. The user agrees to proceed at their own risk.
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