Alt-BEAM Archive

Message #09301



To: beam@sgiblab.sgi.com
From: Richard Piotter richfile@rconnect.com
Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2000 19:55:44 -0600
Subject: [alt-beam] Re: Pertaining to the Hextile things. You should really make them


If it's expirimenting we're talking about, then DIP is the BEST
solution, as it would work on breadboards, and could be placed into
sockets on PCBs! Building a hextile around it would be the perfect
solution to both worlds. Both breadboard and PCB expirimenters and
hextile expirimenters would get what they wanted. All you'd need to do
to have the DIP version is trim the PCB and solder pins to it! You have
to admit, it's a reasonable solution!

If your original idea is easy expirimentation, then what is easier, pop
a few DIPs onto a bread board and plug in the wires, or solder some
hextiles together? What if you have limited resources and want to, like
me, expiriment with lots of diferent configurations, or larger
networks??? Huh??? If we are limited to hextiles, we then must either
buy new ones constantly, or solder, desolder, resolder, redesolder, etc.
PCBs can't handle that. Yeah, you can add plugs to them, but what
happens when you want to branch several neurons??? 2 outputs isn't
always enough. Point is, for expirimentation, DIPs and breadboards are
the best solution, for final construction, Hextiles or a PCB backplane
with power and neural paths, with DIP neurons packed into it are better
(I'm realy wanting to play with backplanes. Imagine a PCB that shows the
actual neural pathways on it's surface. That alone would be cool! If you
want to, you could still use hextiles, since it's essentialy the same
circuit. The LED Polarity and Neuron polarity and Nu/Nv selection can
easily be done on the hextile itself by soldering jumpers (or rather,
solder plugs there adn then it can be reconfigured) between the
appropriate holes that'd normaly be used for the DIP. You have a fully
functional hextile. trim the sides off the central square adn solder
male pins, and you have a DIP!

then you should allow the option. it's nothing more than orienting the
traces and circuits into a small pattern, include 8 holes for the
traces, and then lead those to the edges of the hextile, like the design
I sent in.

David Perry wrote:
>
> Your right, but my original intention was something that was easy to
> experiment with, not to necessarily be used in the robot. I don't really
> like the DIP idea myself as it is still too much wiring.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dennison Bertram
> To: beam@sgiblab.sgi.com
> Date: Tuesday, 18 January 2000 4:22
> Subject: Pertaining to the Hextile things. You should really make them
> hextiles and not DIP
>
> >
> >I know what I'm about to say is going to be really unpopular, but I really
> >think that the project should stick to Hextiles and not the construction of
> >DIP. Why?I'll agree, DIP would make it a little easier to Breadboard
> >projects. Very true. But what about when you actually build your bot? DIP
> >becomes a hassle. The wiring nessesary will become a rat's nest (much like
> >current microcores!) and unlike the Hextiles, the DIPS provide no
> structural
> >support to speak of. Hextiles aren't just prototype boards, they are also
> >structural elements. Their design lends themselves to quick construction of
> >Robots, which is what we want. On breadboards, you may just have to stick
> >with the inconvinience of doing it the old fashion way. However don't give
> >up hope, die-hard-DIPer's. If you've checked the DigiKey catalog recently
> >(although I haven't) look up something called SurfBoards. They are these
> >tiny SIP devices, that plug into breadboards, etc, (look much a like a
> basic
> >Stamp) and enable you to solder Surface mount components directly to the
> >surface of the SIP board, so that you can prototype with them easilly. This
> >is exactly what you've been talking about. And they have a nice variaty. I
> >don't think however, that hextiles can really be beat. I heard someone to
> >refer to it as the "old model" as though it were outdated. I assure you
> that
> >even Mark T's earlier hextiles are still far superior to any idea's and
> >designs's we have floating around here. Mark T has some seriously
> >highquality work going on with his hextiles, and his designs can't be beat.
> >Hextiles are really the best alternative here. They should be cheap, and
> >basic. While this is a little more of a hassle for some BEAMERS, It's the
> >only way to acheive what we are really after. I do admit I like the idea of
> >BEAM 'leg-os' but for actually construction purposes, the hextile can't be
> >beat!
> >
> >my two cents.
> >
> >dennison
> >

--


Richard Piotter The Richfiles Robotics & TI web page:
richfile@rconnect.com http://richfiles.calc.org

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9302 Mon, 17 Jan 2000 18:41:32 -0800 [alt-beam] Contest stuff from yesteryear beam@sgiblab.sgi.com Chiu-Yuan Fang I posted this stuff on the list when the contest was finished but here it is
again.

Darrell Johnson's Mod-Worm 1.0
http://www.geocities.com/beamtastic/mod_worm.html

Bob Shannon's LEM
http://www.the-nest.com/bshannon/

Kyle Davenport's hUFO
No URL?

Dennison Bertram's Diskrat
No URL?

jester96beam@iname.com wrote:
>
> Crap. I was waiting for a posting to the list or a news update on your site :-(
> Oh well. Can you tell me who one and which robot it was?
>
> Chris


--
Chiu-Yuan Fang
chiumanfu@home.com
ICQ=5614919
http://www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/6897/beam2.html



9303 Mon, 17 Jan 2000 22:05:46 EST [alt-beam] fet beam@corp.sgi.com Bumper314@aol.com can the ZVN2106 fet be replaced with the 2N7000?

Steve



9304 Mon, 17 Jan 2000 22:36:44 -0500 [alt-beam] FLEDs in Sunlight alt-beam@egroups.com David Simmons Newbie’s Here!!!

All joking aside, I am a Newbie and my question is, in all likelihood, a
real dumb one. But I’ll explain first. My son Kyle (nine years old)
constructed this first SYMET as he calls it. Using a FLED Solarengine,
solar panel, a pair 10000 uf Caps, etc. It is the first free form
circuit that he’s put together. Testing all the way! The beard board
circuit worked quite well but then for some reason when he free formed
the circuit and assembled on a CD with a motor glued in the centre,
LightBot One would just sit there doing nothing even in direct sunlight.
After hours of trying to find the problem I remembered reading once that
some LEDs are effected by direct sunlight. Once the FLED was covered
with a little black tape LightBot One came to life. The little brat
nearly jumped out of skin, after six hours of work he was quite excited
to see his first design in operation. So his question, “Why are LEDs
and FLEDs effected by direct sunlight, while some are not, and what is
happening inside the FLED when the light hits it?

Thank You

Dave and Kyle



9305 Mon, 17 Jan 2000 08:02:41 -0800 cutting LEDs
> How do you cut an LED to make the lens completely flat and still shinny? I
> keep trying but they just crack or are scratched so bad the light is
barely
> visible. Anyone know
>
> Steve


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