Newsgroups: comp.robotics
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From: pplante@netcom.com (P. Plantec)
Subject: Re: JUNKBOTS
Message-ID: <pplanteCKH66L.2t6@netcom.com>
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Date: Mon, 31 Jan 1994 03:39:57 GMT
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Rob Muylwyk (rob.muylwyk@canrem.com) wrote:
: hi,

: A year or so ago I read an article in the Toronto Globe & Mail about a 
: person who was into "junkbots". Apparently he had written an article in 
: a magazine such as Scientific American, about these things, which were 
: very cheap robots made from cast-off tape cassette players and the like.

: Does anybody know the proper reference to this article, so that I can 
: get it from the library, or does anybody have any other information on 
: junkbots? I have a junkbox full of discarded diskette drives, cassette 
: players, you name it, so it might be nice to do something interesting 
: with them!

: Thanks.

: Rob

: ---
:  * RM 1.0  * Eval Day 2 * 


Rob,
	The disk drives have great little stepper motors in them for arm 
positioning, The tap drives often have neat little solinoids and I just 
got an old computer tape drive that has duel shaft encoders and a pair of 
grain-of-wheat bulbs with cds sensors for light tracking.  Often the 
mechanical parts can be used.  

Just sit and stare at your parts for about five minutes and you'll be 
amazed at how many ideas come to you.  If you get stuck, get Robot 
Builder's bonanza - 99 inexpensive Robotics projects by Gordon Mccomb, 
McGraw Hill.  Enjoy and trust your own creativity when it comes to 
junquebots. 
Peter Plantec
-- 
************************************************************************
Peter Plantec                                     DreamScape Prods      
Beverly Hills, CA                                 Movies in the Mind
pplante@netcom.com                                Gargleing at the
                                                  fountain of Knowledge
