Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Path: brunix!news.Brown.EDU!agate!library.ucla.edu!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!news.msfc.nasa.gov!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!destroyer!nntp.cs.ubc.ca!alberta!fantom!crs-sys!nextedm!spl4!cuugnet!hrynkiwd
From: hrynkiwd@cuug.ab.ca (Dave Hrynkiw )
Subject: BEAM Solar engine "Ad" - part II ;->
Message-ID: <CL1JB3.CGx@cuug.ab.ca>
Date: Fri, 11 Feb 1994 03:35:26 GMT
Organization: Calgary UNIX User's Group
Keywords: BEAM Solar engine kit
Lines: 121

Greetings all!
 
	I have to sincerely thank all of you that have come forward and let
me (& the rest of the comp.robotics) know how you all feel regarding
my post & other robot "ads".  I was quite concerned when I received the email
from the complainant, and thought that I had "crossed that line" I mentioned
in the post.  Well, I'm feeling much more secure, and appreciate all the kind
words & support sent my way over the net.
 
	That said, I'm gonna do it again!  Except this time, I'm including
part of the book, so you can see for yourself the style in which it was
written.  This'll be that last posting for it, as the remaining kits will
be brought up to the BEAM Olympics in Toronto.  If you're interested in more
info, feel free to email me, and I'll send you more info about getting a kit.
They're $30 and I still have kits left.  Well, read the following text, and
let me know what you think.
 
	See ya in Toronto!
 
	-Dave
	hrynkiwd@cuug.ab.ca
 
---------xxxx---------xxxx------------xxxx--------xxxx----------xxxx-------
Introduction:
Hi there!
 
Thanks for picking up my "Solar Machine" kit.  In it you will find some
background on how I got involved in these things, how to build and test one,
and some ideas for applications.  I sincerely hope that this kit fulfils the
need I once had - "How do I get started, and where can I find the stuff?"
 
Background:
In late 1992 my sister had told me about an interesting article in the
magazine Scientific American about this innovative Canadian Engineer Mark
Tilden who builds all sorts of neat and interesting robots, many of them solar
powered.  Being a Mechanical Engineering Technologist and a tinkerer of sorts,
I found the article fascinating, and started to track down more information
about these neat machines.
 
Two months later and many library searches later, I finally had an official
copy of The Second International BEAM Robot Olympics and Micromouse
Competition:  Event Rules and General Guidelines (BEAM stands for Biology,
Electronics, Aesthetics, and Mechanics).  In it, I found Mark's "Rosetta
Stone" for designing & building a basic "Solaroller", which could be entered
in the "Solaroller" race.  I was immediately fascinated, but had no way to
find a source for some of the components he listed (solar cells, good motors),
and finally decided to enter the "Robot Limbo Race" instead, but that's
another story.
 
I went to Toronto (I live in Calgary, AB) with my field kit & decrepit Limbo-
bot, and saw an amazing variety of robots competing at the Toronto Science
Centre.  I also attended a couple of lectures by Mark at the Olympics, and was
inspired to be back the following year with some Solar-beasties.
 
After a few months of research, and a few dozen long-distance telephone calls,
I gathered up the resources to put together what I call a basic "Solar Flag
Waver" (SFW), which used what I learned from Mark & his Guidebook.  I, in
turn, am putting together these Solar Machine Basic Components Kits so that
you will not have to go through the difficulties I did.  Also, I'll teach you
about the use of a "Happy Birthday Singer" chip found in (annoying) greeting
cards to make your Solar Machine more efficient.  Much of what is in this
document is derived from the teachings & lectures of Mark Tilden.  My thanks
to him for such a neat field of robotics.  Also, thanks to my ever-patient
wife-to-be Cheryl.  If it weren't for her, this package would have never been
produced.
 
 
The Kit:
 
I expect anybody that is purchasing this package to have basic soldering
skills, some wire, imagination, and junk to complete it with.  Electronics
experience helps, but not necessary (look at me - I learned as I went).  I'll
try to explain the process of the circuits to the best of my limited
abilities, so be kind in your criticism.  Go easy on what you find in the kit. 
If it doesn't look exactly as described or as in the illustration, I probably
had to replace it with something similar due to availability.  Feel free to
call if you have difficulties or questions.
 
      In this package, you should find:
      1)    1 "Happy Birthday Singer" ("HBS") chip
      2)    1 piezo speaker (attached to chip, or loose)
      3)    2 small capacitors (0.1uF)
      4)    1 medium capacitor (10 to 22uF)
      5)    1 large capacitor (1000 to 4700uF)
      6)    1 solar cell
      7)    2 transistors (3904 & 3906)
      8)    2 resistors (1.8kOhm & 300kOhm)
      9)    1 motor
 
      You will require:
      1)    A soldering iron
      2)    Electronics solder
      3)    Some light-gauge wire
      4)    A Volt/Ohm meter
      5)    A pair of pliers or needlenose
      6)    Scissors or snips
      7)    Glue (some sort of superglue or cyanoacrylate works best)
 
      Optional items you may later need for building a frame for your solar
      machine:
      7)    Soldering Flux
      8)    General Purpose copper-clad welding rod, 1/16" to 3/32".  It must
            be copper coated so it's easy to solder together.
      
 
One thing you should keep in mind is that many capacitors, transistors and
resistors can be found in electro-junk.  Remember that VCR you dropped down
the stairs?  Now's the perfect time to go raid it for components.  That's what
I did the first time (well, I actually bought a broken VCR for $10 - didn't
have one to break). Mark Tilden expounds the virtues of recycling electronics,
and he's correct - there's LOTS of valuable stuff being tossed into dumpsters.
 
The two most valuable things I recommend searching for are Walkmans and VCRs. 
Walkmans have great little motors, gears & some electronics, and the VCRs are
a treasure-trove of electronics and plenty (and I mean plenty) of wire.  So go
to it, recycle that old VCR and save some money and land-fill space.
-- 
Um, no - that's H,R,Y,N,K,I,W. No, not      \ hrynkiwd@cuug.ab.ca
K,I,U,U, K,I,_W_.  Yes, that's right.       \ Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Yes, I know it looks like "HOCKYRINK."      \ Home of the Western Canadian
Yup, only 2 vowels. Pronounciation? "SMITH" \ Robot Games - APRIL 9 1994 
