Naked B9 (What I Did During My Summer Vacation)
September 03, 2005
During the hot summer months, I decided to devote most of my time and energy to the inner workings of the robot. This I could do in the air-conditioned comfort of my home office. Summers in Oklahoma can be brutal.
As you can see from the photo above, this robot is using a six-speaker, dual-amplifier system. The speakers are all Sony and are tuned perfectly to the dynamic range of the human voice. One of the amplifiers is a sweet little Alpine number that can make this B9 wail like Robert Plant, if the situation calls for it.
Sitting on top of the cd receiver (also Sony) is an Eletech QuikWave EM3028B. This is a CD quality sound repeater that I'm using for the robot's relay sound effects. Works like a charm.
Also being used is a four-channel rf transmitter and receiver that controls a series of zones for the robot. It came w/ a cool little remote that I can discreetly use to control various functions from as far away as 50 feet. Every geeks dream.
Posted by Jeff at 07:43 PM | Comments (1)
Trek Expo 2005
June 25, 2005
A few weeks ago I stumbled upon a local website that was promoting the annual Trek Expo that Tulsa hosts every year. Out of curiosity, I browse through the list of attending celebrities and Bob May is on the agenda. Sweet.
Also attending was fellow B9 Robot Builder Travis Jeter from the Dallas/Fort Worth area. In tow was his impressive B9 Robot. This was the first time I've actually spoken with a B9 builder in person about their robot. Travis was cool enough to shoot the breeze with me about his building experience and gave me some tips on hooking up the Tech 2000 neon transformer. Thanks Travis!
For those of you that don't know, Bob May was the only actor to portray B9 in the three season run of Lost in Space. That's Bob on the left, Travis's robot in the middle and yours truly on the right.
There are a few things I should note about Bob. He's quite a showman. Very good with people and knows how to work the room. He genuinely loves talking about his experience with Lost In Space. Most impressive.
Posted by Jeff at 08:25 PM | Comments (1)
Central Support Structure
June 13, 2005
Ok. Here's the fun part. The part of this project where functionality starts to take shape. The Central Support Structure (CSS) will support the sound system, Tech 2000 neon interface, four-channel receiver and all kinds of electronic mish-mash.
I've used four acrylic discs (14" diameter) and one aluminum disc (17.25" diameter) in the construction of the CSS. This system is the most effecient way to distribute the electronics within the robot torso. I was never crazy about attaching things to the sides of the torso.
Posted by Jeff at 08:19 PM | Comments (0)
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