I was just going to say, connecting the antenna to the chassis is the silliest thing I’ve ever heard. 
But you said it better. 8)
Well, in a spur of energy i had decided to make the front back and top of the rover
since i have no money left, i an just going to make the rest of the rover with the excess steel that i have (onnly reason i was gonna do aluminum was the fact that i did’t want it to be too heavy howevere now that i know the rover can handle 20+ lbs of payload (still havent found max payload yet) im not worried about weight)
atm i am drawing the sides out on the steel and getting ready to cut, ill try and get pictures later, i dont have the camera now 
also once i finish the front/back/top i am disassembling the rover entirley and finishing the paint, jus tone maybe 2 coats on top of my base coat that is already on there
afterthat im more of less finish with the chassis. i will just need to use chaulking around the edges on the inside of the rover to prevent particles and water from getting in and put some grease around the bearings and motor shafts to prevent water from absolutey destroying them 
and thats about it, oh yea, ill be making all the wires inside look purty and make a larger antanea 
welp, thats about it for now, once i finish the front and back, i will do some testing outdoors and see what these beast can really do 
EDIT:
PS. ill also be drilling holes for the track tensioners and putting them in place
Well, i finished the front, and i must admits, its looks…weird
i feel linke it should have something other than a flat box front, maybe something at an angle, idk 
working on the back now, then sanding and area of steel away for scorpian to dissapate the heat directly into the steel as a heat sink, then other stuffs , painting tonight too iif i can, its 9:30 already x.X
your an hour behind me bud, Its 10:33 here Im affraid 
Its 9:20 Here…Enough hacking.
LUCKY!!!
Guys, please dont spam too much, thats wat most of this thread is, its over a page of going back to school stuff alone. dont reply to this as it will only lead to more spam just keep this in mind and please try not to do it
Well, i finished the front and back, they look pretty good
also took the rover apart tonight (50+ screws 
) and im brushing it off, cleaning off the all the particals i can, then tomorrow im sanding the rust off the front and back, sanding the minimal amount of rust off of the rest of the parts and painting them tomorrow with probably 3-4 coats for a thick layer of protection
thats about it, i will then reassemble and go test its out in my back woods and let you guys know how it goes
Cool! Some updated phots?
ya, we need pics
my camera is up at my cabin in NH (hour away) ill try and convince my dad to bring me this weekend, no garunteees though
picks up spray paint can for 2nd coat…pssst hm, shakes pssssst
out of paint T_T, due to think i think i may combine 2 colors , im not sure yet , all sanding though adn its adhearring well, ill let you know how it comes out
It lives!!! Hey guys, long time no see
i finally recently went out and got some paint for the rover and i finished it up. I reassembled it and sealed it so water isn’t able to get in as easily in the outdoor conditions. Heres a pic, i hope you like it
ZOMG! Rover nudie picture!! Cover your eyes children.
When you gunna put stuff inside of it?
That thing is a tank!
Very well done.
Nice to see this coming along so well.
But… I have some questions…
]Where did you get those motors? Goodness!/:m]
]How long are the tracks on the rover?/:m]
]Those are all 6 link idlers?/:m]
]How are the tensioners working?/:m]
They are motors from lynxmotion which have been discontinued 
yea they are pretty beastly 7.41 ft-lb at 9.6 volts (im over volting them to 12)
im not sure how long that tracks are to tell you the truth ill measure them for you when i get home.
yes, all 6 link idlers
i have to redesign the tensioners, they need a real big reworking and stuff, ill update more once i get home, but for no i need ot get back to class
EDIT:::
looking at my rover now i am happy with wat i’ve done, however i get the feeling i have not done it as well as i could’ve, i mean the tracks are not on proper which require tensioners and a whole bunch of other stuff and i am thinking about fixing my design flaws, downsizing it a little bit and remake the chassis and idlers. I will start the redesigning process now, however i will put the current rover together and do tests and all that for the elctronics, see how is handles and all that good stuff, then i will probably be making a prototype (with wood) within 2-3 months and hopefully an aluminum one withthin 3-4 months, i know its ambitious and i will be undoing all the work that i have done with the chassis, but i would rather do that then have a rover that needs idlers to fix the tracks and they arn’t even…even. So i will be getting my liscense <2 weeks and i will be really pushing to get into that machine shop that i have mentioned so often and i will be able to get there on my own so i think it will possible, and having a rover with deliciously machined parts would be awesome. I’ll let you guys know
I’m thinking about setting up a tracked bot and having one of the idlers position adjustable by screws to keep it tight. Might end up being the front top idlers. The right brackets might be tricky.
Or do some prototypes to make sure the track fits… but I’ve had experience with a lot heavier chains than this stretching (that was with drive chains in agricultural equipment though).
I’ve thought long and hard about trying to get my motor’s shaft to not be directly connected to the track. I’m still working on designing that though. Will need some more bearings and maybe some drive chain.
Although looking at the Johnny 5 robot and others it looks like they can be designed without tensioners, just need to design with a proper perimeter in mind.
@ Ahab - If you need a little more insperation check out my tracked bot as well. Its been through many stages of design and testing as well as mistakes, and I am finally ready to make an aluminum sheet chassis.