I run a Fanuc robot at work, which has intrigued me to enjoy robots as a hobby. I really like the hexapod, CH3-R and was curious as to what I’ll need in order to have a decent robot success. Here is my list of hopes for capabilities: pan/tilt for wireless cam w/ monitor for out of sight operation; led light w/ toggles, maybe a rotating wrist and gripper. And hopefully operablewith the PS2 controller. How realistic is my direction? and if capable, prices am i looking at?
Jim Watson
Hello Jim W.
The Hex is a well documented kit bot from Lynxmotion and has several tutorials to follow, making it much easier to build and operate. As for the cost. I dont have an estimate off hand, but you can get a general idea by adding components to your shopping cart and seeing how the prices add up. I do this all the time, just dont finalize your order untill you are ready. 
For starters, you will need:
Bot Board
SSC-32
MCU - BAP, BS2, OOPIC, BasicX, etc… (It might be best to get a BAP since the tutorials are based on this MCU)
Battery
Charger
Hex Kit
and around 18 servos depending on the DOF you want.
This is not a complete list, just to give a general idea of costs.
It is easy to just add all of the components into the shopping cart to get an idea of price.
For a complete Hex you could start off with:
[code]2.4 - 7.2vdc Ni-CD & Ni-MH Universal Smart Charger USC-01 $25.95 $25.95
6.0 Volt Ni-MH 2800mAh Battery Pack BAT-05 $22.95 $22.95
CH3-R Combo Kit for Bot Board/SSC-32/BA28 and PS2 Controller CH3RCA-BRU $712.47 $712.47
H3 / H3-R Servo Upgrade Pack - 645 SUP-04 $396.00 $396.00
PS2 Robot Controller RC-01 $19.95 $19.95
Promotion Code: Sub Total: $1,177.32
[/code]
Note: I added the 645 upgrade as you sound like you may want to add a lot of things onto your hex robot. If you are going to add a lot, you might consider an even more powerful servo maybe like the 5645. This kit comes with the Basic Atom. You might want to consider the Basic Atom Pro. Lots of options here!
As for the other capabilities that you mention, there are many ways to do this. You could add on a while arm with a rotating base. You could simply add their pan and tilt kit.
Good Luck
Kurt
The CH3-R is as was mentioned a very well documented kit. It uses the Atom 28 though, not the Atom Pro. It’s no problem to add a 2.4ghz wireless camera to the bot. The arm with gripper is the only thing that isn’t available right out of the box. We encourage new potential customers to check out the assembly guides and tutorials. There’s nothing like knowing what you’re getting into before you spend any money.
lynxmotion.com/ViewPage.aspx … yID=19#hex
The price for the CH3-R is $712.00, so it’s in the neighbothood of a good 4x4 RC truck.
We wanted this robot to be usable by non rocket scientists, not that there’s anything wrong with being a rocket scientist 
, so I paid for the creation of a PC program called PowerPod that actually writes your microcontrollers program for you. It’s free, and you will get free updates as we grow the functionality. Check out the program here.
lynxmotion.com/Product.aspx? … egoryID=15
In a nutshell PowerPod creates a program based on the selections you chose. Body style, leg properties, control method, etc are entered and you simply click “create program” and use it to program your microcontroller. Hope this helps!
Hi Jim,
Just wondering if the PowerPod can/will generate code for Quads? Seems like it would be a way to “get walking” if one only has 4 of the 6 legs of a Hexapod!
I understand it’s a little tougher to walk with a Quad. Maybe it’s there, but I didn’t find any sample code for a Quad on the LM website.
Alan KM6VV
