Hey guys. I am looking to build my first robot but need some questions answered before I drop some cash… Any help would be greatly appreciated. 
So I want to build a quadruped with 3 DOF per leg. Can I get by with just an SSC-32? Or would I, in addition to the SSC-32, need another board like the Bot-Board with a Basic Atom Pro 28? Thank you very much, I know this is probably a dumb question to you guys but I’m a noob. 
Hi and welcome to the forum!
This is correct. Or else your quad is more or less without a brain… 
You need an additional board like the BB2 w/BAP28 or the BotBoarduino. If you only want one single board, the Basic Micro ARC-32 is one solution.
Zenta <3 your bots are beasts! Thanks for the help. Got a link to somewhere with the ARC-32 in stock?
And I’m going to go check the market place area. 
EDIT: Market place wasn’t much help… and I found one in stock at basicmicro.com. You know if this is a trusted site? Kinda on the expensive side also… If you know any place to get one cheaper, that’d be greatly appreciated. Also, thanks for the warm welcome. Btw Zenta I have been following your robot videos on youtube for like 2 years or something. Awesome stuff, that spherical robot is nice as hell! Keep up the fantastic work Kåre! (Can’t believe you have time to answer noobs like me )
Welcome…
basicmicro is the company you need for the ACR… they manufactured it so yes they are very trusted round here…
Do you already have the SSC??
if so in addition to the BotBoard and the BAP28 you could buy the BotBoarduino?
lynxmotion.com/c-153-botboarduino.aspx
Good luck… love quads. 8)
J
No, I do not have the SSC-32. I got nothing for robots LOL. 
I think I will go with the ARC-32 then. Thank you guys. I almost just wasted $ seeing as ARC-32 seems like the better option for me. I’m on a budget so the ARC-32 is a lot cheaper than getting SSC-32, BB2, and Basic Atom Pro 28.
So with the ARC-32, I will be able to just plug in all servos, battery, and program in Basic Stamp, yes? Also, I’m assuming the ARC-32 comes with the USB cable needed for it, correct?
EDIT: Oh and also, sorry for so many questions, but does anyone know the rough dimensions of the ARC-32? Kinda strange, I can’t find the dimensions on their site…
good choice…
The ARC has has the 3" x 2.3" footprint so it can be attached to any of the lynxmotion robot kits.
its kinda plug and play except you will need to configure some of the values with in the program before downloading it to your quad, like Servo pin numbers, leg dimensions, body dimensions, etc.
Although lynxmotion no longer carrys the ARC you can still look at the assembly/electronic files to get a good idea of how things work around here:
lynxmotion.com/driver.aspx?Topic=assem04
any question you have about the ARC can be found here:
viewforum.php?f=45
I will say that a quad is quite and ambitious robot for your first robot. Hexapods are easier to work with as they dont require a gaited balance to stop it from falling over as a Hexapod can keep 3 legs on the ground during gaits, while with a quad it would be like removing a leg from a table. it will fall over. there are way around this by shifting the body weight, but thats for another time.
Thanks for you nice words!
I agree with Jonny that the quads are much harder to walk/balance. Hex are more expensive though.
The cheapest alternative is the Botboarduino + SSC-32 combo = 74,9$
The ARC-32 cost 89,95 and the SSC-32+BB2+BAP28 = 124,85$
The ARC-32 is a good choice. (I think you need the USB cable in addition)
Good luck!
Ok, thanks guys! I realize less legs = harder to do for a first robot. But I was originally going to do a biped for my first LOL. 
And yes, those servos add up in cost big time, which is why I’m doing a quad instead of a hex.
Hello, Sour,
I have been on this forum for a year and a half and have built an arm, a BRAT, and a 4DOF T-Hex. But for really knowing what’s going on, you should consider me a neophyte like yourself and people like Zenta and Innerbreed as innovative experts.
That said, let me offer a few observations for your consideration:
- Zenta has already identified the cheapest combination as the SSC-32 plus BotBoarduino. (Worked easily for my arm.)
- The BotBoarduino is newer technology than the ARC-32 and uses newer programming than the BB2 with Basic Atom Pro.
- During the year preceeding the sale to RobotShop, Lynxmotion fielded the BotBoarduino as an in house project, and gave very strong indication (almost explicit delarations) that they intended to switch their kit production and programming over to that platform.
- Lynxmotion had already started fielding some of their older kits with BotBoarduino as an option.
- RobotShop has indicated that they intend to support most of the products and policies Lynxmotion had in place.
- Guru programmers such as Kurte are still posting their intentions and achievements in reprogramming for the BBduino.
- You have already discovered how helpful the members of this forum are, and there are excellent forum sources for the Arduino.
In summation, the handwriting on the wall seems to point to the BBduino for cost, future expansion, and for readily available help.
If you have not already committed to a different course, think seriously about the SSC-32 plus BotBoarduino combination. As a new guy trying to ease the learning curve, that’s where I’m going.
And, welcome aboard.
@RoboTed Thank you very much for that post. I see your points, but I dont think I can program the BotBoarduino in Basic Stamp can I? Also, if I was to go this way, I assume there is some source code on here I could use of someone else’s 3 DOF quad, correct? Any links would be appreciated if you know any good ones off hand. I will have a good look around this site.
Don’t ever tell Eric Nantel I said so, but this DiaLFonZo guy is a bit of a wizard at working with Arduino boards and codes. He uses them for things other than just robots (he can make them fly) which means he knows his way among the wider circle of Arduino forums and sources. He even does it all as a Francophone which takes an additional level of wizardry before he explains it in English for us mere mortals. [Hi Eric ] Point is you can take what he says to the bank like with the other helpful guys on this forum.
I wasn’t absolutely sure how to answer you about Basic Stamp, so I googled it. One of the first links I came up with was a direct comparison of Basic Stamp and Arduino here todbot.com/blog/2006/09/25/arduino-the-basic-stamp-killer/. BS is closed and much more expensive.
Another Arduino information source I have found helpful is Joe Pardue’s “Smiley’s Workshop” column in Nuts and Volts Magazine. He has a wry sense of humor, writes clearly, and puts all the cutesy Arduino artistic facade about shields and sketches back into terms of boards and programs that we can understand. He has written a very helpful book that is available from Amazon or, with an experimenter’s kit of parts, from the Nuts and Volts store.
I don’t know if there is any 3DOF quad code out there, you’ll have to search. But remember the responses about quads being more difficult to program than hexes due to weight shifting to maintain balance.
At this point, I am getting in over my head, so I will leave you to the tender mercies of those who know what they are doing.
Good luck and post pics and vids of your progress.
Thank you again RoboTed. Do you know any threads which explain how I would connect the BotBoarduino to the SSC-32 and all that? I need like the very basics of all this.
I think I’m just going to go with the ARC-32 since it seems much simpler for me since I already know a little bit about Basic Stamp programming and it is only one board instead of getting 2, the SSC-32 and the BotBoarduino. And I also think I’m going to go with something a lot simpler for my first project, a 2 DOF hexapod. It’s going to be fun! I think even a super noob like me could program a 2 DOF hexapod. Correct me if I’m wrong.
Are there any tutorials on the ARC32 for complete noobs? Like, I dont know what to do with the USB driver after I downloaded it. I hate being a noob. 
Ok so the drivers failed. I know I have to use the original FTDI drivers to get it to work on my Windows 7 64 bit but there is 2 different sets with the same name. Which should I use? There is a list of files that looks like this:
ftd2xx.h
ftdibus.cat
ftdibus.inf
ftdibus.cat
ftdibus.inf
Can someone please help me with what to do with these files? Thanks a bunch.
Help please?
Sorry but I know nothing about arch…
Arduino are so much easier
With the Basic Micro boards running on 64 bit OS, you used to have to do it manually to make it work properly. One of the places it is covered is in the thread:
forums.basicmicro.net/atompro-f4 … t9359.html
Note: you need to follow Nathans instructions carefully. However the version of the driver has probably changed since that first posting. I believe later in that thread I posted a link to the version of the driver I installed.
Kurt