Is something like this doable? I just picked up two of these - one working and another for spare parts that does not work. Soo, I have two full sets of Mattracks now and one fully working H2.
Is it possible to control these with a microcontroller? There is a 6 conductor cable coming from the front wheels section, probably for steering control. Two of the wires are obvious power and ground, leaving 4 unknown connections.
It looks like the electronics board is a combination motor controler for the motor in the rear and control for the front steering.
Right now I am trying to separate the front and rear suspension assemblies from the rest of the chassis, but this may not be possible without forcefully breaking something and I don’t want to do that. My hope is to preserve the front and rear assemblies for futher disection and use,
I also did not get the box wrench I need to remove the wheels. I am not happy about that. I want a robot with full suspension on all wheels for possible constuction of a 4 or 6 wheeled robot.
So, is is possible to use any part of this dead vehicle for a robot??
If you want to just add a micro to the H2 and get a bot, I’m not sure. You should look deeper into the assembly (i.e. open it up fully) and see if those 6 wires are two 3 pin continuous rotational servos. This is what I think they are (two power, two ground, and two control) since they advertise having four wheel drive. I could be completely wrong here as I never opened one up myself. Such a configuration would be ideal for your use too, as if they are standard 3 pin servos just about any micro can handle them. I’d recommend the BASIC stamp or BASIC atom from Lynx. The only issue would be if they are digital or analogue, as analogue servos are more of a pain to control.
If all else fails (i.e. they are using some non-servo drive) and you just want to use the tracks in a bot, this is still doable.
I have some experience with the BASIC stamp via a BOE-bot kit. They’re about $50-100. I know someone who has moddified the matt tracks to work with the BOE (roboware.org/Gallery/v/robots/boemat/) extending the bots carrying capacity and obsticle avoidance when compared to the standard two wheels. I’m not sure whether he stripped all the electronics from a track and connected the drive wheel directectly to each of the BOE’s two continuous rotation servos or just remounted the H2’s servos in the BOE’s undercarriage. Basically I can’t tell since those six connector servo horns don’t look like Parallax standard ones, nor do they look like they were hacked together. However, from the BOE (Board Of Education) PCB in the pics, he has a very old BOE kit and those may just have been the old Parallax servos. He then added some brackets (from a VEX kit) for stability. He extended the balancing wheel as well, though I don’t think it was needed.
I’m also curious as to why you want a 4 or 6 tracked bot when you could get away with a nice rover with only two of those tracks?
I’ve now got the front and back wheel assemblies separated. They get the 4 wheel drive by linking front and back wheels with what I guess would be called a tie rod. There is just one moter in the rear assembly and as far as I can tell just one servo for steering in the front assembly. I can see the servo horn going to the rods that connect the two front wheels together.
Yes, I know. I’ve seen the pictures of the Boe-Bot with mattracks attached.
There are no electronics in the mattracks. It’s a purely mechanical thing.
It isn’t about what I can get away with. It’s about what I want to do. That’s also one reason I am building an Octapod with an added 4 wheel drive subsystem. It should be able to handle pretty much any terrain and maybe even climb over things most robots can’t deal with. I’ll be doing a lot of experimentation on this.
I just thought it would be neat to take advantage of the suspension the H2 has for a wheeled robot (different from what my long Octapod will have). I want something different from what most folks are building.
Lol. Well, now at least I know I was completely wrong about the H2’s drive mechanism. Sorry I wasn’t more helpful.
As far as the motors, from what you’re saying I now think that they are probably raw steppers, and with some tinkering could still probably be used. However, depending upon the needs of your bot, you might not be able to use enough of the drive train for this to be practical.
If I am just controlling the motor, which is linked to both front and rear wheel drive sections, why would I want to mess with the drive train at all? The only real problem I can see is being able to steer under microcontroller control. The steering servo appears to be in a section of the front drive that is sealed. I could not find any way to get to it without breaking something.
I’d like to be able to drive each wheel separately, possibly even for the front steering. but am not sure this is the best way to go. I have salvaged the part of the front gearbox that houses the steering linkages and gears so should be able to reassemble this to some extent for the suspension. I believe I have a plan in how this might be done as I do understand the linkages and how they work now.
I did get all the parts of the front wheel and steering assembly apart except for the part that iz the other end of the link from the drive gear to each wheel. I have goten everything else out intact except the steering servo I can not get to.
I am wishing I had a camera so I could visually document my disassembly of the H2. It would have made discussing this so much easer. Hopefully I will be getting my webcam back from my friend this week.
I believe I understand how the steering and suspension all fits together and works now.
I had assumed that both the length and width of the suspension might be different from those of your bot, and you might want to extend or shorten it depending upon your needs. Depending on the way the drive system is actually connected, I thought this might prove troublesome. However, if you’re making a really large bot and not adjusting the positions, that isn’t an issue. Anyway, you seem to be making good progress.
hey guys ,u can get the mattracks separtly. part#.s 12435699 left track
and 12435707 right track ,it cost like $24.00 for 2 tracks ,call there 800 #and talk to the parts department,mine are on the way and my boe bot should be here today , ,keep us posted on ur progress i was thinking of doing the same thing but imn gonna use a tank for the tracks and suspention
I am not happy about that. I want a robot with full suspension on all wheels for possible constuction of a 4 or 6 wheeled robot.
That’s also one reason I am building an Octapod with an added 4 wheel drive subsystem. It should be able to handle pretty much any terrain and maybe even climb over things most robots can’t deal with. I’ll be doing a lot of experimentation on this.
for the tracks and suspention