Ian and Amy Martin's Wedding

Today R2 was honored to attend the wedding of Ian and Amy Martin. Well, Amy started the day as Amy Shatto, but finished it as Amy Martin.

No, R2 was not in the ceremony itself. Instead he was there to greet guests as they lined up to sign the registry book, at the end of the gift table. The dome and sound automation circuit came in very handy today.




Ian and Amy made a very nice framed plaque, explaining R2's attendance, which I got to take home as a keepsake. Some of you may recall that my droid teamed up with Ian in his very first appearance as C-3PO, and Ian and I performed duo droid duty on several other occasions, including Rich and Sarah Woloski's wedding. Ian has since parted with the C-3PO suit, but I was more than happy to have R2 join them on their special day.



Michael McMaster and his wife Dawn also attended, with Michael serving as the wedding videographer.



The happy couple took their vows, and soon they were Mr. and Mrs. Martin.




It was a great day for two of the nicest and sweetest people you'll ever meet.

Finished Wiring on Electronics Panel

Tonight I wrapped up work on the electronics panel. For this phase, at least.

First, I soldered the positive voltage wires to the master on/off switch.



Next, I crimped a connector to the master negative wire, and placed it at the bottom of the stack on the bolt that distributes the negative connection to the various components (CFSound III, dome and sound automation circuit, dome controller).




I ran the master power positive and negative wires to the back of the board, so I could solder on a connector.



This is why I ask for Mike's help on soldering.




The wiring won't win any awards (perhaps "Most Hideous"), but I think it's done.



I then retested the board in the frame. It ran well for about 10 minutes, and then things went quiet, and I smelled the vaguely familiar smell of an electronic component getting fried. I suspect, but have not verified, that the PIC chip may have cooked. That should not happen, and if it did, I'll have to figure out why. I didn't feel like figuring that out tonight, so I'll deal with it soon.

Cut and Installed Switch Holders, Heat Sink Holder

If you enjoy seeing holes being drilled, you're in for a treat today. (If not, you're in for some punishment.)

It's time to install the brackets that will hold the main power switch, and the switch that toggles the enabling of the dome and sound automation circuit. These brackets will be made from bent bar that will hang from the bottom of the panel, just above the skirt.

The first thing I did was figure out where the bars will align, so I made guide marks. The 3/4" wide bars will be located between the wooden rails that hold the main batteries in place, and the metal rails used to hold the center leg, one on each side of the center leg.



I also needed to measure how far forward the bar needs to come, so I can reach it without too much trouble. About 2".



Next, I cut a couple of pieces of bar to size, and whaled on them with a hammer to create 90 degree angles.




Drilling time. The main power switch requires a 12mm hole.




The dome and sound automation toggle switch requires a 6mm hole.



I'm using #10 screws to secure the bars to the electronics panel, so I drilled some 0.190" holes through the bars



I then used the holes in the bars as templates for where to drill the board.




I wrapped up by drilling a small scrap of an aluminum angled piece that Mike happened to have sitting around the other day. This will act as a heat sink for the 7805 voltage regulator. I'm using #6 screws to attach the voltage regulator to the aluminum and to attach the aluminum to the panel.




I don't think there are too many holes left to drill, but I do need to start wiring the main power up soon.

Finished Dome Centering Sensor

Tonight I fixed the mistakes I made on the dome centering sensor that I worked on last night.

Since this works fine on droid #1, I decided to do the smart thing and trace the piece of PVC from droid #1 that trips the roller switch when the dome is centered.



As I did last night, I trimmed most of the PVC with the miter saw.



I used the PVC piece from droid #1 as a guide for drilling the hole for the dome screw.



I then used the Dremel drum sander attachment to form the curve that the roller switch will ride along.



FInally, I attached the PVC to the front-center dome screw, and relocated the roller switch so that it makes contact with the new piece of PVC.



Here's a video of the current state of the dome electronics.

Roller Switch Work

You'd think weekends would leave plenty of time for droid work, but alas, it seems that's usually not the case. As such, I got very little done today.

I worked on locating onto the frame the roller switch that helps detects when the dome is centered. The switch needs to be level with the top of the Rockler bearing, so I cut a small rectangle from 3/4" plywood to boost it up. Incidentally, this piece of plywood was used earlier for the blocks that support the leg struts from underneath.



Next, I traced the curve of the Rocker bearing onto a small rectangle of PVC. This goes on the front-center dome screw on the Rockler bearing, and it is intended to make contact with the roller switch when the dome is centered. (You shall soon see that I botched this.)



I used the miter saw to cut three of the four sides.



The Dremel drum sander finishes the curved side.



I used 3/4" #2 wood screws to attach the switch to the plywood block, and I drilled holes for the drywall screws that will hold the block onto the top of the frame.




I positioned the block onto the frame such that the roller switch closes when it makes contact with the PVC piece. It worked beautifully...



... Until I realized that the roller switch also hits all of the other screws in the Rockler bearing!!! There is only one center position, not six of them.



I need to recut the PVC piece so that it hangs further toward the center of the frame, and I need to relocate the wooden block so that it sits further back, so it won't make contact with the other screws. Why I didn't simply trace and follow the pattern of the PVC on droid #1, I do not know. Oh well.

By the way, today marks exactly six years since this happened.

More Electronics Work at Mike's

Today I visited with Mike Senna, for help with the remaining wire-up of electronics panel for droid #2.

On March 28 I wrote, "Why do I have a feeling that when Mike sees this in person, he will be compelled to re-solder it?" Well, I felt compelled to have Mike resolder the tabs on the fuse box, and I think he shared that outlook. The first step was to use his beefy solder gun to remove the old solder.



He then used an old toothbrush (I hope) and some flux remover to clean up the tabs.




He then resoldered the tabs, again using flux remover to clean up any messy spots.



A 7805 voltage regulator, coupled with capacitors, drops the 12-volt power to the 5 volts that is required by the dome and sound automation circuit. This means I don't need a receiver battery, I can use the 5 volt output to power a receiver when I add one, or directly power the dome and sound automation circuit with this.



In the middle of the day, I briefly became a WALL•E builder, as I attached a couple of servos to a board, along with some screws that will help activate a mystery circuit that Mike is working on for his WALL•E.



After a dinner break, Mike finished up the day's work on the droid wire-up. We glued the fuse box in place.



Mike also ran the remaining wires required for powering the CFSound III, and dome motor. The small wire for the CFSound III and battery eliminator circuit required some creative thinking on Mike's part. He tinned up a loop of wire for the ground connection for these components.



Once he was done, we powered up and tested the work. Happily, everything functions as expected. The dome motor rotates and the sounds trigger under the dome and sound automation circuit control. No pictures and video of this yet, but hopefully soon.

A little more work remains, including the connecting of the and on/off switch and battery.

Continued Soldering Wires to Electronics

Tonight I picked up a couple of monophone plugs and jacks for wiring up the speaker and roller switch that detects when the dome is centered.



When the two black wires have current running through them, that means the roller switch is in the ON position, and the dome is centered.



The speaker wire is soldered onto the roller switch, and the other end of the wire has the male end of the phono plug soldered on, so it can plug into the female end on the electronics panel, which is hooked up to the circuit that reads the switch.



I'm going to attach the speaker to the frame, so I measure the length of wire that I'll need to reach the electronics panel, so I can plug into it as well.



I also soldered the speaker wire to the speaker.



Maybe with a little luck (and a maybe with a little help) I'll get the wiring wrapped up this weekend.