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  • 1921 Westinghouse "Aeriola Senior."
  • 1924 Atwater Kent 10A "Breadbox"
  • 1925 Music Master "Type 60"
  • 1928 Crosley 608 "Gembox"
  • 1931 Crosley 124 "Playtime"
  • 1932 Philco Model 112
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  • 1933 Stewart Warner R115 "Companion"
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  • 1938 Howard 400
  • 1939 Philco 39-71 "Traveler"
  • 1939 Silvertone 6256B
  • 1939(?) Radio Lamp Co. "Radio-Sight"
  • 1940 Philco 40-185
  • 1946 Motorola 65x11A
  • 1947 RCA Victor 65X1
  • 1947 Stewart Warner 9000B
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§ About the Project § Pictures § Email Me §


About The Project

Purpose:
To have fun and show my grandson what can be accomplished with learning and a little effort.

​What it Does:
Using the remote control, it moves forward & backwards, right & left.
It blinks its eyes, talks & can grasp and holds objects with its "hands".


Background:
The robot was my 5 year old grandson Eliot's idea; “We should build a robot”.
When I told him that I thought might be too difficult, he said that we just needed directions, so he sat down and made a set of directions showing, in his 5 year old mind, how to build a robot. (See Below). The ball was now in my court - how could I not follow through?

Project Challenges:
According to Eliot it had to walk and talk.
Eliot's directions included painting, adding a battery, building (and painting) a remote control and giving it a name. Can you guess what Eliot named it?

​
What We Did:
  • Eliot and I built the frame out of PVC pipe and painted it.
  • Eliot drew the face.
  • Blinking eyes for a touch of robot realism.
  • Two motors which can be operated individually for turning, or together to go straight.
  • A record/playback module supplies the voice.
  • Power is from 4 "D" cells and 1 9v battery.
  • I re-purposed an old VCR wired remote control that I found in my Dad's junk box.
                   History lesson kids: remote controls weren't always wireless.

How It Works:
  • Pressing "Start" causes the eyes to start blinking and provides power to the other circuits. Automatic timeout after 15 minutes to conserve the batteries.
  • The “Right” button causes the left motor to operate, turning the robot to the right.
  • The “Left” button causes the right motor to operate, turning the robot to the left.
  • Press “Left” & “Right” buttons together for straight ahead operation.
  • The “Reverse” button activates a reversing relay powering both motors with reverse polarity.
  • A "Hands" toggle switch on the remote opens and closes the "hands".
  • Pressing the “Speak” button causes the record/playback module to play the recorded message.
  • Press and hold the "Record" button on the "Start/Record" panel to record a new message.
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Pictures

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Instructions for building a robot drawn by my 5 year old grandson Eliot.
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"Start" / "Record" Panel with Microphone. Accessible from the top of the "backpack"
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