Help Please!!!!

[jordannichole]

Hi! My name is Jordan and I am 12 years old. I want to make a robot but I have no idea how to start. I read some of the articles on this website but what I really want is a list of the things I need and an approx. price. Also are there any ways to save money or even get parts for free? I have heard that you can take apart different things and use the parts but how would you go about doing that? Is there anyone out there who can help me? Just so you know, I do know what robot I"m making... it's the $50 dollar robot but I don't actually have fifty dollars to spend. Thanks!

[HDL_CinC_Dragon]

Hello Jordan and welcome to SoR!
Unfortunately robotics is not a cheap hobby. It will cost money in one way or another. I recommend you try your hardest to get at least a couple bucks be it by mowing some lawns in the neighborhood or maybe even selling some of your old stuff in a small yard sale or something like that. Perhaps your parents would be willing to help you with the money situation a little bit? Offer to do some chores around the house for like 10 bucks a week or something.

[SmAsH]

try telling your parents that it will be a learning experience, it will help you get better at maths, something along those lines. with salvaging parts, you can do it but not for all parts. i dont think you will find photocells anywhere but its possible, leds are everywhere, same goes for resistors, capacitors. but i think you will have to buy the socket, atmega8, header pins, the board and the servos. and to salvage the parts you will need to learn to desolder.

[Soeren]

Hi,

[...] i dont think you will find photocells anywhere but its possible, [...]

Just get one of the large office photo copiers (those the size of a small fridge), they are full of goodies.
In a single machine, I have found around 20..30 IR photo "forks" and a handfull of SHARP PSDs, about 60..80 microswitches, some of them optical and tonnes of mechanical parts, motors, springs, axles and what not.
Getting two of the same model should be possible if you really sweet talk your local photo copier service central technician.

[SmAsH]

Hi,

[...] i dont think you will find photocells anywhere but its possible, [...]

Just get one of the large office photo copiers (those the size of a small fridge), they are full of goodies.
In a single machine, I have found around 20..30 IR photo "forks" and a handfull of SHARP PSDs, about 60..80 microswitches, some of them optical and tonnes of mechanical parts, motors, springs, axles and what not.
Getting two of the same model should be possible if you really sweet talk your local photo copier service central technician.

...i need to find one...

[paulstreats]

Dont forget that your talking to somebody that is 12 years old. Where would he/she come by an old photocopier... and how are they gonna use the parts that arent like for like replacements of the $50 robot

Really all you can do is talk to your parents and get them intersted. You might find your dad will enoy helping you with the $50 robot (as well as paying for it). There is no cost to education, Maybe $50 might seem like a cost at the time but in 10 years time when you are earning $65000+ a year it has easily paid for itself.

Or just save pocket money and look for odd jobs (but then you have the problem of how to order stuff, you cant order online without an adult bank account so you have to get a parent/guardian intersted or they are gonna tell you not to waste you money)

[SmAsH]

i know what you mean paul, but convince your parents that it is well worth it, it is. i would happily pay $50 for the knowledge that i have gained from this site and from that robot. but i wasnt saying that he should get the parts out of a copier i was just saying i was suprised at the amount of things in one copier i shold get one but 60-80 microswitches! damn

[Private Reid]

Try scavenging...

Like motors from "old" VCR's

IR senders/receivers from remotes and then whatever the remote is used for.

Parents...Worth a try !     (Didn't work for me  )

Stealing... I mean Borrowing... Asking 


But seriously, don't steal !

[offy]

Go door to door getting pop cans, each one is $0.10.

Ask parents (Didn't work for me either)
Do odd jobs, it is nice out so people want yard work done now.
Save, don't buy anything for a month, you will be supprised how much money you will gather up.

Sell some of your old stuff, I just got an offer on my DS for $75, that can build your first robot.

craigslist.com is your friend, ebay for buying.

[Private Reid]

Selling stuff is a good one, except when you sell your laptop (if you have a laptop) or something that is quite close to you (if the laptop that you may or may not have is close to you), build your robot and then when you flick the on switch it makes a noise like this....

*SIZZLE" *POP* *BANG*

And you see the micro controller slowly sink into the board and black ooze fills all the little holes in your board, it melts the wires and engulfs the LED then spills into the battery pack, ruining your $20 EACH rechargeable AA batteries !

And all your hard work goes to waste...and you wish, that you kept the laptop....



But don't let that put you off !
It's so very rare for something like that to happen that there is no point worrying about it, so go ahead and sell away ! 

[SmAsH]

*SIZZLE" *POP* *BANG*
And you see the micro controller slowly sink into the board and black ooze fills all the little holes in your board, it melts the wires and engulfs the LED then spills into the battery pack, ruining your $20 EACH rechargeable AA batteries !

... what are you a poet?
i got $146 for my ds lite a few weeks ago, i bought a new phone and some parts!
@jordannichole: what do your parents think of your soon to be new hobby? do they think its a good or bad one?

[Soeren]

Hi,

Dont forget that your talking to somebody that is 12 years old. Where would he/she come by an old photocopier... and how are they gonna use the parts that arent like for like replacements of the $50 robot

Well, as I wrote... Sweet talk the folks servicing such machinery. When a young kid shows interest in technical stuff, any techie who's bitten by the bug himself (/herself) will likely help - and each day, lots of copiers are going to the waste bin, because they're last years model, or because a PCB is burned and it is too expensive to repair, compared to getting the newest model that has lots of extra features.
A couple of years ago, two 11 year old kids entered a robotics competition on our most esteemed technical college. Needless to say that they didn't win (they got less than a tenth through), but they were kids going up against engineering students from the automation department, so everyone thought it had to be acknowledged and they were awarded the Fighter Prize.

Impress grown ups with dedication and a drive for seeking (and applying) knowledge and you will get lots of help in different forms.

The way to use the parts... By experimenting, the way most kids learn the best. And by failing every now and again, in between the more successful results.
When I was that age, there was no web to copy from, perhaps a book that gave you a few ideas and spiced your imagination. The tools I had were all hand tools - Dremels and such like were not yet on the market - and I had to drill all holes with a hand drill, but I were quite productive anyway, perhaps since I didn't spend time on the web and perhaps my creations lacked in beauty, but they kept me from hanging on street corners and I learned something each time I made some contraption.
These days, tools and materials are so varied and while I don't understand it, it doesn't seem to make people more productive.
Just hack away, you now have possibilities that I could not even dream of.

[dellagd]

(sniffle) that was (sniffle) very inspirational! 
I was lucky and my dad is a engineer and loves my robotics hobby. helps me buy stuff and like helps cut PVC pipe and whatnot.
robotics is definitely not a cheap hobby. expect (if you want to buy all parts new) to pay around 100 dollars per robot. and as you advance so will the price. I am young too and I hate it how all clubs are for 17 year olds. I have basically hit a dead end. I can't take classes and the only thing I can do is read on stuff, but you can't ask questions to a book, one of the main reasons I joined SoR. as for your money problem. go to a junkyard. seriously. you could find old PCBs and motors, extract them and buy for cheap! saving is also very usefull. 10 dollars a week is ~$40 a month, which is ~$480 a year! thats a lot of money (in my eyes at least). we at SoR will always be here to help you.