It was About 8 or 9 months ago that I posted my first video using my Netduino powering a Tamiya Tracked Vehicle Chassis Kit. After that I actually did a little more work on the project, but I never posted any video or updates for the project itself.

It was About 8 or 9 months ago that I posted my first video using my Netduino powering a Tamiya Tracked Vehicle Chassis Kit. After that I actually did a little more work on the project, but I never posted any video or updates for the project itself.

Last week I was asked if I still had the project, and would be able to bring it to the Maker Faire. I thought, sure thing! So I got to work making it actually do something a bit more than going in a very long slowly arcing circle.

V1.5 (if you consider the video linked above v1) actually had a piece of plexiglass as a base, sitting on some standoffs up off the wooden base of the Tamiya kit. But it was my first time working with PG and I ran into a couple of issues, I drilled holes and they weren’t right, so I drilled some more, and they still weren’t right, the "rectangle” was off center on the vehicle itself, and I never even got around to taking the protective coating off the plexiglass. I did mount a GoPro camera on it, using zip ties, and drove it around the office scaring the pets, but never published that video, or even took pictures of the setup.

Thursday evening I decided I would try to take the motorshield I was using and make it work with the Netduino Go. Unfortunately due to a bug with PWM in .NET MF 4.2 qfe1 (or whatever is currently release) I was unable to get the Go working, so I wasted a full evening of time.

Friday evening I got to work getting the original Netduino going again, along with the motorshield, and a new piece of plexiglass. The end result was the photo seen above, a cell phone picture taken at something like 2 in the morning Saturday before Maker Faire, so I apologize for that :D

I ended up doing a little bit of coding, on the project (all sample code is hosted on Codeplex, at the time of this blog it is using Changeset 67198 (motor test project). I didn’t add a bunch of logic to the code, it basically has 4 programs, one that spins, goes, and repeats. Another that just spins. Another that goes forward then backward, and finally one that doesn’t do anything (stop). You can trigger through the programs using a button that was wired into the breadboard. Not the ideal setup, as the button was hard to get to while it was moving, but it was 2am and I just wanted to finish.

I made the programs fairly short because I figured that the area where it would be displayed wouldn’t be very big, unfortunately even with the short programs there wasn’t any way to safely have it running during the Maker Faire, so it for the most part remained unplugged the entire weekend. But it looked cool!

Speaking of looks, I took another piece of black plexiglass and cut it, shaped it on the belt sander, and then took the drill press to it to create holes for the standoff mounts, and somewhere to mount the Netduino/Shield to.

I also stuck an old (think original AAA battery powered, pre HD/960) GoPro camera to the front, this was all for show at this point, there was no chance I was going to get it wired up, and I really just needed the weight up there to keep the nose down. The back end was rather heavy due to the two battery packs, one for the Netduino one for the Motorshield, and it wanted to ride a wheelie without the camera up front.

Update (before I even posted the original blog) I stuck the GoPro 3D Case and two cameras up front to shoot some video and photos, you can see them below. This setup weighed the front end down heavily, and also, on a rough surface (bricks outside) started to cause problems for the tracks, I haven’t tried to figure out why yet, but they were coming off pretty regularly.

Here’s some video of the Netduino Tank in action, though I promise you it isn’t all that fancy yet

and then of course 3D Video of what it sees (you’ll want to wear red/blue glasses for this one, or turn off 3D on youtube)

Photo Gallery

Parts List (quantity)

1. Tamiya Tracked Vehicle Chassis Kit $20 (1)
2. Tamiya Twin Motor Gearbox TAM70097 $10 (1)
3. 9V Battery Case (1)
4. AA Battery Case 4-AA (1)
5. AdaFruit Motor Shield $21 (1)
6. Yellow push button switch $1 (1)
7. Plexiglass platform
8. Long screws (4)
9. Nuts, for above. (4)
10. Aluminum spacers, mounted between base and platform (4)
11. Small breadboard (1)
12. Heat shrink
13. Solid core wire
14. GoPro HD Hero 2 (2)
15. GoPro 3D Case (1)
16. Plexiglass Sheet

What’s Next?

1) I would like to add some sensors to it so that it can move around on its own a bit, and know when it should turn around.

2) I’d like to get the Wi-Fi-bac for the GoPro Hero 2 setup, whenever it comes out (this summer) and mount a Hero2 up front so I can stream video using the camera. This wouldn’t actually wire into the Netduino in any way, but I can imagine putting the GoPro on a servo system so that the Netduino could at least “point” the camera, at what, I don’t know yet.

3) It needs either a remote control (DotNetNuke module) and Wifi access or some other wireless access to the tank and send commands.

The 2012 Bay Area Maker Faire is coming up this weekend in San Mateo, California. It will be about a mile from the offices of DotNetNuke Corporation so we will be heading over on Saturday as a family, and then I will likely go again on Sunday.

All the info about the faire can be found at https://www.makerfaire.com

After having attended last year, I have a couple of tips if this is your first time going. Here’s a list of what to bring, along with an explanation for each item.

1. Bike – Ride a bicycle to the Maker Faire, you can save $5 on your ticket, and get access to the bike valet, plus you’ll be doing something good for the environment, get to avoid some of the traffic, and the parking last year was kind of nuts. I think I parked about 1/2 a mile away in a building’s parking garage.
2. Cash – You will find so many things you want to buy, it will be better to have cash on hand Bring lots of cash if you want to buy something like a 3D printer. I really wanted to last year, and will want to again this year, but the budget just won’t allow it yet. Maybe later this year. You should definitely check out the MakerShed, I did end up spending way more money than I planned last year after making a long stop there. There are also plenty of food options on site as well.
3. Backpack – There will be plenty of swag to pick up, things to see, things to buy, have a backpack or something else to haul all your scores back.
4. Camera – Screw it, you won’t need a camera, you need 3 cameras! I think I had 3 last year, seriously. I had my GoPro mounted on my head (video down below), my Motorola Xoom and my Motorola Droid. This year I plan on taking the GoPro, along with multiple batteries and SD cards, my Galaxy Nexus, and perhaps my Canon 5D Mark II. What kind of things might you take pictures of? Cupcake Go-karts, R2-D2, need I say more?
5. Hat – It will be sunny and most likely sunny, and while a lot of Maker Faire is inside, even more of it is outside. Though if you don’t want to bring a hat there was a pretty cool custom leather hat stand (steam punk style) last year, perhaps I’ll break down and buy one this year.
6. Family – I went to Maker Faire 2011 expecting it to be a male dominated tech event. Boy was I wrong. As soon as I walked in I regretted not bringing the wife and baby along. This year I won’t make that mistake, and the baby being 19 months now should definitely get a kick out of it. If you’re a single male, don’t let that scare you, it will be well worth attending for you as well.
7. Time – There is so much at the Maker Faire, be sure to give yourself all day. I got there last year right as they opened up, and spend a good 4 or 5 hours there before I was baked and ready to go home. I’m in much better shape this year, hoping to last all day both days!
8. Water – it may be warm, bring something to drink, preferably in a refillable container

What to expect at Maker Faire?

I seriously can’t even begin to describe what all you will see at the Maker Faire. Big mechanical dragons spitting flames, little Android robots, R2-D2 robots, steam punk hipsters, the Rally Fighter open source car, Wooden Bicycles, Rocks as big as a car that you can move,

Here are two videos from last year’s Maker Faire

and a time lapse of my day (at least most of it)

Holy Cow! If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area and don’t have plans tomorrow, or if you do have plans, cancel them. You need to get the Maker Faire at the San Mateo County Event Center. Check out www.makerfaire.com for more info! I went this morning, and I am going to go again tomorrow, this time taking the family with me. This morning I headed over with my GoPro camera attached to my head, with the intention of time lapsing the day. I stuck it to the top of a trusty Boston Red Sox hat, which I hoped would last.