More Rover 5 building

Got some new parts today from Robonor: (ty for quick shipping!)

* 9V to barrel adapters
* Breadboard buttons
* 10 and 50mm standoffs
* Breadboard cables
* Breadboard

Now I can mount both my Uno and Mega with separate breadboards on the Rover 5, and power them both from 9V, as well as having the built-in separate battery pack for the Rover. With two breadboards, I can now add more buttons and sensors too :)

The previous version of my Rover OS used a potmeter for menu selection, so this will make it a lot easier.

Now I just need to wait for some supplies from Robosavvy in the UK....

1 x IR compound eye 

1 x Dagu - 4 Channel DC Motor Controller with Encoder Support 

2 x SparkFun - Optical Detector / Phototransistor - QRD1114

....which should be here in around 2 weeks or so :) Then the Rover will actually be able to run!

Mean while, I have a ton of literally screwing around to do to get the optimal design and layout.

More Rover 5 progress

As you can see, short stand-offs are too small to mount the servo in the hole.

This is as far down as possible with battery mounted

So while there are still nothing moving here, I'm working on a little OS to control the rover. It will be a breadboard button system:

Here the two buttons are essentially a
2-button keyboard for my Rover 5 OS

Menu selection using a potmeter!

OS screenshot

Clicking button 1 will activate temperature readouts to the LCD
Clicking button 2 works as a 'back' button

Pre-broken pushbutton from the Sparkfun Inventors Kit.
I still managed to get it working with some creative wiring :/

Here's the setup so far. It's basically half the SIK projects on the
same breadboard, all rolled into one 7K 'OS'

As you can see, that is all on an Uno, using all digital PWR but #7. So I just moved the project over to my new Android Mega ADK board, and it worked just the same. Both the Uno and the Mega will run the Rover eventually.

Working with Rover 5 and the top plate

Helping hand is configured as low as possible...

...low enough to keep a card in position over a 10 standoff

Tape over reserved holes, these are for mounting on the Rover

Now basically just move and twist whatever you want to mount and
have something that shines from behind so the holes will light up.
Tape will cover holes you can't use! 

So here's a motor controller, an Uno,a Mega and the whole baseblate + breadboard
mounted on a Rover 5