First User Experience... Not having fun!!! RN-1

[DirtyRoboto]

Do you know if the power switch was in the On or Off position in its unpacked state. The bot may have been left on trying to draw power since its assembly. In this case the cells could be damaged.
Have you tried discharging via the PSU and then a recharge?

[Robo1]

Hi

Have you tied with a power supply unit or another battery. Least this will rule out the battery.

with the servo's unplugged can you connect to the board and download any code! so that you can see if the boards broken then try controlling one servo.

Bren

[DirtyRoboto]

I would not consider pre-assembled as brand new as I dont know what level of skill or passion the person making it has or what mistakes they may have made.
On a RTW kit I would require a sign off from the builder and at least expected them to zero it and make sure it can perform the basic template and state that this has been done, seen and this is so.

I would return it and insist that my original order be completed as the main reason I ordered it was to build it. Point out that they have spoiled some of your enjoyment by sending a RTW model and a faulty one at that.

[i-Bot]

Hi Paul, First welcome. I think your going eventually enjoy the RoboNova and this forum.

I have to agree with Dirty, that you should ship it back and get the kit. You miss a great experience if you don't build it yourself. In fact I found the turning on to be the low point of my RN experience. The building was great, switching on a sort of stumbling anticlimax, then it just got better and better as I learnt more.

Don't waste this week, all the manuals and software are downloadable.

Take some photos of the dressing of the servo wires on your RTW, especially inside the back, where it is tight. Think how you might do better to ensure no wires get trapped or cut. Look at this forum to see how spiral or braid has been used to protect the servo wires. Get some sleeving over the next week. Get your threadlock or nail varnish ( varnish your nails to avoid chewing while waiting) Get an electric screwdriver, or work out your manual action.

Load up the software. Look at the robobasic programs, and the new versions mentioned in this forum and on the web sites. Read this forum.

We may be here next week end with the other problems, but that is robotics !

[Robo1]

I would agree with i-bot.

If you don't put it together screw by screw I don't think it will give the same amount of love for the bot. Saying this as I've taken by bot apart so many times it might not matter.

Bren

[Bullit]

Paul, welcome to forums and your new passion. I must say I agree completely with i-bot. You should return your RN-1 and get the kit that you wanted. Robotics can be very frustrating at times but from reading your comments above I can see that you are used to concurring adversity. Tenacity is what makes a good programmer and a great roboticist. Robotics spans so many disciplines that in universities and industry the work is largely divided amongst different groups but the true roboticist must master them all. Be patient, study hard and above all communicate with others and the rewards will be well worth the efforts.

Cheers

[limor]

At RoboSavvy we haven't stocked the RTW RN1 because it is basically a contradiction to what this hobby is all about. (Unless ofcourse someone plans to create a small army of robots and would rather pay someone to build them.)
It also may put a false sense of security into the buyer's mind that the RTW is as stable and reliable as a household appliance whereas the reality is that one constantly has to re-enforce the screws and add new sensors, software, LiPo boots and other "stuff" which keeps the hobby exciting.

[Humanoido]

Errors always happen in this world
and even appliances can be faulty
directly out of the box - and these
can have a lot fewer parts and very
little sophistication. A humanoid is
a quantum leap above with its
complexity and many things can go
wrong. I really don't know why this
one didn't work. It would be nice if
Hitec would put on some kind of
factory seal, to know if there was
any tampering with the product.
I agree, immediately return it for a
replacement. It should be within the
MBG money back guarantee period
and there's no need to mess with
trying to repair it yourself. Once you
do finally get it working, it will all
be worthwhile as this humanoid is
amazing and off the scale in what it
can do, and the potential for expansion
and programming is simply mind blowing!
We have only touched the surface with
our Robonovas and a lot more is soon
to come.

humanoido

[DirtyRoboto]

If you are returning it then dont try to fix it anymore! Also write off this problem as a nothing as this will not be your final bot and you will worry about it for no reason.
Pack your up bot and wrap him up and forget this experience. Wait for your true bot to come.

With my bot I managed to damage one servo on assembly but apart from that I had no real problems and I have been quite rough with my controller board.

[Humanoido]

I agree with DirtyRoboto. Stop working on it and return it immediately so no one can accuse you of doing something to it that voids the warranty. My RN had some kit parts missing and a bad charger. I managed to survive, waiting for replacements. Hitec was very helpful and prompt in resolving the situation.


humanoido

[i-Bot]

First I agree, don't try to fix it, just send it back !

However I know you and the rest of us want to know what is going wrong.

What does the label on the CPU of the controller read (Version, date) ?

You are also right , this is similar to other posts here which had problems at epoch.

I am wondering if you tried to download a program to the C3024, when you were having the initial power problems ?

If Robobasic finds that your C3024 has version 2.3 firmware, it will update it to 2.5. Not a good idea if the power is bad.

The CPU has the watchdog enabled, so if the downloaded code is corrupt, then this may make the continued reset. We could fix, this, but no point, send it back.

I would suggest when you get your new RN and controller, you check the power and charging with the C3024 off the RN with nothing connected except the charger and battery. Disconnect the charger and connect the serial cable, power on. Connect through Robobasic, do a controller info. if it is 2.5 it will not do a firmware update. If it is 2.3 , the first time you download a program it will update the firmware in flash. This is all hidden, so just give it time,and don't interrupt power.

This is just my thoughts on what may have happened.

Don't be alarmed by all this. I have spent a lot of time with the Hitec software (inside and outside), and though it may be frustrating at times, I consider it to be of high quality. Also Hitec and the distributors are providing good support and getting better. They fix their problems. So I only offer this since we like to know WHY!

[Voelker]

I am experiencing exactly the same problem with my RN1 and i have trouble to get support from Hitec. They wan't to try solve thing the software way, but as i can't connect the bot to my pc, there is no way to solve my problem by this way. I have asked for a replacement, but i have still have no answer ...
I hope that i had no luck with my RN1 and that things will be better soon.

[DirtyRoboto]

I would like to see something like this...

Assembled by. John Smith on 10-10-2007

Build issues.
some small scratches to servo housing due to tool slippage on servo 3

Tests done.
Power up and battery - Pass
Serial connection to PC - Pass
Remcon - Pass
Zero of position - Done
Servo no 1 - Pass
Servo no 2 ......
......
Servo no 16 Pass
LED - Pass

Moves
move 1 - Pass
move 2 - Pass
move............
.........
move 20 - Pass

All tests passed. Battery disconected.

Packaged by Peter Smith 11-10-2007

[Droid Works]

What I noticed about the RTW:

The servo wires had styro residue on the leads, as if at some point, either the servos, or the bot, were in a styro box for a while.

The cable bundling job didn't look too terribly bad, though when in squat, he could have ended up severing his cables at the first bend above the foot eventually.

The leads under the back cover were pretty much "smashed" into place. But, there isn't much room with the height of the plugs.

I noticed at least two of the servos had "clicking" points when manually moved and power off. Really slight, like a "tick" sound... Other servos didn't do this. Based on the marks in the box, he was surely tossed around a bit (big brown gorilla - UPS - probably tossed the box more than a few times).

The RTW arrived in the carrying bag. The bot was in a cardboard "flip top" box that didn't do much to keep him from shifting around inside. I would've expected something more substantial, something that would've totally imobilized him, like the familiar precision molded styro cases you have to practically break to get things out of.

I could tell he moved around a good bit in the box, as impressions of his hands were noticeable on the bottom of the box.

His head remote sensor scraped up the inside of the box pretty well, so much so as to leave "cardboard box" dust on his head and shoulders (dandruff?). It wore a groove in the top of the box in shipping.

Sounds to me like UPS wrecked your bot. And as far as receiving a RTW RN1, So what..lol Just take it appart.

[Voelker]

I have finnaly ordered a new controller as i had lost my robonova receipt. The new controler is running well but i slightly different as it seem to be a kind of rearmable fuse on the board. So i own a bricked controller that i am gonna try to hack by changing the atmega.