Same old question...

[Noobius]

Would you buy the same robot twice?

I am interested to know which of you existing owners would buy something different the second time around...

I am also interested to know which of you wouldnt.

I am going to buy a kit in the next month or so. Currently aiming at a bioloid I think.

I have considered second-hand buying too as they seem to come up from time to time.

If anyone has experience they would kindly pass on to an old noob that might help with my entry to the hobby I would appreciate it.

[JavaRN]

I have bought two bioloid comprehensive kits and a robonova in three years of hoby robotics. Recently I've been working more with the bioloid kits and I prefer bioloid, though I found that starting with a robonova kit (like I did) is a good idea.

[i-Bot]

I have a RoboNova, A Robobuilder and a Bioloid, and don't regret the purchase of any of them.
If you can find one of these or a Kondo second hand at a good price, then you should be happy.
If I was buying new today, I would buy either a Bioloid Premium as first choice or KHR3 as second choice in my price range. Both of these suppliers have proven there long term commitment and support. Though Kondo is not always in English.

[Noobius]

Thanks for the replies JavaRN and i-Bot...very reassuring about the bioloid

There were a couple of recent ebay offerings (a KHR 2HV and a MANOI AT01) but I am sick of buying other peoples junk off there to be honest.

Thats a big drawback with second-hand gear, especially specialist stuff like this. One or two badly treated servos and you have not saved a penny and you have no manufacturers guarantee or support either.

A couple more dodgy connections and you have a worthless pile of [stuff] and no saving at all - insert your own descriptive word in the brackets - I'm a new member and I dont know the mods tolerance for telling it like it is

The ebay offerings werent significantly cheaper than buying new and they are 3 - 4 year old kit too...caveat emptor and all that I suppose.

I think the Bioloid has my attention so far. I would like the premium but dont have two 900 quids to rub together at the moment so I am tempted to go for one of the cheaper kits...

[siempre.aprendiendo]

IMHO I think that there is no save buying an used robot, too many "mechanical frictions". Buy anyway, I think that the main question is:

what do you want to do with it?

- If you only want to create humanoid motion sequences or humanoid combats, there are more that 8 different options and prices, including bioloid, robobuilder, kondo,...

I will go for the cheapest one and if after several months (8,16,..) you still find it funny (not me, and I have saw some people get bored of it) then you will have enough knowledge to buy the best for you.

if you want not only an humanoid but to create anything your imagination and skills could build, then there are two options (at least I can't remember any other at this moment)

- robobuilder
- bioloid

I think both are great kits, but I only have Bioloid (comprehensive, since 2007, + premium upgrade since several mnths) and I love it a lot.

Premium or comprehesinve?

Again, IMHO, I will go for comprehensive. You will have fun for a lot of months. Probably you will want more free hours than you have

Whenever you want you could buy the extra parts to upgrade it (in a kit or loose).

By the way I think the upgrade is a must, now with all the extra parts I can build some creations than before were diffcult or impossible.

[Noobius]

Gracias for your reply siempre.aprendiendo, I will take on board what you are saying about the comprehensive kit and get used to that before an upgrade to premium.

I am interested in programming, autonomy, AI and those kinds of things. I'm not so much interested in a dancing toy nor combat-based entertainment.

A person writing a thread regarding the RoBoard has also caught my imagination since joining the forums here at robosavvy. You guys may find it hard to beleive but I didnt know you could buy these until very recently and I am trying to cover a lot of ground in a short space of time.

The KHR1 with RoBoard might be an option, of course the KHR 3 looks great but the RoBoard and programming directly to the controller is very appealing to me - although I am a bit spooked by the japanese-only aspect of Kondo kit generally speaking. Thats why the Bioloid has been the favourite so far...

[UncleBob]

To be honest, I will buy something different unless the alternative is much much worse.

[Noobius]

Im not sure what you mean UncleBob. Do you mean you would buy something different to the Bioloid? Or are you advising against second-hand stuff? Or against the KHR?

Please explain in a little more detail... I have read some of your other posts so I know you are talking from experience.