Axlon Andy On a Breadboard

[puppetmark]

I took some time and hooked up the Axlon Andy Circuit on a breadboard. I used the schematic, data sheets, and a lot of trial and error, but I got it working, so I thought I would share the results. It was really a thrill to hear and see him come alive! It's really an ingenious design. 3 CMOS gates, three transistors, and a 10 transistor motor driver. Very inexpensive parts.

 

The circuit I build is exactly from the schematic except for a couple of resistor values I had to change to get the sensors working. I have no idea what values were used in the original Andy (I do not own one) so I had to adjust for what I had available. The sound sensor is still actually a bit too sensitive, but I am still working on that. Also, I replaced the motor driver section with a SN754410 motor driver chip which saved me ten transistors! It will also allow a smaller and more efficient Andy to be build.

 

Here are some pics of the circuit:

 

 

 

Here's the video of Andy in action:

 

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Edited September 28, 2015 by puppetmark

[AtariGeezer]

Cool, do you have a parts list?

[puppetmark]

Sure:

 

Semiconductors:

---------------------------

CD4069 Hex inverter

CD4013 D type Flip Flop

CD4028 BCD to Decimal Decoder

SN754410 Motor Driver

3 each - 2n3904 Transistor

8 each - IN914 or IN4148 Diodes

 

Resistors - all 1/4 watt

----------------------------

9.1M

1M

51K

2 each - 3K

22K

6.8K

5 each - 10K

4 each - 1K

100 ohm

10K Pot

2 each - Red LED 3mm or 5mm

 

Capacitors

------------------

7 each - .1uf ceramic (three for the circuit and four to be soldered to motor cases to suppress motor noise)

 

Sensors & Motors

---------------------------

 

1 Electret mic element 1-2.2K impedance such as digikey 102-1720-ND

1 CDS photocell - looking for something like 10-20K dark, to 1-3K light such as digikey PDV-P8001-ND (the one I have on hand wasn't quite right so I added a 10k potentiometer to add some resistance)

8 ohm Speaker

NC push button switch for the bump detector.

2 each - 6v Brush type DC gear motors. The SN754410 can handle 2A for a short while if the motors stall, and continuously 1A, so choose motors carefully.

 

Other

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9 pin cable to connect to Atari - need all 9 pins, so a Joystick cable will not work. It has to be fully wired such as an extension cable

Edited September 29, 2015 by puppetmark

[TheNameOfTheGame]

Nice work!

[Bill Lange]

This is really cool. Nice job.

[puppetmark]

Nice work!

 

 

This is really cool. Nice job.

 

Thanks. I always wanted an Axlon Andy ever since I saw it in an Antic magazine back in '85. I wasn't able to get one then, and now when I see them on e-bay they go too high a price for me, so I decided to build my own. I knew from my initial research that the electronics were pretty simple. The electronic and mechanical parts are probably under $50.00.

 

I know Andy's functionality is pretty limited, but I think he is fun and there is real potential as educational tool to get kids excited about robots and programming.

Edited September 29, 2015 by puppetmark

[Bill Lange]

Last year or so, I backed a One Robot Per Child Kickstarter. Maybe you can put your Make into a similar 3-D printed body.

[puppetmark]

Last year or so, I backed a One Robot Per Child Kickstarter. Maybe you can put your Make into a similar 3-D printed body.

 

Interesting idea. My first thought is to put the board onto something like the 5" robot chassis that Pololu sells. It would make it much easier for others to build one if they wanted too:

 

https://www.pololu.com/product/1500

 

 

But It would really be cool to give him the "Axlon" or "androbot" Look.