SERVO 07.2016 29
seems like a minor issue, but when you
put your bot in the arena and nothing
happens, having a simple light is a
great troubleshooting tool. Also, the
nicer ESCs have auto-calibration
features, which are about the coolest
feature ever if you are running two
bots on one transmitter. Which leads
to our last component ...
Never ever skimp on your
transmitter. A crappy transmitter is just
that — crappy. Radio interference is a
terrible problem to have. Your
transmitter is also likely to never need
replacing. I still have a radio that I
bought 14 years ago. I don’t use it
much any more because 2. 4 GHz came
out and rendered it practically useless,
but now there are kits to upgrade old
radios from 75 MHz to 2. 4 GHz. This
radio is actually nice enough to justify
that minor cost and effort. Also, the
cost difference between a cheap radio
and nice radio is not very much.
Regardless of what radio you pick,
the feature I personally feel is the most
important is model memory. I run
multiple bots at most events, and the
ability to set the radio specifically for
each bot is a plus.
It’s also a feature I don’t have on
my current radio and I fight it every
single event. (As an aside, the very
next thing I buy will be a new radio.)
Well, that concludes my highly
scientific/highly subjective review of
where to spend your money on
combat robotics. I can hear you
shouting at the magazine that I didn’t
cover frames or weapon assemblies.
That’s because I can’t. Each bot is
different and you really need to choose
materials based on what you need.
I prefer making my robots as
cheaply as possible, so I use mild steel,
cheap aluminum, or UHMW. Some
people are looking for a more polished
bot, so they may use titanium, aircraft
grade aluminum, high grade steel, or
magnesium. What you use depends on
how much money you have left and
the bot design you’re going for.
Remember: Spend wisely and get
spares. SV 1 888 GO 4 KITS
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