Vintage robotics!
Lonnie found a cart of vintage robot arms at his town's antique district and bought the lot for $275 to flip for profit. He documents the haul, two Microbot Teachmovers, a Scorbot ER-III and a Rhino XR, and the quick repairs and motor tests he used to evaluate them. Read for practical restoration notes, value estimates, and what to check before buying vintage robotic hardware.
How to Arduino - a video toolbox
I've begun producing a new series of video tutorials for the hobbyist new to the Arduino or microcontrollers in general. My videos are very pragmatic - I prefer to answer the question "what is the quickest, simplest and most affordable way to accomplish this?". The videos are meant to be a quick source of "how to" knowledge for the hobbyist that is using an LCD display, ultrasonic sensor or accelerometer for the first time, for example. I hope you enjoy this series of...
Energia - program a TI MSP430 using Arduino sketches
Energia brings Arduino simplicity to TI's MSP430, turning a fiddly toolchain into a sketch-based workflow you already know. Lonnie Honeycutt walks through why the Launchpad is a great low-cost dev option, outlines supported MSP430 families and caveats like 3.3 volt I/O, and shows a Halloween LED jack-o-lantern sketch to prove how quickly you can get blinking LEDs.
Embedded Systems - free EdX course by UT-Austin!
Lonnie shares a free edX Embedded Systems course from UT Austin that teaches hands-on firmware using the TI Tiva Launchpad. The class centers on practical projects, culminating in an arcade-style shooter built with an 80 MHz ARM Cortex-M4 board and inexpensive peripherals like the Nokia 5110 display. It’s a low-cost path to move from hobby tools to industry-style microcontroller development.
Arduino robotics #4 - HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor
Lonnie Honeycutt shows how to turn a $50 mobile platform into a simple autonomous robot by adding an HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor to an Arduino. The post walks through wiring, a minimal test sketch and the integration code used on Clusterbot, plus practical tips on range limits, motor choices and library options to make obstacle avoidance reliable for hobby builds.
Arduino robotics #3 - wiring, coding and a test run
Lonnie Honeycutt walks through wiring, coding, and the first test run of Clusterbot, a budget Arduino robot build costing about $50. The post provides a clear pin-mapping to the TB6612FNG motor driver, ready-to-upload Arduino movement functions, and practical tips like tinning thin battery wires. You also get PWM calibration values and the measured RPM timing the author used to make reliable turns.
Arduino robotics #2 - chassis, locomotion and power
Lonnie Honeycutt walks through building Clusterbot's round differential-drive chassis, showing how a circular base and Tamiya gearbox simplify turning and torque tradeoffs. The post covers motor selection, wheel fit, balance issues, and a practical two-battery power arrangement with VMOT for the motors and a separate 9V for the Arduino. Expect hands-on tips and lessons learned from a first-time robot build.
Arduino robotics #1 - motor control
Clusterbot is Lonnie Honeycutt's first autonomous robot, built on a tight budget to teach practical motor control. This post explains why you cannot drive motors directly from an Arduino, how to wire and enable the Toshiba TB6612FNG motor driver, and offers hands-on PWM and calibration tips for getting smooth motion from cheap Mabuchi FA-130 toy motors.
Energia - program a TI MSP430 using Arduino sketches
Energia brings Arduino simplicity to TI's MSP430, turning a fiddly toolchain into a sketch-based workflow you already know. Lonnie Honeycutt walks through why the Launchpad is a great low-cost dev option, outlines supported MSP430 families and caveats like 3.3 volt I/O, and shows a Halloween LED jack-o-lantern sketch to prove how quickly you can get blinking LEDs.
Arduino robotics #4 - HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor
Lonnie Honeycutt shows how to turn a $50 mobile platform into a simple autonomous robot by adding an HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor to an Arduino. The post walks through wiring, a minimal test sketch and the integration code used on Clusterbot, plus practical tips on range limits, motor choices and library options to make obstacle avoidance reliable for hobby builds.
Arduino robotics #1 - motor control
Clusterbot is Lonnie Honeycutt's first autonomous robot, built on a tight budget to teach practical motor control. This post explains why you cannot drive motors directly from an Arduino, how to wire and enable the Toshiba TB6612FNG motor driver, and offers hands-on PWM and calibration tips for getting smooth motion from cheap Mabuchi FA-130 toy motors.
Arduino robotics #2 - chassis, locomotion and power
Lonnie Honeycutt walks through building Clusterbot's round differential-drive chassis, showing how a circular base and Tamiya gearbox simplify turning and torque tradeoffs. The post covers motor selection, wheel fit, balance issues, and a practical two-battery power arrangement with VMOT for the motors and a separate 9V for the Arduino. Expect hands-on tips and lessons learned from a first-time robot build.
Embedded Systems - free EdX course by UT-Austin!
Lonnie shares a free edX Embedded Systems course from UT Austin that teaches hands-on firmware using the TI Tiva Launchpad. The class centers on practical projects, culminating in an arcade-style shooter built with an 80 MHz ARM Cortex-M4 board and inexpensive peripherals like the Nokia 5110 display. It’s a low-cost path to move from hobby tools to industry-style microcontroller development.
Arduino robotics #3 - wiring, coding and a test run
Lonnie Honeycutt walks through wiring, coding, and the first test run of Clusterbot, a budget Arduino robot build costing about $50. The post provides a clear pin-mapping to the TB6612FNG motor driver, ready-to-upload Arduino movement functions, and practical tips like tinning thin battery wires. You also get PWM calibration values and the measured RPM timing the author used to make reliable turns.
Vintage robotics!
Lonnie found a cart of vintage robot arms at his town's antique district and bought the lot for $275 to flip for profit. He documents the haul, two Microbot Teachmovers, a Scorbot ER-III and a Rhino XR, and the quick repairs and motor tests he used to evaluate them. Read for practical restoration notes, value estimates, and what to check before buying vintage robotic hardware.
How to Arduino - a video toolbox
I've begun producing a new series of video tutorials for the hobbyist new to the Arduino or microcontrollers in general. My videos are very pragmatic - I prefer to answer the question "what is the quickest, simplest and most affordable way to accomplish this?". The videos are meant to be a quick source of "how to" knowledge for the hobbyist that is using an LCD display, ultrasonic sensor or accelerometer for the first time, for example. I hope you enjoy this series of...
Arduino robotics #1 - motor control
Clusterbot is Lonnie Honeycutt's first autonomous robot, built on a tight budget to teach practical motor control. This post explains why you cannot drive motors directly from an Arduino, how to wire and enable the Toshiba TB6612FNG motor driver, and offers hands-on PWM and calibration tips for getting smooth motion from cheap Mabuchi FA-130 toy motors.
Arduino robotics #4 - HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor
Lonnie Honeycutt shows how to turn a $50 mobile platform into a simple autonomous robot by adding an HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor to an Arduino. The post walks through wiring, a minimal test sketch and the integration code used on Clusterbot, plus practical tips on range limits, motor choices and library options to make obstacle avoidance reliable for hobby builds.
Energia - program a TI MSP430 using Arduino sketches
Energia brings Arduino simplicity to TI's MSP430, turning a fiddly toolchain into a sketch-based workflow you already know. Lonnie Honeycutt walks through why the Launchpad is a great low-cost dev option, outlines supported MSP430 families and caveats like 3.3 volt I/O, and shows a Halloween LED jack-o-lantern sketch to prove how quickly you can get blinking LEDs.
How to Arduino - a video toolbox
I've begun producing a new series of video tutorials for the hobbyist new to the Arduino or microcontrollers in general. My videos are very pragmatic - I prefer to answer the question "what is the quickest, simplest and most affordable way to accomplish this?". The videos are meant to be a quick source of "how to" knowledge for the hobbyist that is using an LCD display, ultrasonic sensor or accelerometer for the first time, for example. I hope you enjoy this series of...
Arduino robotics #2 - chassis, locomotion and power
Lonnie Honeycutt walks through building Clusterbot's round differential-drive chassis, showing how a circular base and Tamiya gearbox simplify turning and torque tradeoffs. The post covers motor selection, wheel fit, balance issues, and a practical two-battery power arrangement with VMOT for the motors and a separate 9V for the Arduino. Expect hands-on tips and lessons learned from a first-time robot build.
Arduino robotics #3 - wiring, coding and a test run
Lonnie Honeycutt walks through wiring, coding, and the first test run of Clusterbot, a budget Arduino robot build costing about $50. The post provides a clear pin-mapping to the TB6612FNG motor driver, ready-to-upload Arduino movement functions, and practical tips like tinning thin battery wires. You also get PWM calibration values and the measured RPM timing the author used to make reliable turns.
Embedded Systems - free EdX course by UT-Austin!
Lonnie shares a free edX Embedded Systems course from UT Austin that teaches hands-on firmware using the TI Tiva Launchpad. The class centers on practical projects, culminating in an arcade-style shooter built with an 80 MHz ARM Cortex-M4 board and inexpensive peripherals like the Nokia 5110 display. It’s a low-cost path to move from hobby tools to industry-style microcontroller development.
Vintage robotics!
Lonnie found a cart of vintage robot arms at his town's antique district and bought the lot for $275 to flip for profit. He documents the haul, two Microbot Teachmovers, a Scorbot ER-III and a Rhino XR, and the quick repairs and motor tests he used to evaluate them. Read for practical restoration notes, value estimates, and what to check before buying vintage robotic hardware.
