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manual abstract
The right hand hole is positive; WEB1• 12 the red wire goes here. Now tape the battery pack to the top of the board using the double-sided foam tape provided. WEB1• 13 SETUP AND TESTING If you would like, you can go ahead and put the batteries in their holders and flip on the switch. The little flashing LEDs should blink, and at least one of the motors should be buzzing away. At this point you can bend the flashing LEDs in a way that you think is cute. I bent mine kind of off to the side, so they look like eyeball stalks or something. It is possible that you have skillz and your WEB1 will not need any adjustment. Go ahead and place it on a hard smooth surface like a wooden desktop. It’s best that it is not completely smooth like glass; the wire feet need a little texture to push against. If it zooms straight ahead, then all three runners are perfectly adjusted and nothing else is necessary. But, more likely it turns in a circle or just buzzes. In this case, the adjustment procedure is necessary. ADJUSTMENT PROCEDURE 1. Forward motion adjust: A. If the bug does not move forward at all, bend the back runner to make it a little more straight or a little more angled. When you get the angle right, your bug will move. B. Once the bug moves forward you can make it move straight by tweaking the side runners. They should be roughly straight about the same height, so that the bug isn’t leaning to one side. If the bug veers to one side, try twisting the back runner a bit in either direction. It kind of acts like a rudder on a boat. IF you still can’t get the bug to go straight, you may have to bend the side runners a little differently. Try making one a little taller than the other, or change the shape a bit. Don’t be discouraged if your bug isn’t perfect right away. Some adjustment is normal. C. The last adjustment you can make is the motor speed adjust R2. It will make your bug go faster or slower. It’s also useful because usually the bug performs differently on different types of surfaces. It’s best to adjust the speed to get the results you like for whatever surface you’re running on. WEB1• 14 2. Steering adjust: A. The first step in adjusting the steering is to get the steering motor, (the one that’s mounted at an angle) to come on when the bug approaches an obstacle, or when someone shines a flashlight at it. The first thing is to bend the Infrared phototransistor Q2, and Infrared LED D3 as shown in the picture. Bend them down and inward towards each other so they kind of look like the bug’s mandibles or something, ha ha. These two components are how the WEB1 detects an object. The infrared LED emits infrared light, and the infrared phototransistor detects infrared light. Hmm, how could these two be used as an obstacle detector? Well, normally the LED is shining out into the room and Q2 is off. When the bug gets close to a wall (important note: not a BLACK wall), some of the infrared light from the LED bounces off of the obstacle and hits Q2. Then Q2 turns on, and the angled motor turns on and makes the bug turn. A black or very dark obstacle may not cause the bug to turn because it absorbs the infrared light instead of reflecting it. B. The next step is to bring your hand or other everyday object near the front of the bug when it is switched on. What should happen is that the turning motor (the angled one) should come on when the object gets close. If it’s on already, that means that Q2 and D3 are too close. Just move them apart a little. If the turning motor is on no matter what you do, THEN ALL IS LOST!!!!!!!!!! Well, actually no, just turn down the sensitivity (adjust R5 counterclockwise). Then adjust the distance between Q2 and D3 until the motor turns on only when an obstacle is in front of the WEB1. An important note here is that adjusting the sensitivity will be more critical if there is bright incandescent light or a lot of sunlight at your location. This is because they give off infrared light that Q2 picks up. Fluorescent lights give off very little if any infrared light and hardly affect the WEB1 at all. Further, a HeNe laser doesn’t give off any infrared light, so if your school or home is lit with laser light you’re all set! WEB1• 15 Q2 D3 Top of Board TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE If your WEB1 isn’t working correctly just refer to the steps below: Problem No blinking, no buzzing Motor buzzes, but bug just sits there or drifts Bug keeps turning even though only one motor is on. Both motors are always on Solution Check parts placement, specifically U1 and transistor orientation. Readjust wire runners, especially the back one. See page 14. Readjust the side runners. See page 13. Turn R5 counter-clockwise and/or move Q2 and D3 farther apart. WEB1• 16 Bug moves forward, turning motor Some tweaking of the side runners comes on at obstacle, but bug does is needed. Adjust R2 up and down. not turn Try a different surface Bug jumps up and attacks Unforeseen emergent property. Call tech support immediately! WEB1• 17...