|
If you plan on building any kind of
weather related project this a great book to have. The main
down side of this book is that the examples are all in Java. A
more popular platform such as VB or even C# would have been more
helpful. Even so you can still dig out the formulas needed for
your own code. Pro's
Many of the needed weather
formulas such as Due Point can be found if you dig into the source
code.
Con's
- All the code examples are
in Java
- You must install a great
deal of bits and pieces to get any of the examples working.
- Good constructions tips.
I rate this Book 4 out of
5.
|
|
|
If
you are going to build any kind of Sumo Bot this book is for you.
Includes information on building your own Sumo ring and
design specifications for all Sumo Classes. Even if you are
just build a bot for fun this book is loaded with lots of
information. Pro's
Lots of information is
covered.
Con's
- Little about a lot.
- This book does not give you
construction techniques.
I rate this Book 5 out of
5. This is a must have book
|
|
|
So
far this book gives the most information I have seen about providing
movement to your bot. Every thing from motor controller types
and gearing is covered.
It talks about tracked systems
with there advantages and disadvantages as well as other forms of
locomotion.
Hbridge circuits for building
your own motor controllers as well as information on many other
pre-built controllers. Information about which RC speed
controller to use for robotics is also provided.
I rate this book 4 out of
5 |
|
This should be
the staple for any one wanting to build small robots. It
covers the small servo and toy based bot as well as some hobby based
bots.
There is a good mix of
information ranging from your choices in motor controllers
to information on servos and stepper motors. And while you
wont learn every thing you need from this book it will get you
started. As a matter of fact this book and good search
engine should get you more robot building links than you can
handle.
The book highlights some of
the high level languages need to program these small wonders.
Pro's
Excellent information on
motors and sensors.
Con's
While I found the project
information useful it seemed almost impossible to source the exact
parts needed to build the projects shown. However the
information may aid you in your own projects.
I rate this book 4 out
of 5 |
|
|
If
you are new to building bots then books for you. With very
basic electronic startup information this book perfect for
beginners. The bot project is made out of a sandwich container
and the parts are easily obtainable. You are even shown how to
make a line follower which works pretty darn well. Originally
I was going to rate this book at 3 but for beginner its lots more
useful. Pro's
Good for beginners.
Nice beginner bot. Good startup information.
Con's
If you are a beginner there
really aren't any cons. If you aren't a beginner you
wont be happy with this book.
I rate this at 4 out of 5
|
|
|
If
you ever wanted to try muscle wires this book is a good start.
It comes with some muscle wire so you can start doing experiments.
While its good for experiments I feel that muscle wires (or what
ever name they want to give them) just don't make affective Robots.
Pro's
Lot of good information on
muscle wires. Wire is included along with small parts to build
tethered walker.
Con's
Other than experiments just
not that affective as bots. While this is more of a gripe
against muscle wire than the book it still is a deciding factor for
many who may want to purchase this book.
I rate this 4 out of 5
|
| STIQUITO advanced
experiments by James M
Conrad and Jonathan W Mills
|
If
you purchased the first book you dont need this book. Its just
more of the same.
Pro's
Little better design of the
tethered bot but still the concept is the same.
Con's
Expensive and it is basically
the same as the first book.
I rate this book 1 out of
5 |
|
|
The
name of this book should have been programming PIC controllers.
If you already own a book on PIC programming this book wont be of
much use to you. If you don't, one of Mike Predko's other
books will be of more use to you. While the book does delve
just a bit into some of the robot sensors there is only enough there
to wet your appetite. Pro's
If you don't own one of Mikes
books and are collecting the Robot DNA series books then add this
one to your collection.
There are some good sensor
Ideas in this book.
Con's
Just enough information to
wet your appetite but seems to leave you wanting more.
Quite frankly much of the sensor information can be found on the
web.
I rate this 3 out of 5
|
|
Build Your Own Robot Kit by
Mike Predko and Ben Wirz
|
At
first glance you may think this is a book and a kit when you see it
on the web or in the book store. However what you will find is
a hand full of parts a remote control and a CD rom.
The kit is already 90%
assembled. You will be adding the mechanical parts. I
found this to be fairly easy and am sure a high school student could
also do this with out any problems.
The major problem the kit
suffers from is cheap drive train.
Also there is no programmable
microcontroller. You must purchase this separately.
Pro's
Con's
- Programmable
microcontroller is not included.
- Wheels too small.
They don't hold up with repeated use.
- Front is nothing more than
a nylon bolt.
If you must purchase a
packaged kit of this nature check out the Sumo Bot kit below.
I rate this 1 out of 5
|
|
|
This is the second attempt for Tab Books and the authors to create a
mass produced packaged robot kit. I have to say its far
superior to the Build Your Own Robot Kit reviewed above.
The kit is very solid and is
made from stamped steel. The bot should hold up well in an
educational environment but exposed electronics weak drive train
could cause problems in a real sumo competition.
The kit includes the basic
stamp2. But don't get your hopes up. It actually a
imbedded chip set on the main PCB. You wont be able to remove
the stamp and upgrades will be difficult. Also if you blow the
chip the bot is shot.
Pro's
- Goes together very well.
- Inexpensive
- Good basic Bot learning
tool
- Makes a good Father/Son
learning project
- A much better bargain than
the Boe or Grow bots on the market.
Con's
- Not good for competition
- Bot is too large for mini
sumo class and too small for other class's
- No way to upgrade as basic
stamp is a hard wired chip set.
- Docs are on CD.
I rate this 3 out of 5
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
This book is
aimed at the beginner and as well suited for any one wanting to
get started in PIC programming. It gets into some entry
level assembly programming.
Pro's
Probably the best entry
level book on PIC programming.
Con's
Pretty much only covers the
16F84 chip However still applies.
The MPLAB setup section is
outdated and does not follow the current version.
No disk available
Downloaded code from
Square1 web site does not have comments and does not match that
which is in the book.
I rate this book 4 out
of 5 |
|
While this is
supposed to be the next step in pic programming I feel it falls
short. Almost half the book is dedicated to connecting an
LCD to a 16F84. Many of the topics that the author eluded
to in the First book (Easy PIC'n) is not covered in this
book. As a matter of fact there is a section on arithmetic
that contains addition, subtraction and multiplication but no
division.
Con's
Too much time is devoted to
LCD interface. I have yet to get the routines to work
reliably.
Pro's
If you are looking for some
help on LCD theory then you might want to consider this book.
I rate this book 2 out
of 5 |
|
I think this is
the worst of the three by David Benson. Again touches on the
LCD again.
Pro's
None
Con's
Found it very difficult to
port the code in this book to other processors like a 20Mhz 16f628
or 16f876.
I rate this book 1 out
of 5 |
|
I purchased this
book to help in developing a new interpreter chip that I will be coming
out with soon. However I could not get any of the routines
to work on any of my target chips. Even with weeks of tweaking
and hacking.
Pro's
Some good information is
available about the different protocols.
Con's
While the information
regarding the protocols is good the code examples were hard to
follow and difficult to port to my applications.
I rate this book 3 out
of 5 |
|
I found this
book to be more geared to the advanced PIC user/programmer.
It is pretty much devoted to the PIC assembly language programming
and architecture.
Pro's
Good well rounded book for
some one who wants to get down and dirty with the PIC.
Con's
Jumps around a lot can be
difficult to follow.
I rate this book 3 out
of 5 |
|
|
This was the
first book I purchased on the PIC. And while I tend to find
it a bit hard to follow at times I still find my self referring to
it.
Pro's
Has a good mix of
programs/projects and architecture
Comes with a floppy disk
with all the programs.
Con's
I found it difficult to
follow if you want to learn PIC assembly language.
I rate the new book 3 out of
5
|
|
I did not know
it at the time but this book is built on the Micro Engineering
Labs PICBasic Compiler.
If you don't have that compiler you wont find the book of much use.
Otherwise it is a fair
application book
I rate this book
2 out of 5 |
|
I
purchased this book years ago but still see it listed on most of
the sites.
Let me just say two
words. Dos and Parallel port. And while it does have
some good information on stepper motors it very out dated.
I rate this book 1 out
of 5 |
|
|
The problem with technical source books
is that they become outdated very fast. The book reminds me
of one of the original web yellow pages. I tried to use the
book to locate a couple of hard to find parts and found some of
the listed links are not valid. This is by no means any
fault the author, it does prove the point that this kind of
information changes too fast to be placed in a book.
The book claims to be updated regularly
on a web site. I found no significant updates.
Here is the bottom line. Most
of the listings in the book are websites. The book may help
you take a few short cuts to find a site or two. The Kronos
Robotics site is even in the book. However if you are
reading this review you found it my surfing the web not reading
the book.
Pro's
A good starting point for
locating hard to find companies.
Con's
This book will not help you
find an exact part. It may however help you locate a company
that in turn may help you locate that part (maybe)
I rate this book 2 out
of 5 |
|
|
Most code
examples are not directly compatible with MPLAB and must be run
through a third party translator that must be downloaded from a
website.
The Included circuit board
has components that are not readily available.
Even the condition of the
book was not very good. Several pages were fused together (not cut)
Technical Errors Abound.
I have been programming the
18F452 for a couple of months now and every bit of information that
is in the book can be found on the NET without paying .
Pro's
The book is a hardback
Con's
See above.
I rate this book 1 out of 5 |
