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New R2 Builder?

Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 9:29 am
by mrivorey
Well, I don't know if I have what it takes to do this (skill OR finances), but I've just joined the R2-D2 Builders Club, and Astromech.net with the intentions of building my own R2!

Right now I'm still reading Wikis, FAQs, and just generally educating myself on the process, but I may be making my first purchases fairly soon. I'll keep you posted!

In the mean time, does anyone have contact info (or even know the name) of the R2 Builder pictured below that shows up at Archon and VisionCon from time to time?
Edit: Does the name Ric Tecilder sound right?
Edit2: or how about Rich Vollmer?



Image
Click to enlarge.

Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 9:38 am
by Dinadin TK-5972
I have seen and talked to that guy a couple of years ago, sorry but I don't know who he is.

Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 4:24 pm
by TK-1161 Curt
I'll check later but I beleive I have his name and email address at home. I'll try and find it tonight. :)

Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 6:08 pm
by DarthBarbieDoll
I have also joined the R2 builders project on the heels of Mr. Moody. :P Although I really do see this as a long term project, adding parts along the way as the budget allows. Since I lack building skills I see myself purchasing the assembled kits which will take me a wee bit longer. No rush though, it's going to take as long as it takes. :)

I am also working on getting a mouse droid and gonk droid as well. :)

Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 6:21 pm
by mrivorey
Yay, Rhonda! Yeah, that's pretty much what I'm doing too... buying as much pre-assembled as I can. I'm not that confidant in my building skills either. We'll have to compare notes along the way though.

BTW, I *might* have figured out who the local R2 builder is. Does the name Ric Tecilder or Rich Vollmer sound right to those that have met him?

Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 10:17 pm
by Culvan
Good luck to both of you. I toyed with the idea of building R2 for years. I met the "droid you are looking for" at Archon a few years back. I didn't catch his name though. I was incredibly impressed by the quality of the parts he used in it. I found it very discouraging actually. I realized the cost to build R2 would be outside the range that would be acceptable to my family. I also realized that I would need a larger vehicle to transport him. I gave up on R2 and started building K9 (from Doctor Who).

The real reason I wanted to build a robot at all was to have a platform to mount sensors on and to program. The look of the robot was an added bonus. If there's anything I can do to help, let me know. The R2 you mentioned had a strange little sound effect toy. He could make sounds but there was no control over what sound he would make. I know of two mp3 players that are designed for robotic applications that could have fixed that. The easiest one to use if from http://www.roguerobotics.com/. Of course all my use of embedded systems is pointless if you put a laptop in it.

Andy

Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 11:17 pm
by Drago Lordist
can't help ya on the mystery builder, sorry. however I just got done with my Scrubber Droid, dad's working on his mouse droid (which we'll be able to cheaply vacuform parts off of once he gets back to work on it), we intend to sell gonk droids (or I guess we could do kits...) pretty soon here once I sit down and actually work out how much everything had cost.

I currently have a few droid things on my plate - buzz droid, cam droid, R2 dome for the back of my car (I'd offer domes but I'm making mine about 7/8ths scale so I can still see out my rearview mirror), and I kinda added weebo from flubber on to my list last night.

I would be more than willing to help bounce ideas around with you guys while we all work on these similar projects :P

Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 11:10 pm
by rebelbuttkicker
The incredible cross-section has a lot of information, good pics too. ;)