LJ Electronics ATLAS robot

[SwingeyP]

I recently accquirred a robot made by LJ Elecronics in the 1980's. This was a 'carboot' find from a ham radio electronics fair. Although in a sorry state I plan to get it going again.

I have done a bit of interweb searching and now have the user and technical manuals.

After lots of messing around with infrared tx/rx alignment and a bit of logic probe fault finding I now have the robot at 'Total Coincidence' - Datum position .

I'd like to get the ATLAS II eproms as that firmware offered acceleration and deceleration.

Does anyone have any other info for this robot, spares, software, bits and bobs gathering dust?

Also if anyone has any info on programming from the BEEB i'd be really grateful.

Regards - Paul

 

[cr0sh]

You might try contacting Reuben Hoggett @ cyberneticzoo.com, or David Buckley (http://www.davidbuckley.net/) for their advice; another place to try is http://www.theoldrobots.com/index.html - I'm not sure how far you'll get, but I do remember seeing one or two others out there doing restorations of this robot (either that or I am mis-remembering an Ebay auction). You definitely have quite a challenge there! Good luck, and keep us posted.

 

[SwingeyP]

Have sorted a few problems getting the Atlas to 'Total Coincidence' - Datum Position - Mainly dogy infrared alignment on the wrist axis. Still have to find a coupling for swivel and a better limit switch for 'out-in'.
Constucted a home brew teach pendant but ran out of diodes to complete it. The attached video is a bit of testing in one direction only with me touching a wire on to the push button pins. (that's why it's a bit jerky).

Progress is being made. More to come. - This takes me back to my days as a Unimate service engineer.

If anyone out there has anything to do with the ATLAS I or II, I'd like to hear from you.

Regards - Paul

 

[cr0sh]

Have sorted a few problems getting the Atlas to 'Total Coincidence' - Datum Position - Mainly dogy infrared alignment on the wrist axis. Still have to find a coupling for swivel and a better limit switch for 'out-in'.
Constucted a home brew teach pendant but ran out of diodes to complete it. The attached video is a bit of testing in one direction only with me touching a wire on to the push button pins. (that's why it's a bit jerky).

Awesome job so far! Is that thing really as -loud- as the video makes it seem?

I've always wanted a Microbot and/or an Armdroid (I'd also take a vintage Rhino, too); unfortunately, by the time I was able to buy one, the collector market spun them out into the "unaffordable" zone again. So, I guess I have to satisfy my robot arm wants with the various Armatron models I've collected, and the couple of OWI-535s I have (none being anywhere near as nice as that Atlas, of course - though the Armatrons are a collectible, in their own way).

Progress is being made. More to come. - This takes me back to my days as a Unimate service engineer.

Interesting - got any stories of that time? Did you work on large Unimates, or smaller machines (like the Puma)? As a kid (and even now), I was fascinated by robots in general, and really enjoyed reading about industrial robots in particular. The strange thing was, for some reason I never had a "sense of scale" about the original Unimate arm. Then one day I was browsing a local industrial equipment reseller in Arizona (Equipment Exchange), and happened upon in their vast warehouse a Unimate - I was extremely impressed with it's size (it was almost as large as my Ford Ranger I was driving at the time). I had never realized just how large it was compared to a person, and could easily respect it from a machine perspective (that is, if that thing was on and moving, stay well away from it).

-video-

Does it seem strange that I thought your Atlas was going to pick up that guitar and play it (how with only one gripper/arm, I dunno - but, hey...lol)?

 

[SwingeyP]

Hi. Yes I worked on all the Unimates 2000, 4000 I even remeber an old 1000. From A machines with the drum memory through F machines. These macines were the old hydraulic machines and when VAL was introduced to them I spent many hours in GM Zarragozza - Spain. What a plant that was. metal and rubber in one end cars out the other.

For me though it was the intorduction of the Puma especially the 760 series made in Telford that really got me going. I spent about 2 years at Rover in Oxford working on the 760's and the all new 860 series robots.

Happy days! -

BTW - I also have an Armatron - another carboot find and I am making my own hexapod which is on hold (again) now I have the Atlas - lol.

Keep looking i'm sure i'll have it playing the guitar soon.

Regards - Paul

 

[cr0sh]

BTW - I also have an Armatron - another carboot find...

If you're interested, I have a series of articles and downloads on my website for the Armatron; mainly about modifying it to work with a computer:

**broken link removed**

Be sure to also check out the various linked articles from that one, as I kept doing research and over time finding other examples about how to interface the arm, among other things. I have yet to try my hand at interfacing one, though - I even have the original motors used in the Radio-Electronics article (purchased from Radio Shack); it's another "someday" project.

The Armatron has a very interesting history. I have a few of the arms myself; most are the Radio Shack variety, but I do also own one of the earlier Tomy versions (it was my first that I begged from my parents for my 10th or 11th birthday). I also have the Discovery Spark clone, too.

 

[Julianne]

Hi.
I'm working on a project in school involving a lj electronics atlas robot.
I have been able to track down the technical manual, but do you still have the user manual SwingeyP?

 

[SwingeyP]

I'll see if i can find it. I know I have an electronic copy somewhere.

 

[Julianne]

Hi again, I managed to track one down. But thanks anyway!

 

[Mark Summers]

If anyone has the User Manual for the LJ Atlas could they please let me know?

 

[Jackie DuChene]

I could use a users manual to if anyone has one.

 

[Mark Summers]

I have obtained a copy...

**broken link removed**

 

[Jackie DuChene]

Thank you.