Tom's R2-D2 Droid Diary

J.E.D.I. Display RUN!

2009-12-04T18:13:00.001-08:00

Parts are starting to pour in from all over. I have the first half of the bezels from Damien in Las Vegas. Leds are coming from Hong Kong. Most of the parts for the DC/DC converters are from Digikey and Mouser. Parallax delivered the microprocessors and prop-plugs. I only have a couple parts left that are backordered. But it looks like I can get started with organizing and bagging parts in kits. Assembly will begin soon!

J.E.D.I. Display System Fall 2009 Run!

2009-09-07T19:21:00.000-07:00

Well, it looks like I'll be busy this fall building J.E.D.I. Displays for the club. After talking with Scott he and I worked out details and have decided on moving forward with a run. More details on pricing and info located here:
Astromech Forum

Maker Faire Video

2009-06-02T11:59:00.000-07:00

Finishing Wooden Frame!

2009-05-25T21:14:00.001-07:00

I'm just about finsihed with the templates to make my Mike Senna Wooden Frame. I finally had a break over memorial weekend to work on it. Another couple hours of work and I should have the first set done. Here's what I have so far.

To see more photos visit my gallery area located here:
http://www.backyard-power.com/r2-d2/frame.html

R2-D2 Skins

2009-05-17T09:05:00.000-07:00

I started working on R2's skins this weekend and have made a lot of progress towards finishing his main body. It takes 4 skins - 2 for the front and 2 for the back. I think I will build in a back door and use it for easy access into the inside for changes and repairs. Next will be the skirt and head.

Cheap R2 Sound system!

2009-05-17T08:55:00.000-07:00

It looks like ThinkGeek has a t-shirt with a build in Mp3 player and a speaker built right into the shirt. And its only $40. It comes with a remote with 20 sound effect buttons so you can trigger them. The great thing is that it uses an SD card so you can upload your own sounds and have whatever sound effects you like. I put all my R2 sounds on it, well at least 20 of them. Andy Swartz posted a hack on on the yahoo group list on how to make it fully remote controlled. I'll be working on that in the near future and testing it out.

Videos from Cincinnati!

2009-05-06T10:52:00.000-07:00

I've posted some videos that I shot in Cincinnati up on Youtube. You can visit them here. http://www.youtube.com/user/TheDroidbuilder

Cincinnati Droid Builders Day!

2009-05-03T10:35:00.000-07:00

We had a great time and I met a lot of great people. I've got some videos that I'll post next. I took some great shots of inside a few droids and even my son got to try out Cole's droid for a few minutes. I think my son is hooked! I know I am. View larger picture here.

Cincinnati Droid Builders Day Saturday May 2!

2009-05-01T10:15:00.000-07:00

Looks like Cole and Darren are putting out a call for any and all droid builders to stop by and show off your stuff. I'll be there with a few things I have including my J.E.D.I. Display kit and wooden frame. I've got my laptop and a few DVD's to show on my 20 inch flat screen monitor. See you there. The event is now at the Hampton Inn in Fairfield. There will be lots of talking shop, some food, and maybe even some door prizes and giveaways. Click for more details!

Screaming Tiki Con!

2008-10-20T18:34:00.000-07:00

We had a blast at the Screaming Tiki Con! I'd like to personally thank Andy Schwartz for organizing the R2 Builders Club portion. We had Cole Horton and Darren Murrer from Southern Ohio with thier two droids. Awesome guys! I got a few nice photos in my gallery area for everyone to enjoy. Andy brought his B9 Robot and his R2 all the way from DC. We had Storm Troopers and Darth Vader from the Ohio 501st Garison interigating people all over the show.

3D Backgrounds

2008-09-01T16:32:00.000-07:00

Since I'm a 3D artist I thought I'd pass along some nice shots I've been working on. Some of the photos I just rendered out from some free objects that I've found on the web and a couple shots I modeled all the objects and rendered out the shot for reference. Visit the backgrounds area to check them out.

Trip to Toledo, OH

2008-08-22T18:42:00.000-07:00

I went over to Brians house to check out his droid and get some pictures. Now I have a shot that my local newspaper can use for the interview I did. I posted the photos in my gallery. The Goshen newspaper also did and article on us. R2-D2 is Real!

Michiana Droid Build Day!

2008-08-17T09:12:00.001-07:00

Updated! We've changed the date to Sept 13th here in Goshen, IN. I have a new friend from ohio (Brian Byczynski of Toledo, OH) that will be bringing his R2 to show off. I went to his house in Toledo, OH to see it. I'll post some pictures next! If anyone is interested in joining us please don't hesitate to drop me a line and ask for directions. It looks like we will be having our very own little cookout. Email me @ thomas@backyard-power.com

Servo Magazine

2008-08-13T17:45:00.000-07:00

I found a great magazine to help out with some of the electronics end of building our droids. Servo magazine has tons of great ideas and kits to check out. The May issue of 2008 has an article about the R2 builders club plus some great circuit details about controllers and PWM's. Check the store area under back issues to see it.

Video Tutorials!

2008-08-12T17:45:00.000-07:00

I found a great source for tutorials on building your R2 Unit on YouTube! Chris James of http://www.artoo-detoo.net/ has a pretty advanced droid with all the bells and whistles. His video tutorials are located at http://www.youtube.com/

Blueprints

2008-08-07T17:44:00.001-07:00

After reading where I can find the blueprints I finally figured out where they were. You have to subscribe to the yahoo group R2 Builders to get access to the files area. After download the files related to the body frame and skins I wanted to print full size blueprints. It seems Staples can print 36" x 48" for only $6 a sheet. You can upload them to thier website and go pick it up or take it in on a USB memory Stick.

Research!

2008-08-07T17:44:00.000-07:00

I started collecting files and PDF's of drawings and parts from the r2builders@yahoogroups.com Staples only charges about $6 to print a 36" x 48" blueprint. I have about 6 different prints so far ranging from the dome layout to the body skins. I also ordered and recieved today a DVD of Celebration IV

R-Series Magazine

2008-08-05T17:43:00.000-07:00

I really like the online magaine they have at astromech.net Downloadable files can be found here.

Research!

2008-08-04T17:42:00.000-07:00

I've been collecting files, images and PDF's for almost a week now. I just recieved a copy of R2 Builders Celebration IV DVD in the mail to add to the pile.

I'm In love!

2008-07-27T17:40:00.000-07:00

Day one! I accidently ran into a video on YouTube about someone building and R2-D2 droid. I was amazed at how the lights in the dome looked so much like the origonal that I remember from Star Wars. Its head turned and it was able to move around on the floor, all controlled by an RC controller. After doing about an hours worth of research going from one link to another I was able to track down the source of this madness! The R2 Builders club! I was hooked immediatly and signed up.