Lifespan – 2002
Specs:
– Drive: Futaba 3004 servos
– Batteries: Rechargable AAAs
– Frame: 1/8″ Polycarbonate
During the height of AOL’s dominance in the late 1990s, early 2000s, AOL installer CDs were everywhere. They made great, shatter-able frisbees, but they also worked great for Antweight wheels. As I was looking at what was out there for antweights (it was only about a year into existence at the time), I stumbled across a website through the old Delphi Forums that discussed using CDs for wheels on servos for adding speed. You can certainly do what’s called a “speed-hack” where you can switch around the gears to reduce the ratio, or splice off the motor leads and overvolt the motor, but at this time I was insanely green. Big wheels was easy. I wasn’t the only one with big wheels! Tin Mandy also rocked bigger wheels (and overvolted).
This first design lasted three competitions: Pennbots in July of 2002, House of NERC in August, and Southern Assault also in August of 2002. Conceptual Chaos took 1st at Pennbots.
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