D&C GLug - Home Page

[ Date Index ] [ Thread Index ] [ <= Previous by date / thread ] [ Next by date / thread => ]

Re: [LUG] Summary Todays Holsworthy Meeting - June 17th

 

On Sat, 17 Jul 2010, Mark Evans wrote:

On 17/07/10 20:49, Gordon Henderson wrote:

If I had an 8 year old, I'd give them a toy like the Big Trak - there
must be a modern equivalent?

There's the TTS Media "Bee-Bot" which is quite popular with primary
schools.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Trak

There is also http://www.bigtrakuk.com/

That was 31 years ago... Might make some effort into getting mine going
again...

There were various projects to interface these with 80's era micro
computers. Especially given that you could attach a ZX81, ZX Spectrum,
Oric 1, etc to such a device without any trailing leads.

Unlike the BBC Buggy which was limited by its umbilical connection to
the computer.

Heh.. I was working/researching at Napier in Edinburgh and I attached a BBC Micro to an AGV - well, it was the Automatic Guidance computer for it. It had 2 large car batterys and a pair of big 24V motors. I used to sit on it and have it carry me round the department... (Mech & Industrial engineering) that was the ultimate 'turtle' for me ;-)

I remember some silly lecturer telling me that nothing I could type at the keyboard could damage the computer... Yea right... 200Kg of AGV and me sitting on-top hurtling down a corridor at 15mph was a scary sight to behold!

Fun days...

Gordon

--
The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG
http://mailman.dclug.org.uk/listinfo/list
FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/listfaq