MachineGrid::Robots at Work

Taking Apart the ATV-360 EyePiece [Head Mounted Display]

As promised, after taking apart the ATV-360 Spy Video here, this is a follow-up on taking apart the Head Mounted Display[HUD]. The HUD has some very interesting DIY parts and ideas which you can try out. Maybe a cool wearable. The details on all the parts used are at the end of the post and comments are open for discussion.

The HUD consists of a frame which sits in the same way as you would wear a pair of spectacles. On the right side, a case is attached which holds all the necessary electronics and optics. The HUD receives video signals from the remote which houses the camera receiver.

1. First for a few views. Click on the views for a larger image.

2. So that you know how it looks, I setup two scenes. One with a PostIt note saying “HI” and the other a Rubik’s cube. The LCD is monocohrome however, so the image you will see is not color.

• The one with the PostIt note
  
• The one with the Rubiks cube
  

3. Opening is not that easy as there are no screws to take apart the top cover which says “Spy Gear”. The cover is glued to the case using glue. Taking a clue from Jake to avoid inserting the screwdriver on the side the “cable does not come out”, I managed to take it apart. Pry the side where the black cable comes out. The other side has the LCD connector, you might damage it if ou pry that side. It’s tough at first, but once you get one side, it gets easier.

4. Once the cover is removed, the PCB becomes visible. The main controller chip is a Kopin KCD-A300-QB. All the other parts are support components for the chip. There is a small potentiometer in one corner which allows you to change camera gain. You can see the display change in brightness when you change it. Try adjusting it, there is no harm in doing so as it can easily be bough back to it’s previous value by looking at the screen.

5. Remove the two screws keeping the PCB in place. Also it’s time to remove the LCD connector. To remove it, pull the black tab out a bit as in the pic.
The connector will slip out easily with a slight tug. The connector is pretty rugged. I have already plugged it in/out a few times.

6.The LCD connector is glued on to the casing. Remember to break it free before going ahead.

6: Four more screws need to be taken out to remove the eyepiece. Use a pair of pliers to do this.

7.Before I forget, the PCB has a high output smd LED behind it as below:

8. Prying out gives you the lens casing. It’s pretty well made, with the LCD nicely sitting in it’s place. It was designed so that the lens was at a fixed distance from the LCD.

9.Going further, pry the top half with a flat head screwdriver. There are four tiny rods which keep it inline. This part should come out easily.

9.Now for the LCD. The LCD is in a tiny casing which sits in a grooved box. There is a slight amount of glue on one end as in the image. With a flat head screwdriver, as shown, just give a tiny nudge and it should come free.

10. The LCD in all it’s glory!

11. The following views show the three pieces of the lens casing. Note that the part at the extreme right of each image has a diffused screen to spread light from the SMD LED.

12. This was as far as I could go. The eyepiece is glued together. Trying to take it apart would mean risk in breaking the lens.

Parts and Notes:
Main controller chip :: Kopin KCD-A300-QB
Documents :: kopin_kcd-a300-qb_dsiplay_driver
Notes :: This is the driver chip for the 300M LV monochrome display. It is designed to accept a standard monochrome video signal (525 or 625 lines), and convert it for the display. Unfortunately its a monochrome driver and not a color one.

LCD Display :: Kopin 300MLV CyberDisplay
Documents :: kopin_cyberdisplay_300m_lv_feature_sheet
Notes :: This is the LCD Display with the connector. The feature sheet shows a frameless one, but I’m unable to find the document with the framed one.

If you find this interesting or have some new ideas or links, please post it in the comments. Thanks for reading and don’t forget to Subscribe [email] for more followups and hacks.

Posted in Hackable Toys, Tutorials, hacks | 16 Comments »

Taking Apart the Spy Video ATV-360

I finally took apart the Spy Video which I got for a very good deal. I wanted to see if it would serve as a good platform for a robot and if the drive system could be upgraded. The most difficult part was taking apart the wheel hubs. The interesting part in the hubs design is that a better motor can be attached to it. The following sequence shows me taking the vehicle apart. Might come in handy for hardware hackers out there.

1. Various views of the vehicle.

2. Remove all the screws from the bottom of the vehicle, including the tracks.

3.Remove the top shell slowly. Don’t pull on it. You will need to disconnect the camera, antenna and mic headers to get it free.

4. Once the top shell is free, the circuit board and the drive system is visible. There is a bank of FETs for the motors. The board is very well labeled.

5. To take apart the drive system, loosen the screws around the orange box. Then unscrew the black tab keeping the wires from the orange box secure.

6.Taking apart the wheel hub is a chore, but possible with pliers, a small glass jar, some flame and some strength.First, remove the stopper from the shaft. Use pliers and strength:

Remove the large gear and everything between the gear and the stopper. Now again using pliers, remove the torque check gear:

Remove all the stuff after that including the orange cap with the three screws. Once the orange cap is removed, the black cover on the other end of the wheel can be removed:

Now for the interesting part. The wheel hub is dead set into the shaft and we need to remove it. Make sure you have a small jar, like below, ready. Choose one such that it’s mouth is small enough only for the shaft to go in. Ignore the gears on the shaft in the picture. You should be having just a blank shaft with the black hub and orange cap on.

Make sure you have the orange cap on. Now heat the shaft with a flame for around 30 seconds. This is just to soften the hub’s hold on the shaft. Holding it over the flame too long is going to melt the plastic.

Now while the shaft is still hot, place the shaft as shown below and hammer the other end down.

The shaft should come out after a few bangs. The wheel is now disassembled:

7. Why all this? I can now use a hub adapter and attach the ATV’s stock hub to a better motor.
The following hub adapter is from Lynxmotion. I will need to drill new holes to match the adapter.

If you are interested, check out your local Target store or you could try Amazon:

Thanks for looking. Any questions, ask in the comments.

Posted in Hackable Toys, Robots, Tutorials, hacks | 4 Comments »

Just got my Spy Gear Spy Video ATV-360

Just got my spy video ATV-360 from Spy Gear. My local Target had this on sale for $28 and it was too good to resist. So much so that I bough two of them – with one as a standby for parts.

The ATV comes with the following features:

• -A skid steer design for easy maneuverability.
• -A wireless monochrome camera.
• -A wireless controller with a nice 360 degree turn feature.
• -A headset which receives a real time video feed from the vehicle as well as audio.

The build quality of the tracks is very good and looks like they can take a beating before they start wearing out. I haven’t checked range yet since I’m going to rip out the internals anyway.

The toy is a good filler for your electronics parts bin. Of special interest is the ATV’s head unit. It comes with a very hackable circuit board. Jake from JackOfAllTrades posted a detailed writeup on the board.

I’ll post when I’m done tearing it apart :).
If you are interested, check out your local Target store or you could try Amazon:

Posted in Hackable Toys, Robots | 3 Comments »