Here are the materials that
you will need for the 1-credit miniROV course.
Please see returns policy
below before making your purchase.
Schools and School
Bookstores, please see bulk purchase information below.
The
MiniROV Kit Contains:
·
1 Arduino UNO
·
2 motors
·
1 two sided H-Bridge
·
1 light sensor
·
1 one color LED and a 3-color LED
·
1 pressure sensor
·
And a variety of cables, breadboards, headers, and other goodies that
will form the basic platform of your miniROV.
The
choice of the components of this kit were selected and tested through five
generations of students at Linn-Benton Community College. You could buy all this stuff yourself and
save about $15.
You
will need a basic tool kit:
·
A soldering iron and solder
·
a screwdriver
·
wire strippers
These
are all tools that a basic tool chest should have. For simplicity, you can buy this from us when
you purchase your kit. It might be more
fun for you to go to your local electronics store and buy your own materials.
K’Nex ROV Frame:
Eventually
in this project, you will need to create a miniROV
frame. Many of my students have built
frames out of items they found in the recycle bin at school or at home. A quick run to a local plumbing store also
serves well for students wanting to use PVC for the frame. One year, a set of three brothers in one of
my classes introduced me to K’Nex – if you want
something that is easy, is going to work and looks nice, order this frame from
us.
Returns:
Once
you have opened your kit, it cannot be returned. An unopened kit and/or frame can be returned
for a $20 fee.
If
you break something in the kit, many credit cards will reimburse you for the
broken piece. You can then buy from us a
replacement for the broken piece.
Remember,
these kits are not toys. These kits are
the supplies for a 1-credit college course.
We have chosen parts that, from experience, are robust and appropriate
for freshmen college students. However,
as in any college course, if you break something you will need to purchase a
new one.
Schools
and School Bookstores:
If
your school is offering this course, you can purchase kits directly from us
rather than having to put together kits from scratch. For every 14 kits you purchase, you will get
a 15th kit for free that can serve as a parts kit for the instructor
for pieces that get lost or damaged by students or professors*. Again, I am sorry, but kits cannot be
returned.
*As a professor, I can say from empirical evidence
that I am better at breaking things than most students. That being said, a breakage rate of about one-out-of-fifteen
has been about right over the past several years. The first year you offer the course, you
might consider purchasing an extra kit or two just to be safe. Also, I always have more students sign for
the course than I list in the schedule of classes – as I am very bad at turning
students away, it is always useful to have an extra kit on hand.