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Saturday, June 30, 2012

Raspberry Tank Build Diary - Ian's Blog

Tag Archives: Raspberry Tank Build Diary

Raspberry Tank Day 1: Accessories Assemble!

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Ian in Military, Software

At long last, my Raspberry Pi has arrived! Two hours late when ordering appears to translate to two months late to receive the Pi itself, so it’s now just one of the thousands of these devices now in the hands of the nation’s geeks.

Well. It’s a Raspberry Pi. It boots. Whoopee.

Of course, no computer would be useful without a few accessories. So naturally I spent nearly the cost of the Pi itself again on a power adapter, HDMI cable and SD card.

Oh yes. And a few quid more on one extra accessory.

Because what computer is complete without a radio-controlled, BB-firing 1:16 scale replica Mk. I Tiger tank?

Exactly.

Welcome to the Raspberry Tank build diary.

Raspberry Tank Day 2: Remote Control Tests

Posted on June 1, 2012 by Ian in Military, Software

Before I have my way with this tank and probably irreparably break it, day 2 of the build saw us put it through its paces as a radio-controlled vehicle, just like God Heng Long Plastic Toys ltd intended.

Here it is posing on the grass:

And the first attempt at video from a mounted camera, which turned out… who am I kidding, it’s awful. There’s no sound and the tank doesn’t move in the video because when it does, the camera falls off.

When this thing gets its Raspberry Pi installed I’m keen to add a webcam and get it to follow a laser dot, but when that happens it will have to be a much better-secured camera!

Note the sign reminding us not to play ball games. I figure BB pellets are to small to really be balls, and besides, this is no game. This is survival. By which I mean, if I take out any rabbits with this thing, I’m eating them for dinner. Currently running at a hit ratio of, er… zero.