Super I-Cybie Mod 3

 
UPDATE!!!- this modification is NOT recommended for most people due to potential issue with static protection. Only consider it if you plan on interfacing and powering custom circuits attached in close proximity to Super I-Cybie.

REASON:

Someone mentioned a very good point about the 3rd Super I-Cybie
modification that brings out the serial data lines directly to a 6
pin MINI DIN connector. By doing so, you lose the anti-static
protection you would get by putting the MAX233 chip inside of the
robot. The MAX233 chip serves as a "static protection" layer between the outside world (the exposed phono connector or mini-DIN) and the
sensitive microprocessor connections.

I'm going to recommend that you only do the 3rd modification if you
plan on interfacing external hardware directly to the robot (ie: CMUCam, Video Cube) and plan on being very careful about static protection issues. OTHERWISE, you should
stick with the mod 1 or mod 2 circuit changes.

I should have thought this through better. I've had no problems yet
with the original mod 1 Super I-Cybie modification so that's what I'm going to recommend. The mod 2 is essentially the same except that the chip is located on a PCB underneath the back button. I have also successfully performed and used mod 2 without any issues. Mod 3 is still experimental and I have yet to build it.

Putting the MAX233 chip inside the robot also allows you to transmit the signals to a PC on a longer extension wire with more noise
immunity and reliability.
 

A preliminary Super I-Cybie modification with a 6 pin mini-DIN connector where the stock back button would normally be. I have mounted a replacement back button seen in red. There is also a power on/off toggle switch at the front.
 

The 6 pin Mini-DIN connector is the same type of connector used by PS2 mouses and keyboards. Extension cables for these devices are readily available and low-cost. These cables are easily adaptable to our Super I-Cybie application. Just make sure you don't try to hook up a mouse or keyboard to the Super I-Cybie connection. Bad things could happen depending on the wiring mismatch.
 

Everything mounts to the back button "insert" making it easy to remove the left and right body shells.

 

The mini-DIN 6 pin connector was purchased from Digikey (www.digikey.com). It is part number 275-1103-ND and costs around $2.33. The connector comes with 6 inches of colored wire already molded into it! Here is how I wired it up:
 
  • signal ground (orange wire, pin 3)
  • serial transmit (blue wire, pin 5)
  • serial receive (brown wire, pin 1)
  • +3.6V (green wire, pin 4)
  • +12V (red wire, pin 2)
  • power ground (black wire, pin 6)

 

The original wires from the 6 pin mini DIN are too large to solder onto the tiny serial pads. I ended up cutting the serial TX and RX wires from the mini DIN short and then extending them with thinner wire wrap wire (seen in white) in order to make the connection to the serial pads on the processor. I then secured the wire wrap wire to the main board using glue to prevent the wires from shifting around and placing stress on the fragile serial pads. Note that I did not place the glue directly onto the serial pads just in case some type of solder reworking was required later.

There's an external MAX233 circuit to convert the +3.6V serial signals to RS232 levels. This circuit uses the +3.6V line for power. When interfacing to a custom on-board controller directly, no MAX233 chip is required. The custom controller and other hardware (like the CMUCam camera) has access to all the signal and power lines.