SCALPEL

SCALPEL is a one pound antweight class bot. The first
version of SCALPEL was based on a Tyco Psycho rear steer
18-wheeler tractor that I found complete with radio in a
Goodwill store for two bucks. It was extremely difficult to drive
by virtue of the rear steer and its 27MHz AM radio was
susceptible to interference and did not offer interchangeable
frequencies. I stripped the truck cab away, made a AA NiMH
battery pack for it, added some armor and a wedge, and
pressed it into service. This version competed unsuccessfully
at the NCRSF4, Dragon Robot Battles 2003, and Denver
Opusfest Robot Battles 2004.

The second version of SCALPEL was based on the Battlebot
toy hack outlined by Mike Konshak at the Robot Dojo. I
competed with this version at Dragoncon Robot Battles 2004,
finishing in the finals with a loss to Thrasher. I had lots of
driveability issues with the stock AM on-off radio controller,
but at least it did have multi-channel capability. Voltage was
increased from the stock 6 Volts to 7.2 Volts with a pack of
900 mAh NiMH cells.

I revised the control system to include the excellent Barello
Ant 100 speed controller and a Novak synthetic Rx with an
Airtronics Tx. I competed with this version at the Atlanta Area
Bot Brawl II, finishing in the finals with a loss to Thrasher.

To further improve the driveability and turning torque and
increase the power, the chassis was split and widened with
0.09" polycarbonate and a new battery 9.6 Volt pack was
made of CBP650 NiMH cells. The Novak XXTRA Rx was
replaced with a much smaller Micro Bot Parts unit from the
Robot Marketplace. A vertical four-blade wedge was added
of 0.09" polycarbonate. This version first competed at Robot
Battles Greensboro 2005, taking first place in the finals
against fellow team-mate Kristen Korkowski driving
BAYONET, another Battlebot hack. SCALPEL finished 4th in
a field of 7 bots in a round robin competition at the MURC
Rocky Mountain Showdown held at the Opus Fantasy Arts
Festival.