Starting Point

cheers, just waiting for reply from grant but does anyone know how bit the blue wheels are nd how easy they are to attach?

The two main sizes of blue wheels used are 75mm and 100mm. They are also available in 63mm and 120mm and sizes upwards of that I believe. When it comes to attaching them, if they've got a nut fitted into the centre of the wheel it is simply a case of screwing the wheel directly on to the output shaft of the drill motor. As a securing method, the reverse-threaded screw that comes with the drill that holds the chuck on can be screwed back in with a washer on it to stop the wheel unscrewing.

Quite simple and allows for relatively straight-forward maintenance.

you will also want to look into some way of mounting the drill motors , this often overlooked but very important for a reliable bot.

Grant (robochallenge) can also supply the drill mounting kits

Excellent, just waiting to hear back from him, doesnt appear to have been online in the last week. Any idea how much the wheels and the mounting kits cost?

i have never bought the mounting kits

and the wheels vary depending on size

roughly : 75 mm ar a fiver , 100 mm are £6 and 125 are £7 , add another pound per wheel for the nuts melted in (which you will need) . so for 100 mm wheels , itd be £28 for a 4wd bot like yours , there worth the monies. No idea how much the mounting kits are.

Cool just need to wait for Grant to get back to me on them then. Below is a list of bits that ive decided on and those which I am still undecided.

Motors: 4 drill motors (2 already bought and dismantled)
Speed Controller: Sidewinder (looking at buying in the next week or so)
Body: HDPE (also looking to order in the next week)
Batteries: (going to use those of the drill, does this sound alright for a start?)
TX & RX (looking at the DX5 but not sure on this atm, any comments?)

Weapon: Axe (where can I find information of the a design for this?)

Thanks again as always for all your help :D

If you're opting for an electric axe, this article sheds a bit of light on the basics of an electric axe. Obviously axes don't have to be made exactly like this one but it should give an insight into the process/parts required:

http://www.robowars.org/wikka/ElectricAxeWeapons

And that same robot a couple of evolutions later:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl1cOdXizC8

i think the dx5 is good but never used it before the planet 5 is a cheaper option which a few people are very pleased with for about £40

the batteries you can make them work but you can buy some cheap nimhs off ebay which will last much longer, thi would mean you would need a different charger (not sure if you are planning on using the drill charger for those batts?) i have a multi charger which can handle many different types of batteries with lots of other functions (let me know if interested)

alex