Dec 29, 2023
"Strangest thing I've ever seen."
Thanks Bob!
seen from United States
seen from Philippines
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Belarus
seen from Türkiye
seen from South Africa
seen from Türkiye
seen from Bulgaria
seen from United States
seen from Bulgaria
seen from United States
seen from Kuwait
seen from Australia
seen from Ireland
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
"Strangest thing I've ever seen."
Thanks Bob!
How to properly roll with robot passengers.
Heathkit-Zenith Hero Jr Robot
Note the rust stain in the storage area within the head. Makes me wonder what else is wrong with this poor little robot.
Computer History Museum - Mountain View, CA
Banished to the basement for robot crimes.
A recent acquisition. Should prove interesting!
Fun in Photoshop.
I find it hard to believe that Heathkit really expected people to trust the security of their homes to Hero Jr. robots back in ‘84.
Heathkit/Zenith recommended a radio transmitter add-on that would send a signal to your home security system, should the robot discover an intruder while in guard mode. It was a prospective feature so important that it’s included in demo mode, has its own dedicated button on the control keypad, and a blank spot on the chassis specifically design to accept a common transmitter module from the era. The icing on the cake is the sticker, which I finally was able to acquire.
However, a guard robot that can barely navigate a hallway or see where its going is going to be a poor excuse for home security. Not to mention, the battery life of a Hero Jr. in its base configuration is insufficient to run for more than 5 hours, especially if it’s doing a lot of driving. Maybe it would be alright if it included the extended battery option? Still, I’m skeptical that anyone actually used this thing to protect their homes.
Heathkit Hero Jr. schematics, or how to make a serial port work in a pre-Max232 world.