Yardbot

What tha' heck?...Yardbot is a stationary
surveillance platform that can be rotated 360
degrees. The "arms" can be elevated to ANY
angle. Both functions are controlled from my
computer desk providing 100% camera
coverage of my property and neighborhood.
Yardbot's right arm is equipped with a
low-light, motion sensing security camera with
2-way communications. Below the camera is an
external speaker currently connected to a
police scanner. The left arm houses a 3 million
candle power searchlight that can be seen for 3
miles. Beneath it is a 105 decibel siren that can
be activated with keychain remotes. Yardbot's
face is an infrared spotlight that can, in
conjunction with the low-light camera, turn
night into day! All functions, lights, etc. are
controlled from my computer desk. The camera
is viewed thru a 14" monitor, or the computer,
or both. (It's connected to a WinTV video card
in the PC which enables the view to be full
screen or "windowed" and placed in the corner
of the PC monitor.) The WinTV card also
provides the ability to record video or take
snapshots of what Yardbot sees. Another
benefit is I can hear all outside noises thru the
surround sound system attached to the PC.
.....Read on.....

The Idea for "Yardbot" came about in the fall of 2004. I
was checking out two old antenna rotators that I had used
for satellite communications (KC4YJB) years ago. They
were in pretty bad shape (rusted with corroded terminals
etc.) and I was leary of connecting the 110 volts AC to see if
they would turn. The elevation rotator worked great, but
the azimuth rotator needed a little coaxing with a
hammer and rather large screwdriver. Little did I know,
that later, these would become the main parts of a
mechanical robot standing in my front yard!
I had recently installed a "cheapo" security camera under
the eave of the house so I could see the front yard from the
computer desk. It was OK, but not very exciting. It did'nt
MOVE! The pan and tilt camera mounts I found on the
internet were way out of my price range, so there I sat,
watching the driveway through a 13 inch TV.
That's when it hit me! The rusted rotators could be turned
into a rather bulky pan and tilt device! This would give
the ability to aim the camera in any direction and, with a
little hard wiring, be controlled from my desk! Now I could
have a two ounce plastic camera sitting atop thirty-five
pounds of mechanical rotators.....wait a minute, I needed
to think about this. I drew some sketches over the next few
days but nothing creative. Knowing that the camera had
to be protected from the rain was another problem. I had
considered a cheap mailbox for the camera enclosure, but
then decided I may be able to make my own. I was cutting
squares of printer paper and bending them over a small
cardboard base. They formed a perfect "mailbox" shape! I
noticed that if I rounded one end it created a small "hood"
on the front. I made a small (4 inch or so) "hooded mailbox"
and taped it together. The next night I was watching TV
and looked over at the tiny paper "mailbox". That looks
like a robot's head I thought. The rest is history! I would
build something that looked like a robot. Load it down
with gadgets and control it from my computer desk!
The name was easy, a robot that patrolled the yard....
Yardbot!

Give my creature life!
Yardbot was built in my spare time over the
next five weeks (about 60 manhours). Here he
is during final testing. Instead of using the
original "cheapo" camera, I bought an
inexpensive security system at Home Depot
(Two nice cameras & a 14 inch monitor).
Other than that, Yardbot was cheap to build,
(But don't tell him that!). I used the two
rotators, old antenna mast and homemade
brackets. The enclosures were made by
bending chimney flashing over a plywood
base while his "chest" was made from a piece
of chiller pipe covering. I added some old
vacuum cleaner hose to make him look more
flexible and attached tw0 large rubber feet
for the ears. All of the control wiring was
buried in the ground inside PVC drain pipe
and the vertical mast was set in a posthole
with concrete.