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This site was last updated 4/7/2002.

The main mechanical aspects of the tank include the chassis, drive system, tracks, and camera turret. The tank will be about 24" long, 16-18" wide (including tracks), and the top of the chassis will be about 6-8" off the ground. The cameras will rise above that several inches. The chassis is currently under construction and it is being built out of 0.1 inch thick aluminum which was bought from Mendelson's (a huge surplus-type store) in Dayton. The drive system will be powered by two 12VDC car windshield-wiper gearmotors (also purchased at Mendelson's). These run at about 120 RPM, so there will be a speed increase between the motors and the tracks.

The tracks are the main difficulty we are having right now. It seems that chain manufactured with built-in flanges would be the easiest way to go, but the cost for all of the track needed would be about $100.

The camera turret will hold the two cameras, and be able to rotate 360deg horizontal (azimuth) and about 90deg vertical (elevation) from a little lower than level to a little less than vertical. The turret will be controlled by R/C servos (controlled by a PIC).