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Name: Mike Konshak
Member since: 2002-09-04 19:35:11
Last Login: 2004-09-02 19:10:32

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Homepage: http://www.robotdojo.com

Notes: I am a 57 year old (as of 2004) Senior Advisory Development Engineer for Storage Technology Corporation and have spent most of my career as a mechanical engineer designing products related to computer mass storage, including magnetic and optical disk drives, tape drives and robotic libraries. I currently hold 15 US patents and several foreign patents. My current activities involve the design of disk arrays.

At one time, when Commodore computers were popular, I had a business called Michaelsoft (Home Spun Software) where I wrote a popular database management system called Datefile/DFile64 and DFile128, along with DFCalc, all in BASIC. I have owned a solar electric business in Colorado, High Noon Solar, and installed several photovoltaic system in remote mountain homes, including my own. I am a licensed Amateur Ham radio operator KI0CC. I built and raced vintage legal motorcycles in 1999 and 2000 and won 7 National Championships.

During the last year and a half, I turned the skills I had acquired over the years toward the development of R/C bots used to compete in TV shows like Robot Wars, Robotica and Battlebots, as well as in grass roots competitions around the United States. I have won several competitions and will have appeared on TV about 32 times in 2002. Although fun and entertaining, I don't consider my creations (12 so far) true ROBots (call them Remote Operated Bots) as they are very dumb mechanisms that tethered via air waves to humans, but I am in the process of developing useful autonomous off- road robots in which to keep people out-of- harms- way. I have recently created a new website called 'telerover.com' in which to partner with other organizations that might need my skills.

I am joining your group and hope to learn much from you as time goes by, and if I can help others, that would be great, too. I don't think I've met anyone on the list, so if you would be kind enough to visit my web site www.robotdojo.com, or www.konshak.com, you'll probably find enough info to make us acquantices, if not friends, then you can rate me accordingly.

Thanks.Mike

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2 Sep 2004 »

All my robots have left the dojo and found new homes, a few parts are still around which I will peddle at my Robotdojo Website.

Two of my largest robots, Flexy-Flyer and Pro-AM (Kumite) have been donated to the University of Colorado, Boulder, for the use of their Computer Science and Engineering Students. Flexy became a robotics platform for an autonomous senior project called "Smart Rover". Check out the 2003 Capston Expo at CU for more information. Pro-Am is being outfitted for similar functions. My robotic platforms save the students time, so they can concentrate on electronic, software and artificial intelligence issues rather than deal with the mechanical aspects of robotics.

Both bots are expecting honorary degrees. ;o)

A side note, I've been collecting slide rules for a while and you can view my collection and on-line museum at Mike's Calculators for Hairy- Eared Engineers on my www.konshak.com web site. It is now one of the world's largest on-line collections.

8 Aug 2003 (updated 8 Aug 2003 at 20:16 UTC) »

I've started selling off all my robotic combat bots and parts. In the process, the local newspaper, The Boulder (Colorado) Daily Camera did an article on me, dated August 6, 2003, which talks about my retirement in this field.

If you get a chance stop by my Robotdojo website to see what I am selling. Click on the FOR SALE sign. Thanks!

28 Oct 2002 »

Critter Crunch was held in Denver Colorado on Oct 20, 2002. We submitted 4 entries in the 2 pound critter class and one entry in the 20 pound critter class. The event was run sumo style where bots needed to push the opponent of the 8 foot square platform. Me-Me-Me won second in the 20 lb class, here's a picture of one of the matches. The 1 pound little guys on the floor are the other 2/3's of Me-Me-Me which helped bring it up to 20 Lbs.

Tandem won 2nd overall in the 2 lb'ders. Our multibot critter combo of Blizzard and Tinbender, both weighing 1 pound each, pulled out a third in the 2 pound class, losing to Tandem. The matchup.

For an event report and lots of pictures, go to Critter Crunch 2002 at the Robotdojo

16 Oct 2002 »

We're back from competing in MechWars 5 in St. Paul, Minnissota, where Full Frontal Fulcrum won the Middle weight Championship and Kumite finished 3rd in the Heavy Weight division. You can see pictures of the event on my website at RobotDojo.

7 Oct 2002 (updated 1 Nov 2002 at 22:07 UTC) »

This weekend I built two 1 pound [454 gram) r/c bots intended for competition at MURC, or a Sozbots event.

These little guys use a highly modified Battlebot toy as a platform, which are actually very easy to work with to make something unique, but inexpensive.

Plane-Jane has a carbon fibre plane on the front and has been rewired to disable certain features that are part of the toy and the dry cells have been replaced with Ni-Cads. I had to add a steel bar under the plane to get the weight up , but it is still underweight at .9 lb [411 gm]

Blizzard has a 4130 chromolly steel 'snow' plow on the front. The plow itself is 3/8 of the overall weight of the bot. You don't want to catch this when it falls of the dinner table as the plow blade is really sharp. The holes in the 3.2mm thick plow are to help bring the bot into weight compliance. The front was originally the rear of the toy, but the motor controller was rewired to get the forward direction and steering modified to reverse the direction. It has also has been rewired to disable certain features that are part of the toy and the dry cells have been replaced with Ni-Cads. The front extension aand battery compartment was cut off and the new Nicad batteries were mounted over the wheels. The toy's wheels were replaced with wheels from the on- linline Sozbots store.

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