ROB and Stack Up / Robot Block

[UglyJoe]

So I've been attempting to get ROB working with Family Basic.  I have it pretty much working now, but I'm having issues with two of the commands.

There are two "up" commands and two "down" commands.  One pair is used by Gyromite / Robot Gyro and moves ROB up/down by two positions (giving him three total vertical positions).  The other pair is used by Stack Up / Robot Block and moves ROB up/down by one position (giving him six total vertical positions).

The problem that I am running into is that both pairs of commands are moving my ROB up/down by two positions.  I thought it was strange that I could use two different flashing sequences and get the same result, so I decided to load up Stack Up on my NES to test it out.  Even then, though, my ROB was still moving up/down by two positions instead of one!

Has anyone else ever tried to control ROB using Stack Up?  Does your ROB move up/down by one position or by two positions?

[nerdynebraskan]

That's interesting. I have a ROB, with Gyromite and Stack Up sets. I've used them both, but I'd never noticed there was a difference in vertical movement between the two.

[P]

That's very strange. It was a long time ago I tested it but I'm pretty sure Robot Block always moves only one step, while Robot Gyro always moves two steps (even in direct mode I think). You can reach all six vertical positions in Robot Gyro too by moving ROB through the highest or lowest position so he will be forced to stop. It shouldn't hurt the motors because of slipping clutches.

I wish I had more time so I could pack up my Robot and test it again but it'll have to wait. Real cool that you got it to work with Family Basic though! I have been reading up on 6502 assembly in my spare time to see if I could figure out how to control ROB, but I've been very busy lately.

What version of ROB do you have? Mine is the Japanese version (no idea about revision or anything).

[UglyJoe]

Okay, so it is supposed to only go up or down by one notch.  Thanks.

I'm thinking more and more that the repairs I made to ROB years ago when I bought it are not entirely correct.  I know I managed pull one of the wires off of the PCB and had my dad resolder for me...maybe it's soldered to the wrong contact or something.  I'm also wondering if the vertical movements are too slow, since the "memory" mode in Stack-Up won't work unless I set it to the slowest possible speed.  It would be odd for the game to include multiple speed settings that were utterly unusable.

So, bad news is my ROB is broken.  Good news is my code is probably working correctly!

[80sFREAK]

And where is the code? 

[UglyJoe]

You might say there is a little bit of ROB-controlling Family Basic code in all of us.

You might more accurately say that it's on my computer.

I'll post it soon (tonight, maybe).  You guys know I don't hoard Family Basic code

[nerdynebraskan]

That's too bad about your ROB, Joe. They can be hard to find in perfect working order, but not impossible. Maybe you can find another?

[UglyJoe]

I'm keeping an eye on eBay, yeah.  I'll probably settle for an "as-is / for parts" one on the cheap and try to fix it myself. 

I could try to fix the one I have now, but I'm worried I'd break it even worse than it is already.  If I had a second ROB, then I could break one and still have a backup.  Not the best logic, I know, but would make me less nervous when tinkering