Mr. Mercury in the house. yes, I have a problem.

[Martian Gil]

Hello again, 'dromers.

 

Not the problem...  this would be the 5th or 6th obtained in the last week and a half... sigh.  
I'm ok with it, but it is cutting into the single malt funds.   Beer it is.  That's not the problem either...

 

Here it is - the newest member of the fam is a 3rd ed Mr. Mercury.   I purchased him as non-working.
He is in very nice shape - I strongly suspect he has never been opened.   And the inner corrosion I found in the Alps TV bot seems to be missing.   Yay.

 

Well, he does work - somewhat... that is, his arms are fully functional - it took some patience & light prodding.     

Next, his legs - when the walk or bend buttons are pushed, the twin gears in the pic (the gears with their faces to us) will "twitch" occasionally.

with the buttons off, the gear on the upper right seems to rotate freely.   The gear on the left side is locked up.

the more significant gear - in between those two and underneath - that is tight as well.   And it has not twitched at all.

 

I have Mr Merc lying on his back safely contained) with rubber bands holing his walk button down.

I have been going back every once in awhile and giving a nudge with a wooden dowel.  So far, no go - am I on the right track?

Here's the question - I notice that I can push both arm function buttons, and both function as they should.   
I can push the arm buttons - and add the bend button to it - the arms still function.    
However, if I push the walk button while pushing the other 3, all activity stops.   Is that how it should be, or is he grounding out somewhere?

I can't seem to get to motor contacts without opening him, so I can't trace power properly - unless someone has a hint that I haven't found yet.  

 

I'd really like to see this guy in action - but, I have read many threads that indicate that repairs are completed just in time for something else to pop.  From what I can tell without opening, the leg cams and bending cam all seem to be in great shape.

 

Can anyone tell me what my least invasive options are?

 

And now for the real problem... I'm not expecting to get any more packages in the mail this week... sigh.

 

thanks all - 

 

 

 

 

[Martian Gil]

and MetalRobotHead - fantastic pics and details!    
If I crack this guy open, you seemed to have made a nice map for me.

[Martian Gil]

scratch that - when pushed at the same time, both arm functions DO NOT work together.    

I took the batt case and remote apart.   looking at it, they shouldn't function together - so I'm back to square 2 or 3.

I'll keep on those gears for a bit longer.

 

[chilli]

If the remote is similar to a Dux astroman then the connectors under the buttons can get corroded.

I find the easiest way to track a problem is either to solder 2 wires to a battery or use a spare remote and fasten the button on down with a rubber band. Then test your new remote with a bulb across the wire.

When you know you have a live remote use this on the various connectors on the robot. Dont do this on a single button robot (  where the original remote only makes the robot walk forward )as you can send the gears the wrong way and nasty things can happen but with a robot that uses its motor spinning both ways depending on polarity the "stick live wires in till something happens" approach is ok.

You can then determine if it is the remote at fault or the gears  or motor sticking a bit.

Cheers

Chilli

[Martian Gil]

Thanks Chillii!  

Holy crap.   I think I just messed up my eyes typing your name - and checking for correct spelling... that's alot of lines and dots.  And I even added an exclamation point.  I need bifocals.  

My poor eyesight aside - excellent advice.   I took the remote apart and checked it out - it looked good, but I still checked with your bulb suggestion.   I am indeed getting power from all for connections.

With that, I got a little more aggressive with putting some pressure on the gears - I learned which rotation turns the legs.  

Now, after spending some time on the gears, I get a definite "click" through the robots body when I engage the walk or bend.   No movement yet, but the motor is trying to come back.

 

There is a set of (I think) drive gears deeper inside.   I managed to put a little pressure on those, but I need to make a different pusher.   I have a long thin screwdriver, but I wnt to cut a little piece of hickory.   I'd rather go through a few pieces of wood rather than tear up a gear.

 

Off to the shop - thanks!

 

[chilli]

Hi, you should find that clicking the motor cogs with a prodder  is where the problem is , the gears are not normally the problem. Just keep them live and keep prodding them.But I have had a similar problem on a dux where the gears were knacked at big gear box. But keep to the motors for now.

cheers

Chilli

[Martian Gil]

Yikes.  
I feel like I'm going to break something - I can't get the cogs to budge.   
They still give a kick when I hit the power, but no rotation - and I don't want to force it.   

How about wiring another battery to give it a little extra jolt?    There aren't any bulbs to blow, but will I damage anything else?

Thanks for your help Chilli - Kirk

[robothut]

No on the extra jolt, if things are OK mechanicaly the motor will run on 1 battery. The motors have a swing arm  and a flat gear that moves too the right or too the left depending on what direction the motor is running. This how they get two functions from a single motor. It sounds like this swing arm gear is jammed up. You will need to take the body off to see these bits and once you have done that you will also be able to use a volt meter on the wires where they solder on the motor to make sure things are good there. But if you here or feel a slight kick then I think the power is not the problem. I did a thread some place on the Drome about Mr Merc and how to add lights but also it talks about common problems. One problem with the remote is the brass screws that transfer power from inside the battery box to the switch unit on top, but if you can find the thread then all that info will be there.

[Maloo]

Great advice that you have received Martian Gil.

Apart from the broken bending and walking cams that I had to replace on mine

I found a dry joint on a wire to the walking/bending motor that had to be re soldered.

I found this to be a good robot to open up with strong tabs not prone to breaking and fascinating inside.

Good luck and can we have a look at him when all operational.

[Martian Gil]

after diner & pre-bedtime nap update...

thanks Robohut & Maloo - 

 

As I was contemplating wiring in another batt, I decided to see how strong this old fella was... like I'm sure no one on here has done before - ha!
Anyway, I got to raising and lowering his arms with various items stacked on them, my needle nose pliers, extra batteries, etc.   
So, I had a pretty good load on him when I decided to try his bend and walk functions - BLAM!   He nearly tipped over - I caught him, but my dog almost got perforated by my pliers.   
Anyway, I found that I could get his legs kicking and he would bend when I would put a little pressure or load on him.    SUPER COOL.

 

So, I'm thinking that some part of the drive mechanism but be a little bent - the flat gear doesn't seem to engage properly all of the time - or something else is slipping.  I might get a chance to dig in more tomorrow night, but I'm not sure.  
I really dig all of the advice and kindness about these old toys.

Side note - there should be some sort of challenge for how much weight these old guys can left - without "tweaks" - maybe there is already a thread on that?   
What is the craziest thing one of you has ever used a Mr Merc for?

here is a pic of the new robot - Brian, I realized that I've been uploading huge data files from my camera - I apologize - I've corrected the setting for this forum.

 

Cheers, all!

[Maloo]

He looks the ducks nuts!

Always one of my favorites

[Sonny Young]

Don't put too much weight on the robot's arms and legs. The cams and outer arm connectors are made of pot metal, which is pretty brittle. Drive shafts can loosen from their cam and spin with no action. This is a common problem. I only carry Mr Mercury and Frankenstein in a vertical position, since the weight of the legs can loosen a borderline cam. The cams are pressed on the shafts. Some are tight, but many are borderline. That's why some of these toys shuffle instead of walk. Once a cam becomes loose, it's a pain to re-attach. The pot metal can crack if you squeeze it too much. If an arm connector breaks, the arms will not work evenly. Frankenstein and Mr. Mercury have an ingenious and robust design, but because of the few weak areas, I've always considered them rather fragile.  Another example--the remote's hinges can be easily broken, and after all these years, still prone to melt marks from the wire! As Robothut mentioned, there are some excellent threads on this robot.

[Roboto]

Try this area.

 

http://danefield.com/alpha/forums/search/?q=Mr+Mercury&type=forums_topic&nodes=20

 

or this one.