Build the Whisker Circuits

The directions below will guide you through building whisker switch circuits on your cyber:bot. The whisker switch wires connect to posts on the front corners of the robot. 

  • Put the cyber:bot board's power switch in position 0.
  • Check to make sure the posts are already installed on your robot. If they are not, install them now using the parts list and picture below.
    • (2)  7/8″ pan head 4-40 Phillips screws
    • (2)  ½″ round spacer
    • (2)  Nylon washers,  size #4
  • Loosen the post screws slightly and slip the hooked end of a whisker wire around each one.  The whisker must go below the washer on one side, and above the washer on the other side.

cyber:bot whiskers installed on grounded chassis posts

  • Use the following parts to build the rest of the switch circuitry on the breadboard as shown below.
    • (2)  3-pin m/m headers
    • (2)  resistors, 220 Ω (red-red-brown)
    • (2) resistors, 10 kΩ (brown-black-orange)
    • (misc) jumper wires

  • Double-check your connections:
    • 220 Ω resistors (red‑red-brown) connect digital pins 7 and 9 to their corresponding 3-pin headers.
    • 10 kΩ resistors (brown-black-orange) connect 3.3 V to each 3-pin header.
    • Make sure to adjust each whisker so that it is close to, but not touching, the 3-pin header on the breadboard. A distance of about 1/8″ (3 mm) is about right.