I thought I would give a quick update on my project so far.
I’ve been studying a lot for the last few days but when I get a few minutes I do some research on my side project.
So, I thought I’d update here on my “blog” if you want to call it that.

1. If I wanted to run 4 motors separately I would need 2 L298 H-Bridge ICs.
   I’ve put some thought into this, though, and I’m not sure I really need 4-wheel drive.
   I mean having 4 motors in my project doesn’t mean that I will need to run all 4 separately.
   Each side of the robot will receive the same PWM signal, so there is no real need to run these motors separately.
   I’m thinking this would be better accomplished running each side in parallel.
   So, I see a possible issue with extreme power drain but that’s another bridge that I will need to cross. So, I will add that to the list.
2. My search to find some good DC motors has also led me to search for wheels that will fit them and possibly a chassis that will house all of this.
   I originally wanted to make my own chassis and I had some hare-brained scheme imagining myself in the garage up late nights designing and building
   this chassis out of the old leftover cedar wood in the garage at home. I have come to the realization that a chassis made out of wood would really
   be impractical and generally not a good idea. So I’ve expanded my search to include looking for a good chassis, hopefully one that comes with motors and such.
3. Troubles with the chassis have come to head since a lot of sites selling this type of equipment seem to leave out information I want to know.
   I can find an electric motor and they tell me the RPM and voltage but not the stall torque. I figure I need to know the stall torque to
   have an idea how much weight these motors can take, and how much speed they will give me. I’ll find a chassis that looks good but then they
   won’t have any dimensions. Before I drop some money, I want to make sure I’m not buying something the size of a match box.
4. I did make some progress hunting for the answer to the ultimate question: “FPGA or µC?” I found an open source µC with a good
   amount of support that seems to be good enough to meet my needs. I found some sample programs for it, and it looks like the HDL is something
   really close to C++ which is good since that is a language I’m familiar with. It’s made by a company named Arduino,
   and it seems pretty cool. Now, on the equipment search, I found a handheld oscilloscope with a function-generating output on the internet
   for about $200. I’m thinking I might get it for my personal electronics needs. Reviews on it seem pretty positive. A friend of mine is getting
   one for Christmas, so I’m hoping to
   take a look at it and try it out a bit before I get one myself.

Let’s see where we are on the master checklist now:

• [ ] Ascertain how to use antennas with this project
  1. What frequencies can I use?
  2. What ranges can be expected?
  3. Are there any IC’s that make this easier?
  4. Can information go both ways?
• [X] How many L298 (H-bridge) IC’s do I need for 4 DC motors?

  2, but do I really need to run all 4 individually?

• [ ] Find some good DC motors
  1. Not too Big.
  2. Around 9v Max running voltage
• [ ] Find a good way to power all of this
  1. Perhaps adapt another battery pack from another RC car
  2. Something with enough power to run it for about 2 to 4 hours
  3. Preferably rechargeable.
• [ ] Find a way to be able to use an O-Scope and Function Generator for testing purposes
• [ ] FPGA or MC? That is the question
  1. Programming Language
  2. Price of Testing, SW, and Mounting