iRobot Scooba experience

[thewiseone]

iRobot came out with 2 home base styles for the Discovery series. The 1st was for the non swivel front caster wheel and the 2nd was to cater for the newer front caster wheels. Due to the location of the wheel and design, a new bot with a older style home base will have problems docking.

As for IR reflections, if u use a camera , u will see two IR LEDs emitting from the home base, This is to act as a guidance beam for the bot during docking. Now, if u have anything reflective in front of the dock, it can interfere with the guidance beams resulting in Roomba having problems docking.

What u mean by IR reflections?

The home base can change one meh?

 

[wism_chan]

I am still thinking of which model to go for....
Could all of you guyz help to give me comments on which irobot that you have and the pro / cons in having that...

Nick:
Model:
Pro:
Cons:

Thanks in advance.....

 

[jc777]

Hi bro,

Sorry i am kind of new to this irobot thingy. Why is the 5xx no good? I just came back from Fry's and bought a 560, cost me $318USD all in. They dun sell the command center though.

BTW, i may need some help to do the 110v to 220v conversion. May i know who can do it reliably in Singapore. Thanks

i think i can do the conversion (modding) reliably, at least i have successfully modded my own adaptor (roomba 560) and working well since jan.

 

[hansolo76sg]

theres no need for detailed analysis of pros and cons la.

the vacuum part of the technology itself is the same. difference lies in peripherals ie 550 has extra filters or the lighthouse tech ie 535 above or wireless command centre ie 570 above

at the end of the day u have to decide if u need all these extras and pay the extra for them. lastly it pays to keep in mind that keeping things simple more often than not means lower maintainance cost.

I am still thinking of which model to go for....
Could all of you guyz help to give me comments on which irobot that you have and the pro / cons in having that...

Nick:
Model:
Pro:
Cons:

Thanks in advance.....

 

[XxDrAg0nxX]

iRobot came out with 2 home base styles for the Discovery series. The 1st was for the non swivel front caster wheel and the 2nd was to cater for the newer front caster wheels. Due to the location of the wheel and design, a new bot with a older style home base will have problems docking.

As for IR reflections, if u use a camera , u will see two IR LEDs emitting from the home base, This is to act as a guidance beam for the bot during docking. Now, if u have anything reflective in front of the dock, it can interfere with the guidance beams resulting in Roomba having problems docking.

Oh my gawd..

Later i take a peekture of the base u help me see if its new or old one

 

[thewiseone]

U dont need to take pics, just check this out :

http://www.roombareview.com/chat/viewtopic.php?t=4262&highlight=base+styles

Oh my gawd..

Later i take a peekture of the base u help me see if its new or old one

 

[thewiseone]

Just finished repairing my Red. Replaced the !@#@! side brush motor with a brand new unit. Its so dirty inside (i'm literally covered with dust!) and the side brush motor is simply caked ALL OVER with dust. Dust is killing our bots prematurely, if only there's a better way of shielding the components from the terrible dust!

 

[dankoo]

Just finished repairing my Red. Replaced the !@#@! side brush motor with a brand new unit. Its so dirty inside (i'm literally covered with dust!) and the side brush motor is simply caked ALL OVER with dust. Dust is killing our bots prematurely, if only there's a better way of shielding the components from the terrible dust!

Totally agreed. I wonder why iRobot dont invest more time to look into dust proofing the bot. I mean it is meant to suck up dust and very good at that...so it would make sense to prevent itself from being killed by it!

 

[koiphone]

Is roombaexchange the best place to buy the accessories?

 

[XxDrAg0nxX]

U dont need to take pics, just check this out :

http://www.roombareview.com/chat/viewtopic.php?t=4262&highlight=base+styles

Hmm, Mine is the right side one with the longer lip i think?

 

[XxDrAg0nxX]

HMMMmmm

robobob wrote:
The Home Base redesign was needed as the new caster is located further back in the roomba and the bumper would hit the charging posts 3/16 of an inch before the wheel touched the bottom plate of the Home Base. The bottom plate was extended 5/16 of an inch so that the wheel would start into the Home Base and raise the Roomba bumper to clear the charging posts and successfully enter the Home Base. In identifying this problem, Customer Support said to expect it to take about 7 attempts to dock. My tests showed an average of 6.4. iRobot is going to replace the Home Base with the newer version. While waiting for it, I have made a 1/16 inch thick rubber mat that goes under the Home Base and has cut outs for the feet of the Home Base. This raises the front wheel before the Home Base allowing it to clear the charging posts. The result is successful docking on the first attempt.

Something interesting to try...

Where the **** am i going to find a rubber mat now

 

[thewiseone]

Think i know why! Its not that its technically impossible or they dont have the know how. Imagine your Roomba easily lasting 3 to 5 years without requiring repairs or servicing, they'll be out of business in a jiffy!

Totally agreed. I wonder why iRobot dont invest more time to look into dust proofing the bot. I mean it is meant to suck up dust and very good at that...so it would make sense to prevent itself from being killed by it!

 

[thewiseone]

Eh, why u need to buy accessories from them only? U can also get from iRobot, Amazon, Ebay and other online stores. If u r talking about spare parts like brush deck, motors, etc., they do have a big selection but necessarily always the best prices.

Is roombaexchange the best place to buy the accessories?

 

[thewiseone]

Ok, so i guess u do have the correct home base. Now if u want to put a mat to raise Roomba's approach height, i think u should be able to find such mats at places like Ikea, Homefix, etc. Probably difficult to find the exact size but u can always trim down to your required size.

HMMMmmm



Something interesting to try...

Where the **** am i going to find a rubber mat now

 

[hoppie]

i think i can do the conversion (modding) reliably, at least i have successfully modded my own adaptor (roomba 560) and working well since jan.

Hi Bro,

Great! may i know the part number of the component you purchase? I will go SLT to grab it when i am back.

 

[iMbEst]

at the end of the day u have to decide if u need all these extras and pay the extra for them. lastly it pays to keep in mind that keeping things simple more often than not means lower maintainance cost.

not necessary true, 550 has more stuff than 560 yet cheaper. As long as it's direct from iRobot, it's more ex.

 

[koiphone]

Eh, why u need to buy accessories from them only? U can also get from iRobot, Amazon, Ebay and other online stores. If u r talking about spare parts like brush deck, motors, etc., they do have a big selection but necessarily always the best prices.

Yup, i'm refering to the spare parts like wheels, filters, motors. etc. Will search for other avenues too.

 

[hoppie]

Hi All,

Can experience people who carried the Irobot back to SG advice how you do it? Just check in the Irobot and put fragile? What i am worried is i may get Taxed at SG. Please advice will be going back 2 days later.

 

[koiphone]

Hi All,

Can experience people who carried the Irobot back to SG advice how you do it? Just check in the Irobot and put fragile? What i am worried is i may get Taxed at SG. Please advice will be going back 2 days later.

In simple term, as long as the cost is more than $400 will be taxed. Other ways, well up to you and your imaginations.

And also hand carry, if i remember correctly is limit to 7kg.

 

[jaimetan88]

Hi people! I called up Singapore distributor for irobot earlier. And this is what was quoted. Model 560 at sgd980. irobot US website is selling at usd350. So my offer of sgd750 for Model 570 (got wireless command center to program the robot and extra brush kit) is good deal?

Btw the deal is to deliver the Model 570 (US Set) to me in Singapore for sgd750.