Bad Habit Mk II
a few days before the event

Production on my second bot started the first week of April, 2001 with the competition starting on May 22nd. I had about 8 weeks to put it all together. I salvaged my speed controllers, some polycarb, and the custom motor mounts from the original Bad Habit. The rest, including all the motors/gearboxes and every aluminum part, had to be completely replaced and built from scratch. It was a rush but I got it done in time. Here are the few posts and pictures I took during this time - I just didn't have the time to document what was going on, too busy cutting and fitting.

The changes from the original Bad Habit where:

* Get rid of the rear wedge and run with "exposed" wheels. The rear wheels stuck out behind the frame at all points. This meant that even if I was lifted up at an angle of 90 degrees, I would still have wheels on the ground and the ability to move. In the fights this was a major advantage. The disadvantage to this is that the wheels where exposed to taking hits, and that given the right circumstances/opponent, I could have one of them literally ripped off.

* The distance between the front wheels and back wheels was lengthened approximately 1.5"

* Put the rear internal brace in front of the motor/gearboxes, not behind them like in the original model.

* Due to taking off the rear wedge and the exposed wheels, I had a less area to armor and used less aluminum on the main frames. This meant I didn't have to take off as much weight off the aluminum sq. tubing. After cutting and drilling them for the motor mounts and holes for the wheels, I just left them alone. In the original model I had to remove lots of excess aluminum to reach the weight limit. This made for stronger side support.

* Put 1/2" polycarb vertical braces besides the battery. My last battle in Vegas ended because my batteries took a hammer blow and broke - this time I rigged it that even if I took another blow right on top of the batteries, the bracing would hold and they wouldn't break.

* Use the dean's short antenna outside the frame instead of the longer antenna that's standard in the receiver.

* Got a new radio, a Hitec Prism 7 at 75MHz. Did the mixing at the TX this time - a big difference in my ability to steer. I was quite happy with my driving ability at San Francisco.

3/25/2001:

After being out of the mode far too long, I have finally returned to the light.

It's time to get ready for SF, so a Bad Habit rebuild has begun.

Much cutting and drilling of aluminum will now commence.

5/7/2001:

After about 6 weeks of fulltime effort, Bad Habit is back. Pictures when it's daylight again. She reached a milestone tonight, she could fight right now if absolutely necessary.

Sure, I've got to put on the new set of wheels and cut a new front armor plate, but the old wheels and old armor work well enough for practice driving. The new Hitec Prism 7 at 75MHz works like a charm. I don't know what to do, I suddenly have all these mixing/dual rate/exponential options to play with. Finding the right mix will take a bit of time.

Going to cut the final pieces and put on the newer parts just before SF, no sense getting the armor beat up or wheels worn down as I drive it around. The rest of the week will be all about driving practice.

Ah-ha. Found the good digital camera. Here's some pix before daylight.

Notice I've lost the reverse wedge on the back - the biggest design difference from Bad Habit, Mk 1. That wedge rides up the spike strip really, really well and leaves you hanging, one of the reasons my BB record is a stirling 0-1.

The other big design upgrade is the 3/8" thick aluminum motor mounts on each motor - not only holds them really tight in place but also acts as a heatsink. A good thing because it's going to get hot inside the bot after 3 minutes of hard use. I'm trying to figure out where to put a fan blowing the air out, but it's going to be tight to squeeze it in.

In the process of losing the back wedge I've extended the distance between front and rear wheels about 1" - hopefully between that and the new radio and lots of practice the driving will be better this time around.

Current weight with the top armor installed is about 57.5lb - get a final measurement this week. Looks like I have enough oz left to mount some spring steel armor on the rear - probably not a bad idea.

5/10/2001:

This is why we want to finish our bots before the competition and get some practice in. That used to be a 6" x 2" colson performa.

The good news:

- This happened because I was using the old tires from Bad Habit, Mk1. A couple of those had cracks all the way through, thanks to the 100+ hammer blows I took in Vegas. This was one of those wheels. What does that mean? When I put on my brand new set of wheels, I won't have this problem.

- This stalled one of my motors and I finally got a chance to not only see and smell the magic smoke for the first time in my bot, but I found out what happens when said stalling occurs. The wheel locks up, but the bot was still mobile. Don't you love direct drive on 4 wheels?

- The Victor 883 survived. I don't know how, but it did.

- I have a bunch of spare motors from Bad Habit Mk1 that can be used to replace said motor that burned up.

The bad news:

- I was hoping that I would not have to tear down the bot again before my first fight. Most of the fasteners have loc-tite on them, so it's going to be interesting getting it all in pieces so I can replace that blown motor.

- Need to move up the schedule for modifying the spare set of wheels to fit into my drivetrain system.

- Driving practice will be delayed until the new motor is installed and the wheels are swapped out.

Still, by the end of this weekend it should all be good. Remember folks, you want to practice till it hurts.

5/20/2001:

Here are the final pix - Note rakish cut on the back, outer edges of the aluminum square tubing. Always a few things to be done in the end, but I would be happy to fight with Bad Habit as she is now. This is with the original armor up front for that "Been There, Done That" look. I have replacement armor as needed.

Again, had a great time at the event. It was a zoo, as you can tell from some of my pictures.

Here are some pictures of Bad Habit Mark II from the event, some before and after shots. I decided to put on some spring steel as top armor because I had the weight to spare and there was a chance I might be fighting Toe Crusher. In the end I didn't face TC, but left the armor on because, hey, you never know.

I was able to win a couple of fights, often thanks to having the exposed wheels in the back. There where a few times where I had the front wheels off the ground and was able to quickly backup and regain control due to those rear wheels.

After the fight where I lost, I was missing a wheel due to hammer blows snapping off the driveshaft. At that point I was guaranteed a spot in the rumble and maybe could have replaced it in time. I decided not to bother, and instead prop up the corner with some polycarb and see what I could do with only 3 wheels.

You will notice in the last picture (post rumble) that my concern about having exposed wheels came true - I got a lovetap from a spinner and it bent the 1/4" aluminum like it was tinfoil. But I was a goner long before then and by the time that happened was dead in the water due to motor and gearbox issues and missing a wheel. If I had still been mobile, I wouldn't have taken that hit in the rear.

Bad Habit Mark II is now retired and in parts. I hope to recycle some of those parts in my next bot.