Working With Coastie, the Safety Boat 1 Working With Coastie The Safety Boat Not every Coastie is...

Working With Coastie, the Safety Boat

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Working With

CoastieThe Safety Boat

Not every Coastie is identical. Some features may be slightly different on your Coastie.


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“Saving Lives Through Education”Coastie teaches children about being safe around the water.

There are eight areas, in particular, that Coastie targets with the kids:

1. Don’t just pack it. Wear your life jacket.

2. Never ride in the bow of the boat. You might fall in and kids don’t float.

3. If someone falls in and can’t swim, reach or throw but don’t go in.

4. Always swim with a buddy in a supervised area

5. Look before you leap!

6. Learn to swim.

7. Never throw trash or bilge water overboard.

8. Encourage Mom and Dad to take a Safe Boating Course.

For more about Coastie’s Lesson Plan, visit:http://coastie.auxpa.org/team/lessonplan.html

http://coastie.auxpa.org/team/lessonplan.html



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Coastie’s Mobile Home

Coastie will come, strapped into his own personal trailer, along with bumpers, controllers, batteries and chargers, antennae and posters.


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Where to Begin• Unfasten the straps (see next

slide). The straps should be fastened on the outside of the dustcover, with the white bumpers between the straps and dustcover.

• Pay attention to how Coastie was fastened down and how the other equipment was packed in the trailer.

• Remove Coastie’s dustcover. When repacking Coastie, the searchlight should be removed and transported in one of the accompanying boxes.

Coastie’s cover should be removed while he is still in the trailer so you can

see what you’re doing.


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Loosening and Tightening the Straps

To tighten Coastie’s straps:

Move the handle up and down. It will draw the strap tighter with each crank.

To loosen Coastie’s straps:

#1 Press down on the spring loaded button

#2 Open the clip entirely and pull the attached portion of the strap to loosen it.

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(Coastie’s straps should be fastened around the outside of the dustcover)


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Coastie’s Little TrailerCoastie comes with a small trailer for moving him when he is not operating under his own power.

These two hooks attach to two of the “eyes” on Coastie’s underside. The eyes are impossible to see from the top or front and difficult to feel. There are similar eyes located in the back.

This is a picture of two of the “eyes” on Coastie’s underside.

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Hooks are located both at the front and back of Coastie’s little trailer. All hooks should be fastened securely when using the trailer


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Removing Coastie from the Trailer

Before attempting to move Coastie, make sure all straps have been removed.

Coastie is MUCH easier to carry when his battery is not installed, The battery is HEAVY!

Carefully lift Coastie and his small trailer, which should be attached, and carry him to the edge of the trailer.

Gently lift Coastie down.Caution: Be careful if standing inside the doorway of the trailer. The trailer can tip.


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Installing Coastie’s Battery

#1 Remove the plastic cover on Coastie’s stern.

#2 Locate the connector on the right side.

#3 Hold the connector out of the way, as you set the battery inside of Coastie

#4 Connect the battery to the connector– black to black, red to red.


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Coastie’s Antennae

•Coastie comes with two antennae that screw onto connectors near his smoke stack.

•It is important to note that Coastie should never be transported with the antennae’s attached.

•Coastie’s antennae do not affect transmission. They are for decoration, only.


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Setting up the ControllersTo control Coastie, you will find:

•A remote control unit

•A receiver that makes it possible to hear in the headphones what’s being said near Coastie’s microphone.

•And a voice transmitter that allows the operator’s voice to be modulated and heard, coming from Coastie


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Coastie’s remote control unit comes with a lanyard to allow the controller the use of both hands. The lanyard hooks easily to the “eye” in the center/top of the remote control unit.


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Connecting the Headset•The receiver is labeled “orange” and the voice transmitter is labeled “pink”.

•It’s important to plug the orange and pink plugs coming from the headset into the corresponding units.

•The orange plug should be plugged into the jack labeled “headphones”. The “output” jack will be empty.

•Both of these units use standard batteries that are easy to install.

•Make sure to have extra batteries on hand.


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Turning Everything On#1 On the unit labeled “Pink”, push the switch to “on” position. Use the “input level” dial to adjust the volume. This will determine the volume of Coastie’s voice.

NOTE: The operator’s transmitter and receiver should be kept as far apart as possible, such as opposite sides of the operator’s waist.

Do not attach the units together. Antennas should hang freely.

#2 On the unit labeled “Orange” Use the Volume “dial” to turn the unit on and adjust the volume. This determines the volume of what you will hear in the headset.


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#2

Left is ON, Right is OFF

Turn on the Remote Control (RC) Transmitter before switching on the robot.

Power Button

#1


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Charging Coastie’s Battery

•Coastie usually comes with two batteries and a charger.

•Plug the charger into a wall jack and then connect the battery cable to the charger, black to black and red to red.

•Coastie uses one of these large batteries at a time. The second one is for back up.


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•This charger will charge the battery full in about 8 hours, depending on how long you have operated Coastie.

•It will not overcharge the battery. It goes to a float charge mode once the battery is fully charged.

•(A fully charged battery, under heavy use, should last at least several hours.)


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The number one rule for battery care is to keep the batteries fully charged at all times

Like all batteries, there is some discharge that occurs every day. Because of this, you should charge the battery monthly during periods when the robot is not being used.

The battery charger can be left connected for extended periods of time to keep the batteries at full.

It is good practice to rotate the batteries if you have two or more

For a battery that is outside the robot, store the battery on a wood or rubber surface, not on concrete floors.

Taking Care of the Robot Battery

Please NOTE that this is not true for the remote control unit’s battery and charger. NOTE


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Charge the battery in a dry, well ventilated area. Leave the back cover off while charging if you charge it inside the robot.

Do not position your face over the battery at any time while making connections.

Do not smoke, strike a match or cause a spark in the vicinity of the battery during charging

Always unplug the AC supply cord before connecting or disconnecting the charger from the battery

When charging, a lead acid battery gives off hydrogen gas. Although this type of battery only gives off a small percentage of gas, the following procedures should be observed:

HAZARD OF EXPLOSIVE GAS MIXTURE

Important Battery Precautions


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•Do not drop a metal tool onto the battery

•Do not expose the charger to rain

•Replace defective cords and wires immediately

•Do not operate this charger with a two bladed adapter plug or extension cord.

•To reduce the risk of shock, connect only to a properly grounded outlet

Battery Precautions, continued


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The Remote Control BatteryThe battery for the remote control unit is located under a door on the back of the unit.

but it will only work if the copper side of the connector is turned away from the battery.

When plugging the battery into the unit, NOTE that you CAN plug it in backward,

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•The NIMH RC transmitter battery will last about 5-6 hours on a full charge.

•Charge the battery for 12 - 14 hours.

•Do not overcharge the batteries as this can cause permanent damage to them.

•Use an adaptor to charge the battery while still inside the controller, itself.

•Make sure power switch is in the “off” position

•(This is much easier than removing the battery).

Charging the Remote Control Battery


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The remote control unit’s battery can be removed and recharged–

NOTE that you CAN plug the connector in backward, but it will only work if you plug it in correctly. Line up the “tab” on the connector with the “groove” in the slot.


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Coastie’s tape player and mp3 player allow us to play patriotic music or Coastie’s song. After pushing “play”, these are controlled from the remote control unit.

Tape and MP3 Players

The connectors for these devices are locate just behind the battery, inside Coastie.


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Coastie has a “squirter” for outside use. The switch and reservoir are located inside to the left of the battery and tape player.

Squirter

Coastie’s Squirter


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Coastie’s Controller

Eyes Left

and Right

Drive forward, backward, turn left and right.


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Moving Coastie’s eyes really makes him come alive!

Switch Up- Coastie’s eye lids lift in “surprise”

Switch Down- Blink left eye lid

Switch Down- Blink right eye

Switch Left and Right- Moves eyes to the left and right


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Coastie’s Special Effects

Yellow Switch Down –

Flashing yellow light

Green Switch Down - Siren

Coastie’s horn has been disabled – it was just too loud.

Yellow Switch Up- Running lights and stern light

Red Switch Down – Spot Light

Note: Using the spotlight for extended periods of time drains the battery much more quickly


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Coastie’s Microphone•Coastie’s microphone is very sensitive. If anyone brushes up against it, particularly with snaps, buttons and zippers, or if anyone shouts near the microphone, it may cause Coastie’s controller discomfort and “broken” ear drums.

•Children’s names should be used as much as possible, enabling Coastie to respond to the children by name.

•Questions asked by the children should be repeated, speaking close to Coastie, and in the direction of the microphone. microphone


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The Voice ModulatorCoastie’s voice modulator makes every controller’s voice sound like a cartoonish child’s voice.

It will take a few minutes to power up. When the shifter is on, the power light labeled ‘check’ will be lit.

This is a picture of the modulator controls. You can feel these, but probably won’t be able to see them. They’re located inside, behind the battery on the right-hand side.

It is fine to leave it on all the time. If your own voice is coming through Coastie, rather than Coastie’s cartoonish voice, it is possible that the unit has been turned off.

The “pedal” is similar to a sewing machine foot pedal and can be used to turn the modulator off and on.

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The Voice Modulator

Not used for pitch shifter

Set the mode switch to Pitch Shifter by turning it all the way to the left, bottom position

Then vary the pitch switch until you get the sound that you want.

According to the manual, about 8 O’clock on the pitch knob gives a good voice.

Top center of this

double knob is the

Balance Knob

The pedal that turns the pitch shifter on and off is located at the back on the top of the unit.

Mode Switch - Selects the mode

Check indicator light- difficult to see

Pitch Switch - Adjusts the amountof pitch shift.


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The Voice Modulator

The picture in the notebook that comes with Coastie, is upside down compared to what you’ll see and feel inside Coastie.

Balance Knob -

toward EFXPitch at about

8:00

Mode Knob pointing

toward the words, “PITCH

SHIFTER”

This is how it really looks and feels


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Operating Hints• Operate with charged batteries in the transmitter and robot• Never operate Coastie out of line-of-sight• If you need to set the radio control down, turn Coastie off first• Always have a trained person posted near Coastie to help in crowd

control and to protect the robot from vandalism.• Operating distance should never exceed 100 feet.Avoid walls, turns

and other obstacles.• Never leave Coastie “on” when unattended or in direct sunlight for

an extended period of time.• Use on hard, smooth surfaces and carpet. Avoid extra deep shag

carpet, dirt, gravel or grass. Avoid steep inclines, curbs, gutters or uncovered electrical lines.

• Area in front of Coastie should be clear of children for about 10 feet.• Practice with Coastie before attempting your first session.


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The notebook that comes with Coastie covers all important information and also has great troubleshooting tips.

When in doubt…


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Working with Coastie is a team effort….

Welcome to the team!


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Visit Coastie’s Homepage

http://coastie.auxpa.org/

You can find a great lesson plan for using with Coastie at:


For information about this slideshow, including additions and corrections, please contact

Susan Nymeyer – [email protected]



http://coastie.auxpa.org/

Date post:	15-Jan-2016
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Working With Coastie, the Safety Boat 1 Working With Coastie The Safety Boat Not every Coastie is...

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