Bob Clough managed to get our Prusa 3D printer working again, so I am back to printing out parts of my K9. One of the parts is the K9 button panel, which is mounted on K9’s rear.
Looking at the images I have assembled of K9’s timeline, I have the following three clear photos of the rear buttons.
I prefer the layout from the Doctor Who episode “Search Out Science”, but I am not a massive fan of the third handle located on K9’s back just in front of the panel, so since there is a level of inspired by, I am sure that I can skip that, and use real buttons on the panel.
Please comment below if people are aware of other layouts from the TV shows and films that I have missed on the K9 timeline page.
In the original models, the K9 buttons are not buttons; they are indicator lamps. However, rather than printing my own, I will use my 24v DC illuminated buttons and replace the incandescent bulbs with LEDS.
The two small red square “screens” on K9’s button panel are also not screens, they seem to also be indicator lamps.
I’m writing software to read the buttons’ status, run patterns across the rear, and probably repurpose the red “screens” as I2C screens that can display simple graphics and configuration information (probably driven by the buttons).
K9 Button Arduino software
This will be written in Wokwi, so you can run it in the browser as the code develops.
The K9 button panel will have a dedicated Arduino Uno, directly connected to the primary SBC (single board computer) controlling K9.
4 thoughts on “K9 Button Panel… Which layout?”
Mat Irvine thank you for this 🙂
Unfortunately for many prop/model re-creators, the actual models & props are not sacrosanct. They invariably do get modified and changed over a period of time, and The Dog is no exception. There is an additional problem with the back panel lights as they are interchangeable, and over the years probably have been switched around. There have also been two panels as the first went missing very early on, and the current one built. During major re-builds (OK there haven’t been many, but they have existed) The Dog was stripped down completely and re-painted, so the lenses would also certainly have been removed before masking for the respray. Pretty sure the colours didn’t go back in the previous order! So frankly take what is there at the moment.
The screenshot is from the titles of K-9 and Company, and that’s what I would use – the latter now on display at the sci-fi “museum” prop has whatever was nearest, by the looks of the thing… and the top one in the DWE, Cardiff, isn’t genuine at all – it’s a privately owned replica with notable differences.
Thank you for the clarification:)