I literally just cried my eyes out watching this. Ive always held this random memory from 1987 where I was standing in my kitchen playing with my armatron and my mom handing me a twinkie that I grabbed with the pincers. She died when I was 15 in 1995 so those types of memories are really special to me. Thanks for this video.

This is some serious engineering: the whole thing is powered by a single motor, yet can do all sorts of moves.

I can only imagine how much of effort it was to design such a toy with just one motor inside.

Whomever engineered this deserved a promotion in that company.

I love old stuff like that with actual gears inside. Only one motor; that is quite a marvel of engineering for $31.95, even in 1984 dollars.

I have this arm still! I've had it since I was a kid and it was ALWAYS my favourite! I pulled it apart one time when I was younger and got blown away by the number of gears

This KZfaq channel is he best. It’s like “what’s inside,” but without hitting everything with an axe. So you get to see the inside of thing without the things being completely demolished. SO YOU ACTUALLY GET TO SEE WHATS INSIDE.

I enjoy the passion you have for your hobby. I wanted one of these so bad back in the 80's. Thanks for the great memories.

If you had a 3d printer, would you have been able to print a new gear?

radio shack was so cool back in the day.

I bought one of these when I was 16. Now I'm 50 and still have it with me. It has the same issue with small gears. It's a pitty. Thanks for bring me back to my child moments.

"Fortunately I took detailed pictures..." Forgets about the video.

4:35 I was already thinking: Good thing you recorded your disassembly!

I got one of these for Christmas one year when I was a kid. I still have it and it still works!

OH boy... I LOVED my Armatron!! I'm 37 now and haven't seen one in a very long time, thanks for jogging my memories!!!!

“Bought one on eBay for $20 buc...” *Me: immediately heading to eBay, mid-sentence.*

"If I didn't have that I could never put this thing back together again." Wish you could tell that to eight year old me.

great video! didnt take mine apart back in the day, and the question about the inner workings crossed my mind a few times recently.

I received this little marvel for Christmas 84 and I still own it on my shelf ! I'd never have expected to see it again elsewhere in 2020 !

That was one of my favorite toys, too. The noise drove my grandmother crazy

NO DISASSEMBLED NUMBER 5!!!

Anyone else actually kinda pissed that he didn’t just 3D print a new gear ⚙️

Absolutely one of the greatest toys EVER! My uncle found one of these and I absolutely LOVED playing with it. I always wondered how it worked and why it had a constant wirring sound when turned on. Come to think of it... he likely still has it somewhere in the house. I still remember in elementary school one rainy day finding one of these in it's box tucked away in the back of the games cabinet. Knowing what it was I excitedly grabbed it and unpacked it and set it up. All my friends for awhile had no idea what I was doing but it soon became a hit and we'd hold contests to see who could move the puzzles around quickest and all!

I spent all of the hours playing with one of these at my grandpa's as a kid you're bringing back so many memories.

Man you brought back some childhood memories. I forgot i had this when i was a kid

It's ROB's father and seem more useful. Aramtron is disappointed in his son.

During the Vietnam War my great grandfather took apart a window air conditioner and sent it over to my great uncle in a few packages with extremely detailed instructions on how he took it apart. The instructions were so good that my uncle was able to put it back together and have it work, subsequently my uncle's living quarters became a favorite spot to be for most of the soldiers.

Just used this video to help me open and repair my own Armatron that I've owned for decades. After opening, I got it to power on and run (and I don't have a large solder glob on either battery connector.) However, a pinion gear is broke in the base (not lost. It was there, split in half), and I lost "elbow bend" control. Guess it's time to hit eBay for a non-working one for parts! I know it's a year after you made this video, but thanks. It really helped me out.

Wow! I was just thinking about this thing today. This was my favorite toy as a child and I gave it to a friend for his birthday, I've regretted it ever since.

I absolutely love your content! Keep up the good work ;)

This thing must have been a hot seller for a decade or more. Because I received one as a Christmas gift in '94 or '95, sometime around there. I always wished it had more power. Thank you, uncle Frank, for all of the great gifts. You're the best.

I always wanted one of these when I was a kid. Loved these. My mom would go to Radio Shack, for whatever reason, & I was the happiest kid in the world when I got to go. I got to play with all the cool stuff that was there! Radio Shack around Christmas time was like being in a wonderland!! Great memories.

I had one of these. It started playing with all my other toys. Soon I was out of a job.

I wanted one of these so bad as a kid, I was about 8 when it came out, I ended up with 2 Robotix building sets, I think my parents made a good choice I could do way more with the robotix,.....still everytime I see one of these I want one again, also the radio shack 6 wheel truck that would drive its self by entering a program LOL!

WOW Flashback - Sweet Radio Shack Robot Arm ! I won a robotics competition in school using that little thing, amazing engineering went into the 'toy' but certainly full of great ideas and design concepts that can be scaled up for a much, much larger arm !

Oh this takes me back! Had one just like it...probably in 1984! And eventually took it apart to see how it worked. Man, this brings back memories. Thanks for posting!

Where is the follow-up video?

The gear looks like a "quick" 3D printing job.

I'm so glad I found this 2016 video. Brings back great childhood memories.

2023 on a quiet Saturday. Coffee and a mix of nostalgia, geekiness, and knowledge. Good stuff.

I crossed the two hoses over the elbow joint "so people would think it will move the wrong way, and get confused when it doesn't".

3D print one gear, is that simple.

Oh the flashbacks of this wonderful creation! I remember it like it was the best thing I saved up my chore money to buy it and was not disappointed! Unfortunately, I was the kind of kid that was curious and dismantled mine and never could reassemble it. Thanks for the jaunt back to my own childhood!

this was your first video i saw and subscribed instantly, never regretted it watch all your newest videos and trying to catch up on old ones.

"... aaand occasionally some alcohol." I hear ya brother! ;-p

No way I had one of those in England "Tandy" sold them, many hours of fun wow blast from the past!

This was one of my first toys as a kid. Super cool to see you put this one back in action!

I had one of these in 1985!.. they were about $50, which was a hell of a lot of cash back then. my Grandmother bought it for my 5th birthday. it was my favorite toy for 5 years or more. I had forgotten about it until now. im going to buy another one, thanks to your video. thanks for helping me remember my childhood.

I would love to see a follow up to this to know if you got the gear from the donor version... I remember these... I was very much into computers growing up and use to love flipping through the old radio shack catalogs.. I have had a Vic 20, C64, Amiga 500, Tandy RS something or other, Old 486 pc's etc... Your vids bring me back to my geek youth... Very entertaining

I remember lusting after one of these in a Radio Shack catalog when I was a kid.

I don't know how I missed this episode. This was one of the COOLEST toys I had as a kid. You got me overflowing with nostalgia here. Watching you dismantle it, I'm astounded to realize I never took mine apart; I took almost everything else apart back then. Y'know...I'm thinking I really should add you to my list of Patreon pledges...

My older brother had one!! I remember playing with it and being surprised at how easy and intuitive it felt to control.

Talks about having a history of not following through on videos proceeds to completely abandon this project as well.

Do more videos like these please? They're my favorite (:

Oh man I remember I had one of these in the late 90s that I got from a friend's older brother. You're digging up some seriously obscure memories here!

Had one of these as a kid also!!! When I saw this video I couldn't believe it...i never saw anyone else with one growing up...super cool and makes me want one again... cool video thanks man

I wish I could subscribe to you twice. Your videos are great and always very informative. Keep up all the great work.

So is there an update video?

Great toy! I bought one for my son right after they came out. I had as much fun playing within as he did!! Nice video!!

This was SUCH an amazing toy back in the day, and I think if I found one again, I'd love to use it all over again just like back then. It does so many things when it all works the way it should. I truly hope you complete this restoration! :)

You can’t imagine how much anxiety you gave me when you started taking every little gear and lever out of that thing...

Plot twist: the new unit has the same gear missing

One of my most prized possessions of the 80's!!!

I still have my Armatron. Thanks For making this vid! Great Memories :)

I'm still waiting for that multi update video

Last time I was this early, 8-Bit Guy was iBookGuy

When i went to DeVry in the 80's for my final project I built a Vic20 controlled Armatron, I had to replace the single motor with six twelve volt motors (one for each of the six joints) I had to built bearing blocks from wood and used driveshafts to drive the individual functions. I then used a 4 bit to 16 bit decoder to run twelve transistors to operate the motors in each direction, Since there is no feedback sensors all command were simply timed by programming commands in Basic, I still have it kicking around somewhere BTW it was the coolest project that year at my school p

Thanks for this video. I found it randomly and it jarred memories I had of this toy as a child that I had completely blocked out. Super cool.

this must be the nerd in me, but $32 bucks for this amazing toy is a hell of a lot better than the toys kids have these days.. da fuq is a hatchimal??

I remember seeing one of these at the Shack when I was 12. I wanted one soooo bad. I was far too poor for such a toy.

Wow! I never expected to see one of these ever again. Got one of these for Christmas back in the mid 80s.

I love your videos. Hell I'm a millennial who hasn't used the kinda stuff you handle ever yet I understand everything you say. The presentation is top notch and your voice is really friendly. Good job!

2020: 3d print the fourth gear

Surprising that after all these years they have not solved the "leaking battery" issue (at least in AA, AAA, C and D types). For you electro-geniuses out there, how come I can have an unused battery in a drawer for ten years and no leak at all, but leave it in a toy for 6 months and you're screwed?

I had one of these when I was a kid. So simple but so much fun! Round objects were a chore to pick up with it.

Very cool and great job. Impressive disassembly.

Nice. Looking forward to the Mac g5 video. I've got one. Not sure what to do with it.

update?

Hours were spent on this as a kid! Good video my dude

Awesome! Reminds me of my childhood. Had one of these, along with Robbie Jr. Back then I was convinced that by now, robotic arms would be everywhere (especially in the kitchen, to clean the dirty dishes! lol)

I used to have this same toy. my dad caught me hiding cigarettes in the battery compartment.

why didnt you just use the wire wheel to begin with?

For future reference, if you have surface rust like you did on those joysticks, you can use an SOS pad. Not steel wool, but SOS pad. It has so much soap on it if you get it a little wet the soap keeps you from scratching the metal up, but it works really good on pulling the surface rust off.

Whoever thought on that mechanism should get a medal! Not only the joystick control part, but how the motion is coupled right through the arm. Incredible, if a bit overcomplicated.

You should be able to reprint one of those using a 3D printer that can print using nylon and probably 100% fill for strength - just need someone who is good at sketchup to make you a plan.

4:35 Is this guy still using a Mac Mini G4 with OS X 10.5? Massive props if he is! I wish I was that patient!

I've still got my Armatron, along with my Milton Bradley Big Track! I think later on in the eighties Radio Shack (or Tandy here in the U.K.) made another version of the Armatron that was on a wheeled chassis base as the controls for it were on a separate control box connected via length of ribbon cable as I can recall so I'd imagine that model would be much more complex internally with possibly some sort of logic circuitry operating solenoid to replicate the mechanical joysticks, or possibly each joint having its own drive motor? My father modified mine though by installing a DC coaxial power jack into the base so I could power it off a mains adapter instead of batteries, though I don't recall having to strip the arm's shoulder down to separate the arm from the base, but there may have been a design revision somewhere along its production run. Either way Tandy's made some amazing toys for the child geek of the family like me..... including those 160 in One electronics bread board kits with the spring connectors. Happy days indeed, thanks 8 bit guy for the memories :)

When i was a kid my dad used to work at Radio Shack and i got of those for Christmas one year. I loved it and still have it :)

You really should do a video about the CD-i, the reason why we have KZfaq Poop.

a 3d printer would get that claw working again

Oh man, that's a blast from the past. I had one of those as a kid and loved it. Played with it until the gears wore out and it no longer worked.

Being born in '71, I was more than familiar with the Armatron. This was one of my all-time favorite toys when I was a kid. I went through more batteries in this device than any other I can remember... except for perhaps the Game Gear, and maybe my Merlin.

Could you get the schematic for the missing gear? This would offer a 3D printing solution. There may be stores you could send the schematics to if you don't have a 3D printer. However, this solution would only be necessary if you can't scavenge the right part when it comes.

I had one when I was a kid, no idea what happened to it, be a cool project for an arduino though

I have one Armatron until today, and working perfectly. I I was a careful (and boring) child with my toys, and the Armatron is in my parents' house even with the whole box still! It's very cool to see him having an attention here, to this day I consider it a great match!

I love it! I still have mine and I am sure it's going to need some cleaning still in the box also. I got it when I was younger and still love playing with old school stuff.

try getting a new gear 3d printed. then you can have both units working.

Great video, but why do Americans pronounce "solder" (with an "L" in it) as "sodder"? It's one of life's enduring mysteries.

I still have mine! This was fun to watch. Thanks!

I remember going through this exact same process at 9 years old..I was so disappointed when It broke. Having taken EVERY other toy I had apart to fix them, I figured it was worth trying to fix it too. When I discovered that the claw gear had stripped I tried using other gears from remote control cars and such. After going through my scrap pile and even a few working toys I gave up and ended up trading it to a friend for a GI Joe airboat and an X wing fighter. . XD. I miss playing with it still. Funny how the simplest things from childhood affect us. I went on to make a career out of fixing and building things. This Video brought back great memories. Cheers.