Hints and Tips
The User Guide booklets from the manufacturer, which are included with your purchase, are a good start in getting to know your robot. On this page we attempt to clarify the guidelines for robot care and maintenance, which are necessary for longest life. The key to obtaining the maximum robot lifespan is correct and consistent battery care.
If you aren’t finding an answer to specific
questions about your robot, please fill out the Troubleshooting
Form.
We strive to respond as soon as possible, usually within 24 hours.
Please be sure to check your e-mail’s spam or Junk folder every day in case our reply to your troubleshooting form is sent there. Many school districts have restricted settings on the kinds of emails that can be received. The e-mail address from us will end with terrapinlogo.com.
For all questions about Terrapin Logo, please refer to the Logo Questions page.
For questions around licensing, shipping and more, please read the Common Questions page.
Please note: the User Guide booklets for each product are also available as PDF files on the Downloads Center section of our website.
Bee-Bot and Blue-Bot
Maintenance for Maximum Robot Performance
Any electronic product with rechargeable (lithium ion) batteries, such as a cell phone, requires special care to maintain it.
BATTERY CARE: Charge your new robot right away before first use. After every session, charge it up before storing it. Each time the robot has been fully charged, take it off the charger. Do not leave it on a continuous charge. Charge it ONCE A MONTH OR EVERY TWO MONTHS when in storage to optimize battery strength.
See below “How Do I Charge my ‘Bot?”
ROBOT CARE: Your robot is constructed with precision mechanisms inside it. It is not meant to be used like a toy car. Be sure to use only on a clean, smooth surface on the floor. Do not drop the robot. Do not push the robot. The robot should move only when programmed. Keep away from liquids. Do not store in extreme heat or cold. See below “How Do I Get Started with my ‘Bot?”
Quick Reference for Charging Bee-Bots & Blue-Bots
BEE-BOTS:
Button Commands: Both eyes light up white at each step. Needs Charge: No eye indicators. Charging: One eye has a green light. Done Charging: Green light turns off.
BLUE-BOTS: Button Commands: Both eyes stay white. Needs Charge: Both eyes flash red. Charging: Both eyes are solid red. Done Charging: Both eyes turn solid green. Bluetooth Method: Both eyes stay blue.
The ‘bots need to be charged before FIRST use. Both the power switch and the sound switch are located underneath the robot. Make sure these power buttons are turned OFF when charging the robot. The robot won’t charge if the power switches are left on. Turn the switches ON again when using the robot. When storing the robot between uses, keep the power buttons in the OFF position. Otherwise, the robot will emit a beep sound every so often, which may run down its batteries.
After every use, recharge the robot fully. When its eyes change color, the robot is done charging and then you can remove it from the charge connection. Do not leave the robot on continuous charge. Don’t leave it charging more than one day for example. Leaving it on continuous charge can reduce the lifetime of the battery.
To charge:
- Insert the USB cable into the charging socket on the underside of the ‘bot.
- Connect the other end to a spare USB port on a PC or laptop. Or you can connect to a USB charging plug.
- If you have the Docking Station or Six-Bot USB charger, then place the ‘bot into that and connect the power cable.
EXTENDING BATTERY LIFE: Battery life depends on how the batteries are handled. Their life can be reduced by both over-charging and under-charging. These are lithium-ion batteries and in general should be treated similarly to cell phone batteries. Ideally, you should put a full charge on a battery, use the device until the battery has run out, then charge it up before storing it between uses. When charging the robot, notice when the eyes change color, which indicates that the charge is complete, then stop the charge. Do not leave it on the charger between sessions. For maximum longevity, charge it ONCE A MONTH OR EVERY TWO MONTHS when in storage.
How Do I Get Started with my ‘Bot?
These coding robots have precision mechanisms inside each device. For this reason their use should be supervised the entire time they are being used by young children. The robots are an amazingly effective tool that develops and strengthens a child’s logical thinking abilities as he/she learns to make the robot move only by coding the commands.
Attention to the correct way to charge the batteries and store the robot is necessary to give the longest life for the machine. Charge the robot before FIRST use. After teaching with the robot and before putting it away, charge the robot again to be ready for the next use. Do not store the robots on continuous charge.
Do not push the wheels to make the robot move. The robot should move only when programmed. Its wheels should move only when executing a program received by the button commands or when Bluetooth commands are entered. The robots are not designed to be used as a race car or a toy.
Do not drop the robot. Dropping the robot can cause internal mechanism failure.
Always use it on a clean, flat surface on the floor.
Keep the robot away from liquids, and store it away from extreme heat or cold.
How Do I Charge my ‘Bot?
The ‘bots need to be charged before FIRST use. Both the power switch and the sound switch are located underneath the robot. Make sure these switches are turned off when charging the robot. The robot won’t charge if the power switches are left on. Turn the switches on again when using the robot. When storing the robot between uses, keep the power button in the off position. Otherwise, the robot will emit a beep sound every so often, which may run down its batteries.
After every use, recharge the robot fully. When its eyes change color, this indicates that the robot is done charging, so then you can remove it from the charge connection. Do not leave the robot on continuous charge. Don’t leave it charging more than one day for example. Leaving it on continuous charge can reduce the lifetime of the battery.
To charge:
- Insert the USB cable into the charging socket on the underside of the ‘bot.
- Connect the other end to a USB port on a PC or laptop. Or you can connect to a USB charging plug.
- If you have the Docking Station or Six-Bot USB charger, then place the ‘bot into that and connect the power cable.
Bee-Bot charging lights:
– one eye will light up GREEN to show that the battery is CHARGING – the GREEN light turns OFF when it is fully charged
Blue-Bot charging lights:
– both eyes will light up RED to show it is CHARGING – both eyes will turn to GREEN when it is fully charged – when Blue-Bot is connected to Bluetooth, it eyes turn BLUE – when Blue-Bot has low batteries, and needs to be charged, its eyes will flash RED
EXTENDING BATTERY LIFE:
Battery life depends on how the batteries are handled. Their life can be reduced by both over-charging and under-charging. These are lithium-ion batteries and in general should be treated similarly to cell phone batteries. Ideally, you should put a full charge on a battery, use the device until the battery has run out, then charge it before storing it between uses. When charging the robot, notice when the eyes change color indicating the charge is complete, then stop the charge. Do not leave it on the charger between sessions. For maximum longevity, charge it ONCE A MONTH OR EVERY TWO MONTHS when in storage to optimize battery strength.
How Do I Maximize Battery Life?
EXTENDING BATTERY LIFE:
Any electronic product with rechargeable (lithium ion) batteries, such as a cell phone, requires special care to maintain it. Battery life depends on how the batteries are handled. Their life can be reduced by both over-charging and under-charging.
These are lithium-ion batteries and in general should be treated similarly to cell phone batteries. Ideally, you should put a full charge on a battery, use the device until the battery has run out, then charge it before storing it between uses. When charging the robot, notice when the eyes change color indicating the charge is complete, then stop the charge. Do not leave it on the charger between sessions. For maximum longevity, charge it ONCE A MONTH OR EVERY TWO MONTHS even when just storing the robot.
See the section above called How Do I Charge My ‘Bot?
My Bee-Bot/Blue-Bot Won’t Charge!
Power issues, often described as “won’t charge”, can sometimes be remedied by disconnecting the nonworking robot’s battery and then just re-connecting its battery. If this doesn’t solve the problem, the next test is to try switching its battery out with the battery from a working ‘bot. If the ‘bot works OK with the good battery, then it is just its battery that needs to be replaced. The robots and their batteries are warrantied against manufacturing defects for one year from purchase.
How to open the battery compartment:
First Battery Test: The battery compartment is the square panel on the bottom of the ‘bot. Open the battery compartment by unscrewing the nonstandard triangular screw. Use the tip of a pair of scissors to do this. Be patient. Disconnect the battery and then reconnect it inside the compartment. Do this by carefully holding the white base of the wire and pulling out the battery by its white plastic casing. Then reconnect the battery tightly into the same slot. Does it work normally now? If not, go to the second battery test.
Second Battery Test: Switch out the battery from the nonworking robot and replace it with the battery from a working robot to see if the problem is with the robot or just its battery. The mechanics of this follow as the same basic way of performing the first battery test, except that now you are involving two robots in this test.
Replacement Battery:
In some cases, if the battery turns out to be the problem, we will sell replacement batteries to our customers, but only after we have determined through the Troubleshooting Form process that batteries would be the solution for a reported problem. Our battery supply is limited. Fill out the Troubleshooting Form at this link: https://www.terrapinlogo.com/forms/rma.html.
Replacement batteries are available only for Bee-Bots and Blue-Bots sold by Terrapin and cannot be shipped outside the United States.
Problem Solving: Troubleshooting for the Teacher or Tech Department
In our experience there are two kinds of issues that can occur: movement and power.
Important note: Batteries do not solve movement problems. Movement and Power problems are two separate issues.
Movement issues can be caused by the shell becoming slightly out of alignment with the command buttons. Sometimes floor dirt or sticky hands can clog the bottom of the robot so that wheels get stuck and cause misalignment. If this is the case, the robot may need to have its shell taken off and put back on.
Removing the robot shell to solve a movement problem:
This procedure readjusts the shell to fit better with the command buttons:
Hold the shell in one hand and unscrew the four outer screws on the bottom of the robot with a small Phillip’s head screwdriver. Keep the shell upside down while removing the screws so that the command buttons don’t fall out. Then set the robot down and program it for a few steps without its shell on to see if it moves normally. Also, while you have the shell unattached, check for dirt or stickiness on the robot’s body and wheels, wiping them off gently with a clean damp cloth. If the robot moves OK without its shell on, put the shell back on by carefully screwing in the four screws again. Now test the robot’s movement with its shell back on. The robot should be recovered and ready to go.
It is necessary to show students how they must let Bee-Bot and Blue-Bot finish its coded program on its own power, without manually pushing the robot. Even if Bee-Bot or Blue-Bot isn’t going where they planned, the robot should be picked up to move it, not pushed at all during or after its program. Pushing the robot can damage the gears that turn the wheels so that the robot no longer travels in a straight line.
Power issues, often described as “won’t charge,” can sometimes be remedied by disconnecting the nonworking robot’s battery and then just re-connecting its battery. If this doesn’t solve the problem, the next test is to try switching its battery out with the battery from a working ‘Bot. If the ‘Bot works OK with the good battery, then it is just its battery that needs a replacement.
In a situation where the robot has been charged, but then will not move at all, it is still best to check the battery, because replacing the battery can be the solution even in this case.
How to open the battery compartment:
First Battery Test: Open the battery compartment by unscrewing the nonstandard triangular screw. The battery compartment is the square panel on the bottom of the ‘Bot. Use the tip of a pair of scissors to do this. Be patient. Disconnect the battery and then reconnect it inside the compartment. Do this by carefully holding the white base of the wire and pulling out the battery by its white plastic casing. Then reconnect the battery tightly into the same slot. Does it work normally now? If not, go to the second battery test.
Second Battery Test: Switch out the battery from the nonworking robot and replace it with the battery from a working robot to see if the problem is with the robot or just its battery. The mechanics of this follow as the same basic way of performing the first battery test, except that now you are involving two robots in this test.
Replacement Battery:
In some cases, if the battery turns out to be the problem, we sell replacement batteries to our customers, but only after we have determined through the Troubleshooting Form process that batteries would be the solution for a reported problem. Our battery supply is limited. Fill out the Troubleshooting Form at this link: https://www.terrapinlogo.com/forms/rma.html.
Replacement batteries are available only for Bee-Bots and Blue-Bots sold by Terrapin and may not be shipped outside the United States.
Does My Robot Have a Warranty?
Our company, Terrapin (Terrapinlogo.com), is the official U.S. distributor of these robots and not the manufacturer of these products.
The manufacturer stands behind Bee-Bots and Blue-Bots as being free of defects for one year from purchase. The warranty does not include damage caused by user error, which can occur if the robots and their batteries are not properly cared for. In general, manufacturing defects show up almost immediately, not after a long period of use.
Any electronic product has a limited warranty because of the attention necessary to its care and maintenance, which is required to prolong its life. There is no reset on Bee-Bots and Blue-Bots. The most important way to prolong their lives is by charging them correctly every time. Along with this, the most basic care is to not drop them, to not push them to make them ‘go’ like a toy race car, and to keep them away from liquids.
We do not have the facilities to attempt repairs on the robots. We are required to prove to the manufacturer that a problem is a manufacturing defect. The troubleshooting and documentation received from the customer is reviewed by the manufacturer, who can approve a replacement.
Terrapin Logo and Pro-Bot
How Do I Connect Terrapin Logo with my Pro-Bot or Blue-Bot?
It depends. If you are running the Web version, you can use Bluetooth to connect to Blue-Bot. You need to run the Chrome browser, which is the only browser with built-in Bluetooth connectivity. The Web app cannot access Pro-Bots. The desktop version of Logo has full connectivity built in.
We have prepared a manual page for you with detailed programming instructions: Click here.
My Pro-Bot Does Not Respond to any Commands!
Your Pro-Bot probably simply needs to be reset. Pro-Bot goes into hibernation when it hasn’t been turned on for a period of time to preserve its batteries.
To reset Pro-Bot, turn Pro-Bot over and find the small hole labeled Reset at the bottom left of the underside of Pro-Bot near the switches. Bend a paper clip so that one end sticks out or obtain a toothpick that fits in the hole. Be sure batteries with power are installed with the correct polarity. Turn Pro-Bot on. Gently push the end of the paperclip or the toothpick into the Reset hole. Pro-Bot beeps and springs back to life.