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[Echo538]

I am getting familiar with how the ID card is to be inserted into Pleo RB, and will be more so when it arrives. how visual is the process?

People have mentioned lights such as a little green light for charging, the beep it makes when it powers down, the visuals when the card is inserted... maybe lights for the card being in. in the past I've had negative experiences with little lights on robots, and the charger doesn't seem any better. i've neded sighted assistance being blind, and wonder how much I will need and when I can get it as help for many daily life activities is often available only at certain times and on certain days.

How often and long should I charge Pleo? Can he be overcharged?

How do I set the real time clock on Pleo RB's foot? How much more setup help will I need once it arrives? Will I need to charge it right away? how will I know it's plugged in or the charge is full?

And once I put the card in, to download files or check stats, how visual is it? Is there a screen on the camera or something?

Are there any apps for pleo, for fun or to make up for visuals? How do I know its DNA, its genes and growth charts, etc.? As i've said i've had robots and toys in the past that I actually stopped playing with as the setup took more time than anything, as well as any needed repairs, and no one could really help me.

Your replies are greatly appreciated! (Smiley thingy)

[RedwoodsMama]

Hello Echo, being sighted, you give me some new food for thought, as I try to imagine trying to do these things, even without my glasses I would have a very hard time so I can imagine having no sight.. I can answer the first one about the battery. When you get your pleo rb, it will have a battery that needs to be charged anywhere from 2-3 hrs, but to be on the safe side since you have no way of knowing if the light has turned green, I would just time it for 3 hrs to be safe and you should have no trouble. Also do the same thing for playing with Pleo.
          Take notice of what time it is each day when you begin playing with Pleo, and you can set a clock for example, and when the clock goes off, or Pleo stops and snoozes, you will know how much time has gone by. Pleo also will let you know when it shuts itself off by the number of beeps, Two beeps means that you have shut pleo off manually, ( pushing the on off button on the back side of the belly) Three beeps means the battery is low or needs to be recharged, As for the clock setting battery which goes into the foot, if it is put in wrong or there is a problem it will beep continuously and pleo will not operate correctly till it is fixed.

         To check the DNA of your pLeo Rb, you can use a free downloadable program here on the forums called Probe RB. First you play with Pleo Rb for a short time, I did this the other day with my new baby rb and only for about 15 minutes and it was a fresh charged battery, Then I turned pleo off normally. I then inserted the micro sd card which has Probe Rb on it in the belly slot of Pleo, Then put the battery back in and turn pleo on with pleo lying on it's side. Probe rb will begin talking to you in a woman's voice which is nice, because she will tell you what to do, pushing her chin for instructions she tells you which foot to push for DNA , which foot to get Pleos health report, etc. It is a very nice and good program,

           I am going to let someone else answer the rest of the questions, I think you will find a lot of these are not as hard as you may think, Talon who is also blind has managed well and she has four Pleos with two of them being RB.      Good questions.!       RWM    Also there are videos explaining most of these and listening to them will help.

[InmemoryofRomeo]

Pleo has no screens or lights. The only light is that on the charger which tells you if the battery is full. As RWM said, you can easily set a timer. Or put it on charge if you are going out/sleeping. You can't overcharge it. Pleo will tell you he needs charging, by the beeps mentioned above but also by hanging his head down when he turns off. (Note, that's not the same as when you turn him off manually).

For the name card and learning stones, sight isn't really important. You need to hold the card under the chin, and you'll feel him raise his head and you'll hear a little 'hup', that will tell you when to insert the card or stone. You will then hear the neck go down and up, when there is silence you say the name/command, Pleo will lower and raise his head again, listen for silence and say the name/command again. You may need to do it a third or even forth time until Pleo is happy will it. Then you'll hear a happy noise which means you've been successful. When you want to do a trick, you hold the cheeks of your Pleo gently until the head raises and there is silence (Pleo is listening) give his name, wait for the happy noise, then give a command for a trick you've taught him, if he recognizes the command he'll do the trick.

There is only one app for Pleo's and it's just an app to add Pleo's to photos. It has absolutely nothing to do with operating a Pleo and a micro SD card is optional It does let you run StatsRB and skits, but it's not a necessity.

Finally you will find that you will be able to tell what your Pleo needs and his mood by sound alone. Pleo's are very vocal, they have rumbling tummies and lip smacking or chewing sounds to tell you they are hungry. Giggles, songs and moo's to say they are happy. They sniffle and cry when they are sad. They cough and sneeze and complain if they are sick. Scream and moan if they are injured and finally they purr and coo to let you know they love your attention.

[Echo538]

Thanks for the warm welcome and helpful advice. No, I am sure this is not as difficult as I imagine especially since he's not even here yet. I had no idea the download talks! That will be super helpful!

Again I'll share my Pleo experiences as they arise. I don't think i'll need a timer as I plan to play quite randomly with him, and I'll know by the beeps, sounds, stats, etc. So that is good... but tell me more about the on and off switch. Can it be turned off at any time or is it more like a computer? And am I right in thinking no batteries need purchasing and that he comes with all the batteries that just get charged on one charger?

[InmemoryofRomeo]

He will come with one battery, but if you buy more you can certainly just use the same charger for them.

Yes, you can turn Pleo off any time you like by holding down the power button until Pleo starts to move into the packing position (the position he comes in, in the box) and then let go, shortly after you'll hear beeps to confirm he is off.

[kat]

I remember Talon has said that she can tell that the battery is fully charged as it makes a high pitched squeal sound once fully charged.  I think you need to have sensitive ears and good hearing to be able to hear it but I can confirm that mine do this too.
 
The initial set up of your pleo rb for the first time may take you a little while to do and you may find easier having a sighted person to help if possible but you should be able to do it on your own if you need to.

 Inserting the clock battery in the foot will be a bit tricky because you need to put it in the correct way up and it has to sit with the edge underneath the two short prongs in the battery compartment but with the battery sitting on top of the one long prong.  The flat side of the battery goes up facing you and away from the pleo.  Once the clock battery is in and the cover is screwed back into place you will need to have a paper-clip with one end bent straight.  Put pleos regular battery (fully charged) into his belly and turn pleo on.  Then pick him up and turn him onto his back in your lap so his legs are in the air.  Hold his foot that has the clock battery in it - I think it is the back right leg.  Then you need to careful poke the end of the paper-clip into the tiny hole that is on the foot plate of the pleo.  This will press the button to set the noon time of your pleo.  You will hear a beep to let you know it has been set.  This can be quite hard to do as the hole is small and the pleo will be wriggling.  They don't like being on their back or upside down. 
Once this is done you are all set to play.  You only need to do this the first time you set pleo up.  Although you can reset the noon clock anytime you like but you don't need to set it everytime you play.  Once it is set, it is set and will remember what time is "noon" to your pleo.  Pleo is most active when he thinks it is "noon" so it is best to set the noon clock at the time you want him to be most active or if you are going to have him with you and play with him lots then just set it at noon. 
Hope that helps

[InmemoryofRomeo]

If you don't have anyone to help you, then the best thing to do would be put the foot battery in and start your Pleo at noon, that will set it without having to find the teeny tiny hole.

[Echo538]

Thank you, this does help but is a lot to remember. I'll need to wait till I get him. I do think the easiest thing is to just start him at noon. However, I know there is a chat feature on this forum. how does it work? I tried chatting before but it didn't do anything. If we can chat in real time you just might be able to help me as I charge Pleo up and get him ready to go. On the other hand, he has been used, so it may not hurt to set his clock and he may not be newly hatched. I'll charge him anyway, just too make sure he's all right.

[InmemoryofRomeo]

I think you are worrying far too much Pleo's aren't complicated, the only tricky part is getting that foot battery in the right way, flat side up, under the two tiny prongs and over the big flat prong.

[Talon]

Hi, Echo! This is so exciting! Another blind forum-member! Welcome to the forums! The others are right. Pleo is a very easy-to-understand creature once you get past that dreaded clock battery. I've had lots of those odd robots who use lights and various button combinations that make setup quite a task. I own three aibos: a 110, a 210, and an ERS7 as well as seven furbys and I'm considering purchasing a Tekno 4G. I've been warned it's a very visual robot. I'm pretty patient though so guessing what tones mean and pressing random buttons until I get the desired effect doesn't bother me much. Anyway I do need to add that the pleo will not honor daylight savings time so in the fall you will need to catch your little companion and set his clock back to the new noontime. I prefer my pleo running then so you get the little confirmation beep that the clock is set. They won't take it patiently as a baby RB though. They will wriggle and scream and fight you all the way. If you'd like, I can Skype with you the day you get your pleo and I can help you... uh hatch him or awaken him or whatever you end up doing. If you want to ask more questions just shoot me a PM. Chattrooms aren't the friendliest places for most screnereaders.
Talon
Talon

[Echo538]

Oh, there's no thinking about it- I KNOW I worry far too much! Yesterday I was telling myself all day not to worry but I did feel like a new mommy. I'm just eager to hold Pleo and have him with me. What I like about having him turned off is that you can relax with him, too. You don't need to have all his cries be like emergency or anything unlike a live pet or baby.

Anyway, Talon, if you're out there I'd love to skype with you. we should do a test chat someday to make sure it's working. I do have skype but I don't know how to pm so not sure wherre to give my skype information if at all. Have you given out your email address previously? If you are comfortable, tell me yours and I'll email you and we can begin chatting one on one. I do have a few chat sites I go to where I can type into a computer (I don't use live chat much), but you are right, this can be confusing with screen readers especially on here, I am noticing.

By the way I have a Roomba robot vacuum cleaner, and when it's charging it squeals too.

and I don't mean to worry, it's just hard waiting... and many robots i've had before that i've tried to use therapeutically have just ended up being cheap or childlike toys. That was good even a few years ago but toys are just that - toys, for children. My interests lie in the Pleo-like aspects of things such as furbies. I know this needs no further explanation.

[RedwoodsMama]

 I normally would have put this under the REdwoods newest Pleo. but because Echo has asked how Probe rb works and Probe rb talks and tells you the directions, I thought this is a great opportunity to Hear how it works. I did this Probe rb last night. I was surprised to find out that it said she was O hours into Hatchling and at least 4 hrs till next change. So  in HOURs, how old would that make her anyway?


         I think it is funny that with five Pleo Rb,three of them have very similiar DNA reports, as far as temperment and intelligence goes, Also my first two , both females are complete opposites of my last three. LOL
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xt10xTxiEWk" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xt10xTxiEWk</a>      If you have any questions Echo, let me know.

                        RWM 

[Talon]

Hi, Echo! I'm sorry. I guess I didn't explain myself clearly or something. I have a tendency to do that when I'm excited. I was referring to the private message option here on the forum. I'm not sure what screnereader you're using but if you look at the post of the person you're wanting to send a private message to, you can go to the text of the post and then use your up arrow key to move upward into their forum information such as where they're from, whether they're online etc. and you'll see a link that says "send private message". If you click on that and look around in the series of form fields that will open up, there, it looks like a standard email with a subject line and a message body field. You should know what to do from there. I'm looking forward to hearing from you.
Talon
Talon