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Robots drove me crazy....literally. I was overwhelmed when robot users from around the world (and even Heath Company!) started to dump broken cabled arms, fried MosFet boards, and everything imaginable at me (usually shipping the entire robot with the bad part). By the (every)weekend I would have 5 to as many as 20 robots at a time to repair. Not to mention the SHIPPING nightmares. My family would see me disappear into my barn and emerge exhausted. Of course, Everyone wanted their"children" back ASAP. I would dream about them. It was more than any ONE person could do.

One day I just quit. I turned off my robots and stowed them away. I informed Heath to no longer forward robots for repair, declined their [secret] offer of turning the entire HERO operation over to me, and refused requests from the more than 2400 users who regularly corresponded with me. I had already ended the newsletter and received pleas from loyal members not to give up. Some were hurt, some got angry, though no one lost money, except myself. I cleared the shelves of the toy robots as well. Concurrently I had "invested" in nearly every personal robot of it's day at retail price (see some of the photos on HERO-1.com). I learned that there were others like me as well who fell into robot hell. Sometimes we share the horror stories and yes they have some sleeping treasured machines in closets as well.

I returned to my other interest... Tesla Coils (see attached picture where I appeared in National Geographic Magazine with the largest US arcs), weaned myself away from that technology and the now focus on my steady lifetime passion: Magic and Illusion, which is second only to my family in importance.

Currently I still hold onto a HERO, Jr. and the original HERO 1 that I built (it has traveled across America and returned home to me). HERO, Jr. sits sleeping. HERO 1 has dead batteries that I have neglected to change but keep wanting to. For some reason I have difficulty ordering them despite the wonderful help provided by others such as John.