Cheatsheet — Quick Reference

A dense, single-page reference distilled from Vols. 1–8. Every hard row carries the source it traces to; nothing new is claimed here that is not established earlier in the series. Where the secondary record is uncertain, the row says so. The authoritative primaries for exhaustive detail are the HERO Jr Owner’s Guide and Programmer’s Guide (Internet Archive).

9.1 At a glance

Table 1 — At a glance

Attribute	Value	Source
Name	HERO Jr — Heathkit home “personal robot”	Wikipedia; theoldrobots
Models	RT-1 (kit); RTW-1 and RTW-1-C (assembled, 1986 only)	catalogue, Christmas 1984; catalogue, Spring–Summer 1986
Year	1984 (CES in June; first catalogued Christmas 1984)	Robots History
Price (new)	Kit $599.95 (1984); $399.95 (Fall 1985); $299.95 (1986)	catalogue, Christmas 1984; catalogue, Fall 1985; catalogue, Spring–Summer 1986
Units produced	~4,000 (unverified)	Wikipedia; Dilettante
Kit assembly time	~20 hours	catalogue, Christmas 1984
Height	19 inches	theoldrobots; HERO FAQ
Payload	Up to 10 lb in a 94-cubic-inch compartment	theoldrobots; HERO FAQ
Market	Consumer / home (cf. HERO 1 educational)	Wikipedia; Dilettante

9.2 CPU, memory & power

Table 2 — CPU, memory & power

Item	Value	Source
CPU	Motorola 6808, 8-bit, 1 MHz	HERO FAQ; Dilettante
RAM	2 KB (6116), expandable to 24 KB	HERO FAQ; theoldrobots
ROM	32 KB — robot monitor + built-in personality programs	HERO FAQ; theoldrobots
Batteries	Two 6 V rechargeable (4.0 Ah per theoldrobots)	catalogue, Christmas 1984; theoldrobots
Runtime	4–6 hours (1984 catalogue); about 4 hours (from 1985)	catalogue, Christmas 1984; catalogue, Fall 1985
Battery option	RTA-1-4 adds two more (doubles operating time)	catalogue, Christmas 1984

The exact address map is in the Programmer’s Guide; not reconstructed in this series.

9.3 Drive & locomotion

Table 3 — Drive & locomotion

Item	Value	Source
Wheels	Three — two fixed, one steerable drive wheel	HERO FAQ; theoldrobots
Drive location	Steerable drive wheel at the rear (“drives backwards to HERO 1”)	HERO FAQ; theoldrobots
Head	Fixed — does not rotate (cf. HERO 1’s 350°)	HERO FAQ
Motion tracking	Reflective wheel-motion sensor (shiny wheel stickers)	Dilettante

9.4 Sensors

Table 4 — Sensors

Sensor	Documented spec	Source
Sonar	Polaroid transceiver on head, also the standard motion detector; 4 in–26 ft (1984), 4½ in–13 ft (from 1985)	catalogue, Christmas 1984; catalogue, Fall 1985
Light	256-part adjustable resolution, 30° reception angle	catalogue, Christmas 1984
Sound	256-part adjustable resolution, 200–5000 Hz	catalogue, Christmas 1984
IR motion (optional)	RTA-1-1 accessory, field ~35 ft long × 20 ft wide	catalogue, Christmas 1984
Obstruction sensor	Listed among the robot’s senses	Dilettante

Front-panel labels (I.R. MOTION DETECTOR / SONAR SENSOR / LIGHT SENSOR) are visible on the unit; the fixed head means the sensors aim where the body faces.

9.5 Speech & display

Table 5 — Speech & display

Item	Value	Source
Synthesizer	Built-in Votrax SC-01 (SC-01A per Dilettante)	HERO FAQ; Dilettante
Method	Phoneme-code stream → continuous formant speech	Votrax SC-01 documentation
Display	Eight data LEDs flash in time with speech (secondary sources say nine)	catalogue, Christmas 1984

Speech is built in on HERO Jr — it was an extra-cost option on the HERO 1.

9.6 Personality keys & programming

Table 6 — Personality keys & programming

Route	Notes	Source
Personality keys	One-touch behaviours: Sing, Play, Poet, Gab, Alarm, Guard, Help, Plan (+ Setup, Enter)	theoldrobots; HERO FAQ; Dilettante
HJPL	HERO Jr Programming Language — keypad instruction set on the RTC-1-10 cartridge (~99 registers per Dilettante)	catalogue, Fall 1985; Dilettante; Programmer’s Guide
BASIC	RTC-1-8 cartridge over the RTA-1-3 RS-232 port	catalogue, Christmas 1984; BASIC manual
RF remote	RTA-1-2, 75 MHz, four buttons, up to 150 ft (100 ft from 1985)	catalogue, Christmas 1984; catalogue, Fall 1985
Input panel	17-key hex keypad (rubber keys) on the head	theoldrobots; HERO FAQ

9.7 Cartridge & accessory part numbers

Table 7 — Cartridge & accessory part numbers

Part #	Type	Source
RTC-1-1 … RTC-1-11	Program cartridges, all titled in the catalogues (BASIC = RTC-1-8; Program Language = RTC-1-10; see Vol. 7); all need RTA-1-5	catalogue, Christmas 1984; catalogue, Fall 1985; catalogue, Spring–Summer 1986
RTA-1-1	IR motion detector (~35 × 20 ft)	catalogue, Christmas 1984
RTA-1-2	RF remote control, 75 MHz	catalogue, Christmas 1984
RTA-1-3	RS-232 accessory	catalogue, Christmas 1984
RTA-1-4	Two extra batteries	catalogue, Christmas 1984
RTA-1-5	Cartridge adapter with 8 KB RAM	catalogue, Christmas 1984

9.8 The HERO line, in one row each

Table 8 — The HERO line, in one row each

Model	Distinguishing spec	Source
HERO 1 (ET-18)	6808 @ 1 MHz, 4 KB RAM, 8 KB ROM, optional arm + speech, rotating head	catalogue; HERO FAQ
HERO Jr (RT-1)	6808 @ 1 MHz, 2 KB→24 KB RAM, 32 KB ROM, built-in speech, fixed head, no arm, cartridges	catalogue; HERO FAQ
HERO 2000 (ET-19)	Intel 8088 main CPU, multi-processor, RAM to 576 KB	catalogue; Wikipedia

Sources

• HERO Jr Owner’s Guide (RTW-1/RT-1) and Programmer’s Guide (RT-1) — Internet Archive (archive.org/details/HEROJrOwnersGuide, archive.org/details/HEROJrProgrammersGuide). Authoritative primaries.
• HERO Jr BASIC manual (cartridge RTC-1-8) — the-liberator.net.
• HERO FAQ — hero.dsavage.net (deepest technical secondary).
• theoldrobots.com/herojr.html — specs + cartridge/accessory listing.
• Wikipedia — “HERO (robot)”. Dilettante — partofthething.com firsthand retrospective. astrorat — supporting.
• Votrax SC-01 documentation — general phoneme-synthesizer facts (Vol. 5).
• Heathkit catalogues, World Radio History: Christmas 1984; Fall 1985; Spring–Summer 1986. Primary for model numbers, prices, accessories and cartridges.

The HERO line’s catalogue history is in the Robots History; the battery and mains-charger cautions are in Vol. 8.