Heathkit HERO 2000 (ET-19) · Volume 10
Cheatsheet — HERO 2000 Quick Reference
A dense, single-page reference distilled from Vols. 1–9. Every hard row carries the
source it traces to; nothing new is claimed here that is not established earlier in
the series. Where the record conflicts, both readings are shown as “X (spec sheet)
/ Y (secondary)” rather than resolved. The authoritative primary for definitive
numbers is the factory ET-19 Technical Manual; the deepest available technical
anchor is the transcribed spec sheet at hero.dsavage.net.
At a glance
Table 1 — At a glance
| Attribute | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Name / model | HERO 2000 — ET-19 (kit ET-19W); “ET-2000” is informal | spec sheet; collector listings |
| Maker | Heath Company / Heath-Zenith Educational Systems | CHM; Wikipedia |
| Year | 1986 (one source 1987) | Wikipedia; robotworkshop |
| Price | $1,999.95 kit / $4,499.95 assembled | robotworkshop |
| Units produced | ~3,000 | Wikipedia |
| Line discontinued | 1995 | Wikipedia |
| Dimensions | 16.5 W × 22.5 L × 32.4 H inches | spec sheet |
| Weight | ~78 lb / 35 kg with arm | spec sheet |
Computing — multiprocessor
Table 2 — Computing — multiprocessor
| Item | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Master CPU | Intel 8088, 16-bit — 5 MHz (spec sheet) / 4.77 MHz (secondary) | spec sheet; secondary |
| Slave processors | Intel 8042 UPIs (spec sheet) — one each for motor, sonar, RTC/keypad/display, comms, arm; + 2661 serial ctrl. (One secondary’s “Z-80” claim is contradicted by the spec sheet.) | spec sheet |
| Processor count | 6 base, up to 11 with the optional arm (Wikipedia: “eleven”) | spec sheet; Wikipedia |
| Backplane | Passive, up to 12 plug-in cards (CPU, memory, motor, arm, floppy, head-interface) | theoldrobots; Selectric |
Memory
Table 3 — Memory
| Item | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| RAM | 24 KB base, expandable to 576 KB via memory cards | theoldrobots; robotworkshop |
| ROM | 64 KB — monitor + HERO 2000 BASIC + demo/diagnostic/sensor routines | spec sheet; theoldrobots |
Exact address map: ET-19 Technical Manual (not reconstructed here).
Sensing — the 360° ring
Table 4 — Sensing — the 360° ring
| Sensor | Documented spec | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Sonar | 24 bearings, 15° apart (360°); 4 in (spec sheet) / 4.5 in (theoldrobots) to 10.5 ft; 2 transducers | spec sheet; theoldrobots |
| Light | 255 levels at 24 bearings, 15° apart | spec sheet |
| Sound | 255 levels | spec sheet |
| Temperature | +60°F to +90°F | spec sheet |
| Battery/voltage | Battery-condition sensing | spec sheet |
| Base rangefinder | Stationary rangefinder in the base | spec sheet |
Drive & mobility
Table 5 — Drive & mobility
| Item | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Drive | Two-wheel dual servo-motor; differential steering | theoldrobots |
| Pull capacity | Up to ~26 lb | theoldrobots |
| Drive wheel | Colson wheel | Selectric |
Arm (optional)
Table 6 — Arm (optional)
| Joint / spec | Range / value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Shoulder / arm | 0–120° | spec sheet |
| Elbow | 0–180° | spec sheet |
| Wrist pivot | −179° to +180° | spec sheet |
| Payload | ~1 lb | spec sheet |
| Adds | Arm-motor UPI (11th processor) + Arm-Controller card | spec sheet; Wikipedia |
Speech
Table 7 — Speech
| Item | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Mode | Direct text-to-speech (no phoneme hand-coding, unlike Votrax HERO 1/Jr) | spec sheet |
| Chip | SSI 263A (spec sheet) / “SPA-256” (secondaries) — likely chip vs board name, not settled | spec sheet; secondaries |
| Modes | Text-to-speech, phoneme, sound effects | spec sheet |
I/O, comms & programming
Table 8 — I/O, comms & programming
| Item | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Serial | Two RS-232C (DCE) ports — terminal + printer; baud to 38,400 | spec sheet |
| Remote | Remote console/keyboard; wireless remote ~100 ft; two-way radio data link | spec sheet; theoldrobots |
| Status display | 16 head-mounted LED indicators | theoldrobots |
| Storage | Floppy controller card → floppy-disk storage | Selectric |
| Languages | HERO 2000 BASIC (full BASIC in ROM) + assembly; host development over RS-232 | spec sheet; CHM |
Power
Table 9 — Power
| Item | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Battery | 12 V — 14 Ah (spec sheet) / 24 Ah (theoldrobots) | spec sheet; theoldrobots |
| Runtime | ~4–6 h active (spec sheet) / “up to six days” (theoldrobots, standby) | spec sheet; theoldrobots |
| Charger | 120 VAC; docking charger with angled rails | spec sheet; Selectric |
The HERO line, in one row each
Table 10 — The HERO line, in one row each
| Model | Distinguishing spec | Source |
|---|---|---|
| HERO 1 (ET-18) | 6808 @ 1 MHz, 4 KB RAM, optional 5-axis arm + Votrax speech, 350° head | Wikipedia; HERO FAQ |
| HERO Jr (RT-1) | 6808 @ 1 MHz, 2 KB→24 KB RAM, built-in Votrax speech, fixed head, cartridges | HERO FAQ; theoldrobots |
| HERO 2000 (ET-19) | Intel 8088 + 8042 slaves (6→11), 24 KB→576 KB RAM, 360° ring, text-to-speech | spec sheet; theoldrobots |
Sources
- ET-19 Technical Manual / Programming Manual (Heath/Zenith, 1986) — the authoritative primaries; cited as the consultable authority (not confirmed as free downloads). CHM catalogs them.
- HERO 2000 spec sheet —
hero.dsavage.net/robots/Hero2/Hero2_Specs.html, the transcribed factory spec sheet; the deepest technical anchor. - theoldrobots.com/hero2k.html — specs + photos.
- Wikipedia — “HERO (robot)”. selectric.org/hero2000 — firsthand restoration. robotworkshop, Heathkit 1986 catalog, CHM, Bonhams — supporting.
See _shared/comparison.md for the full cross-robot matrix and _shared/safety.md
for the battery and mains-charger cautions referenced in Vol. 9. The model-number
note (ET-19 — with “ET-2000” an informal name) is set out in Vol. 1 and the HERO
2000 CLAUDE.md.