Omnibot 5402 · Volume 7
Cheatsheet — Omnibot 5402 Quick Reference
A dense, single-page reference distilled from Vols. 1–6. Every hard row carries the source it traces to; nothing new is claimed here that is not established earlier in the series. The authoritative primary for any figure is the Tomy Omnibot 5402 instruction manual; the deepest technical anchor in the secondary record is the transcribed spec sheet at theoldrobots.
At a glance
Table 1 — At a glance
| Attribute | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Name / model | Tomy Omnibot, model 5402 | Wikipedia; theoldrobots |
| Year / price | 1984 / ~$250 | Wikipedia; everything80s |
| Class | Consumer toy — home “robot butler” | Wikipedia |
| Control | RC remote (TX unit); robot is RX | theoldrobots; Wikipedia |
| Autonomy | None — teleoperated; “virtually useless” without the remote | Wikipedia |
| Processor | None documented (clock/timer + cassette sequencer) | (unclaimed; Vol 2) |
| Height | Approximate (~a foot to ~17 in); spec sheet omits exact dimensions | (approximate; cite manual) |
The “brain” — cassette + clock
Table 2 — The "brain" — cassette + clock
| Item | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Cassette deck | Chest drawer; 2-track monaural, normal bias; ±3% speed; wow & flutter <0.3% | theoldrobots |
| ”Programming” | Record & replay sequences of remote commands + speech (not code) | Wikipedia; theoldrobots |
| Clock / timer | LCD, ±2 sec/day; on a 1.5 V AA (~5000 h) | theoldrobots |
| Timed routines | Clock can trigger a taped routine at a set time | Wikipedia; theoldrobots |
| Chest panel | Labelled “COMPUTER PROGRAMMING”: TIME / ALARM / MEMORY / SET | theoldrobots (photo) |
Drive & mobility
Table 3 — Drive & mobility
| Item | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Drive | Wheeled; remote-steered (forward/back/left/right) | Wikipedia; theoldrobots |
| Turning | Differential wheel drive | (Vol 3) |
| Two-gear high/low | Omnibot 2000 feature — not the 5402 | Wikipedia |
| Autonomy/sensing | None (the Omnibot Jr’s ultrasonic nav is a sibling feature, not the 5402) | Wikipedia |
Arms, claws & tray
Table 4 — Arms, claws & tray
| Item | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Arms | End in claws that hold the tray | theoldrobots; Wikipedia |
| Tray | Detachable serving tray with cup holders; ≤2.2 lb | theoldrobots |
| Loading | Hand-loaded / slotted into the claws on the 5402 | theoldrobots; Wikipedia |
| Motorized tray/arm | Omnibot 2000 feature — not the 5402 | Wikipedia |
Remote & voice
Table 5 — Remote & voice
| Item | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Remote | TX master control unit; 4 × AA; the robot’s lifeline | theoldrobots; Wikipedia |
| Frequencies | 49.860 MHz (US) / 27.145 MHz (Europe) / 40.680 MHz (TAL) | theoldrobots |
| Talk-through | Remote dynamic mic (300–600 Hz) → robot speaker (8 Ω) | theoldrobots; Wikipedia |
| Robot sounds | Built-in, triggered from the remote | theoldrobots; Wikipedia |
| Eye-lights | 2.8 V, 200 mA (max 3 V / 250 mA) | theoldrobots |
Power
Table 6 — Power
| Item | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Main battery | 6 V 4.0 Ah sealed lead-acid (≈2¼ × 1¾ × 4 in) | theoldrobots |
| Runtime | ~4 h continuous at 5.5 V; low-battery warning at 5.77 V | theoldrobots |
| Charge time | 12–16 h | collector sources |
| Other cells | 2 × AA (clock/computer); 4 × AA (remote) | collector sources |
| Ships with | Home base / charger; demonstration cassette | theoldrobots |
The Omnibot family
Table 7 — The Omnibot family
| Model | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 5402 | The original / baseline (also branded “MK II”) | theoldrobots; Wikipedia |
| 5402X “Goldbot” | Gold-finished edition of the 5402 | theoldrobots |
| Omnibot 2000 (5405) | Upgrade: motorized tray/arm, two-gear drive | Wikipedia; theoldrobots |
| Omnibot Jr (“Charmmy”) | Smaller (~10.5 in), ultrasonic navigation | Wikipedia |
In the hub — toy vs computer-robot
Table 8 — In the hub — toy vs computer-robot
| Omnibot 5402 | HERO Jr (RT-1) | HERO 1 / 2000 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Processor | None documented | Motorola 6808 | 6808 / 8088 + slaves |
| Control | RC remote (teleoperated) | Keys; HJPL/BASIC | Keypad / BASIC / assembly |
| ”Programming” | Cassette record/replay | A real language | A real language |
| Autonomy | None | Some | Yes |
Sources
- Tomy Omnibot 5402 instruction manual — theoldrobots PDF (
Omnibot5402.pdf) / ManualsLib. Authoritative primary. - theoldrobots.com (
omnibot.html) — the transcribed spec sheet (cassette, clock, battery, remote frequencies, audio, tray). Deepest technical anchor. - Wikipedia “Omnibot”; Omnibot Wiki (Fandom); everything80spodcast; collector listings — supporting.
See _shared/comparison.md for the full cross-robot matrix and _shared/safety.md
for the sealed-lead-acid battery and mains-charger cautions referenced in Vol. 6.