Differences between revisions? (WoW Teddy Ruxpin)

[redheeler]

I've done some research and determined there are three different revisions of the WoW Teddy Ruxpin, but am not clear on exactly what all the differences are or when each was released.  I know rev. B and C have the white plastic cassette player backing plate, which would make mine one of those. However, not sure how to pinpoint it further without taking the Teddy apart.

I hope some of the more knowledgeable people on this board can help clear this up.

[Teddy210]

Hi so Dr Eeyore has all that information on her website she's amazing the original one is a metal tape player one and is the heaviest and has one motor for the eyes nose and mouth and has a removable battery cover and the most noisy but has the best sound quality second generation teddy had I believe 2 motors and has a plastic cassette player and removable battery cover the third one has a plastic cassette player as well and has a hinged battery cover and has only 2 motors

[redheeler]

Going by the info here: www.robotsandcomputers.com/robots/ruxpin.htm the rev. B also has three servo motors. But the battery cover info definitely helps because on mine it's removable, not hinged. So mine would be a rev. B and not rev. C which is what I was hoping for. Thanks.

[DollyPrince]

Often they are called "generations" by collectors.

Generation one has three servo motors, and a metal cassette player. He has no tape recognition.
Generation two has three servo motors. The cassette player is plastic, with tape recognition.
Generation three has two servo motors, with plastic cassette player same as 2nd gen.

There is actually another version, not talked about by most. I call him the "pre-first gen" Teddy. He is just like the 1st gen, but he has tape recognition, like the later ones! This was the first ever production Teddy.

[Kevin]

Hi
Just a quick note there are a lot more revisions out there, apart from the two or three servo versions. I have worked and repaired at least 6 versions of PCBS possible more that are in Teddy Ruxpin. Some are easier to repair then others.
Regards
Kevin
www.teddyruxpinhospital.com

[late2theparty]

Determining whether its Generation 2 or Generation 3 isn't too difficult as 3 does have that hinged battery door.  And as the mouth works with only one servo, the nose or snout is spring loaded.  It flips up easily and then the spring will snap it back down when the lower jaw is in closed position.
I know what DollyPrince is referencing, but in reading Kevin's note on more than 3 versions, I am not sure what he means by more than 3 versions.  I wonder if he is speaking of the internal components.  I know for example one of the more obvious ones is a difference in the circuit boards both in color and in the type and size of the caps in generation 3 Teddies.  And then I've come across some really strange wiring in the other two.  There are also back face frames in some Gen 3 Teddies, as well as internal "necks" made of different materials.  None of this is apparent short of Teddy surgery.  Whether any of this was done as a deliberate design change or simply the result of using multiple suppliers to meet sudden and likely very unanticipated demand when Teddy took off, or later as a cost saving measure (while there may have been good reason to go to the plastic tape player. generation3 overall is clearly a cost savings step IMHO)  is an open question, although from what I have heard the multiple supplier theory may well be the case.

[Kevin]

Should have been clearer, Yes, I was referring the internal circuits. Dollyprince is correct about the three versions.
It only really becomes a problem when trying to repair the internal circuit boards. Late2theparty is right about the strange wiring and is an issue adapting circuit boards from one type to another.

[late2theparty]

I thought that this had to be what Kevin was referencing. And I think if you get beyond just the boards on internal variations, you'd get way beyond 6. I was just lately doing a repair on a nice Teddy with frozen servos. In opening him up to get to them, I found that instead of the normal consist of 2 inductors, 2 pots, and one capacitor in the circuit at the DC motor, the servos here had no capacitor and instead another pot where you'd expect the cap in the circuit. I wish I had a better handle on the actual circuitry in these guys....and especially the boards in 3rd generation. They seem to be the most problematic from my experience, even though the similar boards in Mickeys and Snoopys generally work fine. I know the electronics guys say that the Teddy electronics are pretty basic compared to what's being done today, but I am not an electronics guy.

[DollyPrince]

I do not think slight variation in circuitry should be considered "revisions"....