Nabble - LEGO Robotics

Re: Reducing voltage

2009-11-24T03:33:21Z

In lugnet.trains, Martin Legault wrote:

> In lugnet.trains, David Laswell wrote:
>> Our club lets kids run the controller for one of the lines when we do certain
>> events (like, right now, with Detroit Festival of Trees), but we could use a way
>> to forcibly limit the speed on the line that they're allowed to run. One way
>> that's really easy is to just build physical stops onto the top of the regulator
>> so the dial won't turn as far in either direction, but that makes it difficult
>> to actually operate the dial and won't be much fun for the kids. The other
>> solution I just came up with would be to maybe limit the voltage going into the
>> regulator. And that's where there's a problem. LEGO power adapters, for some
>> odd reason, output in ~9vAC, not DC. ...

> Hello,
>
> you can put AC or DC voltage at the input of the regulator with no problem as
> long as you don't put more than 9VAC~14VDC. The internal circuit will take
> both.
>
> So a quick fix that put 4.5~5V DC at the input will ouput about 3~3.2VDC at the
> output.

You have to be careful here. The controller is designed to take AC or DC, but
the input diodes that that convert the AC to DC are only rated for 1 Amp (1000
milliampres). Make sure your transformer/wallwart is not rated for more than
this. That's more than enough for a train motor or 2. Also the interal circuit
including the diodes will drop ~2v no matter what. I'd use a 9v transformer,
thus giving you a maximum of 7v for that last 3 notches on the controller.
Which shouldn't be to fast.

Mat

Re: Reducing voltage

2009-11-23T09:57:15Z

In lugnet.trains, David Laswell wrote:

> Our club lets kids run the controller for one of the lines when we do certain
> events (like, right now, with Detroit Festival of Trees), but we could use a way
> to forcibly limit the speed on the line that they're allowed to run. One way
> that's really easy is to just build physical stops onto the top of the regulator
> so the dial won't turn as far in either direction, but that makes it difficult
> to actually operate the dial and won't be much fun for the kids. The other
> solution I just came up with would be to maybe limit the voltage going into the
> regulator. And that's where there's a problem. LEGO power adapters, for some
> odd reason, output in ~9vAC, not DC. Finding an AC-AC power adapter is
> difficult at best, and the only two that I can find through Radio Shack (the one
> place I knew of that _does_ sell them) run 9-13vAC or 18-24vAC, which is not
> going to help at all. They do sell an adapter that goes as low as 3v, but it
> outputs in DC instead of AC, and I'm not having much luck doing a generic
> internet search for adapters that output in AC below 9v. Does anyone know where
> I might be able to find such a beast?
>
> Also, is it safe to run LEGO trains on a regulator that's putting out DC voltage
> when all LEGO devices are designed with the expectation of AC power input? I
> know this is an issue that caused a lot of people to burn out the power busses
> on the RCX 1.0, which then led to the outright removal of the built-in power
> adapter port on the RCX brick (and probably directly influenced the transition
> to a power port that's built right into a battery pack for the NXT).
>
> Failing that, would there be a safe way to step the power down _after_ it comes
> out of the regulator? Say, running the power to a 9v TECHNIC motor and then
> gearing the speed down a bit before having a second 9v TECHNIC motor act as a
> low-power generator? The motor bogeys have to get a few rest periods throughout
> the day or they'll overheat, which makes me really cautious about hooking up two
> 9v TECHNIC motors and forcing them to run 8-9 hours at a time.

Hello,

you can put AC or DC voltage at the input of the regulator with no problem as
long as you don't put more than 9VAC~14VDC. The internal circuit will take
both.

So a quick fix that put 4.5~5V DC at the input will ouput about 3~3.2VDC at the
output.

Another option would be to modify the internal circuit so the position 4-8 are
limited to about 3.1V as position 3. Need a (small) soldering iron and some
instruction. You can possibly find info on the web somewhere. I could put detail
later this week.

As for thr resistor inline with the wire, you would have to calculate for
position 8 and always use position 8 as other will be really really slow (ie not
moving).
for this a 22 or 24 ohm resistor should do 6W minimum and it will get warm.
2 12 ohm in series would also work (3W each).

For the RCX, the problem was that the internal component where not strong enough
to feed all the power giving by the power adaptor, so at full power, those
component burned before the adaptor was at it's limit which is not the case
with the regulator.

Martin

Re: Reducing voltage

2009-11-23T09:13:35Z

In lugnet.trains, David Laswell wrote:

Years ago PNLTC used to do this for the kids table at the show. From what I
recall, we just drove a screw though the controller at about the 4th notch in
the black area on each side to keep it from turning too far. It is a very long
lasting, inexpensive and easy solution. Any old PNLTC guys out there remember
exactly how this was done?

If no one pipes up, I would unscrew a controller and see where the screw would
stop the dial without damaging any internal components

-Matt :)

Re: Reducing voltage

2009-11-23T08:12:48Z

> Our club lets kids run the controller for one of the lines when we do certain
> events

>
> Failing that, would there be a safe way to step the power down _after_ it comes
> out of the regulator?

I think this is how you want to do it. A simple solution would be to
go to Radio Shack, and buy a couple large ceramic resistors. (not
sure the values you'd want, but something low). Then, take a normal
9v wire, cut it, and insert the resistors in line. Functionally it
would be the same as inserting a second motor in line, but with no
moving parts.

I suspect it may get warm/hot, with continued use, but it's designed to do that.

Hope that helps
Steve

Reducing voltage

2009-11-23T08:00:51Z

Our club lets kids run the controller for one of the lines when we do certain
events (like, right now, with Detroit Festival of Trees), but we could use a way
to forcibly limit the speed on the line that they're allowed to run. One way
that's really easy is to just build physical stops onto the top of the regulator
so the dial won't turn as far in either direction, but that makes it difficult
to actually operate the dial and won't be much fun for the kids. The other
solution I just came up with would be to maybe limit the voltage going into the
regulator. And that's where there's a problem. LEGO power adapters, for some
odd reason, output in ~9vAC, not DC. Finding an AC-AC power adapter is
difficult at best, and the only two that I can find through Radio Shack (the one
place I knew of that _does_ sell them) run 9-13vAC or 18-24vAC, which is not
going to help at all. They do sell an adapter that goes as low as 3v, but it
outputs in DC instead of AC, and I'm not having much luck doing a generic
internet search for adapters that output in AC below 9v. Does anyone know where
I might be able to find such a beast?

Also, is it safe to run LEGO trains on a regulator that's putting out DC voltage
when all LEGO devices are designed with the expectation of AC power input? I
know this is an issue that caused a lot of people to burn out the power busses
on the RCX 1.0, which then led to the outright removal of the built-in power
adapter port on the RCX brick (and probably directly influenced the transition
to a power port that's built right into a battery pack for the NXT).

Failing that, would there be a safe way to step the power down _after_ it comes
out of the regulator? Say, running the power to a 9v TECHNIC motor and then
gearing the speed down a bit before having a second 9v TECHNIC motor act as a
low-power generator? The motor bogeys have to get a few rest periods throughout
the day or they'll overheat, which makes me really cautious about hooking up two
9v TECHNIC motors and forcing them to run 8-9 hours at a time.

Re: NXTasy down

2009-11-22T09:45:54Z

In lugnet.robotics, Eric Wieser wrote:

> In lugnet.robotics, Jetro de Chateau wrote:
>
>> I've been trying to read the NXTasy front page and forums for a couple of
>> days without any luck. The site appears to be down. Does anyone know what's
>> going on?
>>
>> Jetro
>
> Seems that now the forums aren't working. Apparently there's a division by
> zero in the php source code. Firefox claims that any post clicked on gets
> stuck in a redirect loop. Is this just me, or is this happening to everyone?

To me all forums look empty and the search function says it's been disabled. If
there are server problems or maintenance is being performed, maybe something
could be put on the NXTasy blog to inform users of these issues...

Jetro

Re: NXTasy down

2009-11-22T09:36:14Z

In lugnet.robotics, Jetro de Chateau wrote:

> I've been trying to read the NXTasy front page and forums for a couple of days
> without any luck. The site appears to be down. Does anyone know what's going
> on?
>
> Jetro

Seems that now the forums aren't working. Apparently there's a division by zero
in the php source code. Firefox claims that any post clicked on gets stuck in a
redirect loop. Is this just me, or is this happening to everyone?

Infrared Tower Refuses to Communicate with or Detect RCX

2009-11-14T11:39:36Z

Hello everyone, I have had my RIS 2.0 for about 6 or so years. At the time I purchased it, my skills were not sufficient to realize the true potential of the system, and I never did anything advanced with it. Just a few days ago, I dug up my RCX and sensors, deciding to give it another shot, utilizing the new skills and patience I have gained in the past years.I installed the RIS 2.0 CD on my new computer of one year, downloaded and installed the tower 164 driver, XP patch, and the multi-core patch. Alas, the program worked, but when it came time to install the firmware, the tower did not detect the RCX, no matter what I did. I restarted, and program would not launch at all! After going through the steps outlined here I managed to get the program working again, but the tower still refused to detect the RCX. I have tried every distance, every USB port, and even turned off all the fluorescent lights. Still no joy.

This SHOULD be working! I have tried every possible patch, nothing works. I have a Q6600 quad core, could that be causing the problem, even after installing the multi-core patch?

Please help, I would really like to get back into using the RIS!

Re: NXTasy down

2009-11-13T15:54:32Z

In lugnet.robotics, John Hansen wrote:
> Just tried http://forums.nxtasy.org/ and it is back up again as of Friday,
> October 13th, 2009 at 5:14pm CST. Thank goodness!
>
> John Hansen

Thanks for the heads up. That's a load off!

Jetro

Re: NXTasy down

2009-11-13T15:15:31Z

In lugnet.robotics, John Hansen wrote:

> There is no way that NXTasy is gone for good. APlus.net appears to be the
> hosting company. They have undergone a big upgrade of hosted sites which may be
> the root cause for the site being down. Eric Salinas is the owner of the site
> but there has got to be a way to get whatever is causing the outage fixed. I
> have emailed APlus a couple of times and will try calling their technical
> support line. Guy Ziv should be involved as he is the defacto site owner with
> Eric essentially unreachable. But APlus should have a way to contact Eric and
> there should be some way to transfer ownership of the site, if necessary, to
> another individual.
>

Just tried http://forums.nxtasy.org/ and it is back up again as of Friday,
October 13th, 2009 at 5:14pm CST. Thank goodness!

John Hansen

Re: NXTasy down

2009-11-13T10:14:42Z

In lugnet.robotics, Brian Davis wrote:

> In lugnet.robotics, Jetro de Chateau wrote:
>
>> I've been trying to read the NXTasy front page and forums for a couple
>> of days without any luck. The site appears to be down. Does anyone
>> know what's going on?
>
> I wish we did. NXTasy has gone down for reasons unknown, and at least so far
> hasn't come back up. The only guy who has admin privileges (Eric... something. I
> don't remember his last name) hasn't been around for a while, and no one has
> been able to contact him. I'm a moderator on the site, but I'm not different in
> this regard than the rest of you - NXTasy may be gone for good.
>
> Rats. Suggestions?

There is no way that NXTasy is gone for good. APlus.net appears to be the
hosting company. They have undergone a big upgrade of hosted sites which may be
the root cause for the site being down. Eric Salinas is the owner of the site
but there has got to be a way to get whatever is causing the outage fixed. I
have emailed APlus a couple of times and will try calling their technical
support line. Guy Ziv should be involved as he is the defacto site owner with
Eric essentially unreachable. But APlus should have a way to contact Eric and
there should be some way to transfer ownership of the site, if necessary, to
another individual.

John Hansen

Re: NXTasy down

2009-11-12T17:42:24Z

2009/11/12 Brian Davis <brdavis@...> wrote:
>
> I wish we did. NXTasy has gone down for reasons unknown, and at least so far
> hasn't come back up. The only guy who has admin privileges (Eric... something. I
> don't remember his last name) hasn't been around for a while,

Eric Salinas.

> and no one has
> been able to contact him. I'm a moderator on the site, but I'm not different in
> this regard than the rest of you - NXTasy may be gone for good.
>
> Rats. Suggestions?

The "Internet Archive Wayback Machine" at least has some pages from
Nxtasy, between July '06 and April '08:
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.nxtasy.org

Hope that helps somewhat. :-/

Ttfn, Tony

Re: NXTasy down

2009-11-12T15:41:25Z

In lugnet.robotics, Brian Davis wrote:

That doesn't sound good at all...
Losing the site would be a tragedy not just because it is a great place to get
answers from the people who really know, but also because of all the answers and
solutions that can be found on the forum.

Alternatives? The NXT STEP would have to undergo some thorough changes to take
over what NXTasy would leave behind. Maybe LUGNET could regain some of its
prominence...

Jetro

Re: NXTasy down

2009-11-12T15:20:26Z

In lugnet.robotics, Jetro de Chateau wrote:

> I've been trying to read the NXTasy front page and forums for a couple
> of days without any luck. The site appears to be down. Does anyone
> know what's going on?

I wish we did. NXTasy has gone down for reasons unknown, and at least so far
hasn't come back up. The only guy who has admin privileges (Eric... something. I
don't remember his last name) hasn't been around for a while, and no one has
been able to contact him. I'm a moderator on the site, but I'm not different in
this regard than the rest of you - NXTasy may be gone for good.

Rats. Suggestions?

--
Brian Davis

NXTasy down

2009-11-12T03:05:18Z

I've been trying to read the NXTasy front page and forums for a couple of days
without any luck. The site appears to be down. Does anyone know what's going on?

Jetro

Re: RCX not listening to IR remote

2009-10-28T12:41:31Z

In lugnet.robotics, Matija Puzar wrote:

> On 2009-10-26, Jetro de Chateau <linmix@...> wrote:
>> In lugnet.robotics, Chris 'Xenon' Hanson <xenon@...> wrote:
>>> I was trying to get the RCX to work with the IR remote (#9738) that I have.
>>
>> Before you start worrying something may be wrong with your RCX, we should get
>> someone to confirm this can actually be done,
>
> They are talking about the old IR remote (#9738), not the PF one.
> So, it should work like a charm.
>
>
> Cheers,
> Matija

Oops, my bad.

Jetro

Re: RCX not listening to IR remote

2009-10-27T04:01:43Z

On 2009-10-26, Jetro de Chateau <linmix@...> wrote:
> In lugnet.robotics, Chris 'Xenon' Hanson <xenon@...> wrote:
> > I was trying to get the RCX to work with the IR remote (#9738) that I have.
>
> Before you start worrying something may be wrong with your RCX, we should get
> someone to confirm this can actually be done,

They are talking about the old IR remote (#9738), not the PF one.
So, it should work like a charm.

Cheers,
Matija

Re: RCX not listening to IR remote

2009-10-26T13:25:04Z

In lugnet.robotics, Chris 'Xenon' Hanson <xenon@...> wrote:
> I was trying to get the RCX to work with the IR remote (#9738) that I have.
>
> I'm pointing the IR remote at the IR window on the RCX. Can anyone think of anything I'm
> missing to get the RCX to listen to the remote?

I'm not at all that certain the RCX can actually listen to the remote. If I
recall correctly, Bob Kojima got the RCX to work as a remote control for the PF
IR-Receiver, but to do so he used BrickOS and it would only work with an RCX 1.0
I don't recall hearing/reading of anyone who managed to make the RCX respond to
the IR Remote.

I can't find the info on their website now, but if seem to remember the first
IR-Link sensor mindsensors produced for the NXT could communicate with PF
elements, but not with the RCX.

Before you start worrying something may be wrong with your RCX, we should get
someone to confirm this can actually be done,

Jetro

Re: RCX not listening to IR remote

2009-10-26T06:42:41Z

Firstly, do you have the firmware on the RCX in question? If the
screen shows 00.00.00 then you should be good (i think). Turn on the
RCX, and start pressing buttons. Connected motors and lights should
start doing "things" repsonding to the commands from the IR remote. If
NOTHING happens at all, then the ir LED must be bad on the RCX. Can
you program it sucessfully with Robolab or similar?

Jake (dats me)

On Mon, Oct 26, 2009 at 8:17 AM, Steve Hassenplug
<steve@...> wrote:

>
> Chris,
>
> I don't think the RCX will "listen" to the remote, unless you've
> loaded the firmware. The firmware will need replaced, if the
> batteries have been removed (or have died).
>
> On the RCX, it will show the program number (1-5), and it will also
> show three other digits, IF the firmware is loaded. If only one digit
> shows, the firmware is not loaded.
>
> The firmware would be on the original software CD. If you don't have
> that, it may be on the NQC web site, or possibly the RobotC web site.
>
> Hope that helps.
> Steve
>
> On Sun, Oct 25, 2009 at 11:54 AM, Chris 'Xenon' Hanson
> <lego-robotics@...> wrote:
>>
>> I just dug all my old Mindstorms RCX gear out of the closet because my 4-year
>> old son is
>> now ready to play with gears and motors and stuff. Programming is a bit off
>> yet, but he
>> loves the technics parts.
>>
>> I was trying to get the RCX to work with the IR remote (#9738) that I have.
>> As I recall,
>> the A,B,C buttons on the remote can be used to manually drive the outputs and
>> you can
>> launch programs and send events.
>>
>> The remote has good batteries and seems to be putting out IR signals (I can
>> see the IR
>> LED lighting through my camcorder). The RCX seems to work (the program
>> currently in slot
>> #1 runs output A continuously). But, the RCX doesn't seem to pay any attention
>> to the remote.
>>
>> This isn't my original RCX, rather it's a 1.0 model I bought off eBay because
>> mine seems
>> to have died while being stored in the closet.
>>
>> I'm pointing the IR remote at the IR window on the RCX. Can anyone think of
>> anything I'm
>> missing to get the RCX to listen to the remote?
>>
>> Also, anyone want to buy a presumably injured RCX for a few bucks?
>>
>> --
>> Chris 'Xenon' Hanson, omo sanza lettere Xenon AlphaPixel.com
>> PixelSense Landsat processing now available! http://www.alphapixel.com/demos/
>> "There is no Truth. There is only Perception. To Perceive is to Exist." - Xen
>

Re: RCX not listening to IR remote

2009-10-26T06:17:52Z

Chris,

I don't think the RCX will "listen" to the remote, unless you've
loaded the firmware. The firmware will need replaced, if the
batteries have been removed (or have died).

On the RCX, it will show the program number (1-5), and it will also
show three other digits, IF the firmware is loaded. If only one digit
shows, the firmware is not loaded.

The firmware would be on the original software CD. If you don't have
that, it may be on the NQC web site, or possibly the RobotC web site.

Hope that helps.
Steve

On Sun, Oct 25, 2009 at 11:54 AM, Chris 'Xenon' Hanson
<lego-robotics@...> wrote:

>
> I just dug all my old Mindstorms RCX gear out of the closet because my 4-year
> old son is
> now ready to play with gears and motors and stuff. Programming is a bit off
> yet, but he
> loves the technics parts.
>
> I was trying to get the RCX to work with the IR remote (#9738) that I have.
> As I recall,
> the A,B,C buttons on the remote can be used to manually drive the outputs and
> you can
> launch programs and send events.
>
> The remote has good batteries and seems to be putting out IR signals (I can
> see the IR
> LED lighting through my camcorder). The RCX seems to work (the program
> currently in slot
> #1 runs output A continuously). But, the RCX doesn't seem to pay any attention
> to the remote.
>
> This isn't my original RCX, rather it's a 1.0 model I bought off eBay because
> mine seems
> to have died while being stored in the closet.
>
> I'm pointing the IR remote at the IR window on the RCX. Can anyone think of
> anything I'm
> missing to get the RCX to listen to the remote?
>
> Also, anyone want to buy a presumably injured RCX for a few bucks?
>
> --
> Chris 'Xenon' Hanson, omo sanza lettere Xenon AlphaPixel.com
> PixelSense Landsat processing now available! http://www.alphapixel.com/demos/
> "There is no Truth. There is only Perception. To Perceive is to Exist." - Xen

RCX not listening to IR remote

2009-10-25T08:54:05Z

I just dug all my old Mindstorms RCX gear out of the closet because my 4-year old son is
now ready to play with gears and motors and stuff. Programming is a bit off yet, but he
loves the technics parts.

I was trying to get the RCX to work with the IR remote (#9738) that I have. As I recall,
the A,B,C buttons on the remote can be used to manually drive the outputs and you can
launch programs and send events.

The remote has good batteries and seems to be putting out IR signals (I can see the IR
LED lighting through my camcorder). The RCX seems to work (the program currently in slot
#1 runs output A continuously). But, the RCX doesn't seem to pay any attention to the remote.

This isn't my original RCX, rather it's a 1.0 model I bought off eBay because mine seems
to have died while being stored in the closet.

I'm pointing the IR remote at the IR window on the RCX. Can anyone think of anything I'm
missing to get the RCX to listen to the remote?

Also, anyone want to buy a presumably injured RCX for a few bucks?

--
Chris 'Xenon' Hanson, omo sanza lettere Xenon AlphaPixel.com
PixelSense Landsat processing now available! http://www.alphapixel.com/demos/
"There is no Truth. There is only Perception. To Perceive is to Exist." - Xen

Re: Walking Robot Competition Results

2009-10-10T02:40:55Z

In lugnet.events.nwbrickcon, Steve Putz wrote:

> In lugnet.events.nwbrickcon, Jetro de Chateau wrote:
>
>> ¿Are there any videos of the event?
>>
>> Secondly, I'm a little confused: if Gus Jansson made the quickest run, how come
>> Steve Putz won the prize?
>>
>> Jetro
>
> I've posted a short video of my walking robot (but not the competition event)
> at:
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/steveputz/3996696471/

Thanks for the video. I need to figure out how to get a nice table like that for
our next event...
>
> Gus passed the prize on to me because he works for HiTechnic.
>
Some people have all the luck :D

Jetro

Re: Walking Robot Competition Results

2009-10-09T22:43:08Z

In lugnet.events.nwbrickcon, Jetro de Chateau wrote:

> ¿Are there any videos of the event?
>
> Secondly, I'm a little confused: if Gus Jansson made the quickest run, how come
> Steve Putz won the prize?
>
> Jetro

I've posted a short video of my walking robot (but not the competition event)
at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/steveputz/3996696471/

FYI, I built the robot after arriving at BrickCon, starting late on the night
before the competition.

Gus passed the prize on to me because he works for HiTechnic.

A few other photos I took at BrickCon 2009 are at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/steveputz/sets/72157622428484687/

Steve Putz
www.RoboticsLearning.com

Re: Walking Robot Competition Results

2009-10-08T17:28:05Z

In lugnet.events.nwbrickcon, Jetro de Chateau wrote:

> In lugnet.events.nwbrickcon, David Schilling wrote:
>> We had several great entries for the Walking Robot competition at BrickCon.
>>
>> Third place: Bryan Bonahoom at 70.55 seconds
>> Second place: Steve Putz at 39.54 seconds
>> First place: Gus Jansson at 30.79 seconds
>>
>> As they've done for so many previous competitions, HiTechnic provided a sensor
>> for the winner. Thank you, HiTechnic!
>>
>> The winner of the HiTechnic prize for the Walking Robot competition was Steve
>> Putz.
>> http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/David/Conventions/BrickCon2009/cimg1283.jpg
>
> First of all congratulations to all participants and especially to the winner.
> ¿Are there any videos of the event?
>
> Secondly, I'm a little confused: if Gus Jansson made the quickest run, how come
> Steve Putz won the prize?
>
> Jetro

Simple: he didn't want it. Perhaps he has enough sensors.

--
David Schilling

Re: Walking Robot Competition Results

2009-10-08T02:21:29Z

In lugnet.events.nwbrickcon, David Schilling wrote:

> We had several great entries for the Walking Robot competition at BrickCon.
>
> Third place: Bryan Bonahoom at 70.55 seconds
> Second place: Steve Putz at 39.54 seconds
> First place: Gus Jansson at 30.79 seconds
>
> As they've done for so many previous competitions, HiTechnic provided a sensor
> for the winner. Thank you, HiTechnic!
>
> The winner of the HiTechnic prize for the Walking Robot competition was Steve
> Putz.
> http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/David/Conventions/BrickCon2009/cimg1283.jpg

First of all congratulations to all participants and especially to the winner.
¿Are there any videos of the event?

Secondly, I'm a little confused: if Gus Jansson made the quickest run, how come
Steve Putz won the prize?

Jetro

Re: Walking Robot Competition Results

2009-10-07T21:45:43Z

Hey how cool! Congrats to the winners and to the contestants. Bravo HiTechnic!

Walking Robot Competition Results

2009-10-07T15:52:12Z

In lugnet.events.nwbrickcon, David Schilling wrote:

> There will be a walking robot competition at BrickCon 09 this year. We'll be
> following the rules for "regular" robots found at
> http://www.robothon.org/robothon/walking.php with a couple of minor adjustments
> for LEGO robots:
>
> - All robots must be completely built of unmodified, non-glued, LEGO. Third
> party or custom sensors are allowed.
>
> - Pneumatic propulsion IS allowed, as long as it's LEGO pure.
>
>
> That's it! Looking forward to seeing you there!
>
> --
> David Schilling (Mindstorms coordinator)

We had several great entries for the Walking Robot competition at BrickCon.

Third place: Bryan Bonahoom at 70.55 seconds
Second place: Steve Putz at 39.54 seconds
First place: Gus Jansson at 30.79 seconds

As they've done for so many previous competitions, HiTechnic provided a sensor
for the winner. Thank you, HiTechnic!

The winner of the HiTechnic prize for the Walking Robot competition was Steve
Putz.
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/David/Conventions/BrickCon2009/cimg1283.jpg

Steve will be able to choose his free sensor by going to
http://www.hitechnic.com. (You can order sensors there too!)

Congratulations to all who entered!

--
David Schilling (Mindstorms coordinator)

Re: Walking Robot Competition at BrickCon 09

2009-09-27T09:57:48Z

In lugnet.events.nwbrickcon, Bryan Bonahoom wrote:
> Who else is planning to be at BrickCon and compete in this event?
>
> Good luck, Bryan
Hi Bryan,
I will be there. Not sure if my walking robot is competative but I will enter
it.

Looking forward to seeing you next week.

Gus

Re: Walking Robot Competition at BrickCon 09

2009-09-24T23:08:03Z

In lugnet.events.nwbrickcon, Bryan Bonahoom wrote:
> I will have a robot ready to compete.
>
> Who else is planning to be at BrickCon and compete in this event?
>
> Good luck, Bryan

Looks like you might win by default!

Anyone else out there planning on entering the Walking Robot Competition?

--
David Schilling

Re: I have RCX 1.0, what more do I need?

2009-09-24T22:15:49Z

Looks like you didn't get any answers?

The towers make no difference to the RCX brick at all. The originals with serial port work
with some things better than the newer USB version. I have both to play with. A serial port
on your pc would be a d-type 9 pin male connector ( the video connector on your pc is a female
if you are unsure which has pins and which has holes). If your motherboard is a few years old
you will probably have a serial connector. Also, the OS you use could affect which will work
best for you. XP will know how to use the USB tower. I can look to see if I have a copy of the
original CD's.

The firmware in the RCX 1.0 brick can be flash upgraded to version 2.0 firmware. I can't remember the
latest version number off the top of my head, but upgrading is easy. Essentially, when the code is
compiled to download to the RCX brick, the firmware is included in the compilation. So you essentially
write your code in NQC/Bricx and click on the program button... the rest is taken care of for you. There
are other ways which are more technical in nature but its easy enough for a young child to do, right?

Once you have that hardware, you need to write programs. The Lego CD has some CAD
like software to use blocks to program. It's clunky to my way of thinking. Try a search for
NQC and Bricx. When you get to the more technical end of programming the brick, there are
ways to use your favorite text editor to write the code, then use a utility to compile / download to the
RCX. Editpad Pro is my fav and has syntax highlighting for NQC :-) I wouldn't be surprised to
find support for NQC on Eclipse either.

also find mindsensors.com brickshelf and ebay. The way I started was finding a brick much
like you have then buying bulk sale items off of ebay that had lots of technic bricks in them.
Basically it was a bunch of grandma selling grandson's old legos etc.

The gear motors are worth about 22 USD. Any of the bricks are worth what you are willing
to pay for them. Check around before laying out any cash. You'll see ebay listings of $5+ for
some mini figures but can often get them from Lego for $3. The market for used Lego is not
steady nor a buyers market, but you will find some deals. Those dumping RCX Mindstorms
for newer versions might offer a good deal here and there.

Lugnet is a great place to find reading links.

As soon as I get time to dig in the closet I'll follow up with a bit more info.

Cheers and have fun

----- Original Message ----
From: Owen Dive <captainowie gmail.com@...>
To: lego-robotics@...
Sent: Friday, September 18, 2009 5:00:27 AM
Subject: I have RCX 1.0, what more do I need?

Hi all.

I have recently come into possession of an RCX 1.0 brick (the one with the power
socket), but nothing else that would come with it. What other things do I need
to purchase to make my new brick useful?

I understand that at the very least I will need an IR Tower so that my computer
can communicate with the brick. From what I've read, I should be able to use the
USB version of the tower that came with RIS 2.0 [is this correct?] (I'm much
more familiar with USB than I am with serial ports - I'm not even 100% sure that
my computer even _has_ a serial port!). I know that I will need to install some
form of software that will let me interact with the brick, but I am unclear as
to exactly what is required. I can think of three fuctions that will need to be
taken care of: some form of development environment where I can write programs;
a driver for the tower so that I can pass these programs to the RCX; and
firmware that will allow the brick to execute the programs. I've read terms like
ROBOLAB and BrickOS, but I don't know which software performs which function,
nor whether I can download everything I'll need from the Internet or if I'll
need to source a copy of the original CD with drivers etc.

I did find this thread from last year
http://news.lugnet.com/robotics/?n=27598
which I think goes some way to answering my questions, but I'm still confused
because I'm unsure of how all the components of the software work together.

I also know that without sensors of some description I'm going to be very
limited in what I can do. I'm ok with that. :-)

Of course, one possibility is to simply purchase a RIS 2.0 kit. That way I'd at
least have all the basics, with the added bonus of two RCX bricks. However, if I
can get away without spending that much money I'd be happier.

I'm running Windows XP, which seems to have some problems running the original
software, but I can cross that bridge when or if I come to it!

Thanks in advance for your help.

Owen.

8263 Snow Groomer

2009-09-22T21:20:58Z

My daughter and I just finished the primary model in the 8263 Snow Groomer set
tonight. I bought two primarily because the set inventory looked like it would
yield a lot of handy robot building parts. That was a good decision. It has a
nice yield of very handy parts. Oh... the base model is interesting a fun, too,
according to my daughter.

Re: Walking Robot Competition at BrickCon 09

2009-09-20T17:56:16Z

I will have a robot ready to compete.

Who else is planning to be at BrickCon and compete in this event?

Good luck, Bryan

I have RCX 1.0, what more do I need?

2009-09-18T03:00:27Z

Hi all.

I have recently come into possession of an RCX 1.0 brick (the one with the power
socket), but nothing else that would come with it. What other things do I need
to purchase to make my new brick useful?

I understand that at the very least I will need an IR Tower so that my computer
can communicate with the brick. From what I've read, I should be able to use the
USB version of the tower that came with RIS 2.0 [is this correct?] (I'm much
more familiar with USB than I am with serial ports - I'm not even 100% sure that
my computer even _has_ a serial port!). I know that I will need to install some
form of software that will let me interact with the brick, but I am unclear as
to exactly what is required. I can think of three fuctions that will need to be
taken care of: some form of development environment where I can write programs;
a driver for the tower so that I can pass these programs to the RCX; and
firmware that will allow the brick to execute the programs. I've read terms like
ROBOLAB and BrickOS, but I don't know which software performs which function,
nor whether I can download everything I'll need from the Internet or if I'll
need to source a copy of the original CD with drivers etc.

I did find this thread from last year
http://news.lugnet.com/robotics/?n=27598
which I think goes some way to answering my questions, but I'm still confused
because I'm unsure of how all the components of the software work together.

I also know that without sensors of some description I'm going to be very
limited in what I can do. I'm ok with that. :-)

Of course, one possibility is to simply purchase a RIS 2.0 kit. That way I'd at
least have all the basics, with the added bonus of two RCX bricks. However, if I
can get away without spending that much money I'd be happier.

I'm running Windows XP, which seems to have some problems running the original
software, but I can cross that bridge when or if I come to it!

Thanks in advance for your help.

Owen.

AW: RCX with Visual Studio

2009-09-14T02:25:45Z

Hi,

Using the the IR from and independant PC sound like a good solution.
The camera is not connected directly to the RCX, but to the PC, that sends the IR command depending on the camera pictures.
Thanks for your help

Philip

-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: news-gateway@... [mailto:news-gateway@...] Im Auftrag von Steve Hassenplug
Gesendet: Freitag, 11. September 2009 19:25
An: lego-robotics@...
Betreff: Re: RCX with Visual Studio

It won't be easy to write a program with Visual Studio that runs ON
the RCX. It should be pretty easy (for a programmer) to write a
program that runs on a PC, and uses the IR tower to send commands to
the RCX, telling it what to do.

Also, you can't connect a camera directly to the RCX. So, one way or
another, it will be connected to a PC.

This page will have all the information you need:
http://graphics.stanford.edu/~kekoa/rcx/

The only real question is if you can find it in there...

Steve

On Fri, Sep 11, 2009 at 1:10 PM, Mewes, Philip <lego-robotics@...> wrote:

>
> I was wondering, if it's possible to program a RCX with Visual Studio (either
> with C# or with C++(using something like SDL as an interface)). I kind of a
> newbie with mindstorm, so what I imaging is the following: Actually I plan to
> attach a camera to a RCX robot and to move the robot depending on the camera
> images. I would need a way to influence the robot movement in real-time from a
> GUI, that I'm coding myself with C++ or C#.
>
>
>
> I suppose that I need to write a separate program that runs on the controller
> and to integrate some code in my image processing software to interface with the
> robot. Right?
>
>
>
> I found some project
> (http://blogs.msdn.com/coding4fun/archive/2006/10/26/877499.aspx
> <http://blogs.msdn.com/coding4fun/archive/2006/10/26/877499.aspx> ) that is
> dealing with RCX Programming with visual studio, but it seems quite outdated.
>
>
>
> Can anybody give me a hint?
>
>
>
> Thanks a lot in advance
>
>
>
> Philip

Re: NXT and iPod touch

2009-09-12T13:08:01Z

No, it will not work. Due to Apple's restrictions, any device that a developer wants to talk to over Bluetooth must be brand-new and approved by Apple. The developer of the iNXT Remote app says that if the restrictions are changed, he will gladly add direct Bluetooth support. Until then, if you have a computer with Bluetooth in it, you can use it with the iNXT Remote app to control your robots. :)

Rafe Donahue wrote:

My kids are planning to upgrade the OS on their iPods to 3.0. Apparently this
upgrade will enable the bluetooth functionality that has been there all along.

The question: does anyone have any experience with iPod Bluetooth and our
beloved NXT?

Thanks,
Rafe