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My <set:8539>, back-ordered from Lego S@H, just arrived in mail. I have not
finished building the models yet.
The set comes with two IR controllers, as well as two receivers. Each IR
units take 3 AA batteries, so you need 12 batteries in total.
Each IR receiver has two motor outputs. On the controller there are four
buttons, controlling the forward and the reverse motion of the two motors.
The receivers can be configured to receive from one of the three channels.
Similarly the controllers can be configured to send using one of the three
channels, plus the "all" option to broadcast to all the channels at once. On
the channel changing dial, there is a socket to let you insert a Technic
axle into it. A nice touch.
Having been hoping for a Rokenbok-like toy, I admit to be a bit disappointed
to the limit of 2 motors per controller. Actually it is not that bad --
Combining the two controllers/receivers gives you four motors in total.
Already I am start thinking of all the interesting toys I can build out of
these IR units.
Cheers,
Hao-yang Wang
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Thanks for that complete review, Hao-yang Wang,
for everyone who needs an image to figure what details he is talking about,
I have a good shot of the Remote that I uploaded a few months back when
visiting the GERMAN LEGO Truck that stopped nearby...
http://www.brickmaster.de/images/bio_truck7.jpg
Too bad I don't have the set myslef yet. I am excited, Hao-yang, what is the
combined Manas model about to do and do you need both controllers to command
it? Are the building instructions included as for all the other Rahi sets?
Oh, yes, I am talking about this alternate Rahi, image found at:
http://www.brickmaster.de/images/8539-alt.jpg
It seems like the bottom motors are there to move and navigate and the upper
two must have some kind of grab function and what's that rubber-band near
the yellow Komau massks doing (it's a "spring-loaded" rubberband, right?).
The world needs to know...
THANKS!
Bye, Christian --- xTIAN.oO
--------------------------------------------------
Lugnet Member #479 -- The World is full of AFOLs !
mail: xtian@brickmaster.de web: www.brickmaster.de
In lugnet.technic, Hao-yang Wang writes:
> My <set:8539>, back-ordered from Lego S@H, just arrived in mail. I have not
> finished building the models yet.
>
> The set comes with two IR controllers, as well as two receivers. Each IR
> units take 3 AA batteries, so you need 12 batteries in total.
>
> Each IR receiver has two motor outputs. On the controller there are four
> buttons, controlling the forward and the reverse motion of the two motors.
>
> The receivers can be configured to receive from one of the three channels.
> Similarly the controllers can be configured to send using one of the three
> channels, plus the "all" option to broadcast to all the channels at once. On
> the channel changing dial, there is a socket to let you insert a Technic
> axle into it. A nice touch.
>
> Having been hoping for a Rokenbok-like toy, I admit to be a bit disappointed
> to the limit of 2 motors per controller. Actually it is not that bad --
> Combining the two controllers/receivers gives you four motors in total.
> Already I am start thinking of all the interesting toys I can build out of
> these IR units.
>
> Cheers,
> Hao-yang Wang
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In lugnet.technic, Christian Gemünden writes:
> Thanks for that complete review, Hao-yang Wang,
>
> for everyone who needs an image to figure what details he is talking about,
> I have a good shot of the Remote that I uploaded a few months back when
> visiting the GERMAN LEGO Truck that stopped nearby...
>
> http://www.brickmaster.de/images/bio_truck7.jpg
>
> Too bad I don't have the set myslef yet. I am excited, Hao-yang, what is the
> combined Manas model about to do and do you need both controllers to command
> it? Are the building instructions included as for all the other Rahi sets?
>
> Oh, yes, I am talking about this alternate Rahi, image found at:
>
> http://www.brickmaster.de/images/8539-alt.jpg
>
> It seems like the bottom motors are there to move and navigate and the upper
> two must have some kind of grab function and what's that rubber-band near
> the yellow Komau massks doing (it's a "spring-loaded" rubberband, right?).
> The world needs to know...
>
> THANKS!
>
> Bye, Christian --- xTIAN.oO
> --------------------------------------------------
> Lugnet Member #479 -- The World is full of AFOLs !
> mail: xtian@brickmaster.de web: www.brickmaster.de
>
>
> In lugnet.technic, Hao-yang Wang writes:
> > My <set:8539>, back-ordered from Lego S@H, just arrived in mail. I have not
> > finished building the models yet.
> >
> > The set comes with two IR controllers, as well as two receivers. Each IR
> > units take 3 AA batteries, so you need 12 batteries in total.
> >
> > Each IR receiver has two motor outputs. On the controller there are four
> > buttons, controlling the forward and the reverse motion of the two motors.
> >
> > The receivers can be configured to receive from one of the three channels.
> > Similarly the controllers can be configured to send using one of the three
> > channels, plus the "all" option to broadcast to all the channels at once. On
> > the channel changing dial, there is a socket to let you insert a Technic
> > axle into it. A nice touch.
> >
> > Having been hoping for a Rokenbok-like toy, I admit to be a bit disappointed
> > to the limit of 2 motors per controller. Actually it is not that bad --
> > Combining the two controllers/receivers gives you four motors in total.
> > Already I am start thinking of all the interesting toys I can build out of
> > these IR units.
> >
> > Cheers,
> > Hao-yang Wang
Also, please let us know, what is the exact color and types of the 4 masks
found on the manas. Thanx
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In lugnet.technic, Andrew Eade writes:
> Also, please let us know, what is the exact color and types of the 4 masks
> found on the manas. Thanx
2 identical ones in yellow, and another 2 identical ones in orange. As I am
not familiar with Bionicle I cannot tell about their types. If you can point
me to some pictorial list of all the masks, I can tell you which two are
included in 8539.
Cheers,
Hao-yang Wang
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It looks like I get from 8539 two orange Ruru masks, and two yellow Komau masks.
Hao-yang Wang
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In lugnet.technic.bionicle, Hao-yang Wang writes:
> In lugnet.technic, Andrew Eade writes:
> > Also, please let us know, what is the exact color and types of the 4 masks
> > found on the manas. Thanx
>
> 2 identical ones in yellow, and another 2 identical ones in orange. As I am
> not familiar with Bionicle I cannot tell about their types. If you can point
> me to some pictorial list of all the masks, I can tell you which two are
> included in 8539.
>
> Cheers,
> Hao-yang Wang
Go to http://www.bionicle.com/ and to the kanohi section for a list.
NICK
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In lugnet.technic, Christian Gemünden writes:
> Too bad I don't have the set myslef yet. I am excited, Hao-yang, what is the
> combined Manas model about to do and do you need both controllers to command
> it? Are the building instructions included as for all the other Rahi sets?
>
> Oh, yes, I am talking about this alternate Rahi, image found at:
>
> http://www.brickmaster.de/images/8539-alt.jpg
>
> It seems like the bottom motors are there to move and navigate and the upper
> two must have some kind of grab function and what's that rubber-band near
> the yellow Komau massks doing (it's a "spring-loaded" rubberband, right?).
> The world needs to know...
I finished building the two crabs yesterday. I'd really like to build the
alternative big Rahi too, but unfortunately the kid would not allow me to
take apart the crabs.
As the result, I can only base my answers to your questions by looking at
the instructions. Anybody who has already seen the real thing working,
please correct my mistakes. (And yes, you get the instructions for both the
crabs and the big alternative Rahi.)
You are right: The bottom motors move the Rahi, while the top ones move the
arms. The arms punch out, but I am not sure whether the claws will actually
grab things. (The claws are not connected to the motors, but the rubber
bands on the claws may serve as some spring-loaded mechanism.)
The rubber band on the head-neck does look like some spring-loading
mechanism, which nods the head. I think the opponent is supposed to hit the
head of the Rahi, to get the masks.
By turning the dial on the handheld controller to switch the channel, you
can control the Rahi's arms and tank treads separately, or you can use both
controllers to control all the four functions at the same time. Of course
you can also set the two receivers to the same channel (or set the
controller to broadcast to all the channels).
There are only three channels, which sets the upper limit to the number of
receivers that can function independently at the same time.
> THANKS!
>
> Bye, Christian --- xTIAN.oO
> --------------------------------------------------
> Lugnet Member #479 -- The World is full of AFOLs !
> mail: xtian@brickmaster.de web: www.brickmaster.de
Now back to the crabs: The two crabs are almost identical in design. Like
the big Rahi, the crab's movement is controlled by its two tank treads. The
two claws of the crab are connected to the same motors as the tank treads,
which make the claws punch repetitively.
In the middle, there is a spring-loaded mechanism which, when being hit,
will lift the crab off the ground, thus disables the crab's movement.
On the pictures, it shows the two crabs trying to knock down each others'
masks. This strikes me as a bit strange, for I thought the two crabs are
fighting on the same side, but again I am not familiar with the story line
of Bionicle. (8539 is my first Bionicle set.)
Cheers,
Hao-yang Wang
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Hao-yang Wang,
I'd be interested in knowing a few things like: How fast do they go and
can you adjust the speed? What is the range on the remotes? How much power
do the motors seem to have (wondering how big/heavy a creation you could
make that wouldn't overburden the motors.)
Thanks!
Paul
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In lugnet.technic, Paul Coombs writes:
> Hao-yang Wang,
> I'd be interested in knowing a few things like: How fast do they go and
> can you adjust the speed? What is the range on the remotes? How much power
> do the motors seem to have (wondering how big/heavy a creation you could
> make that wouldn't overburden the motors.)
>
> Thanks!
>
> Paul
The speed is not adjustable. (Unless you have a fast thumb and can do the
PVM manually. :-)
The motors are able to move the big alternative model around comfortably,
but they don't seem to be as powerful as the Technic geared-down motors.
John Barnes has posted an amazing article about the innards of the IR unit
at <http://news.lugnet.com/robotics/?n=15809>.
Cheers,
Hao-yang Wang
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In lugnet.technic, Hao-yang Wang writes:
> I finished building the two crabs yesterday. I'd really like to build the
> alternative big Rahi too, but unfortunately the kid would not allow me to
> take apart the crabs.
>
> As the result, I can only base my answers to your questions by looking at
> the instructions. Anybody who has already seen the real thing working,
> please correct my mistakes. (And yes, you get the instructions for both the
> crabs and the big alternative Rahi.)
>
> You are right: The bottom motors move the Rahi, while the top ones move the
> arms. The arms punch out, but I am not sure whether the claws will actually
> grab things. (The claws are not connected to the motors, but the rubber
> bands on the claws may serve as some spring-loaded mechanism.)
I finished the big Rahi last night. The moving mechanism and the arms are
essentially the same as the crabs'. The claw does get equipped with a
spring-loaded mechanism, so when the "palm" touches something, the claw
snaps together. The mechanism is ingeniously simple, but a bit too
sensitive: It sometimes gets triggered while the arms are waving in the
empty air.
> The rubber band on the head-neck does look like some spring-loading
> mechanism, which nods the head. I think the opponent is supposed to hit the
> head of the Rahi, to get the masks.
When you hit the head, it gets knocked down, exposing its masks for the
opponent to grab.
The head looks much cooler in person than in pictures. (Somehow in all the
ads I have seen, the head is always pictured on the knocked-down position.)
It looks like a saber-tooth tiger. However, with the human-like arms and
claws, maybe Lego is trying to do a bear.
The big Rahi is not very stable. It tends to tip forward.
Compared with the crabs, this big Rahi looks much cooler, and has an
ingenious claw mechanism, while I feel the crabs get better playability.
Cheers,
Hao-yang Wang
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Thank You!!!
Now I can order one, and finnis motorizing my silver champion, and 8448!
Thanks again!!
Gary
Hao-yang Wang <hywang@pobox.com> wrote in message
news:GGypHK.HFw@lugnet.com...
> My <set:8539>, back-ordered from Lego S@H, just arrived in mail. I have • not
> finished building the models yet.
>
> The set comes with two IR controllers, as well as two receivers. Each IR
> units take 3 AA batteries, so you need 12 batteries in total.
>
> Each IR receiver has two motor outputs. On the controller there are four
> buttons, controlling the forward and the reverse motion of the two motors.
>
> The receivers can be configured to receive from one of the three channels.
> Similarly the controllers can be configured to send using one of the three
> channels, plus the "all" option to broadcast to all the channels at once. • On
> the channel changing dial, there is a socket to let you insert a Technic
> axle into it. A nice touch.
>
> Having been hoping for a Rokenbok-like toy, I admit to be a bit • disappointed
> to the limit of 2 motors per controller. Actually it is not that bad --
> Combining the two controllers/receivers gives you four motors in total.
> Already I am start thinking of all the interesting toys I can build out of
> these IR units.
>
> Cheers,
> Hao-yang Wang
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In lugnet.technic, Gary E. Blessing writes:
> Thank You!!!
>
> Now I can order one, and finnis motorizing my silver champion, and 8448!
>
> Thanks again!!
>
> Gary
I don't know -- Those big cars are barely (or non-) moveable with the 9V
geared-down Technic motor. The motors in the IR receiver, at 4.5V, are no
more powerful than the Technic motors.
Cheers,
Hao-yang Wang
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well I've already got both motorized and radio controled, I just need a more
compact and lighter motor system ( I was going to use a no-lego motor, but
now I'll try this)
Gary
Hao-yang Wang <hywang@pobox.com> wrote in message
news:GH3H2H.MJC@lugnet.com...
> In lugnet.technic, Gary E. Blessing writes:
> > Thank You!!!
> >
> > Now I can order one, and finnish motorizing my silver champion, and 8448!
> >
> > Thanks again!!
> >
> > Gary
>
> I don't know -- Those big cars are barely (or non-) moveable with the 9V
> geared-down Technic motor. The motors in the IR receiver, at 4.5V, are no
> more powerful than the Technic motors.
>
> Cheers,
> Hao-yang Wang
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"Hao-yang Wang" <hywang@pobox.com> writes:
> The set comes with two IR controllers, as well as two
> receivers. Each IR units take 3 AA batteries, so you need 12
> batteries in total.
>
> Each IR receiver has two motor outputs. On the controller there are
> four buttons, controlling the forward and the reverse motion of the
> two motors.
Does this mean that the set actually comes with a total of four (4)
external motor units? Or does each IR-controller comprise two built
in motors each?
It's not obvious to me if "motor output" above means an electronic
socket to which a motor can be connected, or a cross axle hole which
is driven by an internal motor. I'm guessing the latter, otherwise
the price of the set would probably have been too steep.
And another question: Are the motor outputs (assuming they are
internal motors) placed so that it is easy to build something around
the unit? I.e., is it easy to use the motor outputs in custom MOCs?
I'm curious to the usefulness of the IR units.
Fredrik
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In lugnet.technic, Fredrik Glöckner writes:
> Does this mean that the set actually comes with a total of four (4)
> external motor units? Or does each IR-controller comprise two built
> in motors each?
>
> It's not obvious to me if "motor output" above means an electronic
> socket to which a motor can be connected, or a cross axle hole which
> is driven by an internal motor. I'm guessing the latter, otherwise
> the price of the set would probably have been too steep.
Two IR receivers, each has two built-in motors.
Quoted from John Barnes's post <http://news.lugnet.com/robotics/?n=15809>
> It is interesting that there are two power take-offs, one "through axle"
> hole and "end axle" hole at each end of the unit. The two are differently
> geared so you can choose higher speed or higher torque.
The gear ratio between the two types of connection points is about 5:2; The
"through axle" is the faster one.
> And another question: Are the motor outputs (assuming they are
> internal motors) placed so that it is easy to build something around
> the unit? I.e., is it easy to use the motor outputs in custom MOCs?
> I'm curious to the usefulness of the IR units.
It is easy if you happen to be building a robot with two treads, or a robot
with two claws. :-)
On the plus side, the IR unit does get a lot of holes and sockets on it. I
don't like its curvey shape, though. (Why didn't Lego simply build it as a
rectangular brick, covered with grids of studs and holes all over? :-)
I'd say for MOC, it may be far less flexible than RCX, but certainly a lot
easier to work with than the bulky CyberMaster (in terms of structural
integration, not intelligence).
> Fredrik
Hao-yang Wang
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