Subject:
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Re: Spybotics demo followup questions
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.lego.direct
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Date:
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Wed, 24 Jul 2002 04:16:34 GMT
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Viewed:
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744 times
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Now that I think about it, I didn't really like the reasoning behind making
a serial product instead of usb. It actually sounds like an excuse to me...
Not quite quoted words were, "this product is designed more for children who
have hand-me-down computers with no usb ports. That and the cost of making
a usb product is the reason we made it a serial product. This way we could
keep the price down closer to the $50 price point - well $60 is close."
I'm just not convinced.
Rob "still doesn't have a usb to serial converter" Hendrix
In lugnet.lego.direct, Jake McKee writes:
> All,
>
> Several questions came up during the Spybotics demo at BrickFest that Jeff
> was unable to answer on the spot. He has since passed those questions and
> corresponding answers on to me:
>
>
> *** How much memory is in the brick? (compared to RCX) ***
>
> Two thirds the memory (4k compared to 6k for program download "with our
> standard firmware"). And it's persistent: because it's stored in EEPROM, you
> can remove the batteries and come back years later to find your program is
> still there in good shape.
>
> *** What speed are the motors ***
>
> They run off 3 AA batteries so they are 4.5v based, but they cannot be
> compared that easily.
>
> Because of a better control scheme in the electronics the speed of the
> Spybot motor are very similar to an RCX gear motor (which runs off 9v).
>
> Furthermore, because of the more advanced, speed can be controlled much more
> precisely. In the RCX gear motors, only torque is controllable, thus a motor
> with no load will run at the same speed regardless of the setting. Not so
> here, we have speed down to a fine art!
>
> *** What communication protocol does the IR transmission use? “LLM”? Is it
> the same as the VLL or Virtual Light Link? ***
>
> No, they use a 'standard' IR communication scheme. Very much like the RCX's
> but double the speed and half the message size, so four times as efficient.
>
> It is possible, though, to send and receive VLL messages through the light
> sensor and the red LED at the back of the robot. For that to work, the
> Spybot needs to be disconnected from the PC-cable.
>
> *** Does the SB brick have the same firmware as an RCX? ***
>
> No, but the user downloaded programs that it runs are very similar in
> nature to the RCX. (Both are LASM-based - our own byte code format - but the
> Spybot has more commands and some are more sophisticated than the RCX)
>
>
> Hopefully this clears things up. I for one can't wait to get my hands on one
> of these sets now!
>
> Jake
>
> ---
> Jake McKee
> Sr. Producer
> LEGO Direct
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: Spybotics demo followup questions
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| (...) I'm not totally clear about what you want to be convinced of. That is was a good idea, or that price/old computers was the key reason for the decision. Either way, those ARE the reasons, so I'm not sure that I could say anything that would (...) (22 years ago, 24-Jul-02, to lugnet.lego.direct)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Spybotics demo followup questions
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| All, Several questions came up during the Spybotics demo at BrickFest that Jeff was unable to answer on the spot. He has since passed those questions and corresponding answers on to me: *** How much memory is in the brick? (compared to RCX) *** Two (...) (22 years ago, 23-Jul-02, to lugnet.lego.direct)
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