Subject:
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RE: A dream Mindstorms/Technic piece...
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.robotics
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Date:
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Mon, 12 Feb 2001 23:03:01 GMT
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Original-From:
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Tilman Sporkert <TILMAN@stopspamWEBMETHODS.COM>
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Viewed:
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568 times
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The Mindstorms touch sensor isn't a switch, but a sensor. You need an RCX or
MicroScout to read it's status. It is not suited for directly switching a
load like a motor. It can only carry a very small current, and still has a
lot of resistance when pressed. The resistance varies a lot from switch to
switch, and how hard you press it. If you have a translucent version from a
Cybermaster set, you can clearly see how it works. It's very similar to the
keypad on a remote control for example. There are two non-moving contact
surfaces, and on the back of the "button" is a rubbery pad that conducts
some electricity. This pad gets pressed against the two surfaces.
There are two 9V battery boxes commonly available. The most common one is
the one that takes 6 AA batteries, and two buttons. Even so it has a "not
locked" position, it's difficult to use that way because that's just a
transition state. However, there's a much smaller 9V battery box that takes
a single 9V cell. It only has a single switch, and that switch has two Lego
dots on top! It's available separately as #5391. It was also included in
some of the ZNAP sets that got cleared out of US toy stores a while agao.
The switch can easily be activated mechanically, and used as a touch switch
for example. There's even a Lego set that uses it that way - 8266 Spyder
Slayer. I used it to build a fleet of small vehicles for an slow-moving
amusement park ride. The vehicles are independent, and follow a guide rail
made from ZNAP beams. A movable bumper in the front is connected to this
switch through a lever. When the vehicle bumps into something, like the
vehicle in front of it, it will stop. Very effective and compact.
Tilman
> Jennifer Clark <jen@vulture.dmem.strath.ac.uk> wrote in message
> news:3A87CF43.4C05B6CB@vulture.dmem.strath.ac.uk...
> > Geoffrey Hyde wrote:
> >
> > > Have you figured out if there is a
> > > way to do it with a Technic 9V battery box, such as the one
> included in
> the
> > > Technic Space Shuttle?
> >
> > I'm sure it is possible, as the switch on it is also spring
> loaded and has
> a
> > "motor on but switch not locked in place" setting. You'll still
> have to do
> some
> > lego modification by soldering at least one other cable directly to the • battery
> > terminals if you want to drive other motors though.
>
> One possibility may be to use a Mindstorms touch sensor to switch
> it on/off.
> This would remove the need for "modifications".
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: A dream Mindstorms/Technic piece...
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| (...) Indeed :-) Perhaps you missed the post I made earlier in this thread (I think it was only on lugnet.technic at that point) where I posted the URL for my compressor device using this battery box? Here it is anyway: (URL) amusement park ride (...) (24 years ago, 13-Feb-01, to lugnet.robotics)
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