Subject:
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Re: Need Advice on Getting Started
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.robotics
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Date:
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Mon, 24 Dec 2001 15:40:43 GMT
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Original-From:
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Steve Baker <sjbaker1@airmail.%Spamcake%net>
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Reply-To:
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sjbaker1@airmail.netAVOIDSPAM
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Conrad Frank wrote:
>
> I'd like some advice on what set would be a good one to start with. As
> I am not sure how much I'll get into this, I'd like to avoid th $150
> to $200 for the RIS 1.5 or 2.0 systems.
>
> I've seen the Droid Development Kit, 9748 I think, at some stores for
> around $30. I understand this this set comes with the micro-scout, and
> is somewhat limited. I've also read about some great deals on the Dark
> Side Developer Kit, but have been unable to find anyone with any in
> stock. If I could get either one of these two sets, which would be
> better? Would either be suitable to start off with?
>
> I have also seen one store that has the Robotics Discovery Set, 9735,
> for around $50. I understand that this set has the Scout, which is
> better than the micro-scout, but still limited when compared to the
> RCX. Would this set be better than one of the micro-scout sets?
Well, the Robotics Discovery Set (RDS) is way better than the StarWars themed
sets because the Scout is actually a useful part - and you get two motors
and some sensors that you can re-use later. The microscout is (IMHO)
a pile of junk. It has one motor built into the controller (which makes
it mechanically awkward and means that you can't plug it into either the
Scout or the RCX).
The Scout that comes with RDS is capable of doing a number of canned
programs - which will give you *some* scope for building interesting
robots. It's also programmable (although it has very little memory)
but since the RDS doesn't come with the infra-red 'tower' or the Lego
software that runs on your PC, you won't actually be able to make use
of that programmability without somehow getting hold of the IR tower.
Also, the other parts that come with the RDS are well suited to building
experimental robots - where the ones in the StarWars sets are heavily
optimised for building the thing that's on the box lid.
By *far* I recommend that you get the RDS rather than the StarWars set.
> What room for growth, meaning beyond pre-programmed actions, is their
> with either the micro-scout or scout platforms? Are these units really
> just toys, or can the be useful in deciding if I want to continue
> working with Robotics under Lego systems?
The microscout is pretty much useless. It has a handful of "programs"
built into it - things like "Go forwards until a bright light shines
on the light sensor" - but nothing much more than that. You can (in
theory) program it - but those programs only consist of stringing the
basic commands end to end - and in any case, you can't program the
MicroScout without either the RIS or RDS.
The scout that comes with RDS has a much fancier set of pre-programmed
actions - some of which make for quite interesting behaviour. It also
has a light sensor - but there are also some micro-switches so you can
build bump detectors and other useful things.
Ultimately - if you could get the Lego IR tower (I think Pittsco-Dacta
sell it separately - you could probably get one on one of the auction
sites too - or perhaps as a spare part from Lego), you could download
a copy of Not-Quite-C (it's *free*!) and actually write small programs
(a couple of dozen lines at most) for the Scout.
Obviously, the best thing of all would be to have the RIS because of the
RCX computer - which is quite like the scout except:
1) It doesn't have the scouts pre-programmed actions.
2) ...which leaves more memory for 'real' programs.
3) It also has an extra sensor input and an extra motor
output to replace the fixed light input and lamp output
that the Scout has.
4) The RCX's sensors can be 'powered' sensors. The Scout's are
passive things like switches - so some of the fancier sensors
don't work with the Scout. That's probably no great loss to
a beginner.
----------------------------- Steve Baker -------------------------------
Mail : <sjbaker1@airmail.net> WorkMail: <sjbaker@link.com>
URLs : http://www.sjbaker.org
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Need Advice on Getting Started
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| I'd like some advice on what set would be a good one to start with. As I am not sure how much I'll get into this, I'd like to avoid th $150 to $200 for the RIS 1.5 or 2.0 systems. I've seen the Droid Development Kit, 9748 I think, at some stores for (...) (23 years ago, 24-Dec-01, to lugnet.robotics)
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