beggargirl Posted October 21, 2010 Posted October 21, 2010 My boyfriend wants a mindstorm set, and I have the opportunity to buy a used v1.5 model for like 150$ canadian (around half the price of a new one I think). How much different is the v1.5 set from 2000 from the newer versions? What are the major drawbacks and differences? In short, do you think it is worth it? Thank you for your time and advice! Quote
Toastie Posted October 21, 2010 Posted October 21, 2010 My boyfriend wants a mindstorm set, and I have the opportunity to buy a used v1.5 model for like 150$ canadian (around half the price of a new one I think). How much different is the v1.5 set from 2000 from the newer versions? What are the major drawbacks and differences? In short, do you think it is worth it? Thank you for your time and advice! It depends ... Does your boyfriend own a good number of LEGO bricks? This set comes with a decent amount of (Technic) bricks, but if he is already stocked with Technic stuff you won't really need all that and the $150 would be too much: The heart of this set is the RCX PBrick, the LEGO IR tower and some software. The original software is way outdated, and there are several alternatives available either for free (NQC/BricxCC) or for some $30 (RobotC). The former is a purely graphical environment aiming at kids, the latter are (more or less downgraded) C-like-versions, with RobotC being extermely powerful. You can get an RCX PBrick at BrickLink for much less than $150, I recently got one for $35; same is true for the IR tower. If you want all the LEGO bricks as well though, well then $150 might be ok, depending on the wear and tear of course. The RCX1.5 is "software wise" compatible with the RCX1.0 and 2.0 versions. It does not have a DC in power jack as 1.0, so you have to live on batteries. The RCX is generally not compatible with the newer NXT PBricks - but again, it all depends on what you are aiming at and what you have already in the house. Maybe you can give some more hints ... Best regards, Thorsten Quote
DLuders Posted October 22, 2010 Posted October 22, 2010 (edited) On Peeron.com , there is a complete Parts Inventory of the Lego 9747 Robotics Invention System (RIS) 1.5 set, pictured below. For comparison, here are the Peeron Parts Inventory for the 9719 RIS 1.0 set, the 3804 RIS 2.0 set (with the RCX brick), and the 8547 Mindstorms NXT 2.0 set. Edited October 22, 2010 by DLuders Quote
beggargirl Posted October 22, 2010 Author Posted October 22, 2010 It depends ... Does your boyfriend own a good number of LEGO bricks? This set comes with a decent amount of (Technic) bricks, but if he is already stocked with Technic stuff you won't really need all that and the $150 would be too much: The heart of this set is the RCX PBrick, the LEGO IR tower and some software. The original software is way outdated, and there are several alternatives available either for free (NQC/BricxCC) or for some $30 (RobotC). The former is a purely graphical environment aiming at kids, the latter are (more or less downgraded) C-like-versions, with RobotC being extermely powerful. You can get an RCX PBrick at BrickLink for much less than $150, I recently got one for $35; same is true for the IR tower. If you want all the LEGO bricks as well though, well then $150 might be ok, depending on the wear and tear of course. The RCX1.5 is "software wise" compatible with the RCX1.0 and 2.0 versions. It does not have a DC in power jack as 1.0, so you have to live on batteries. The RCX is generally not compatible with the newer NXT PBricks - but again, it all depends on what you are aiming at and what you have already in the house. Maybe you can give some more hints ... Best regards, Thorsten Thank you. Could you tell me where I can get the software you are talking about? Quote
Toastie Posted October 22, 2010 Posted October 22, 2010 Thank you. Could you tell me where I can get the software you are talking about? You are very welcome ... The "software" I was referring to is comprised of two things: 1) The "firmware" of the RCX (the stuff thant makes that thing tick) 2) The programming environment that allows you to generate code that is "in line" with the firmware on the RCX - making it understand what you transmit ... LEGO gave us some firmware. "In line" with that is NQC. NQC translates plain text code into byte code, which the RCX running standard LEGO firmware "understands": Here you go. If you want "full power enabled" on the RCX than (as far as I am concerned) this is what you want: http://www.robotc.net/. You got ot be careful though: They have not (yet) announced that the RCX is not supported anymore. Version 2.01 works very well with the RCX: Here you get both, an updated firmware for the RCX as well as a wonderful programming environment. If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to contact me - I do run several RCX PBricks - and they are simply wonderful! Best regards, Thorsten Quote
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