DrJB

Fairly obvious ... few questions: 1. What technic set(s) you're planning on getting for the holidays. 2. Will you be spending the time-off building a new set or MOCing? 3. Neither, will be sorting/cleaning/arranging my huge parts list 4. Gonna read and comment on ALL Technic Threads on EB (Really???) 5. Something else ...?

I stumbled upon this .. very nice MOC, and it comes with step-by-step photo instructions. Gonna start an LDD soon. http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/Coney/spyder/aaaacan-amspyderinfo.jpg

It was difficult to get it to work as the instructions are not very clear on how to feed the paper. We did manage to get it to work, but it was not obvious. I can tell you that it does work, but you have to keep on trying different paths for the paper.

My recollection is that, the EV3 printer prints on a ROLL of paper, or at least, that is the one my son built. I bought a big roll of scratch paper from Ikea (was around $5.00), and cut very long segments from it.

You can also get different patterns if you change the location of the pen. I've been working the math to 'simulate' all such patterns in Matlab ... but work got in the way and time is very 'rare' lately. Another variable I experimented with, is to change the length of the radius on both left/right 40T gears, by using 3L/3L thin liftarms, instead of the 4L. I am guessing that some of the 'boring' patterns you're referring to are those with a period of 7 cycles, and I'm guessing this comes from all the gearboxes using the 'same' gear ratios. I think more 'variety' can be accomplished with different gears (on the front of the unit, all the black DB gears). I also initially calculated that the number of 'unique' combinations is 4×4×4×2×2 = 256 ... but I think there is some symmetry and hence the reason for me writing some Matlab code. Would be much faster to 'explore' the possibilities on a computer screen, finding nice patterns, then reproducing them on the actual machine. Overall though, I can say I'm very pleased with it and here too, the kids have been having a lot of fun with it.

Sorry, let me rephrase ... The reason you're doing this is because you do not have enough batteries or just experimenting?

Why are you doing this ... short on batteries?

I 'quickly' guessed it was either a Sputnik or an Appolo .... did not think it was an alien ship.

They're all in the thread below. From page 2 onwards. Typically it is a ZIP file towards the end of a given post. Let me know if you can't locate them. http://www.doktor-brick.de/board7-bauen/board1-lego-technic-und-nxt/448-gbc-sammelthread/f95dea57

None of my own design. I did most of those on Philo's page, plus was able to reproduce the pneumatic one by Akiyuki (video below). I should take some pics and put them on brickshelf. My 'plan' ... (more like wishful thinking) is to get back into this during the holidays and complete a couple of WIPs, including the 'birds' by Akiyuki and one based on some Bionicle pieces for a bucket wheel excavator.

I do not recall the specifics. This was in 2003 and I had just purchased the ultimate builder's add-on. I simply tried the program that came on the CD but never tried anything fancier. I do not recall whether that program wrote all 4 letters or only L, and then it was up to the user to develop code for the other 3 letters. I recall though that I quickly disassembled it, to try a different 'machine'. So, I'd say it only wrote the letter L (repeatedly, I tried running it several times) because that is all the program could do. Not a mechanical issue.

Got few sources for you then: 1. Search for Akiyuki GBC LXF. There are several 'reverse engineered' GBCs on Brick-Doctor ... The page is in German, but there are some good LXFs 2. Check Philo's page. He has LDDs of some 'famous' GBCs such as the shovel and one that uses the StarWars HailFire Wheels

I did build it many years ago, was working fine, but would only write the letter L. If I recall, you need size A4 paper, which is 210×297 mm, and that's a bit narrower/longer than 8.5×11 inches.

Silver Champion 8458 (2x), auction had 2 built (F1 car and truck). Auction ended at 5:30 AM, Woke up early to catch it ... someone above suggested I look at AuctionSniper ... While checking that out, I missed auction by 1 minute ... darn darn darn ... Both sets sold for $128 !!! And, somehow eBay's clock was faster than my computer's by 2 minutes !!! Time to go back to sleep I guess ...:(

That too, I cannot quote other posts either.

Of all available Infra-Red APPs for Samsung Tab that work with PF/EV3 receivers, what has been your experience? I recall reading about this in this forum but can't find it. Let us make this a review of all that's available, not exclusively for Samsung devices only.

This may not be 'happy' thread ... unless you're the person who won those actual auctions. But in any event, maybe worth sharing. On occasions, I did bid on attractive deals off eBay, but because of various circumstances ... I did not win that auction. 1 - 8450 (2x, not new) - two posts, the same week, under $100 each. Missed out because I was traveling in Italy, listing ended at 3:00AM local time, and hotel WIFI was 'crappy' 2 - 5571 (not new) - Sold for $180!!! - I was in a meeting a work when auction ended ... Darn! 3 - 9797 - Someone snuk in and beat my highest bid in the last 10 seconds 4 - 7905 (NISB) - sold for $120 - I gave up as the person I was bidding against had zero history (seemed fishy) So, what have been your 'disappointments' ... ?

I 'missed' one a couple of weeks on eBay ... it was under $150!!!

I like how 'functional' the suspension is. You can clearly see the control arms move up and down as the vehicle is going over uneven terrain, or even jumping. Great MOC!.

I log on EuroBricks from various computers, all of them running Microsoft Internet Explorer. At times several characters are skipped, as if my keyboard is faulty. However, this happens only on EB forums and nowhere else. You can appreciate how frustrating it is to correct every word you've typed because it is missing few characters. I'm 'convinced' this has got to do with the EB forum/webpage itself. The question is: Has anyone else experienced this, and if so, is there a fix? Also, I cannot highlight any whole word nor can I apply special formatting such as making words bold or using a different color.

Well ... it's a bit of a difficult choice so ... it ultimately depends on what you're after. Here are some pros/cons 8880 is an icon, good as a display model, a lot of functionality and unique parts such as wheels, hubs, suspension arms, and gear shifter. 8868 - has pneumatics (old style) ... but I REALLY do not care for those 'ugly' tires. However, it does come with a 9V motor. You kind of figured by now I'd go for 8880, and it is becoming rather affordable on eBay. (I do have few of the old 9V motors and most parts of the 8868 though ... and that may explain my bias)

That is definitely a grader. A scraper typically is like a backhoe but instead of a digger arm, it has a scraping blade as a rear attachment. Unless the terminology is not the same on both sides of the atlantic ...

Those new Control Arms and knuckle look very promising ... nice build too.

This is a prime candidate for a cuusoo.

There is an American made vehicle that uses 4-wheel steering in both conventional and crab steering modes. It's actually a truck: The Chevrolet Silverado made by General Motors. What is neat is that at low vehicle speed, the steering is conventional (front and rear tires turn into opposite directions, for minimum turning radius). Crab mode is used at high speed on highway, and the vehicle literally 'translates' to the left or right, with all tires remaining parallel to each other. It was a nice piece of engineering, but because of the speed dependency, deemed not absolutely reliable. I have not kept up, but I recall reading that such feature (was an option) is not available anymore.