DrJB

One cheaper alternative to MIndstorms is to use Raspberry Pi + Arduino. Granted, you do not have all the fancy bricks to build all the mechanical contraptions afforded by Lego, but if you're after using sensors, and motors, then that is your best bet.

That's neat. I tried doing braids with flex axles a while back but was not successful Those pesky axles are very difficult to handle/twist/bend/maneuver ...

While I agree with allanp that there are avenues for getting older versions for little $$$, I must caution against that. Typically you'll have a hard time getting the older versions to work because either the software is not available, or does not run on the latest version of windows. Plus, if you really intend to develop the hobby into some sort of profession, you needs the EV3 or possibly the NXT. I would not go RCX because that's too old. Good luck, whichever way you choose to proceed.

It is all my fault, I reckon this. I do not sell on bricklink for a living and when I did not get an answer/reply from the would-be buyers, I simply ignored it (Why would I need to tarnish their reputation ?). In doing so, Bricklink (Shelly) is trying to penalize me ... upside down world if you ask me. Common Sense Customer Service says they should help because this is an honest mistake. No one needs Obnoxious Customer Service if all they do is read the agreement to you. As for the car registration and cops, well, I had a similar event once. I did get my sticker, put it on the license, left my car for few days in an airport (was traveling). When I got back, I got ticket for no registration/sticker. I took a picture of my plate (with the sticker) AND the receipt when I got the sticker (had a date stamped on it) and sent it to the police. They dropped the case and wrote me, not admitting that they messed up, but more like "Since we cannot prove that you did not have a sticker, the fine is waived". Yes, you're guilty until proven otherwise ... I think the parking cop who gave me the ticket was color blind and could not tell the difference between old/new sticker color ... Back to Bricklink, I'll bug them again, and if they insist, I'm done with them. Yes, there is eBay and other avenues out there.

lol .. darn, someone once said: 2nd place is the first loser :(

I just wrote Bricklink again and this is the answer I got. Is this for real? I have highlighted/Underlined what I feel is inappropriate language, especially coming from Customer Service. Hi there, I completely comprehend your inquiries, but am not going to allow anyone to violate our terms of service. I am sorry that you do not understand nor want to cooperate with them, but we do not make exceptions. I understand that mistakes happen, but they also have consequences and for you those are fees. BrickLink has actually grown and improved dramatically since it has changed ownership. No other site has even come close to amassing the sales that we have. However, we understand that this your choice to do business with us is optional, so you are free to pursue those other sites if BrickLink is not the right option for you. We have an overwhelming number of satisfied customers. All of whom understand that if they do not follow the rules, they must bare the consequences. This is true of any business transaction. I am sorry that you don't agree with accepting those consequences, but there is nothing further I can do for you should you choose not to pay the fees. Sincerely, Sheryl BrickLink Customer Support

I hope it is ok to post here, otherwise, please move accordingly. I've had a buyer's account on Bricklink for several years and like many on here, I spent a fortune on that site. Few months back, I opened a store and listed some extra/old sets I have. I did receive 3 orders from people with zero history (Turkey, Malaysia, Russia) and when I asked for payment, I never received an answer. Now because I did not 'cancel' such orders, Bricklink is asking me to pay seller's fees because according to them, the transactions did take place when in fact they never did. To make things worse, they purged the orders from their system and there is no way to trace this back and investigate. I tried to reason with them (Shelly) but to no avail and they insist on me having to pay the fees before my selling privileges are restored. Shelly (Customer Support) insists this was in the agreement rules and that this is my responsibility. My position: I made a mistake, I did not read the fine print ... come on, give me a break, I am NOT paying for a transaction that never took place. Anyone here had a similar experience and knows of a way to resolve this situation? Thanks, JB

Of course Akiyuki DID use for his GBC setup ... It was for moving a box-full of balls from one end of the GBC chain to the very begining. EDIT: Looks like krisandkris12 beat me to it :)

You could also try to find a local Lego FLL event and try to join a team and take part. You may not be able to take the bricks home, but that'll give you a good exposure.

Looks good. Though, looking back through history, most bridges have an 'arch' geometry for maximum strentgth/stiffness (minimum sag). A design is as strong as it's weakest components. In this case, I think the pins might be the weakest. The only way to 'reinforce' the design further, is to add as many pins as there are holes aligned.

SInce we're talking about CBG EV3 modules, Akiyuki built a 5(?) DOF robotic arm as part of his GBC collection. Anyone ever reverse-engineered such marvel?

Thank you, I stand corrected. I was going from memory only and it's been a while since I last saw my daughter play with the set. Gotta love those earth tones though, right?

The tread links are also available in TAN (Elves Set) and Silver (very rare/pricey)

There are multiple reasons for using a planetary reduction set vs. other options. 1. Planetary sets offer relatively high gear reduction ratio than others 2. They're often used in 'final drives/reductions' for many construction machines. 3. You can also find them in typical automobiles transmissions (automatic only) Gear are made to transmit power, power = force × speed = Torque × Angular Speed. Often, the gears/shafts/bearing sizes are dictated by the load applied on them. As such, if you have an engine driving a vehicle, you want to keep the components' sizes as small as possible for the same power. Thus, let the speed be high. But once you get to the tires (or tracks), you need very high gear reduction, and that is why planetary sets are often used in wheel/hubs of large construction machines. In lego though, we rarely talk about torque and thus, replicating a planetary drive is just a curiosity for many of us mechanical engineers to try and reproduce real life mechanisms.

I've found many 'inconsistencies' in Bricklink's inventory and parts' names. I used to double-check with peeron but that site is no longer maintained regularly.

While this is for sure a very interesting finding and discussion, I am not sure of applications. Let's face it, most of the designs/machines we use out there (in real life) are not truly 3D, but more like multiple 2D layers stacked on top of one another. If you think of an automobile engine, it consists of several crank mechanisms (2D) stacked on top of one another. The only two real world applications I can think of in real life include trusses (as in large cranes, static) and multi-link automobile suspensions (mechanisms) where the various links actually articulate around one another. Yes, again, very nice finding/discussion.

Those larger balls were introduced with the Bionicle theme. They are far more common than the soccer/basket-ball balls, but unfortunately they are not interchangeable.

Any chance you can release some 'instructions'. I could do an LXF file if more photos are provided.

Thank you very much. That's quite a reference you've dug out. I'll sure enjoy reading it.

I've been exploring (playing with) both the Arduino and Raspberry PI over the past few months and I agree fully, those two platforms offer possibilities way beyond the Mindstorms brick. The one advantage of the brick is that you can do mechanical constructions/designs as well with lego components. Unfortunately that is not so easy with the Arduino/PI. Well, there are some attempts out there, such as BrickPI, but those are very 'limited' and expensive. In all honesty, I'm hoping TLG 'notices' the potential offered by the Arduino platform and ultimately develops a theme on that, through some joint adventure with the Italians :) PS. That Tank/Beer video is amazing. Is that done by mechanical/passive means or there are some electronics (active control) in there?

Very unique, and I like it even more as it is NOT a vehicle. Now. to change the melody, would changing the location of the specific bells do the trick?

108 views and not a single comment ?

Let's go back to the very beginning: 1. What happens when you engage the drive? ANything moves, you hear some parts 'fighting' against each other ... ? 2. If it is easy, I would disconnect one part (gear) at a time, and see if there is motion. That will tell you which gears are working 'against' each other. 3. Do you have an LXF or better yet, some schematics of the drive-train only (motors+gears+axles) with all supporting structure removed? This is the easiest way to 'diagnose' likely issues.

Interesting. Are you sure you're not operating the motors in cold conditions where the rubber/elastomer becomes more brittle? It could also be 'fast' aging of the rubber as many of the old Mindstorms cables were prone to. I'm sure TLG would happily replace those if it is the case. Does not hurt to ask though.

This reminds me of the Mindstorms RCX. The official lego version included instructions on how to build a bionicle disc shooter. Philo upped it real good and built a CD/DVD disk shooter. I'm guessing he wanted those disks to behave as frisbees :) but not sure the aero-dynamics were there.