ronmcrae

I don't know about the Windsor store, but I know that Legoland California will allow you to go directly to the LEGO store if you ask for a shoppers pass. You have to give over something significant at the front gate customer service (e.g. drivers license) and they'll hold it until you return. All in all you're good for about an hour, but if you have the store clerk at the store call the front gate to verify that you really are shopping they'll extend the time. I spent about three hours there digging through the PAB. It'd be worth calling Windsor and asking if they do something similar.

Having attended all five Brickworld events I'd have to say that 2011 was the best yet. Starting out on Wednesday evening definitely gave the entire event a more relaxed feel, though it still seemed to be over all too quickly! The most enjoyable part for my little robotics group was the BOTS event on Thursday. A big thanks to Bryan for continuing to coordinate this annual competition. It has always been sufficiently challenging for the more experienced roboticists, but still straightforward enough in concept that it doesn't discourage others from getting involved. It's tough to draw that line, and Bryan you do a great job. Competing in the boat race was a blast. I definitely hope that that stays on the schedule as my ideas are already forming for 2012, just need to get more balls (you'll understand if you saw my boat). Then there was SUMO. Who'd have though that the attendees could muster up 74 robots? We ran with continuous crowds all day Saturday during public hours and beyond. I talked at length with several parents, both attendees and public, and dispatched at least a couple of them to Woodfield to pick up a Mindstorms set for their kids Xmas. We certainly generated some good publicity for the Mindstorms line, and I know that LEGO appreciates that. In closing, brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Quality and attention to detail, that’s what sells it to me. I'm seeing people advocating bigger & bigger & bigger, but bigger isn't automatically better, that takes exponentially more work. In the corporate world you must grow to stay alive, but is that also true of a LEGO convention? I hope not.

So far I don't see anyone mentioning the very much underused and under-publicized RS485 serial interface on NXT input port 4. That allows the NXT to interact directly with any PLC that supports Modbus-ASCII, which typically runs on a 2-wire daisychained serial link. All that you would need is Modbus drivers (i.e. software) for the NXT. Some months ago I played with some NXC code on the NXT to have it receive Modbus data packets and generate a response. I definitely proved the concept, but never did complete the project due to other things coming up. Ron.

If the two parts of the balloon could be sealed tight together (e.g. by adding an o-ring) could it easily be made watertight?

I really like your MOC and look forward to seeing it at Brickworld. I assume you'll approach Quantas for some sponsorship towards your airfare to U.S.A. and/or discounted freight charges! Ron.

Nice pictures, thanks for sharing. Legoland Billund is quite a place - we had a fun few days there too this summer. On the wind turbine problem, I reckon the little kid in the first picture is loading up a catapult and taking aim at the turbine

Can't you just order them on a credit card? I did that from USA and was amazed when everything showed up exactly two days later by Fedex directly from Austria. Very impressive service. Even if you could get an extension cable, I'm fairly sure that I2C sensors are limited to a cable length of about 1 meter. Beyond that the signals start to get a bit iffy. Could you have an NXT on each modular section? Up to four of them can be bluetoothed together. Isn't that what trackside building are for?

Yes, fully functional. I've made the clickable link to youtube a bit more intuitive in the original post.

The clear plastic disc is quite a bit smaller than the keychain tag so it would fit inside a 1x4x3 panel. I tested one simply taped inside a train car behind a 1-wide sidewall of bricks. The sensor detected the disc quite easily when the car moved past it at a reasonable speed.

I'm interested to see how the RFID works for you in this application, it is a very nice sensor. It should be feasible to see the tag if the train slows down. I used RFID in an ATM Machine , but for that the RFID card is moved into position and stopped directly over the sensor - likely a bit easier than seeing it in a moving train.