Any LEGO Mindstorm people in the house?

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ttown

Platinum Member
Oct 27, 2003
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Well....

after holding out on buying a Mindstorms 2.0 for the longest time, I finally broke down and bought one for Christmas. I was just about to open the box.
Now, I learn Lego announced a new Mindstorm NXT system coming out after summer.
It is going to retail for ~$250 and is a complete change from their existing 2.0, 1.x stuff -- not backward compatable.

So, a question for any Mindstorm 2.0 owners/users....
Should I return the RIS 2.0 I just got and wait till about August? I haven't opened the box, so I don't know how wonderfull/disappointing the one I bought is.
I got it for ~$125 -- which I think is expensive (not vs. retail... but expensive for a 'toy').
To complicate my choice even more -- I have 3 expansion sets to Mindstorms that I bought years ago (on clearance) in anticipation of one day buying the RIS.
I imagine they're ebay-able since they are in new/unopened condition. (Vision command, Robo-Sports and Extreme Creatures are the expansion sets)

Shoud I keep what I have? Or return it and wait? I'm pretty sure I can return the main set for $125. The expansion sets I'd have to ebay since they are years old, and no receipt. I think I paid ~$20/set when they were clearanced.

One thing that had been holding me back on the RIS 2.0 system is the IR controller. The new version is usb and bluetooth enabled. I read that next months (Feb) WIRED magazine has an article about it.

One funny thing is about 3 months or so ago I had emailed Lego asking if there were any other planned Mindstorms systems that were going to be released soon. I got back an email saying "they can't comment on if or when anything may be developed". Well... now I know the answer!

So... opinions from RIS 2 owners???

edit:
MS LEGO Mindstorms SDK 2.5 ( + free Visual Studio Express links) for programmers
 
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imported_goku

Diamond Member
Mar 28, 2004
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I have a lego mind storms 1.0 system, I used it for a while and had a great deal of fun with it, I may use it again when I can either find the time or when I learn to budget my time more wisely...
 
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TitanDiddly

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Dec 8, 2003
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I've got a LEGO project due monday, it's here on my desk.

Edit: Return it and wait. The 2.0 stuff isn't that exciting.
 
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ttown

Platinum Member
Oct 27, 2003
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Originally posted by: Homerboy
I see somebody got the latest WIRED magazine... Guess youre not a MUP!
Click to expand...
No... I read on some web-page that WIRED was going to have an artical about it. I haven't read the artical because the link didn't work for me.
And I don't know what a "MUP" is...?

 
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TTM77

Golden Member
Dec 21, 2002
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I used to think Lego give u a bunch of pieces and you can build anything that you can imagine. But being so poor, parents didn't get me any toy. Now knowing more about Lego, what the he ll.. each set can build only 1 thing.

For $100 or $200, I"m sure U can get something that is a lot more useful. I saw an electric scotter going for about $200.
 
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TitanDiddly

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Dec 8, 2003
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nsafreak

Diamond Member
Oct 16, 2001
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I see. Are battlebots still on TV? I used to watch those shows a good bit. Had an idea for a battlebot that would be interesting although I don't know about feasible. Name would be centerpunch. It would have a pair of arms to clamp onto a robot then a pneumatically driven spike would come out of its front to puncture the grabbed bot. The spike wouldn't leave the bot thus dequalifying it as a projectile bot though.
 
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TitanDiddly

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Dec 8, 2003
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Originally posted by: nsafreak
I see. Are battlebots still on TV? I used to watch those shows a good bit. Had an idea for a battlebot that would be interesting although I don't know about feasible. Name would be centerpunch. It would have a pair of arms to clamp onto a robot then a pneumatically driven spike would come out of its front to puncture the grabbed bot. The spike wouldn't leave the bot thus dequalifying it as a projectile bot though.
Click to expand...

Nope, Comedy Central killed the contract for some reason, the TV age of combat robotics is over. There's still a healthy competition network though, depending where you live. Your profile says CO, unfortunately there's not a local competition there- the major hubs are PA through the northeast, Florida, and Cali- and there's one here in TX.

These guys are in CO:
http://teamcosmos.com/
 
SketchMaster

SketchMaster

Diamond Member
Feb 23, 2005
3,100
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Oh come now TitanDiddly, you can do better than that! :)


ttown, the new mindstorm is almost a year away, it sounds like you have every pack that came out for it, I would say open the dang thing up and have a blast. Yes you could wait for the new system to come out but I bet you will have just as much fun with the one you have now. And you will build up a TON of ideas for the new system.


But if you don't have the time or need some money I bet you could get a good amount on ebay for a mint set like yours.
 
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Martin

Lifer
Jan 15, 2000
29,178
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Originally posted by: TTM77
I used to think Lego give u a bunch of pieces and you can build anything that you can imagine. But being so poor, parents didn't get me any toy. Now knowing more about Lego, what the he ll.. each set can build only 1 thing.

For $100 or $200, I"m sure U can get something that is a lot more useful. I saw an electric scotter going for about $200.
Click to expand...

no, not at all. When I was a kid, my parents used to get me a new lego set every year or so. What I dod was I built the model, let it stay for 20 mintues, then I took it apart, mixed the new pieces with all the existing ones and built whatever I wanted.

So if you're imaginative and have a fair amount of pieces, you CAN build anything you want :)

 
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TitanDiddly

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Dec 8, 2003
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Originally posted by: SketchMaster
Oh come now TitanDiddly, you can do better than that! :)


ttown, the new mindstorm is almost a year away, it sounds like you have every pack that came out for it, I would say open the dang thing up and have a blast. Yes you could wait for the new system to come out but I bet you will have just as much fun with the one you have now. And you will build up a TON of ideas for the new system.


But if you don't have the time or need some money I bet you could get a good amount on ebay for a mint set like yours.
Click to expand...

It's being released in August.
 
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ttown

Platinum Member
Oct 27, 2003
2,412
0
0
Originally posted by: SketchMaster
ttown, the new mindstorm is almost a year away, it sounds like you have every pack that came out for it, I would say open the dang thing up and have a blast. Yes you could wait for the new system to come out but I bet you will have just as much fun with the one you have now. And you will build up a TON of ideas for the new system.

But if you don't have the time or need some money I bet you could get a good amount on ebay for a mint set like yours.
Click to expand...

I think I've decided to stick with the RIS 2.0 system -- since I don't know for sure how much I'll use it. I figure there's a ton of idea books and sites already devoted to the RIS 2.0 for when we run out of ideas. It's really meant to be a weekend rainy day thing to do with a young teen who needs something more creative to do than watch TV.
 
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Tom

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
13,293
1
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I think you made a good decision. There's a million things you can do with your current set, and I'm sure the vast majority of it will still be useful if you add an NXT system later.
 
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Bryophyte

Lifer
Apr 25, 2001
13,430
13
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My son has Version 1.5 I think. We've told him we'd go 50/50 on the new one when it comes out. He's 9 and has had the set for a few years, but is just now getting to the point where he can make and program them completely on his own.
 
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talyn00

Golden Member
Oct 18, 2003
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Originally posted by: Bryophyte
My son has Version 1.5 I think. We've told him we'd go 50/50 on the new one when it comes out. He's 9 and has had the set for a few years, but is just now getting to the point where he can make and program them completely on his own.
Click to expand...

what does he program it in? I have some experience programming mindstorms with NQC for a class.
 
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