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Update:
I have written a tool to disassemble EV3 programs. The EV3 software compiles the .ev3 file to a .rbf file and sends that to the EV3 brick. The disassembler can convert the .rbf file into a .lms file, which is a sort of assembly language that can be used to create programs for the EV3.
Here is a simple example using a trivial .ev3 project.
To ...
13
From the official EV3 FAQ:
What does EV3 stand for?
This is the third generation of the LEGO MINDSTORMS platform and the
"EV" stands for evolution, hence EV3.
The first two generations referred to here are LEGO MINDSTORMS RCX and NXT, respectively.
13
Power consumption and battery life will of course vary based on the load that the hub is driving. Philo has an extensive analysis for motor power consumption, so I'll just look at what the hub itself consumes while running a program to come up with a baseline battery life estimate.
I've uploaded a test Python program to my hub that gently blinks a heartbeat ...
12
The LEGO Group have advertised the EV3's excellent backwards compatibility with NXT.
As the cables are the same, the EV3 will work with NXT sensors, motors and, of course, LEGO Technic bricks. RCX sensors will work with the aid of converter cables.
Software designed for programming the NXT will not work for the EV3 as the NXT runs firmware, but the EV3 ...
12
There are several editors which are based on the open LDraw part database.
I believe that the most popular are MLCAD and LeoCAD. I personally use LDD, so I can't speak to the quality of the instruction generation from these tools, but they do at least offer the ability to create instructions.
LeoCAD is probably your best bet for doing animations, and it is ...
11
As mentioned by @guestguy123 and @eficker, it is easy to combine an EV3 cable and a PF cable to make a custom cable that allows the EV3 to control. This can even be done without soldering - I just twist the wires together and tape them with electrical tape. The full schematic is here:
All you need is 2 resistors (1x1kOhm and 1x10kOhm) which are cheap to get ...
10
This is a common issue with the older Lego 9V cables. Lots of sources, including myself, have experienced the same thing - this particular chemistry of insulation ages poorly, no matter how well it's stored. Cables made later, circa 2004-2006 don't seem to have this issue - the insulation is less rubbery and more plasticy, and is still shiny like new to this ...
9
If you wish to program the EV3 with Scratch, then check out this project on github:
https://github.com/koen-dejonghe/ev3-scratch-helper-app
This software is a so-called helper app, that interfaces between the Scratch 2.0 offline editor and the Lego Mindstorms EV3.
The EV3 must be booted from Lejos (http://sourceforge.net/p/lejos/wiki/Home/), requires a ...
9
As I've said before in another answer, I find the #92585 Crowbar is the most versatile and is especially good at removing rubber bands from the #3736 (Technic, Steering Pulley Large) and the #4185 (Technic, Wedge Belt Wheel) elements.
Don't use any sharp/metallic objects like a screwdriver or a pen knife as you may scratch the brick or sever the rubber band....
9
Update Dec 2016
There is now an app for chromebooks on the chrome store:
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/lego-mindstorms-education/jhnhfnolmcleankdkhfklakpchnccipg?hl=en-US
I have used it to program EV3 version of the bricks. It connects via bluetooth to the EV3 brick (I don't think USB is even supported). The bluetooth connection can be buggy ...
8
I have the RCX IR tower setup and working on my Windows 7 laptop.
I downloaded the drivers from the ROBOTC.net site here (labeled 'RCX Device driver')
Direct file download link
Note: I am running Windows 7 32-bit, according to the ROBOTC site, this driver is 32.bit only and
No known 64-bit driver is available for the RCX.
8
I was able to successfully get that size band off of that pulley using this brick separator:
I slid the sharp end in between the band and the pulley then worked it under the band and was able to pull the band off without damaging either part. If you don't have a brick separator handy, you can probably use a pointy minifig utensil such as a sword instead. I ...
8
In my opinion, Mindstorms is a subset of the Technic line up (Like how Police is a subset of Lego City). So most of the parts are interchangeable. The only part incompatibility issue you will come across is the electronics.
I would say go with Technic first. Learning how to build studless and basic Lego mechanisms will be more useful than robotics (...
8
Yes, it is possible to pass the port number as a parameter to a sensor or motor block via data wire. It's just that it's manually selected by default. To change this, go to the port of the sensor or motor block, and select the top-most option which has the plug icon on it:
It will then create a data port for which motor port you want to use:
The same ...
8
I'm assuming that you meant "the motor is not powerful enough".
Surely you can use a gearing ratio & leverage to assist? Essentially you want the motor to turn many times for each small amount of distance traveled by the lifting arm. This means a small gear on the motor and a large gear driving the lifting. You may need to connect several gears together ...
8
For a comprehensive enumeration and measurements on all motors, refer to Philo's excellent page on this topic: http://www.philohome.com/motors/motorcomp.htm
There are some LEGO motors that are missing from this list since they predate the 9V era, like the 4.5V motor, or the 4.5V train motor, but these are probably only of interest if you already own them, ...
8
I don't know of such a list, but you can find the inventory for the EV3 on Bricklink and other similar sites.
However, it would be more economical to buy an entire EV3 set. The 31313 retail set is about $350 (USD). To buy just the EV3 brick, motors and sensors individually would be more than that.
EV3 Intelligent Brick - $190
EV3 Large Motor - $25 x 2
EV3 ...
8
I contacted Lego support and they got back to me with a fix, which worked great. It also has greatly improved the performance of the application.
For this issue fix, please install Mono for Mac OS found at the link below:
https://www.mono-project.com/download/stable/
and choose Mono 5.10.1
8
Using rshell I've managed dump the micropython filesystem of my hub after updating it to v1.0.03.0034-c3879ab.
rshell
connect serial /dev/ttyACM0 115200
rsync -a /pyboard ~/spikefw
Note: These commands are for linux.
(I also managed to partially dump the initial version on the hub v0.5.01.0000-42a938e, but ran into issues with binary files as I was using ...
7
It doesn't seem to be possible. To quote mindsqualls' site:
MindSqualls is a .Net library for controlling a LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT or NXT 2.0 robot via either a Bluetooth- or an USB connection. It is written in C# and requires .Net v. 2.0 or newer.
Which means it allows you to control your NXT brick from the PC, and from the PC only. It does not offer any ...
7
To work properly, the Forward 5 block on the NXT as well as the Move block of NXT-G require that TWO motors be connected on ports B and C. That's probably the problem you see... To test a single motor, there is the motor block.
7
This seems pretty much bordering on the impossible, given the current state of (LEGO) engineering capabilities. What you are describing is a Von Neumann Machine and as far as I know nobody succeeded in creating one, not just in LEGO but in general.
The problems you'd have to overcome:
The robot must be capable to exert sufficient force to overcome the ...
7
Recently I met with TeamSim. Its possibilities are impressing:
you can make own robot via LDD and export it to the program
you cam make own mat (FLL, WRO, sumo mats are already available)
you can program a robot via NXT-G
I have no chance to investigate this program in detail, but I think it's what you want.
7
I could not find this in the help file, but according to this thread "Another little known characteristic of MyBlocks is that they aren't re-entrant. No two copies of the same MyBlock can be running at the same time."
I tried a few simple programs in EV3-G and confirmed that this is true. The order in which they run appears to be random.
7
I've recently upgraded to OS X 10.11 El Capitan (as a matter of fact, I have the exact same model of computer). I've done some basic tests with the EV3 software without running into any issues. I've downloaded programs to the brick using both USB and Bluetooth.
Base on past experience with OS upgrades with both the NXT and EV3 software, the problems have ...
7
In general, would you recommend switching to a normal programming language (I am quite "fluent" in languages like C/C++, Python and Java) in order to avoid having to use blocks when building more complex programs?
Yes, especially if you plan on doing image processing.
If so, which programming language would you recommend? I feel like there is a big ...
7
Buy a USB to Serial adapter. There are USB IR Towers, but the drivers are only for older version of Windows. A new USB/Serial adapter, on the other hand, should be compatible with Windows 10 (Windows 10 requires signed drivers, so do your homework before buying).
Use 3rd party software. For example, Brickx Command Center and leJOS are compatible with RCX and ...
7
Here's a design I've been using, based on this model by Lambert Varias:
It's not a perfect circle, but it is relatively small all things considered:
It's pretty simple, but here's a partial disassembled version to better show what goes into it:
Parts shown:
1x 55013
2x 4265c
2x 57585
6x 32013
6x 32556
12x 42610
12x 50945
6
I built the 3 to 4 multiplexer posted above (thank you for posting that) but was able to tweak it into a 2 to 4 mux. The axles that are connected to the large gears are used to select the outputs by rotating the large gears.
It ended up being too big for what I needed though so I went a different route and built a 2 to 4 multiplexer that uses a turntable ...
6
It turns out that the issue is a faulty/weak motor connector socket. While randomly trying to troubleshoot, I found that if I did nothing more than press or move the cable, the motor would act bizarrely. Initially I thought it was a bad cable, but after trying additional cables it seems that it is more likely just a poor connection at the motor. I suppose ...
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