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Hi. I write from switzerland because i need help. I would like upload a modified
program on my Lego old Spybotics, maybe u know what i need in hardware (cable,
plug,......) for that, via mac and MacNQC. Thanks for help, if its possible and
regards from swiss.
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Hi all,
I recently got hold of a - previously ignored - Spybotics model (I never really
considered them to be of interest until I got one cheap and found the kids like
it).
Yes, they are fairly outdated, however they hook up to my Mac just fine over a
USB to serial adaptor and they do work with MacNQC.
Now there's two things I've found: One is the remote control is only of limited
use as it seems to go on strike after any program has been run on the Spybotics
brick (although apparently the remote can interfere with a running program, much
to the amusement of the kids). Lacking any kind of instructions for the set, I
am also unable to determine what the red button and the "other" setting of the
bottom lever on the remote are good for.
The other thing was worse: Apparently an old Spybotics can develop a faulty
touch sensor, and as that thing is completely integrated with the unit, it is
quite difficult to get at. I can offer a "hack", though:
When disassembling the Spybotics brick unscrewing the six bottom screws, you can
actually carefully lift up the front of the circuit board and the tongues of the
touch sensor become visible. When removing the plastic push button of the
sensor, you can see a small rubber part that acts as a spring between the button
and the contacts.
The easy fix I found (as I could not completely remove the circuit board without
using a solder iron) was to take out the rubber spring using a pair of tweezers,
and applying a thin stripe of 3M adhesive aluminum tape (the sort that has been
recommended to convert RC train track into 9V ;) ) on the back of that spring.
So far, the solution has proven fairly rugged (the kids _are_ tossing the
Spybotics model around in the kitchen). I may eventually disassemble the whole
thing for a permanent fix, but it seems like a quick and easy approach.
Regards,
Jerry
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In lugnet.robotics.rcx.robolab, Mark Friedman wrote:
> No language war intended, but for now I'd rather use Robolab.
I don't know for certain but I would be a bit surprised if Robolab works with
the Spybot bricks. There would have to have been a new release with
modifications specifically made to support the Spybot. Searching these
newsgroups suggests that support for the Spybot was never added to Robolab.
http://news.lugnet.com/robotics/?n=23159
NQC, on the other hand, includes full support for programming the Spybot and API
functions designed specifically to take advantage of all the capabilities
specific to the Spybot brick.
> That said, if I change my mind I'd appreciate some tips on using MacNQC with
> Spybotics.
I'm not sure if MacNQC was updated with all the Spybot support but I think it
was. The BricxCC help files or the latest NQC Guide PDF file are probably your
best bet for learning what API functions can be used with the Spybot and how to
control its motors and sensors. BricxCC includes several small programs for the
Spybot written in NQC. BricxCC also supports programming the Spybot in LASM and
MindScript if you want to try something other than NQC.
> One of my biggest questions is whether I need to download
> firmware from the SDK to the Spybotics controller.
The Spybot firmware is onboard the brick permanently and it cannot be replaced.
There is no need (or ability) to download a firmware to the Spybot bricks.
John Hansen
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In lugnet.robotics.rcx.robolab, Jetro de Chateau wrote:
> In lugnet.robotics.rcx.robolab, Mark Friedman wrote:
> > Does anyone have any experience using Robolab with a Spybotics kit? I just got
> > a couple of old Spybotics kits for my son this past Christmas and would love to
> > program them with him using Robolab. I have lots of programming experience,
> > although I am new to Robolab, Spybotics and robotics in general. Any tips or
> > links to useful information would be appreciated.
> >
> > Thanks in advance.
> >
> > -Mark
>
> I don't know if RoboLab will work with Spybotics, but if you have prior
> programming experience NQC may be a better option. It works great with
> Spybotics.
>
> Jetro
No language war intended, but for now I'd rather use Robolab.
That said, if I change my mind I'd appreciate some tips on using MacNQC with
Spybotics. Most of the stuff that I've seen on the web talks about using the
regular RCX stuff. One of my biggest questions is whether I need to download
firmware from the SDK to the Spybotics controller. All the stuff I see talks
about getting the firmware from the Mindstroms SDK for the Mac but the Lego
Mindstorms web pages for that SDK are long gone. I've downloded stuff from the
program that comes with Spybotics. Is that sufficient?
Thanks in advance.
-Mark
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In lugnet.robotics.rcx.robolab, Mark Friedman wrote:
> Does anyone have any experience using Robolab with a Spybotics kit? I just got
> a couple of old Spybotics kits for my son this past Christmas and would love to
> program them with him using Robolab. I have lots of programming experience,
> although I am new to Robolab, Spybotics and robotics in general. Any tips or
> links to useful information would be appreciated.
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> -Mark
I don't know if RoboLab will work with Spybotics, but if you have prior
programming experience NQC may be a better option. It works great with
Spybotics.
Jetro
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