boe-bot and vex

Superworms · 2006-03-28 23:22

what vex parts can be used with the boe-bot. i plan on clearing out the rs near me. ·are their any articles that use vex with the bie-bot

LoopyByteloose · 2006-03-29 15:52

There is a lot of confusion about Vex. I cannot see how you would get a good answer from anybody. They really don't support Parallax products and Parallax has no reason to try to support their product since they are selling off all the BOEbots.

And it looks like they are going out of business. You will have to start your own mutual support.

One key web site announces a September 2005 competition, but no results.· Seems very likely everyone has gone home.

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"When all think alike, no one is thinking very much.' - Walter Lippmann (1889-1974)

······································································ Warm regards,····· G. Herzog [noparse][[/noparse]·黃鶴 ]·in Taiwan

Post Edited (Kramer) : 3/30/2006 6:43:44 AM GMT

allanlane5 · 2006-03-29 17:32

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank Parallax on their attitude toward Vex. There's been a couple of threads regarding this product, which Parallax has nothing to do with, and could be seen as a competitor for their BOE-Bot.

Yet Parallax has been kind enough to allow this discussion. This kind of behavior is not a given, of course. And I'm sure the Vex parts will eventually be a nice resource for the BOE-Bot, once some hacking is done.

Thanks, Parallax!

P.S. Note I'm sure this does not open the floodgates for other non-Parallax products.

Jon Williams · 2006-03-29 18:34

Our policy allows for the discussion of competitive product when that product is used in association with ours. Recently, however, many non-Parallax customers have been attempting to get support here for products we don't sell because this has become a great community; not just Parallax, but those who actually use Parallax products and have good information to share. We certainly don't want to dissuade conversations, but of necessity we do need to keep anything that happens here somehow related to Parallax -- if we don't, this forum could devolve into something none of us want it to be.

Thanks for understanding.

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Jon Williams
Applications Engineer, Parallax

Superworms · 2006-03-29 22:49

i just want to thank parallax for the occisonal post about other robotics

allanlane5 · 2006-03-29 23:07

Well, having been to:
www.vexlabs.com
www.vexrobotics.com

I've found that the three-wire connector on the Vex components for their motors and servo's should be compatible with the BS2 -- ground, power, and PWM-Signal. Drive them with Pulsout, repeat every 18 mSec. Note their radio remote and radio reciever are NOT compatible with any public R/C remote standard.

It's astonishing (having seen Parallax) how little information has been released, and how much information is still said to be proprietary. You can't get a schematic of their board. You can't know what the radio reciever is putting out. It's really quite irritating. Here they have a product to be used in a robotics competition, and half their documentation for the interesting stuff says "this is for advanced users" -- like anybody reading this is NOT advanced, and we're not going to tell you.

Paul Baker · 2006-03-29 23:16

Someone reported a while back having problems interfacing with vex servos (in this forum), supposedly the difficulty is that there is no external center adjustment screw (so it would spin when being sent a servo pulse that was supposed to keep it from spinning). Someone with some experience with the VEX system said the adjustment was done programmatically through the receiver, but couldn't elaborate how it was done (proprietary I guess). That said it may take some tweaking of a VEX servo to get it to behave as expected because of this and each servo may require it's own tweak factor.

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·1+1=10

Post Edited (Paul Baker) : 3/29/2006 11:19:08 PM GMT

Adam Yakaboski · 2006-03-29 23:33

Somebody said...
It's astonishing (having seen Parallax) how little information has been released, and how much information is still said to be proprietary. You can't get a schematic of their board. You can't know what the radio reciever is putting out. It's really quite irritating. Here they have a product to be used in a robotics competition, and half their documentation for the interesting stuff says "this is for advanced users" -- like anybody reading this is NOT advanced, and we're not going to tell you.

Actually, the Vex Robotics kit is designed for more beginners in mind. It's main processor is a PIC 18F and is programed either by using a visual programming suite or in C if you want to. The device supports up to eight motors and a bunch of sensors. There is a sale up to April 1 for half off on these products. If you all ready have a basic stamp and a carrier board I would reccomend getting the metal kit and pretty much every other single accessory except for the battery The hardware itself is very useful and pretty cheap. Motors use pulsewidth modulation, use a clutch, and have heat protection. What Im probaby going to end up doing is waiting for the Propeller (perfect for my project) and using the hardware from Vex to create something really funky. Also check out this month's issue of Servo. There is a hack involving a Vex motor and hooking it up to the Scribbler to create a robot that can use more than one pen to draw. Please excuse me if this is rambling.

Somebody said...
Someone reported a while back having problems interfacing with vex servos (in this forum), supposedly the difficulty is that there is no external center adjustment screw (so it would spin when being sent a servo pulse that was supposed to keep it from spinning). Someone with some experience with the VEX system said the adjustment was done programmatically through the receiver, but couldn't elaborate how it was done (proprietary I guess). That said it may take some tweaking of a VEX servo to get it to behave as expected because of this and each servo may require it's own tweak factor.

No. I get what he was saying. He adjusted the controls on the radio to stop the thing from twitching. There are a bunch of things that you can do on the radio just like a normal radio like adjust the trim etc. etc. etc. . The only way to obtain the same results is by trial and error with programing. Ask away if you have any questions.

Somebody said...
One key web site announces a September 2005 competition, but no results. Seems very likely everyone has gone home.

www.usfirst.org/vex/

Somebody said...
There is a lot of confusion about Vex. I cannot see how you would get a good answer from anybody. They really don't support Parallax products and Parallax has no reason to try to support their product since they are sell off all the BOEbots.

And it looks like they are going out of business. You will have to start your own mutual support.

Actually, the company that built and devised the Vex robotics system has been around since the mid 1990's? The basic idea of the Vex robotics kit has be around for about five years. They did use Basic Stamps only until people pretty much reached the limits of what they can do with them.

Post Edited (Adam Yakaboski) : 3/30/2006 12:03:59 AM GMT

LoopyByteloose · 2006-03-30 06:52

I would just like to say that Parallax has consistently recognized the value of tolerance not only as good business, but as a virtue.

Begineers and beyond, often express their frustration with placing the blame in the wrong direction. And it is far easier to consider the device as broken or the vendor a cheat rather than the user/programmer in error.

Other sites do offer support, but often become intolerant of people that start out foolishly.

I certainly have made a fool of myself in the beginning and at several places along the way.
So I try to restrain my silliness as much as possibe and share what I can do so.

No one is perfect, so please consider the source, consider your own safety, and rely on consensus whenever it seems prudent.

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"When all think alike, no one is thinking very much.' - Walter Lippmann (1889-1974)

······································································ Warm regards,····· G. Herzog [noparse][[/noparse]·黃鶴 ]·in Taiwan

PJAllen · 2006-03-30 13:34

VEX -- what an oddly named product

vex

Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): vexed also vext; vex·ing
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French vexer, from Latin vexare to agitate, harry; probably akin to Latin vehere to convey -- more at WAY
1 a : to bring trouble, distress, or agitation to <the restaurant is vexed by slow service> b : to bring physical distress to <a headache vexed him all morning> c : to irritate or annoy by petty provocations : HARASS <vexed by the children> d : PUZZLE, BAFFLE <a problem to vex the keenest wit>
2 : to shake or toss about
synonym see ANNOY

PS -- frippery

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When you get 1^st Place in the "Darwin Awards", you're a Winner & a Loser.

Superworms · 2006-03-30 15:16

weird

Paul Sr. · 2006-03-30 15:21

superworms said...
weird

Nope - just PJ......

LoopyByteloose · 2006-03-31 08:37

And yet,
the Chevy NOVA had a great deal of trouble selling in Central and South America because 'No va.' simply translates to 'NO GO'.

Who wants to be laughed at everytime they have a problem?

Chinese take naming as an important part of creating good fortune. They always ponder the meaning of a name in the context of their personal image and experience.

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"When all think alike, no one is thinking very much.' - Walter Lippmann (1889-1974)

······································································ Warm regards,····· G. Herzog [noparse][[/noparse]·黃鶴 ]·in Taiwan

Tom Walker · 2006-03-31 14:18

Briefly in the same off-topic vein...
My wife and I enjoy spinning through closeout-type stores just to ask ourselves the question "Why is this item in this store?" Some are there for obvious reasons (damaged, visually unappealing, obvious limited market, etc...), but we ran into what appeared to be a naming problem. In short, when deciding on a name, someone in the chain should just have said "No". The product was a "sports water" and someone decided to name it "Speedo". (for our Non-English-familiar readers, the word speedo is usually used to refer to a bikini-style bathing suit for men...not a pleasant mental connection for the US consumer to make...)

Also, in a shoe outlet, we saw athletic shoes whose model name (and logo) was "Incubus". Makes me wonder where the "Beelzebub" cookware was located. :^)

We now return you to your regularly scheduled fora...

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Truly Understand the Fundamentals and the Path will be so much easier...

Paul Baker · 2006-03-31 14:37

I heard about the Incubus shoes, the management of the manufacturer's didnt understand the reference. But obviously whoever did the actual naming did.

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Current Muppet Terror Level:

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gibbman · 2006-04-01 00:46

Kramer wrote:

And yet,
the Chevy NOVA had a great deal of trouble selling in Central and South America because 'No va.' simply translates to 'NO GO'.

Too much! I still think of FIAT as " Fix It Again, Tony". Apologies to Fiat lovers, and our Italian forumistas.

Jim

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In the end, it seems that it's all about getting the LEDs to blink....

gelfling6 · 2006-04-06 23:31

Paul Baker said...
I heard about the Incubus shoes, the management of the manufacturer's didnt understand the reference. But obviously whoever did the actual naming did.

Kind of like the urban ledgend of the model number, given to the 1st IBM-PC..

something about 5150, also being a penal code for requiring a minimum 72 Hr. Internment
in a mental institution.. And not being caught, till the machine was out on the market.

Stephen

SciTech02 · 2006-04-10 20:23

Well, what I think is that Vex isn't really a competitor of Parallax.· The only real competitor of Parallax is Basic Atom and that's only stamps.

So in all, I think Parallax is the only way to go.· Beginner, or expert. [noparse]:)[/noparse]··· -SciTech02.

Forrest · 2006-04-23 21:31

If you're interested in pickup up a Vex Starter system - I suggest you do it soon. I was at four Radio Shack's today and only one location had any Vex Starter kits left. All stores in my area were instructed to return all Vex accessories to the warehouse. FYI Innovation First, the company that developed the Vex system for Radio Shack has bought the Vex trademark from Radio Shack and they're selling Vex Starter systems and all Vex accessories at full list price.

boe-bot and vex

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