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My nine year old son had experience with the Mindstorms NXT at Lego camp. He wanted a set for Christmas. Considering his age, I wanted something more affordable. I found this older set on ebay. It is much like the NXT in that the RCX can be programmed by computer and the programs downloaded to to run on the RCX. The CD has a tour and detailed instructions for my son. So far he has built one model from the Constructopedia and has learned to program it. I am very impressed with this set. We can add accessories and vary the possibilities. Problems have been with this set being outdated. Initially the program would freeze up the computer when trying to set-up the IR tower. I had to search online for more information and found this was common with Windows XP and Vista. Thankfully, I found a detailed explanation on installing a patch from a grad student's webpage. That got it working wonderfully. Also, the CD tour mentions the website community through Lego.com which no longer exists as far as I can tell. If my son continues being interested in robotics with this set, we plan to invest in the more updated sets in the future. The Robotics Invention 2.0 set has been a good place to start.Read full review
This set is the best of the original series of the LEGO Mindstorms Robotics Inventions Systems. LEGO made three versions of this series, the 1.0, 1.5 and the 2.0. This series uses the RCX programmable brick; this is the brains of the robot. The RCX has the same hardware in all of the three sets. You want to make sure when you are buying a set from the original series that there is no corrosion in the RCX's battery compartment. You are building robots that move. If there is corrosion in the battery compartment the terminals are weakened and the batteries will dislodge when it is moved too much. There is nothing worse to a child then to have their robot stop moving after they built it. With this series you have an IR tower that downloads the program you make on the computer to the RCX. In versions 1.0 and 1.5, there is a 9-pin serial connection to the IR tower. In the 2.0 version it has a USB connection. You need to know what connections your computer has before you purchase your version. The pieces are different in the three versions. The first version the 1.0 has more brick type pieces. The 1.5 and the 2.0 have virtually the same pieces. All three of these sets will work with XP as your operating system. The 1.0 software will only work on some systems since it was made in 1998. It was made to work on Windows 98. None of these versions will work with Vista or Windows 7. These sets are one of the best teaching tools I have ever used. I am a certified Robotics teacher for both the RCX and the NXT. I use both types in my after school classes. Both boys and girls love them. The grasp of technology, math and science they acquire from playing with these sets makes the investment well worth the price.Read full review
Here's the tips I have for programming the RCX 2.0 Windows XP 32 Bit Virtual Machine using Parallels or Virtualbox You can find the iso of the Robolabs online to install it Getting the Driver the IR tower is the most difficult task, however, i just looked it up on line in drivers tab "online", and it found it. despite it being windows xp, so actually pretty simple. Don't get Windows 8SE, the graphics that come with the VM don't meet the requirements for the Lego Robolabs software to program the RCX 2.0.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
This kit has alot of parts and you can build many Mindstorm projects. This is a good starter kit. It came out in 2001. The software runs OK on my Windows 2000 PRO operation system on my laptop computer. The IR tower communicated with the software and it upgraded the IR tower firmware. I like this software CD because it shows you how to build many projects step by step. I am HAPPY to find one now days. The next kit I will get is the Mindstorms NXT 2.0 (8547) kit.
This set is outdated but is a perfect starter for the beginner robotic enthusiast
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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