Search found 246 matches

by nxtreme
25 Jul 2011, 02:10
Forum: Mindstorms Software
Topic: RXC 1.0 Software?
Replies: 6
Views: 7816

Re: RXC 1.0 Software?

I don't know if it'd be of help, but mattallen37 has worked some on a USB based IR tower. That means that you can use a new operating system, without having to worry about drivers and such. His post on the forums here and his blog post here.
by nxtreme
24 Jul 2011, 23:41
Forum: Mindstorms Hardware
Topic: Battery life of "idle" NXT?
Replies: 13
Views: 23891

Re: Battery life of "idle" NXT?

Try lowering the contrast of the screen, it reduces the voltage used to drive it. I don't know about the LCD driver, but LCDs like the one the NXT has are usually very power efficient. I doubt you would save more than 3-5 mA at best though as I like to say, I'm no EE :). Very interesting measuremen...
by nxtreme
23 Jul 2011, 22:45
Forum: Mindstorms Hardware
Topic: Battery life of "idle" NXT?
Replies: 13
Views: 23891

Re: Battery life of "idle" NXT?

I pulled out my multimeter and did some tests for you. When first turned on, the NXT uses between 60-80 mA for the first couple seconds. After that, it hovers right around 50 mA (Bluetooth turned off and no program running) or with Bluetooth turned on, it oscillates between 60-90 mA at about 0.8HZ. ...
by nxtreme
15 Jul 2011, 15:50
Forum: Mindstorms Hardware
Topic: Removing battery compartment/Charger?
Replies: 2
Views: 6341

Re: Removing battery compartment/Charger?

If you're not afraid of a soldering iron and you think you know enough about electronics to not fry your NXT, you may find Philo's website interesting (you don't need to know enough, just need to think you know enough ;)). http://philohome.com/nxtsupply/nxtsupply.htm I wouldn't recommend removing th...
by nxtreme
09 Jul 2011, 03:05
Forum: Mindstorms Hardware
Topic: NXC: how to calibrate the HT Compass sensor?
Replies: 19
Views: 20163

Re: NXC: how to calibrate the HT Compass sensor?

Yes, I do understand how the price could be worth it to some people. Maybe even doc, who appears to be anemic to writing I2C functions (no offense intended!), would prefer a "fully cooked" compass module. Now, if someone would just buy me a house in Canada, a hotplate (for reflowing boards...
by nxtreme
09 Jul 2011, 01:52
Forum: Off-Topic
Topic: SourceForge developer web?
Replies: 12
Views: 13047

Re: SourceForge developer web?

I was about to suggest the same thing. It's easier to do in XP than in 7 actually, just because you only have to click twice, instead of three times. I'd imagine it'd be just as easy in Vista. I do suggest renaming the files to .txt though, it makes it easier to figure out what extension to rename i...
by nxtreme
09 Jul 2011, 00:50
Forum: Mindstorms Software
Topic: Need some help on creating a RS485 library on NXC
Replies: 25
Views: 28743

Re: Need some help on creating a RS485 library on NXC

I am eagerly awaiting your results. Since your 20X2(s) is too old to work with I2C slave for the NXT, maybe you could get them talking with UART. Now, don't tell me the 20X2 version is too old for that ;) Or... did you get a new 20X2 with the order? So am I :). Well, I'm still not 100% sure it's th...
by nxtreme
09 Jul 2011, 00:32
Forum: Mindstorms Hardware
Topic: NXC: how to calibrate the HT Compass sensor?
Replies: 19
Views: 20163

Re: NXC: how to calibrate the HT Compass sensor?

build me a NXT-plugable one, please, and sell it to me, if you please! ^^ I've actually contemplated that very thing many, many times. Creating NXTified breakout boards for sensors exactly like this one*. However, I don't have the time and I don't live in a country that ships cheaply or nicely. In ...
by nxtreme
08 Jul 2011, 23:31
Forum: Mindstorms Hardware
Topic: NXC: how to calibrate the HT Compass sensor?
Replies: 19
Views: 20163

Re: NXC: how to calibrate the HT Compass sensor?

For those of you wanting accurate compass readings regardless of tilt, SparkFun Electronics just released a three axis magnetometer broken out for $15 US. Sure, it requires a bit of hacking as it's not directly plug and play with the NXT, but it is cheap as far as magnetometers go!
by nxtreme
08 Jul 2011, 23:21
Forum: Mindstorms Software
Topic: Need some help on creating a RS485 library on NXC
Replies: 25
Views: 28743

Re: Need some help on creating a RS485 library on NXC

Well, now I am annoyed with myself. I stayed up all night working on a firmware problem that did not exist... Frustrating. Oh, well. You didn't forget to update to the latest test release and firmware version now, did you? ;) Thank you very much for working this out! I just purchased some RS485 con...