Where to a Lego NXT kit for less? Take #2

I am looking for a source to buy several Lego NXT kits.

Where does one buy this kit for less than list price?

Thanks

TMT

Reply to
Too_Many_Tools
Loading thread data ...

Not even one reply?

Is this comp.robotics.misc? ;

Reply to
Too_Many_Tools

Reply to
Curt Welch

Reply to
Gordon McComb

Hey Gordon....after the holidays I need to call you about a project I'm working on. It has something to do with this:

formatting link

-John O

Reply to
John O

I know this thing is being strongly marketed to schools. If you're associated with a school, you may be able to get a quantity discount that way.

Reply to
Ben Bradley

This is sort of a non response...

The Lego corporation has a very strange strategy about deciding who they will let sell their products. In particular, if you choose to sell Lego products, you usually have to sign up to sell across all of their product line. For specialized network robot stores, they can not afford to do that. About the only place I see Lego NXT kits are at Lego stores in selected high volume shopping malls and at the Lego web site. There is very little discounting on Lego products.

By the way, many Lego enthusiasts feel that Lego corporation is killing themselves with this strategy. The story of Lego Mindstorms version 1 is actually quite appalling. The NXT (version 2) seems to be a little better, but after being burned by version, I decided to take a pass of version 2.

About the best price I found for NXT with very limited searching was $219 at Nextag; this is off list price of $249. You can try bidding on one on Ebay, but I doubt you will beat $210.

Have fun,

-Wayne

Reply to
Wayne C. Gramlich

Looks like White Box Robotics cut a deal with Heathkit:

formatting link

Reply to
pogo

Thanks for the responses everyone.

Wayne, could you explain what you mean about "being burned by the version"?

Thanks

Reply to
Too_Many_Tools

Just saw one on ebay for less than $200 + free shipping. I would guess that trolling ebay in the next few weeks might be a good bet. There are bound to be some given as gifts and then lost interest in ... I've had good luck searching for misspellings now & then, too. Less bidders for the ones spelled wrong (*most* of the time). Good luck! JCD

Thanks for the responses everyone.

Wayne, could you explain what you mean about "being burned by the version"?

Thanks

Reply to
pogo

I guess he means he was somehow burned by the first version, maybe he bought one and then the NXT came out.

Speaking of Mindstorms, I'm clearing out my personal inventory of RCX-based Mindstorms. I think I have three of those but none are complete, 3-4 of the Discovery bots (which can be programmed by the same IR tower), and various accessory packs. I'm not decided if I want to sell them as closeouts on Budget Robotics or put them on eBay (which I don't like using). I'm pretty sure at least two of my RCX bricks have modified firmware, so they'd be for the more advanced user. If anyone is interested, shoot me an e-mail to the un-spammed version of my e-mail.

And sorry TMT for stealing the thread a bit. I actually forgot I had these in storage...

-- Gordon

Reply to
Gordon McComb

No problem Gordon...an interesting conversation is never in a straight line. ;

Reply to
Too_Many_Tools

How many "versions" are there of the NXT?

Reply to
Too_Many_Tools
[snippage]

[snippage]

TMT:

A common problem when I type in responses in a hurry, is that I drop words. What a meant was "being burned by the [first] version".

To answer the thrust of your question... The original RCX suffered from a general lack of expandability. It had 3 sensor ports and 3 motor ports. If you were careful, you could get a couple of them to talk to one another via the IR port. The NXT brick has 4 sensor ports and 3 motor ports, and if you are careful you can glue up several of them together via BlueTooth. By the time you have enough NXT bricks glued together to build an interesting robot, a substantial investment has been made.

-Wayne

Reply to
Wayne C. Gramlich

Nothing like that. I bought 2 NXT's and had a friend donate a 3rd one to me. They are gathering dust in drawer somewhere.

My real problem with the Mindstorms is that it is a dead end system. Once you build a few simple robots, you spend the rest of your time fighting the limitations of the system. The documentation is awful. If you need more parts, there is no easy way to obtain them. If you run out of sensor/motor ports, tough. The vendor supplied software is really quite crippled and useless. After spending a fair amount of time and money struggling with the system, people get frustrated, and drop out of the hobby. The Lego corporation is not very committed to robotics. Since I think robotics is a neat hobby, I get frustrated when I see people bail out due to frustration.

For those of you who do not know, I am currently the president of the HomeBrew Robotics Club in Silicon Valley (San Jose, Calif.) As president, I frequently get asked where to start. After asking a few questions in response ("what are your skill levels in electrical, mechanical, and software?") I usually point them at the Parallax stuff (or sometimes the VEX stuff.) The advantage with the Parallax stuff is that much of what you are learning can be moved forward when finally exhaust the capabilities of the Basic Stamp 2. Parallax has a ton of excellent documentation, sensors, etc. The Vex system has some great mechanical stuff and the Vex "brick" is way more capabilities than the Mindstorms bricks.

My $.02,

-Wayne

Reply to
Wayne C. Gramlich

Quick correction. I have a total of 3 RCX's (version 1) and my son has 1 NXT (version 2). All of them are gathering dust.

-Wayne

Reply to
Wayne C. Gramlich

I agree about Parallax being an excellent bang-for-the-buck. Though $50 for a single BS2 is a little high compared to what else is out there, the documentation and support is second to none. For first-timers I also recommend Parallax over just about anything else. The initial investment is miniscule compared to what you get out of it, and once you learn to use one microcontroller you're really half way there to the next, whether it's from the same company or a completely different.

I suggest LEGO for younger kids, and/or when there is a school program to support it.

-- Gordon

Reply to
Gordon McComb

Yes, this is true.

Full disclosure...I work for Heathkit, and I'm running the robot project. We're into the school market, and fully realize that some of the choices we've made won't work out in the hobby market. The Mindstorms limitations discussion in this thread tells the story...despite all that it's extremely popular in schools, and curriculum is easy to find and there's some great books and lessons written.

Anyway, I'm here to learn from you guys. :-)

-John O

Reply to
John O

I have a significant investment in Vex equipment (thanks to the Radio Shack liquidation of last year) while I only have one NXT system. I have been looking for more NXT systems at a decent price...and it is apparent that Lego is controlling the price structure.

I think that is a BIG - BIG - BIG mistake.

I do not expect fire sale pricing (even though my wallet would appreciate it) but to maintain the high pricing that I am seeing means no one carries it and no one buys it. I have lost count of how many store managers have said that they do not and will not carry it because it is too expensive.

Lego...are you listening?

TMT

Reply to
Too_Many_Tools

If one pursues the Parallax route, what do you recommend for the mechanical route?

Thanks

TMT

Reply to
Too_Many_Tools

PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.