text:
When and where was the first "official" fan organized Lego Convention held?
I just attended BrickCon 2013 here in Seattle (I wore my new StackExchange T-shirt). When and where was the first "official" fan organized Lego Convention held?

According to the What is BrickCon? page, BrickCon claims to be the "longest running fan-based LEGO® convention". Its first edition took place in 2002.
Note that there are events which are older (LEGOworld in the Netherlands for example which I believe started in 2001), so I suppose BrickCon's claim is specific for conventions, and not exhibitions - although I doubt the line between both is very clear to start with (While LEGOworld is definitely directed to the public, there are fan-only happenings in the evenings)

I remember attending LEGO exhibitions at the Meier and Frank department store in Portland, OR in the 1970s. These were exhibits of large-scale models similar to those at LEGOland. I do not recall if the exhibitions were officially LEGO-sponsored or not.

+1. Although BrickCon is the longest consecutively running yearly Lego Con in North America, I'm not sure that it was the first fan organized Lego convention.

There were also a fair amount of official fan events before everybody started using the internet. A bit harder to tell, there.


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Unable to connect to NXT using NeXTTool via USB cable
For reasons beyond me, the NXC program MotorControl22.rxe in my NXT has disapeared. So i thought I'd just download it from my computer over to the NXT using NeXTTool.
This is where the trouble begins. Firstly, I have no problems listing the NXT in my devices when connected and turned on. I have also been able to upgrade the firmware twice during my troubleshooting, trying to find a solution. But for some reason, using the NeXTTool, I'm not able to connect. I've tried downloading the file using NeXTTool \COM=usb -download=MotorControl22.rxe and after that tried NeXTTool /COM=usb -listfiles=MotorControl22.rxe with no result.
This made me test just listing anything from the NXT, but even writing NeXTTool /COM=usb -listfiles didn't show anything, even though I have confirmed that there are several programs, sound files etc on the NXT.

I'm currently running Windows 8.1 64-bit
The driver is libusb-win32
I'm running NeXTTool from Windows cmd with admin rights
I don't get any error messages upon running the download command
This has not been a problem earlier upon installing and verifying that everything works.
Flashing a new firmware works just fine when in Update firmware mode using NeXTTool -firmare="firmware.rfw"
Bluetooth works too, but upon running the download command, nothing happens.

Has anyone run into this problem before? Anybode have any idea how to simply download a file to the NXT and what might be causing it not to work now?

I would tend to try with the regular LEGO software too; if even that fails it may mean your NXT brick itself is defective. If you have the opportunity to test another brick, it's of course even better.

Have you tried downloading the file using BricxCC or NeXT Commander?

I tried NeXT Commander. I was able to get a connection, but downloading always failed. I haven't tried BricxCC.

This is a project for school, and we've only got access to MATLAB to program our NXT with. We haven't received a license for the Lego software or LabView for that matter so I'm a little stuck... or is the Lego software license included in the 9696 pack?

Joubarc's idea would probably be your best bet - try downloading the file to the NXT using the official LEGO software. If this fails, you know something is wrong with your brick. If it works, it's probably a problem with your program. Did anything major happen between the time it would work and the time it wouldn't? If so, this may be the culprit. Trying it on multiple bricks is also another avenue I would suggest. There is an official Mindstorms Help Section on the LEGO Message Boards located here. They have experts who will probably be able to correct your problem.

Thanks for the tip, but I'm not sure if I've gotten access to the official LEGO software. Is this maybe included in the 9696 pack? The thing is, this is a school project, where we've only aquired licenses for MATLAB, so I don't even have access to LabView... But how is NeXTTool different from the LEGO software other than it lacking a GUI :P

Oh, I was thinking you got the retail version with NXT-G on a CD-ROM. Well, I suppose they're not too different; it's just I'm not too familiar with NeXTTool, although I do use NeXTScreen a bit.

I'm going to mark this as the answer, because I gave the NXT to my teacher, who in turn reset it, and he probably used the official LEGO software to do so. Thanks for your response!

@cazyius You can reset it without the software... but it won't work until you use the software to put on the new firmware, which you were correct in this aspect - LEGO NXT Firmware has a special encoding that can only be done with the NXT-G environment (which means that you have to get LEGO's help when you make your own firmware).

Procedure as follow,
uninstall libusb_win32 driver; not disable
activate back NXT fantom driver
transfer MotorControl22.rxe with NeXTTool or TransferMotorControlBinaryToNXT.bat
execute install-filter-win from directory libusb_win32/bin for USB NXT connection
it work for me

source: Stack Exchange

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

sort: votes


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What are the torque limits of gears?
I am using Lego in the classroom to introduce students to geared machines.
As part of this I am asking them to design a winch, using a small 1.5V DC motor and a collection of the common Lego gears, i.e. the 8, 16, 24 and 40-tooth spur gears, and the special worm gear.
Based on rough back-of-the-envelope calculations, I will require about 5 N.cm of torque at the winch drum.

Do I have to worry about breaking any gears due to excessive torque?
Do I have to worry about gears slipping (skipping teeth) due to high torque?
Has anyone performed experimental (destructive) tests to quantify the
maximum torque these gears can withstand? Order of magnitude is OK - will the gears break at 1 N.cm, 10 N.cm, 100 N.cm, ... ?

One thing to bare in mind is that some LEGO gears exist in several variants, each of which may have different torque limits. The following tutorial cites some of these differences: http://sariel.pl/2009/09/gears-tutorial/

Do I have to worry about breaking any gears due to excessive torque?

LEGO Gears are one of the strongest LEGO components. When you apply great amounts of torque, they may slip or grind, but never break.

Do I have to worry about gears slipping (skipping teeth) due to high
  torque?

If you apply high amounts of torque, your gears will slip. This happens even with moderately high amounts. They may also slide down the axle and grind the side of the other gear, or the axle.

Has anyone performed experimental (destructive) tests to quantify the
  maximum torque these gears can withstand? Order of magnitude is OK -
  will the gears break at 1 N.cm, 10 N.cm, 100 N.cm, ... ?

Your gears will withstand the torque quite well - it's probably other components, like the axles and beams, that will give way first. Don't worry about breaking the gears - the worst situation might be that an axle or two might bend.

Actually it is quite possible to break gears when using very high gearing ratios. See http://www.firstroboticscanada.org/main/wp-content/uploads/LEGO-Gears.pdf . It gives some circumstances in which the author has broken gears, though it doesn't include any actual torque measurements.

There are more elements to breaking gears than torque, like pressure and speed.

Simply put, they won't break. I've put LEGO gears through everything I could and they were fine. That includes spinning an 8-tooth gear at around 80,000 RPM (sustained for only a second or two) via a flywheel-based stored-energy device. I've driven a 9lb vehicle with about 40 gears in the drivetrain, and none broke.
Slipping teeth is rather common. As a guide, if you sandwich spur gears between two beams or bricks with holes, you're not going to grind them. I would trust that for 100Ncm or more. If you are going to put the structural beams further away from the gears, the torque limit reduces. You can increase it by adding bushes (to stop gears from sliding along axles) or by adding short beams that span two axles - this stops the axles from bending and disengaging the gears.

If anything breaks, the gears won't primarily be the problem.

Do I have to worry about breaking any gears due to excessive torque?
Do I have to worry about gears slipping (skipping teeth) due to high torque?

I have seen gears get to nearly twenty N.cm without issue, other than slipping along the axle, (easily fixed with bushings), or skipping, (easily fixed by super-gluing your chassis pieces together.)
However! Not all gears are made equal, and I have broken a couple of (gear) teeth in my day. Your 40-tooth gears might be in for a rude awakening as to their structural integrity under high torque.
This can be easily solved, I think, by changing the gear ratios, which will be a great lesson for your students, how big gears driving small ones can make things more efficient.

The "real problem" will most likely be the bricks. Bricks don't stand up to torque as well. If you compress a brick too far, it will snap, despite how tough they normally are, or at least chip.
This may be a hard issue to solve, not to mention the other "real problem" of the binding power of bricks to each other. Fortunately, there is a solution! You just may not like the fix.
Superglue is tough. It stand up to a lot of pressure. As I said in the first bit, super-gluing your chassis-pieces together may be the only way to handle a challenge like this, if your students have trouble with structure.
So say you don't like ruining your pieces' chance of use ever again, like me. I suggest that you look up good ways to structure a Technic chassis, and if a build is iffy, tell them what needs to be fixed.
But for argument's sake, I have tried many things like this, and everything was fine. Just make sure that somehow, every piece stays in place.
But only if you're using LEGOs for the chassis at all!

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/


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Where can I buy replacement stickers for the set 8018?
I need replacement stickers for set 8018. I've bought a used set and I'd like to change around the sticker position.

You can get replacement stickers on BrickLink. Here is the link to the 8018 stickers: http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=8018stk01


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What is the difference between 8T gears "Type 1" (3647) and "Type 2" (10928)?
On Bricklink I can see that there are two types of 8-toothed gear - a "Type 1" (3647) and a "Type 2" (10928).

It's obvious these parts are not the same, but what is the functional difference between them?

The new gears are stronger and do not slide into the holes in bricks and liftarms.
If you look closely at the holes in a brick (or liftwarm) there's a shallow, wider hole forming a step. This holds (for example) the collar in the middle of Technic pins, allowing them to hold bricks close together.
Unfortunately that hole is big enough for the non-teeth part of the old style 8 tooth gear to slip into. That means that the gear will slip sideways rather than sitting in the centre of a gap, and thus not mesh exactly with other gears. It sits offset, in other words. There's speculation that this allowed it to fall further into plates with holes back in the Expert Builder days, but the reasons have never (AFAIK) been officially disclosed. This EuroBricks Thread has more discussion and some nice photos
That feature makes old style 8 tooth gears fairly useless of high torque applications, as they will inevitably slip sideways and the teeth will break.

The extended teeth on the new gears prevent this from happening, making them much more reliable in high torque applications (and in general). They are also stronger, but not slipping sideways makes them much stronger where it's needed as well.
I suspect that one reason the extended teeth are not full height is to keept the gears compatible with worm gears. Those cross the teeth at an angle, and if the teeth are too wide the worm gear will hit two teeth on the 8T gear at the same time, making the friction even worse.

Great answer! I hadn't thought about the fact that this change prevents the gear from sliding into the holes in bricks.

While I remember, this is at least the fourth variant, the first three being fairly subtle and not significant. This and the new red sliding one are quite different to the first three.

I don't believe there is any significant functional difference between these parts in terms of what can be built with them. The 10928 variant is simply a reinforced version of the original.
This gear is widely used, but because of its small size, it has always had problems with breaking under high torque. It looks like this new variation is attempting to address this by reinforcing the teeth so that they don't snap off as easily.
Similar minor strengthening changes have been made to other gears as well. Here's the 16 tooth reinforcement for example:

TLG has been known to make this type of structural change to lots of other parts as well. The most prolific example is probably the 1x1 plate with vertical clip that has seen a number of changes to address structural issues:


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What is a normal range of reading of the Light Sensor using EV3 Raw Sensor block?
EV3 software does not support the Light Sensor. It does support the Color Sensor.
The solution is to use the Raw Sensor Block.
What is "normal" for raw sensor block readings?
I'm getting readings between 450 and 700, with brighter readings at the lower end of the range.  I expected brighter to be the larger number.  Is there an expected range of values?
Is it because the software is running on an NXT brick?

This question is a bit confusing - you're using which programming software and putting this on which brick? NXT or EV3?

EV3 software on my laptop. NXT hardware (brick). The only way to use the NXT Light sensor is with a Raw Sensor block.

Page 29 of link says 1300 to 2300 and that brighter is less than darker.

My FLL team wrote a light sensor myblock that converts the raw value to a number between 0 and 100. They run it on the EV3 so they can use their existing NXT light sensors. It should work on the NXT brick as well. Here is the video they posted to explain how it works.
http://youtu.be/I7Bqvk-uMLk

Nice video.  What are the typical raw sensor readings that you get?

We usually see around 2200 for black and 1300 for white.

I just tested our light sensors on the NXT and get raw value readings of around 590 for black and 350 for white. Our light sensor myblocks work the same on the NXT as they do on the EV3 and convert the values to numbers between 0 and 100. We found that adding a Round block set to nearest at the end of the light sensor myblock equation helps when using this on the NXT. It didn't like the decimal numbers for some reason. Hope this helps.

You can consider this the "official" answer based on the EV3 firmware source code.
This file is used for scaling the values that you see in "Port View" on the EV3 brick itself.
The NXT Light Sensor is defined in these two lines:
2 0 NXT-REFLECT 1 1 3 0 2 119 0x32 3372.0 445.0 0 100 0.0 100.0 20 0 pct
2 1 NXT-AMBIENT 1 1 3 0 2 119 0x30 3411.0 633.0 0 100 0.0 100.0 20 0 pct

This means that in NXT-REFLECT mode (LED is on), a raw value of 445 = 0% and a raw value of 3372 = 100%. In NXT-AMBIENT mode (LED is off), a raw value of 633 = 0% and a raw value of 3411 = 100%.
To change to NXT-AMBIENT mode, you might be able to use the NXT Sound Sensor block. Select the port that is connected to the light sensor and set the mode to "dBa".

Is it because the software is running on an NXT brick?
YES, The raw value range of light and sound sensor is 0~1024 on NXT.


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Which "Real World" Company was the first to have its' name featured in an actual (numbered) Lego set?
Excluding the Lego company, which "Real World" Company was the first to have its' name featured in an actual Lego set?

The 1955 Bedford Esso truck sets that oddTodd refers to were the earliest appearance of a company name/logo on a product in the LEGO system, however these trucks were sold separately as part of the Town Plan, without bricks (although some versions of the 1251 set came with 1x1 bricks that were used as oil cans). An accessory set from 1955 included gas pumps and a printed Esso sign, but no building elements.
The first regular building set to include a company logo or name was 1310 Esso Filling Station from 1956. The next building sets to include a company name and logo were 306 VW Garage and 307 VW Auto Showroom, both released in 1958. (The first use of the VW logo was on the first 1:87 scale car LEGO produced in 1956, the VW Bus.)
Usage of the Esso name ended in Europe and Australia in 1965 and in the US in 1966. In 1966 the Shell brand name was first used in set 325 Shell Service Station

Esso (aka ExxonMobil) showed up in one of the first sets ever, released in 1955. Bedford, a truck maker, was also represented in the same set (and others from that year). I do not know if there were Bedford sets released before the Esso/Bedford sets, since they were all released in the same year.
http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?S=1250-2
Esso also shows up on an actual printed brick in this 1958 accessory set:
http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemInv.asp?S=226-1
Note that 1958 was the start of the current stud-and-tube technology.
Ferguson plastic tractor (1951):
http://aboutus.lego.com/en-us/lego-group/the_lego_history/1950


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Does anyone make a self-driving car?
Mapping and localization are the hottest trends in robotics today. And what's more exciting is they can be both implemented with a low-cost robotics kit like LEGO Mindstorms!
I tried to make a self-driving car, after Google's famous car, but I got stuck on the mechanical side of things. I can't figure out how to build a revolving ultrasonic sensor on top of the robot, in order to do mapping and localization.
Any help is highly appreciated!

I suggest you use other methods of ultrasound, like a few ultrasound sensors. A revolving ultrasound is very difficult due to the wire

It sounds like you want to use the Ultrasonic sensor as a revolving radar dish. This is definitely possible. Note that because of the wire, you probably want the sensor to pan back and forth rather than go around in complete circles. Here's an example of what this could look like:

There are building instructions for this project available here:
http://www.nxtprograms.com/radar/

I did build this radar but find it quite limiting. The vertical brick was too long, hence unstable and the wire got twisted around it.
One more thing, it can't be adapted onto a car.

Just to be clear, do you mean a full scale car or a LEGO car?


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Strongest Vertical LEGO beam
In the LEGO house episode of James May's Toy Stories, the engineers built the beams with studs facing upwards: around 9.5 mins into http://youtube.com/watch?v=mEFPhXl3QQY
How much stronger would it have been (if at all), if they had built them staggered with studs sideways, as below, with the same number of bricks?

How much stronger still, if they had used large plates instead of bricks?

If it is any better, why did they not do that (did they just not think of it, or was there an instruction from LEGO or the producers that studs must be on top)?

Depends very much what you mean by "strong".
Vertical crush resistance would be highest as the Lego house people did it because that gives a continuous vertical wall down the edge of each stack of bricks. Offsetting as you suggest means that the edges of each brick are resting on the flat top of the brick below. If they needed to link the bricks horizontally they would either use a row of 2xN bricks or a later of plates. Plates would be heavier and more expensive but somewhat stronger, if wall spreading was an issue (which it did not seem to be in the show).
For beams layered plates would be ideal, possibly in a traditional C or I beam shape, with something to hold the layers of plates together. The easy option there is a layer of Technic bricks top and bottom with Technic liftarms or beams linking them.
For catenary members (like suspension bridge "cables") I'd follow the teams in Australia who have obviously done a lot of research and experimentation, and go with Technic liftarms joined with half-width liftarms and axles.
If instead you're looking at a MythBusters-style giant Lego ball and you want that to stay intact as it rolls then many layers of plates would be useful (the MythBusters ball was made of big Lego-brick bricks, IIRC about 24x48 studs and perhaps 10 or 12 layers tall. It fell apart quickly (and so did not do much damage to anything). For that you would probably also want to use some technic bricks with axles linking them to make internal 3D tension members to hold it together. But you will end up with a tonne of Lego rolling down a hill in that case... not necessarily a good idea.

Thanks, Ӎσᶎ. I was referring to just the house. I agree that the house walls are strongest with studs up, but the walls and beams (I mean the horizontal elements holding up the second storey) can have different orientations. It's true that the beams will also need to support downward force from the floor and objects placed on it, but would the bending moment or tension at the bottom part of the beam be a bigger concern?

The tension at the bottom of the beam would probably be dealt with best by layered plates, and by extra layers of plates rather than any attempt to hold it together with vertical members. I think that trying to resolve those forces into bending moments on Lego pieces would be risky - ABS/Lego is not very strong, the whole idea is to use big beams. It's like the cardboard cathedral in Christchurch in that respect - the shock value comes from using an unusually weak material to build a house. The price you pay is very thick walls and floors compared to wood or steel.


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Communication between two Ev-3 bricks
How the communication between two Ev-3 bricks is done over Bluetooth? What is the nature of data that can be communicated?

Note that if you don't need wireless, the USB daisy-chain connection is a very convenient way to make several (up to 4 if I'm not mistaken) bricks work together - as you only need to create one program in which you can simply address all ports of all bricks.

It shouldn't be too much different from the NXT's Bluetooth capabilities, from what I perceive.

You can do it using EV3 Bluetooth blocks.
You can send integers, string or boolean using different "mailboxes" so the receiver just need to use the Block to read from a particular mailbox to get the data.
Maybe I write a post where I detail all this more because LEGO documentation isn't helpful at all.

You can use the EV3 bluetooth blocks in the blue tab of the programming software.
One thing though:
The two bricks have to have different names. Like "Kim" and "John".
Check the EV3 help too.


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NXT shuts down in 5 minutes
I have an NXT brick that will always shut down after 5 minutes. No, it is not the sleep timer. Documentation from the NXT Hardware SDK, page 17, states that if the ARM7 processor does not send back communication to the AVR microcontroller within 5 minutes of power up, it will shut down the ARM7. Here is the message: "\xCC" "Let's samba nxt arm in arm, (c) LEGO System A/S"
Has anyone had a 5 minute shut down problem not solved by resetting the sleep timer and have you solved it?

Is this "five minutes" measured while a program is running, or from the beginning of the NXT brick startup?

You might want to try updating the firmware on the NXT brick.

I did not have that problem but I checked that error from programmer's perspective. The source seems to originate here athough it can be also found mirrored on GitHub where the complete package can be downloaded. After short analysis of few files it looks that the message you quoted is sent on re-initialized link (connection). The link is reinitialized automatically if its state is either uninitialized or failed.
If you can observe exactly the same time till each failure, then it looks this can be rather software issue than a hardware one. It can be still related to what you wrote in the question (one end of the link shut down after 5 minutes) or it can be related to some other software-based conditions. Try with trivial scenarios first. Also ensure that the firmware of all involved devices is up-to-date.

I finally figured this out... It's broken!
Fried. Saw one do this after getting dropped. Never worked correctly again.
Sorry, man. Buy a new one, I guess. Nothing to be done here.


text:
Using motors to ring a bell?
I would like to create a motor set up so I can use it to ring a bell inside a small tower. Since I haven't used any of the current LEGO motors was wondering what the group would suggest.

which motor to use.
which battery/switch to use.

What I need is a simple switch with a motor. Something that I can turn off and on with out much trouble.

I'm guessing this is not a Mindstorms question. If it were, I'd suggest the original RCX motor, a loop of string around two pulleys, making the on/off button a touch sensor.

do you want one bell ping per button press, continuous ringing while button pressed/switch on, or some other pattern? The answers vary. And what bell will you use, since Lego don't AFAIK make a metal bell. Or do you mean a piezoelectric buzzer (or similar)?

@Ӎσᶎ I'm going to assume the question asker is going to use a metal bell since he/she would like to use a motor. It would be helpful to have those other points clarified.

LEGO Power Functions would probably be the most suitable option. You could use a PF M-Motor (8883) combined with a PF AAA Battery Box (88000) which has a two-way switch and is more than capable of powering four medium size or two extra large motors (each item sold separately).

As to the design, that's completely up to you and dependent on the construction of your bell tower. I'd be more capable of answering your question if you gave some more details.


text:
LEGO and fuel company commercial relationship?
Over the years LEGO has used a number of real-world fuel company names on its products:

ESSO
Shell
Exxon.

I'd be interested to understand the commercial relationship between LEGO and these companies. I see several possibilities:

LEGO pays these companies to use their name, or
These companies pay LEGO to promote their brand, or
The companies enter into a mutual understanding with no cash exchange.

LEGO switched to a fictional fuel brand, Octan, in 1992. Was this at the behest of the other companies or a decision made by LEGO? What were the reasons behind the switch from real-world companies?

An interesting question - Note that LEGO has produced Shell sets since 1992, including 2556 Ferrari Formula 1. http://www.brickset.com/detail/?Set=2556-1 This was, I believe, a promotional set actually sold at Shell stations.

As an aside, it could be that LEGO has deals with some of these companies for the raw material it uses as well - it's a petrol byproduct after all.

For completeness, Lego Cars inspired by the second movie feature the brand allinol

The exact details of the business agreements between LEGO and the companies whose names and logos it has license to use are confidential, but we can infer some general information.
The sets LEGO has produced that feature an oil company name or logo fall into three general categories:

Sets produced by LEGO with only the branding of the oil company and without any LEGO branding on the package. These were used as promotional items by the oil company.
Sets produced as promotional items and distributed through the stations of the oil company that had both LEGO branding and the name/logo of the oil company
Sets sold in the LEGO catalog and regular retail stores that included oil company names and logos

In the first category were the 1:87 vehicle models LEGO produced for Esso in 1955. These were given away at Esso stations with a 3-liter minimum purchase of fuel. The packaging was a printed cardboard box featuring the Esso brand and its "oil-drop" man mascot. The LEGO name appeared only on the underside of the model. Because these sets did not have prominent LEGO branding, it is possible Esso simply contracted with LEGO to produce them and purchased them directly from LEGO.

At the same time Esso was giving these LEGO-made models away, however, LEGO was also selling them in its catalog with co-branded packaging:

In a typical license agreement, a company will pay an agreed amount to use another company's trade name and logo on its products. The agreement will usually indicate what products will carry the logo and the length of time the agreement is in effect. Since it appears LEGO was producing sets for Esso at the same time it was using Esso's logo on sets it sold to the public, there may have been a reciprocal agreement between the companies where LEGO "traded" its truck models for the license to use the Esso logo on its retail sets.
In the second category are sets like 1255 Shell Car Wash. These were LEGO sets with the Shell brand that were sold only through Shell stations and not made available in the LEGO catalog or at regular retail stores.

As with Esso, however, LEGO was also producing regular retail sets that included the Shell name and logo at the same time it was producing exclusive promotional sets that were sold only at Shell stations. Since both companies stood to benefit from the arrangement, it is possible they had a reciprocal agreement where LEGO produced exclusive sets for Shell in exchange for license to use the Shell name and logo on retail sets. LEGO stopped producing Shell branded sets in 1992. In 2004, the Shell brand reappeared on some promotional sets like Ferrari F1 Racer, which include the Shell logo as well as several other sponsors of the Ferrari racing team.
In the third category are the regular retail sets that have oil company logos and names. All of the Exxon-branded sets fall in this category, as it does not seem LEGO ever produced any exclusive promotional Exxon sets that were sold only through fuel stations. In the case of Exxon, it may be that a regular license agreement was in effect where LEGO paid Exxon for the use of its name and logo for a certain length of time.
A typical license agreement also names the geographical areas where the licensed products will be sold. Prior to 1986, LEGO only sold retail Shell products in the UK, Europe and Australia. It is likely their agreement with Shell only covered these geographical areas. From 1986 to 1992 Shell-branded sets became available in the United States, suggesting that the license agreement was expanded around 1986. Exxon-branded sets were sold only in the United States from 1979 to 1982.
With the exception of some promotional sets, LEGO stopped using actual oil company names and logos on its sets in 1992 when it introduced the fictional Octan brand. At that time it appears Shell was the only oil company LEGO had an active license agreement with. It is likely its agreement with Shell had expired and the two companies agreed not to renew it. The switch to Octan has obvious advantages to LEGO as it is not restricted by any license agreements as to where the products can be sold or which products carry the logo.

The Shell logo re-appeared as early as 2004 in the Ferrari themed sets with the Ferrari F1 Racer. It has since been the favoured fuel brand for Ferrari sets, up until 2012 when the last set was released.

Shell also sold a series of LEGO Ferrari cars at their stations in 2014. Which also included a full race set which had a few cars, race podium and a shell V-Power fuel truck. More info can be found in this PDF.


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Best mini LED spotlight for Lego display case?
I am currently building the Creator Sydney Opera House and planning a display case for it. I would like to light the canopies with spotlights just like the real thing, but have not found LED spotlights that are small enough to be proportional to the set. I live in Indonesia so perhaps my choices are limited. The ones I have found are big ones like for cabinets and shelves. Would appreciate your suggestions from around the world. Thank you very much.

I'm not sure exactly how many lights you are looking for, or the exact effect you are trying to create, but you may be able to get what you want using individual LEDs:

These have a diameter of 5mm, so the nose is able to fit snugly into an antistud. I've used them successfully in Technic holes and Erling bricks. The main advantage here is that you can actually brick build whatever lighting you would like to use, or just integrate this into the main model.
Here's an example of using these with Erling bricks that I saw on Eurobricks:

If you aren't comfortable wiring these up yourself, you can buy them prewired with a controller from LifeLites.
If you would like to be a purist, you could also use a number of the PF lights (8870), as they are roughly the same as using 5mm LEDs. PF lights are 3mm LEDs encased in plastic so that they fit snugly into Technic holes.

The PF lights are LEDs. They're just cast into a more stud-shaped form rather than the dome-shape that 5mm LEDs use.

That's correct. I've updated the answer to make that more clear.


text:
What are the memory requirements of EV3-G software blocks running on NXT bricks?
The NXT brick has about 130K memory available for user programs.
With the newer firmware required for downloading EV3-G programs that memory has been reduced to 118K.
How much memory is used by the various blocks available in EV3-G?
What tricks can be used to cram many programs onto the NXT brick's limited memory space?
I'm a coach of an FLL team that is using the NXT brick.  Should they use EV3-G or stick with NXT-G?
See Comparison of 10 blocks shows memory usage of NXT-G and EV3-G are nearly identical.

The move steer and move tank blocks take 5kb each while the large motor block takes 4kb. If you have a long string of move blocks in your program, it will take up big chunks of memory. We've gotten around that in the past with using myblocks. Myblocks are only copied to the NXT once and called each time it is needed in the program. A pivot myblock might take 7kb but you can use it as many times as you like without taking up more memory. We make a myblock for just about every common move used in our programs. It pays to make a myblock if a string of code will be used more than once.
I would stick with EV3 software if you plan to move to the EV3 hardware in the next season or two. I personally liked NXT-g better but we upgraded our hardware to EV3 this year.
Edit - I just compared the NXT blocks to the EV3 blocks and there is quite a difference. The NXT-g move block only takes 2.4KB and the motor block takes 1.1KB. Our pivot myblock that takes 7KB in EV3 only takes 1.6KB in NXT.

I did run into one case of a MyBlock taking unusual amounts of memory. It turned out to be that adding the MyBlock to a program before closing the source program used to create the MyBlock caused the memory usage to explode. Can you check to see if this explains the memory increase you're seeing?  I tested 10 blocks and the memory usage NXT-G vs EV3-G was nearly identical.

I tested the following - All in kb unless otherwise noted Square up myblock - NXT 3.3 EV3 12 Move forward myblock - NXT 2.2 EV3 5 Pivot left myblock - NXT 1.6 EV3 4 Move block - NXT 2.4 EV3 5 Motor block NXT 1.1 EV3 4 Color sensor - NXT .9 EV3 2 Wait block - NXT .7 EV3 390b Switch block - NXT .6 EV3 3 I then created a program with all listed blocks – NXT 8.1 EV3 21
All myblocks had been created previously and no source programs were open when the myblocks were added.

I just checked out your blog post from the link above. I was only testing the initial use of a block. It's interesting to see that the two programs end up with similar memory usage in the long run. That's great news for all of the NXT-G users who want to try out EV3 software.


text:
How can I control the building instructions generated in LDD?
Is it possible to control the building instructions in LDD?
Specifically, I'd like to make sure that every step stands on its own without falling apart on my build.
If not, is there any software I can use to create customizable building instructions?

You may want to check out this answer to "Do any programs exist that allow you to build your own LEGO manuals" - it points to LIC (LEGO Instruction Builder)


text:
How to install NXT / EV3 software on Windows 8.1 RT
I have a 64 GB Microsoft Surface running Windows 8.1 RT. I am trying to install the old NXT 2.0 software and new EV3 software, but when I try to open the .exe file it says:

This app can't run on your PC
To find apps for this PC, open the windows store.

How am I supposed to install this?

Sadly that's a limitation of Windows RT - there's no way you can install the EV3 software on there.
Windows RT can only run apps from the Windows Store (and some specially compiled apps that MS supply such as Office RT - however I don't think the typical user can install a correctly compiled non-Store app on the Surface - as a developer you can side load your apps for testing, but they are still Store apps).
Technical Aside:
Windows RT is compiled to run on ARM chips, which are similar to the ones in a Phone or other tablet device - as such applications such as EV3 which are compiled to run on "x86/x64" chips will not work - it's similar to the difference between x86 and amd64 - these were different chips, with different instruction sets.
LEGO would need to produce a Windows Store version of the EV3 software, alongside any other mobile versions and - sadly for you and me (yes I've got one too) - there probably isn't enough market penetration to justify it yet...

Microsoft have just announced that they are releasing an API for Windows 8.1 and Mindstorms EV3. Hopefully this will mean some apps for the two platforms will emerge sometime in the future.


text:
What are LEGO's best selling products?
I am doing a school project on LEGO.
I have two questions for you. How much profit does Lego  make each year? Also what products have been the biggest sellers and in what years?

You can find some of The LEGO Group's financial information in their annual report. Note that the financials are in Danish kroner, so you'll need to do some currency conversion. For example, the net profit for 2012 was 5.6 billion DKK, which works out to about 1 billion USD.
I'm not aware of a reliable way to get official sales numbers for individual products or even product lines. The Mindstorms RIS 2.0 set was the best selling individual product as noted in this article from 2008:

The Mindstorms RIS 2.0 is the #1 selling product in the company's history, and there are over 1 million RCX bricks that have been sold.

TLG does occasionally release some product sales information, as shown in this Brickset post.
If you are interested in the current bestselling sets, there is a page on LEGO.com with this information. Brickpicker also has a section for the current bestselling sets on eBay.


text:
How much do bricks cost at the LEGO Store?
I have never been to a LEGO Store, and I am hoping to go to one soon. I was wondering if anyone knew how much bricks cost at the LEGO Store? I want to buy some minifigs and some bricks. Do they sell the bricks by pound, or price per brick, or something else?

The most common way to buy bricks from LEGO stores is by filling up a PaB cup:

There are two sizes of cups and occasionally other containers that can be filled during certain promotions. The large cup is $15.99 USD and the small cup is $8.99 USD currently. This isn't advertized, but you can also buy bricks in the boxes that they are shipped to the store in. These are $100 USD.
LEGO stores also typically allow you to build your own custom Minifigs. These include legs, torso, head, headgear, and an accessory. These are currently 3 for $9.99 USD.

Actually, a purchase from the Build-a-Mini tower only needs to total 15 pieces: the types don't matter. For instance, I bought my sister about 12 minifigure heads and a few other minifig parts as a gift, and the staff were totally fine with it. You're also allowed to change the individual torsos and pants to suit your liking. A double peg-legged set of legs, or a mermaid torso with hooks for hands are no problem!

Pick-a-brick is a pretty cost effective to get bricks, in my experience. Prices will vary by your locale, of course, but I have one data point. For a 17 EUR PAB cup, I got around 100 EUR worth of bricks using BrickLink's average price. Since the average price is often above the median, and the median is not shown on the page, I instead recalculated using the price of the lowest lot with sufficient bricks (so if my cup contained 20 of part X I used the price of the cheapest X lot with >= 20 qty) an still the value was around 42 EUR.


text:
Pushing LEGO city train
Are you able to push the LEGO city train around the tracks without damaging it or do you always have to use the batteries to make it go?

Possibly. But that answer didnt come up in google when I was searching. I think its two different questions with the same answer.

that's why it says your question already has an answer somewhere else. :-)

You can definitely use the trains without batteries and push them on the tracks. In fact, a lot of LEGO trains come without the battery option, and you can add it if you want.
Most people will get the battery option as it is fun to watch LEGO trains go on their own, but it is not necessary.
You can even build raised tracks and have the train go down on them by gravity...(c:
One thing I would also add is that it is best to either pull the train from the front, or push it from behind. Don't put pressure on it from the top; like how little kids tend to push trains putting their weight on the train as they push it from the top. That could damage the axles of the train.


text:
EV3 Education Edition software license
I got a new EV3 education kit.
Can I install it on a several computers or does the license work on one computer only?

I've got a similar question. I think it can be merged with the main question.
If I have single user license: 1. Can I reinstall EV3 software on the same computer after OS reinstall? 2. Can I install EV3 software on another computer if I uninstall EV3 from the first one?

That depends on which version of the Education Software you purchased:

LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Education EV3 Software Single UserAs the name implies, this is only allowed to be installed on a single computer: "The single license version of the EV3 Software allows you to install and run the software on one computer."
LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Education EV3 Software Site LicenceThis version allows you to install the software on a number of computers within a single location: "The site license version of the EV3 Software is necessary when installing on more than one computer. It allows you to install and run the software on all computers located at the address of the purchasing institution."

If you're planning on installing this on more than three computers the Site License is the way to go.
Note that the Home Edition is a separate download, and would have it's own licensing, but appears to be freely available, and installable on as many computers as you like - details of some of the differences can be found in this answer to "What is different between the EV3 Home and Educational sets?".

In response to Alex's comment:
Without seeing the full wording of the license, it's hard to advise you correctly, however:

Usually you can reinstall software on the same computer after an OS reinstall - depending on the validation mechanism you may need to contact Customer Services to get it reset, but I doubt this will be the case with this.
Again, this is typically supported by most software licenses - it's often things like transferring ownership that are expressly excluded.

If you purchased the education set through First Lego League, you are allowed to install on up to 10 computers.

According to the license agreement supplied with the software (using the activation code from the Software Single License) you may:
a. use the Software on one single computer;
b. use the Software on a second computer as long as the first and
        second computers are not used simultaneously;
c. copy the Software for back-up and archival purposes, provided any
        copy made must contain all of the original Software’s proprietary
        notices;
...
So: You may install on more than 1 computer, but not use the software on more than 1 computer simultaneously.
You can reinstall the software after OS re-installation, as long as you have a backup copy of the software. According to the licence document (with the activation code), you can download the software only once. This seems not to be the case at the moment, but might change in the future.
You can install on a second computer, without removing it from the first. You are not allowed to use it on both computers at the same time, however.


text:
Are variables always global with NXT?
New to NXT software. What I'm trying to do is get my motor to go one of 5 distances, but I'm not sure how to choose between those actions. What I thought of was setting 5 variables to 5 sensors. The idea is that if I activate 1 of 5 sensors (left button, enter button, right button, touch sensor, sound sensor), it will know which of the 5 variables are usable and simply does that.

Which programming language is this?

Yes, global.
5 variables may be 4 more than required. I think one is enough.
Set intSensor = 0
Loop until intSensor > 0
    If leftButton then intSensor = 1
    If rightButton then intSensor = 2
    If enterButton then intSensor = 3
    If bumped1 then intSensor = 4
    If soundVal > 50 then intSensor = 5
End Loop
If intSensor = 1 then moveForward(135)
. . .


text:
How many styles of element separators has LEGO produced?
I used to use other LEGO elements to separate tightly bound pieces in my collection. My thumb nail and I were quite pleased when I first discovered an actual brick separator LEGO introduced to ease the task. How many styles of LEGO element separators has LEGO made available to the general public?

Bricklink lists two:
OLD (in two colors):

NEW (in three colors):

There is one other 'separator', but it doesn't look like it's very good for bricks: RC Car Separator Tool - Metal

ETA: The Clickits Separator!

As of 2020 there is another brick separator designed for removing more tiles with a single motion and included with the Mosaic sets.

The DOTS theme added another implement in two different styles to remove individual tiles.

There's also the spanner (http://www.brickset.com/parts/?part=400626) which is used for removing tiles from dice in LEGO games.

Fair enough. Some games include the Crowbar instead: http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=92585

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


text:
Should I buy the retail or education version of Mindstroms EV3?
There are other questions that list the differences in the retail and educational version but I cannot judge which one I should buy (educational or retail).
I am buying Mindstorms for the first time, The educational kit looks more appealing to me as it has more parts, gyro sensor (I need this) and it is also $10 less than the retail version.
I am 27 year old and want to buy the best value for money and one I can get most out it. Any add-on suggestion will be also great as it is not available in my country and I would like to buy most of the stuff in one go.

Note that the Education version doesn't come with any software - if you want to use the full features of the Education EV3 brick (mostly around Data Logging), you will need to purchase the Education version of the software - thus making the price about £70-85 higher (which may still be cheaper than purchasing the Retail edition and adding the extra components).

Edu version is better. You can use Home software with it and it has more and better sensors (2 touch instead of 1 and ultrasound instead of infrared). It has better mechanical parts - better tracks and metal ball to use as third wheel.
It is also cheaper for some reason.

I believe it's cheaper because originally to use all the sensors you had to purchase the Education version of the software as well... I believe the more recent updates to the home software now support the additional sensors in the kit, so it's just the data logging you're missing out on.


text:
Are both of these slope designs genuine LEGO?

Are both of these slope designs genuine?
I am reasonably certain that this is just a mold change at some point, but it doesn't hurt to ask.  I also have two textured types in dark blue, and one smooth type in sand blue.

It looks like it could be either #3049 or #3049c. Part #3049 currently exists in Sand Blue in at least three sets. As for the change in smooth and rough texture you may wish to read this answer by Joubarc.

That's what I thought, when the Bricklink name referred to the the, 'inside stud holder,' I hadn't connected it to the tiny notches inside the brick, I was looking for a tube of some kind.


text:
Lego MOC joining query
I have a building query.
As you see the picture (attached).
I really don't know how the creator can attach the "3829c01" steering wheel to the "4070".
I try so many rod like parts can't get through the hole of "3829c01"
Hope anyone can help.
Thanks!

There might well be a "legitimate" way to achieve this build, but we have to be open to the possibility that the builder is "cheating". Many MOCers are happy to use "non-purist" techniques that wouldn't be acceptable in official LEGO models. For some, that includes modifying parts or using non-LEGO components. It is possible that the designer of this particular construction has used unorthodox methods. Do you have any other examples of work by the same builder? If s/he is a serial part-modifier then I wouldn't be surprised if that is what is going on here.

IE, where do these pictures come from?

I was able to find a few elements that are able to make this connection possible. I'm guessing the designer used some type of bar-sized element which is made from a different material that is able to compress slightly more than regular ABS. For example, the softer plastic used on some minifig weapons seems to work nicely:

Another option could be flexible Technic tubing. I was able to make this work, but it feels like a very tight fit. This tubing could also be cut to length under some definition of LEGO purism.

Of course, as Kramii pointed out, this could also just use non-standard elements or part modification.

They used a "lightsaber blade", more generally called a Bar 4L or some other Bar element. Bar elements are used extensively in SNOT building since they can pass through both Technic axle holes, Hero Factory double holes, open-hole studs, as well as many other elements like the Erhling/Headlight brick with the standard bar sized hole. The standard "clip" type elements also use the same diameter and so can also be added to these combinations.

Bar elements don't seem to fit through the hole in 3829c01 as noted in the question. You might be thinking of 30663. That part is commonly attached using bar elements.

Yup. "Bar 4L" can't get through "3829c01" steering wheel. I tried. Thanks for helping anyway :)

I'm fairly confident he forced the wheel to make it fit


text:
Identify bulldozer truck -probably from early 90"s
Have a bulldozer looking truck with green rocket boosters on it and silver arrows, silver knives on each side of the dome like top

Colours: black green, clear green dome
figure has clear green helmet, not an alien
bulldozer on chain and lifts by hand...

Do you have a picture?

This sounds like 2161 Aqua Dozer from the Aquaraiders theme.


text:
Suspension bridge building techniques
I am working on a suspension bridge with my sons and have encountered two problems.
Our technique:

8x6 plates for the roadway
1x8 bricks (with side-holes) underneath each side of the roadway to support the roadway, connect the plates, and link the Technic beams to the suspension rope.
Technic beams of varying lengths (2- to 9-studs) which hang from the suspension rope.
Twine, as the suspension rope, to connect the technic beams to the bases at either end of the bridge.

Our Dimensions:

6-studs wide
69 studs long.

Our problems:

The twine works, but is ugly and doesn't seem like proper Lego technique - is
there a more appropriate (i.e., LEGO-approved) material?
The Technic beams all lean as if pointing towards the center of a sphere; I
added a second 1x2 brick (with hole in the side) which allowed me to
pin the Technic beam in place but that seems bulky and is very
inelegant.  How do I construct a non-leaning, but more elegant solution?
I suppose that it would also be helpful to know whether there is a ratio for tower-height-to length that is most appropriate.

Do you have any particular dimensions in mind?

Added dimensions to my request.

LEGO do supply a black thread in a number of their sets - usually for cranes/lifts.

I've used white nylon rope / string for my Lego bridges.  When I think of twine I think of the tannish, brownish, rough, fraying type of string.  The nylon stuff is cleaner and in my humble opinion appears sharper.  A Lego purist would not allow any non-Lego element in a creation, but when it comes to suspension bridges, there are very few options.  I've viewed the use of plates (typically 1 X 6 , 8 , 10, etc.) for the main cables and suspenders, but this takes away from the cable feel and appears more like an eyebar suspension system - which were used before the invention of wire cables, but no major suspension bridge built in the past 140 years uses eyebars.
As for your issue with the leaning Technic beams... I'm unable to visualize the problem.
Could the Technic beams be leaning due to the pull of the twine? That is if the twine is not going straight vertically to the maincables above then there may be a pull on the Technic beams away from true with that of the plates.
A good tower to span ratio seems to be 1:10 and that is tower above the roadway as what is below the roadway is irrelevant, with ship clearance the contributing factor there.  Example... the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Japan has towers that are ~975 feet high.  The roadway at mid-span is ~320 feet above the water.  That makes for the tower above deck of ~655 feet.  The span of the AKB is 6,532 feet. This is close to the 1:10 ratio. The Golden Gate is a bit different with towers ~750 feet high and a deck height of ~220 feet.  That makes 530 feet of tower above deck and the span is 4,200 feet.  Now we're down to 1:8.  The difference is the steel in the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge's cable is much stronger due to advances in the 50+ years since the Golden Gate and thus shorter towers could then be built. The shorter the towers the more tension on the cables. Had the steel in the main cables stayed the same strength, then the towers for the  AKB would then had to have been at least 150 feet higher.
Here is a link to photos of two lego bridges I've built: http://www.flickr.com/photos/suspensionstayed/sets/72157610808577323/

A team in Perth (Australia) built a pure Lego suspension bridge that is quite long. All the links I can find are to youtube videos which is not very useful (here and here, for example).
This media story has the photo I've copied below


text:
Can I use the old 4.5V and 12V blue/gray era rails with newer trains?
I have a bunch of old 12v track.
I am looking to get my son into LEGO, but I am thinking of getting the remote set so we can expand it some more.
My question is, can I connect the new track to the old somehow, and do the new trains fit the old track?

You can absolutely run RC and PF trains on 12V track. You can leave out the center conducting rail since it won't be delivering any power to the train, unless you are planning to run both 12V and remote trains.
The main LEGO train sets have all used the same rail gauge, which is the main thing that matters.
If you'd like to use both your 12V track and the new RC track that you get, they can be joined together in various ways. Here's an example from a LUGNET thread:

There are also a few places where you can get third party adapters if you'd prefer to go that route.

Thank you. Thinking about swapping out the 12v motor in my 2 old trains for new remote ones. I have read 12v is the superior system, but i am concerned about the lack of expansion. Thanks for your help.

Nice digging, I have been looking for that article & picture, but without much success

All LEGO train tracks have had the same gauge, so newer trains will fit old tracks, including 12V/4.5V. Since the wheels themselves are not exactly the same, you may run into some small issues at points, but it should be OK most of the time - and using RC track wouldn't fully prevent the issue anyway. (If anything, I suspect trains woudl actually derail more on RC track than 12V)
As for connecting tracks, it's not impossible but will require some work. You can either place the track as close as possible to each other (usually using a jumper plate as the closest you can get is half a brick away). If you do this in a straight line, the train should have no difficulty rolling on the gap. Another solution would be to cut a RC track piece in half. Of course, LEGO modification is usually not something we discuss a lot here, but there are a lot of people doing track modifications, and usually for much more complicated goals.
In any case, your best bet is probably to have a full 12v layout and then have some RC parts branch off it rather than mix both systems all over the place.
I wouldn't say that 12V is superior, to be honest. There are definite advantages: the remote control of points and signals is certainly fantastic, and the more compact point design makes for more interesting layouts, especially in stations.
However, the setup is longer, parts are more fragile (which was true even when the parts were new) so you don't want to change your layout too often (from a kid's point of view, RC or 9V is much much more easier for that; track geometry isn't always easy to manage (even something as simple as using a pair of points around a 90° turn won't work) (while RC now has the flex-track which basically mean you won't have any geometry problems at all any longer); electric contacts are notoriously hard to maintain in good state (especially if you need to clean up all the electric track inserts you have).
All in all, using 12V is great if you have some, but I wouldn't bother pursuing it and trying to acquire new parts. The good thing is, if you're going to have both together, you'll get a better opinion yourself of how good they play together. In time, you could also consider abandoning 12V altogether, and if you want to go as far as reselling your collection, it shouldn't be a problem.
Frankly, the main issue with RC is the lack of automated points, but even for that there are custom solutions, even pneumatic ones. Signals can't be used with non-conductive track either (using 12V signals on 9V tracks would be very easy though); but with a RC train I'm not sure that makes a lot of sense.

As I have a 3D printer I just printed up a number of track adaptors like this. It works well. The print files are available free from "Thingiverse".

Thank you for the link, will try to get someone to print it for me. Have you been lucky with PLA ?

link alternative : https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:593222

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


text:
Ultrasonic sensor option missing in Wait block in Labview
I have hooked up the EV3 brick and the Ultrasonic sensor (on port 4) from the older mindstorms set 8527, and using the most recent Labview software on windows 7.
I am trying to test the model for distance and to stop a few cm from the wall. The WAIT block in Labview does NOT have an option for Ultrasonic Sensor, but has one for Infrared Sensor, which does not seem to work. Has anyone noticed this missing menu option?
*NOTE: The EV3 displays the distance in cm when the unltrasonic senor is connected to port 4 on the EV3.

Once you download the block from the Lego site, you can import it into the LabVIEW by using the Tools tab and then Block Import, but first you need to be in an open program.  LabVIEW will prompt you to browse your folders to find the downloaded file, and then select Import at the bottom of the window.  Finally, you will need to close LabVIEW and reopen it to begin using the block in all of your programs.

You can download US and gyro blocks from lego.com.


text:
What's the sight of the ultrasonic sensor according to the distance of the object?
Hey I'm programming a sumobot for a first-year university Civil Engineering project. We should need the sight of the ultrasonic sensor according tot the distance of an object.
For example, the sensor can detect an object that is located 30 cm away 55° to the right of the sensor, but an object 50 cm away from the sensor can only be detected to 45° to the right of the sensor (approximately). Does anyone know the relationship (maybe a function?) between the sight and the distance? Thanks!

ETH Zurich faculty/students conducted some experiments on exactly this back in 2006.  The relevant parts of their results have been reproduced below.  For more information, visit their website: http://www.tik.ee.ethz.ch/mindstorms/sa_nxt/index.php?page=tests_us.
The chart below shows accuracy of the sensor at detecting a 14.5 cm x 9.5 cm x 6 cm block at various distances and angles from the sensor.

Distanz is Distance in CM, Winkel is Angle in degrees, and Relative Fehler is relative error.
According to the researchers:

The results show that the ultrasonic sensor should always be placed in horizontal position, other positions decrease as well the field of vision as the sighting distance of the sensor. The sensor seems to be a bit 'blind' on the left eye, which can be explained by the fact that the left eye is actually the receiver of the ultrasonic wave while the right eye is the sender.

Could you please summarise the answer (or, possibly, copy (with permit of the ETHZ people) it in its entirety) here, in case the link goes dead? Not assuming any external resources is a part of what makes a great StackExchange answer.


text:
Can I use the NXT 2.0 programming software with my educational set?
I have bought the 9797 NXT base educational set. It didn't include any software.
I know that I can freely download the NXT 2.0 software (which was included in the 8784 retail set). Is it possible to use this version of the software with my education set?

Yes, you can - I have done so on numerous occasions, and actually prefer to use the retail software over the education version even when working with the education kit.
The NXT bricks in the two sets are exactly identical. You might need to update the NXT's firmware before using the brick with the retail software, however.

Yes, I do this with mine because the consumer version of the software has more features than the education (but no datalog and you won't have the pieces for the building instructions that come in the software in your kit)


text:
Is it safe to drink from Pick A Brick cups?
I have a habit of drinking from the Lego Pick A Brick cups.  I sent an email to Lego to ask if they were rated safe for drinking from, and they refused to endorse any use of Lego products that wasn't originally intended.
They did point out that the bricks were made from ABS, but a PAB cup is not a brick, nor did they say if ABS was rated safe for food use.
Has anyone tested the plastic in the PAB cups to see what they are, or if they are safe for food use?

The Pick-a-Brick cups are made from polypropylene, as evidenced by the #5 resin identification code on the bottom. Polypropylene is widely considered a safe plastic for storing food and drink, and it is stable at very high temperatures (i.e., temperatures higher than your dishwasher). I would feel comfortable drinking out of one of the cups.


text:
How to program two NXT motors to run at the same time?
I'm working on a project with multiple axis of movement… trying to get two motors to run at the same time in order to achieve a mix of two!

Can you describe the result you're trying to achieve?  I don't understand the "mix of two" part.

I'm building a robot that will draw specific lines on a popsicle stick. The stick is on a table that moves up and down. The pen is attached to something that makes it move left and right, forward and back. I can achieve a straight line… but for a diagonal line I have run into trouble.

In NXT-G if you place a block after another block it will run in succession. To get two motors running at the same time you can place two motor blocks, one at the start and the other just above or below. Drag the sequence beam (the white Technic beam) to the second block to complete the circuit.
Don't forget to make sure the motor blocks are controlling separate ports and that both ports on the NXT brick are attached to motors.
You could just use one block to control the two ports but they would both have to be running in the same direction.

It depends on the programming language, but assuming you're using NXT-G then the Move block may be sufficient.  The Move block is designed to coordinate 2 motors so that they both rotate at the same speed over a distance.  The Move block has settings for speed/power of the motion.  There is a forward/backward setting.  There is also a steering setting, which is implemented as a slider bar giving about 20 ratios of motor output.
Setting speed to 75, forward and steering = 0 should give you a diagonal line.
Change the steering to something +- 100 to give other diagonal lines.
To give straight horizontal or vertical lines, turn one motor off, the other on.

Both answers helped, thanks! It was just a little thing I had to change in the command… now to get the exact angle of diagonal I want is a whole other story :P

If you want two things to run at the same time place the first just in front of but not touching the start block and the other just below the first. Click on the joiners (grey ovals on the end where blocks join) and press wire from here and tap on the first code. Do the same with the second.

do 2 starts. From the orange. :)

Hi krisblom! I believe you have the correct answer, but it would be much nicer if you could flesh it out a bit better. E.g. by including detailed steps, maybe screenshots, etc.


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How do I repair loose arm joints?
The arms on my LEGO minifigures are loose.  How can I repair these to remain in place when I move the arm to the location I want it to stay in?

I have been experimenting to find the answer to this question, and today I have finally found it. I stumbled across a youtube vid of a child explaining his method, and mine was built off of his.  His idea is to take labels, cut them into tiny pieces that are stuck onto the arm at the point where it connects into the torso. This works, all too well. Here's the problem. The arms get incredibly tight, as a result of there being too much pressure. This pressure slowly puts stress on the torso, and within weeks you will notice the modified figures busting open at the seam off the torso. This is generally on the sides, at the base, and it slowly cracks it's way up to the armpit permanently destroying your figures. I found this out the hard way when 10 of my superhero figures were destroyed. Still, I am thankful because this lead to my discovery. Once the figures had been destroyed, I quickly removed the labels from all the others I had done, to stop them from suffering the same fate. What I realized was that once the arms had been doctored, after removing the label (I used small pieces of a cat hair roller, and I'd advise you use this because I'm not sure labels are sticky enough) the arms retained Their clutch. This is a result of the stickiness staying with the arms after the sticky paper/cat roller material had been removed, but it feels like a perfect arm. The clutch is there, and you will not have to worry about the torso cracking. So now that you know, don't make the same mistake I did. This is what I would advise.

Remove the loose arm.
cut a small square off the cat roller.
place it on the connected part of the loose arm.
insert it into a torso that you have double of, or don't care about.
set it down, and wait an hour.
remove the arm, take off the sticky paper.
carefully insert arm back into the original torso.

Now you have a perfect arm. It has amazing clutch, and best of all because the clutch comes from a sticky texture instead of immense pressure, your torsos will stay intact.

Could you include the link to the video that inspired you?

For non-english speakers, what do you mean by "cut a small square off the cat roller" ?

You can replace the arm with a new one by carefully removing the old arm and snapping in a newer one. Please note that this should not be done too often, as the procedure will damage the connection and could even crack the torso.
LEGO never intended the arms to be replaceable. It is not like snapping and unsnapping bricks, however it can be done a couple of times with no ill side-effects.
In my experience the most times you can replace an arm on a minifigure without making the connection permanently damaged is 3. Maybe 4 times if you are lucky and you find an arm that is very tight.
The best tactic is to take care of minifigures carefully. Constantly moving their joints will make those connection loose. If you are working on things like stop-motion videos where you are frequently adjusting the joints, it is best to use cheap minifigures. You can still play with more valuable minifigures, but it is best not to constantly move their arm around. Arms get loose faster than legs, so while you can put the minifigure in sitting, standing, or running position many times before the joint will get loose, arms are a bit more delicate.

Answering a "how do I fix this" question with an answer that combines "don't break it" with "maybe buy a new one" is not a very useful answer - you're not entirely wrong of course, but still the question was about fixing something that's already in disrepair not about how to keep that thing in good repair.

I took "repair" to mean bringing the minifigures to as close to their original state as possible. The only way to achieve this is to replace the arms, which is a simple and (in most cases) inexpensive repair procedure. Other people did mention temporary repair methods like putting a bit of sticky substance in the arm-socket, or building up the arm socket with superglue or tape to make the arms fit tighter. They all work, it just depends on what the person is trying to achieve when repairing a minifig.

Put a little clear nail polish or paint on the part that connects into the torso. Not too much, though, or the torso will crack

This is what I do, not only on loose arm joints, but on almost every brick that needs tightening. Beware to only put a very tiny amount.

I have done this many times over the years, and it is a fantastic solution.
Separate the parts, and take a very tiny amount of crazy glue and put a dab inside the joint. Let it dry overnight before reassembling so you don't accidentally glue the figure together. The super thin layer of glue will put extra mass into the connection, and because it is crazy glue, it won't easily wear off. Because it is inside the joint, it is completely invisible when assembled.
You might want to mask your parts, as crazy glue dripped on Lego will permanently mark it, and I would suggest practicing this technique a few times on junk parts or trashed figures, because when I say very tiny amounts, I mean it. Lego fits very tightly to begin with, so even worn Lego is only going to need a little bit of material to fill the space.

Let them soak in sea-saltwater for a few hours. Rinse them off and they will have all tight joints.

Will have to try that someday

Sounds interesting

Leog is pourous and will absorb some liquids. I tried leaving some Lego in a weak bleach water solution for a few days to clean them and when they were dryed off, I found that they had very very slightly swolen and they stuck together tigher. This was permanent, and they still the same years later.

Best way that I've just tried is to take a small and sharp screw driver and make one or two small scratches on the points where arms connect to the torso.

Like others have said - liquid crazy glue. But I must warn against putting glue on the arm itself, put the crazy glue on the socket in the torso.
I speak from unfortunate experience when I say that putting even a little too much glue on the arm can cause even more damage to the joint, and if you put that tiny amount (and I mean tiny) around the inside of the socket it works much better and lasts much longer.

What is "liquid crazy glue"?

Crazy Glue is a brandname for superglue in the US.  Before you use the glue, it will of course be a liquid.

What worked for me for Playmobil minifigures was the following. Use transparent glue that dries in a matter of seconds (sometimes called "superglue"). Apply a small drop under the armpit (as if applying deodorant :-) and keep moving the arms while the glue dries (say for some 30 seconds). If the arm is still too loose, just repeat this a second time.
This does leave a tiny mark of glue on the armpits, but it is subtle enough that it doesn't bother me.

You can superglue them or buy a new arm.


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How do I quickly count pieces?
I have LEGO pieces divided into partitions in something like a tackle box, each of which indicates how many pieces are supposed to be in that partition.  With few exceptions, each partition only holds one type of part, like this:

One slot might have, say, 5 axles, and another might have 82 friction pegs.
How can I quickly verify if there are the right number of pieces?
I've been thinking that if I went a partition at a time, I could take all the pieces out, spread them over a surface, shine them under a webcam, and have a computer or phone spit out a count for me.  Perhaps there is a mechanical way to do this, or maybe using a (really accurate?) scale would do it.
Any recommendations?

Tackle boxes are very common for storing Lego, I use them myself. Unfortunately I've not found or seen a good way to count the pieces that are in them. The easy way is to take everything out of them, which I suspect is what you're trying to avoid.
One trick with that is to get a piece of cardboard (or plywood) twice the size of the tackle box, cut a hole in the centre, place it over the tackle box with the hole over a compartment, then invert it with your hand under the hole! With a little wiggling you'll end up with only the pieces from that compartment in your hand. Or, if you lose your grip, everything all over the floor. But when you have a lot of compartments or a lot of pieces, that method is much faster than picking pieces out of compartments by hand. Especially small tiles.
Using a counting scale is a very common way to count small items like this. Lego weigh parts, bags and sets repeatedly during manufacture as part of their quality control process - that's one big reason why so few sets have missing pieces.
The problem you have is that while it's easy to weigh the whole tackle box, that doesn't give you much information about what exactly is missing. I suspect that the uncertainty in the weight (from the variable weight of grime and water on the box) will be about the same as the weight of the smaller pieces.
Doing a search for "image analysis counting" I found this NIH paper that suggests that it's possible to do what you're looking for. I suspect the main problem will be getting images that show the entirity of each well in the tackle box, but you may find that just taking a photo from as far away as possible works. Then you have to set up and calibrate the software. I doubt it will work with irregular pieces or where you can't see every item, though. But it's worth trying just to reduce the overall effort.
Worth doing if you're going to be counting the contents a lot of times. Or you're interested in the problem.

Thank you, Ӎσᶎ.  I'm not at all opposed to taking the parts out of the tackle box -- it never even occurred to me that one might be able to count them otherwise.  Its just that when I have more than a dozen pieces of one type, I want to be able to count them quickly after I've gotten them out of the box, just to check that the quantity is right.  That paper you linked to looks very interesting.

Weighing the whole box might help if you just want to check if it's complete - unless you fear extra parts.
If you want to weigh parts or group of parts, there are scales which have an "item" function - you weigh one, then set it as unit, and then you can use the scale to give a count of the parts on it rather than its total weigh. Precision is important, but usually it's good enough.
Also, if you want to count parts manually, an easy way is to spread them and set apart the ones you've counted, per group of 3 or 4 - and count the groups, not the parts. Taking the example of the friction pegs, you'd spread them, then push 4 aside and count 1, then 4 again and count 2, and so on. After you count 20, you should have 2 left. Note that usually the remainder is enough to get an idea of what's missing or not; so the count part is nearly optional - if there are two pegs left at the end, it could be that 4 are missing, but the likeliness of that is lower. Or, you could do it twice: once with groups of 4, the second time with groups of 5 - both times you need to end up with 2 left. Basically, you just use modulo arithmetic to check only the reminder; which is like the "proof by nine" - it doesn't prove your result is correct, but catches most errors.

Thanks for the reply.  I especially love the idea about grouping and counting the remainder.


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Getting started with Mindstorms and/or Technic
I'm looking into getting started with LEGO.
Can you briefly describe the difference between Technic and Mindstorms? I've read that the parts and compatible, so I suppose it's the functions that differ. Am I correct to assume that Mindstorms is more about using sensors and programming your robot so it can act on its own, while Technic needs to be (remotely) controlled?
I'm on a tight budget so I can't just buy anything I want. Assume I can afford around €50-100 a month and I am starting with €150. Also assume I have equal interest in the above mentioned principles about Technic and Mindstorms (if correct). Can you recommend how to get started with either or both?
I see the latest Mindstorms set - EV3 - is around €250. Would it be better to wait a bit and get it, or just get some Technic sets now, and get it later (once my collection is bigger)? Is it viable to just get the control parts and not the whole Mindstorms set? I suppose getting a bigger set is better than getting several small ones.
I'm open to specific sets recommendations, or just general advice - I don't mind spending time browsing and reading on sets.

In my opinion, Mindstorms is a subset of the Technic line up (Like how Police is a subset of Lego City). So most of the parts are interchangeable. The only part incompatibility issue you will come across is the electronics.
I would say go with Technic first. Learning how to build studless and basic Lego mechanisms will be more useful than robotics (initially). Buy the bigger sets as they have more parts and lower price per part (typically).
50-100 quid a month is quite healthy. Once established, Lego has a pretty low maintenance cost (If you don't want every set). You will find Brick Owl and Brick Link a good source of specific parts.
I suggest a browse of http://sariel.pl/ and http://www.technicbricks.com/ to get some ideas on what is possible.

Thanks for your answer, makes sense. I came across Sariel at YouTube and was instantly impressed. I'm most likely getting his book at some point. Thanks for the other reference. I'm now considering getting the LEGO 4x4 Crawler Set 9398.

Sariel's book is great. Great examples and a good reference.


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Invert motor block in EV3
New to EV3 so this should be simple. I would like my simple wheeled robot to go backwards. So I put two invert motor blocks, one for port B the other for port C followed by a move steering block. The motors ran forwards! I then tried an invert motor black followed by a large motor block and that worked just fine. Does invert motor not work with move steering or am I missing something obvious?

In EV3, use a negative number for the power to go backwards.

Fantastic. So simple when you know how!

We experimented with the invert motor block at the beginning of this year's FLL season with disappointing results. The invert motor block only worked with the large motor block and not the move steering or move tank blocks.
Use a negative number in the power field to go in reverse.

So any ideas as to how to get move steering/move tank blocks to drive in reverse?


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Where can I get RCX 1.0 software?
We've got a LEGO RCX 1.0 without any Software.
I've installed the USB IR Tower, what should I do now?
I've downloaded the EV3 Software from the LEGO homepage and thought I could use this, but I don't know how.
Can you tell me, how my son could play with it?

The EV3 software is not backwards compatible with RCX 1.0.
You will need to install the software from the CD-ROM that would have come with your set. If you do decide to purchase one online, you can do so from a 3rd party marketplace such as Bricklink.
Be sure to install the correct version of the CD-ROM (RCX 1.0) and check to see if your operating system is compatible with the software.

thank you for your answer!
I´ll see I´ve to get the CD-Rom...at first I´ll look for it in an Europe shop, if I find one. Thaks!

You can use any version of the original Robotics Instruction Set (RIS) with this brick: 1.0, 1.5, or 2.0. There is also one release of software from LEGO Education that was the last that supported the RCX brick, but I don't know much about that. Any of these will work with the brick you have.
These releases are Windows only, AFAIK. If you don't run Windows, your biggest hurdle will be getting a Windows VM working with the serial or USB IR tower.
It will upload the latest firmware to the brick, so even if your brick says "1.0" on it, it will accept any version of the bundled (or supplied by you) firmware. That is, firmware versions 3.09, 3.28, 3.32 will all work on the original RCX 1.0.
So, my advice is to find a copy of RIS 2.0 for your son. You should be able to find it on eBay or Bricklink.
I see there is another answer that attempts to help you find the RIS 2.0 package.

Instead of the LEGO RIS software, you can use BricxCC to write programs for the RCX.
It's not graphical as the LEGO software but is intended to teach programming instead of drawing blocks on screen.
It works well under Wine if you're using Linux.

Note that the related questions and answers talk about how RIS under WINE has problems with USB towers, which the OP specifically uses.


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What are LEGO baseplates made from?
I want to lasercut a green LEGO baseplate for a project, but cannot cut a plastic with the laser if it contains PVC or Vinyl.
Does anyone know if the green baseplates are free from these materials.

I tried to make an abs slurry using pure acetone, using 32x32 tan baseplate, but it didn't dissolve, just a soft bubble gum consistency settled at the bottom of the jar, so I don't think it is pure !

LEGO baseplates are made from ABS plastic, like most of the opaque rigid plastic LEGO elements since 1970. ABS is a thermoplastic consisting of a styrene monomer with the addition of an acrylonitrile momomer and a butadiene monomer. There is no PVC or vinyl present.
I suggest reviewing this thread for more on laser-cutting ABS. It is not a trivial matter to get a good result.
Edited to add:
In response to a query from a "safe toy" website, LEGO categorically stated that they do not use PVC in any of their products except in rare instances like electrical wiring insulation.

Not all LEGO parts are ABS, far from it; there are 10-20 different material used depending on the usage. As the baseplates are slightly more flexible, I'd wager they are actually not ABS. I don't think PVC or Vinyl have been used at all, though.

I did not say all Lego parts are ABS; I specifically mentioned "rigid plastic" Lego elements. Obviously I am not counting the molded rubber pieces, the strings, the capes, etc. (I concede that, upon further research, the transparent Lego elements may not be made from ABS.) The baseplates are, in fact, ABS, and they are only more flexible because they are thinner than other Lego elements.
Brickowl thinks they are made of ABS: http://brickowl.com/catalog/lego-baseplate-32-x-32-3811

Well let me rephrase then: "Not all rigid LEGO parts are ABS", and that's why I had doubt about the baseplates. I also believe the molding process of baseplates might be different as well (done in sheets), which may require a different plastic. Granted, your brickowl link is the only indication we have so far, but since they seem to put "ABS" on everything (even transparent bricks which are known to never be ABS), I'm not too sure I'm willing to trust them either.

According to https://www.lego.com/en-us/sustainability/product-safety/materials Lego uses HIPS to make baseplates.

They are made from ABS injected into a mold. I actually got to see Legos made at legoland, a truly amazing experience!


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What pieces do I need to make suit swappers from the Lego Batman video game?
My son has asked Santa to bring him Lego Batman suit swappers to use with his minifigures, both Batman and Robin versions. Can anyone advise as to what pieces are needed for these? All help is very much appreciated by Santa and his elves.

You mean one of these?

Basically, you'll need two circle of these 4 x 4 corner bricks:

Separated by some of these Plate 1 x 2 with Handle:

I don't think the centre red tile with an "R" on it exists, so I think you'll have to make one out of card or something.

Which will get you close, but sadly not all the way there - the outer corner pieces are plates, not bricks, but I can't seem to find any real parts like that - the closest I got is a full quarter circle :( The centre tile is usually in 4 parts in the game, but even like that doesn't appear to actually exist.

@Zhaph-BenDuguid You're right, the required parts don't actually exist. I think the parts I've suggested are the best you can do.


text:
Where I can find the pieces needed in a set?
I own this set, LEGO® Kingdoms King's Castle 7946.

One day I let my wife's best friend's kids play with it.
(Not the best idea in the world but they had a blast!)
Needless to say, the castle ended up being torn to pieces pretty much.
It has sat in a box for a few months now and I really want to dig it back up for a rebuild.
The problem I have now is I don't know every piece I need.
I'm sure some of the pieces have been lost but I have a massive box of extra pieces. Is there a website anywhere that contains the piece count of a set and what pieces are included in the set?
Any ideas on what I can do? or do I have to try my best to rebuild it?

If you don't physically have the instructions, you can look up the set ID on LEGO's Customer Services page dedicated to providing building instructions.
The inventory list is usually found right after the final building step. For #7946 the parts list can be found on pages 74-75.
If for whatever reason you cannot access the instructions from the LEGO site, perhaps the file has been removed or you're unable to view PDF files you can still find a part list on sites like Bricklink and Brickset (see parts tab).

Awesome! Thank you so much, I've been wanting to rebuild this one for a while now to place it on my desk. THANK YOU!!!

Let's not forget Peeron.  You can lookup the parts in your sets, and the site will keep an inventory of the parts you have.
The parts for set 7946-1 on www.peeron.com

authors: Саша Щербаков


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Are there any LEGO base plates that are compatible with Duplo?
I'm thinking of making a LEGO table but my two children both use different LEGO sizes. My oldest uses normal LEGO and my youngest uses DUPLO. I'm wondering if there is a base plate that both types of LEGO bricks will work on?

A regular LEGO base plate will work with DUPLO bricks. As demonstated in this question, the two systems are compatible in a number of ways. Here's an example of System base plates with DUPLO bricks attached:

It should be noted that not all DUPLO bricks will be able to connect to a System baseplate. Some examples of incompatibility are round bricks and some of the minifigs and animals. In order for these to connect you'll need a DUPLO brick or baseplate on top of the System baseplate.

How secure is this kind of connection? I'd almost think that it'd work better the other way around, with a DUPLO base and a generous amount of extra LEGO 2x4s that can be used to build a foundation for any LEGO structures. Though a look at google seems to indicate that most large DUPLO baseplates don't have the hollow pegs that allow for compatibility.

You're right - the DUPLO baseplates don't really allow System bricks to connect, while the System -> DUPLO connection is quite good.

Regular LEGO baseplates can accommodate both LEGO and DUPLO. DUPLO obviously won't stick to regular baseplates as securely as on a DUPLO plate because the studs are much smaller, but they are compatible.
There are some pre-made LEGO tables that already have baseplates (or third-party LEGO compatible baseplates) incorporated in the top surface, or you can make your own table and cover the top with baseplates.
LEGO sells baseplates separately on their website, and they are also available at stores like Toys'R'Us. I have seen the pre-made tables at Toy'R'Us as well, and they are also available on eBay.

I would also add here that there are some excellent third-party options as well for baseplates. For example StrictlyBriks.com makes both LEGO compatible baseplates, large plates and DUPLO plates in a number of different colors, styles and shapes. These are the ones I use because they are cheaper than LEGO baseplates and come in significantly more colors. The quality is the same as LEGO. I also use them as wall-coverings for displaying minifigs and small builds.

What you need is a Nilo brick mat. It's a rubbery mat that has standard (small) lego studs on one side, and dulpo on the other. You can buy them on Amazon, Ebay or straight from Nilo. http://www.nilotoys.com/acc.htm

While I've actually seen these Nilo products, this does NOT answer the Original Poster's question.

Who ever this "gev" person is... Your comments are very rude and completely out of line. I actually found the users here to be very helpful and will be looking up the Nilo brick mat myself! They DID answer the original question and offered solutions to those of us searching.

While not meeting the request for a "baseplate" I think the Nilo Brick Mat could indeed be an answer if you're after a "one or the other" solution. That said, System Baseplates work nicely for both sizes, and will out-last your DUPLO interest ;)


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Do you know where I can get a Brick Vac?
I am in dire need of a Brick Vac.  The 2 boys 5 and 7 are building daily, but still have plenty of strays on the floor and the end of the day. With the growing popularity of Lego City building sets, along with Star Wars sets and Legos in general, we need to get Lego to start making the Brick Vac again, to save on mom and Gramma's feet. !

If you really want one, these can still be acquired on Bricklink:
http://www.bricklink.com/search.asp?itemID=45363


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Can I open my old NXT program files in the new EV3 software so I don't have to rewrite the entire program?
I would like to use or convert NXT-G 2.0 programs for use with the new EV3 software.  Is there an easy way to convert them besides just building them from scratch in the EV3 environment?

No.
Unfortunately there are no shortcuts. EV3-G can not open programs written in NXT-G.
To quote Lego:

9.5 I have a LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT2.0 (8547) set; will there be an upgrade/conversion kit from NXT to LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 (31313)?
  No, but LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 offers backward compatibility to NXT. You can therefore use your NXT Intelligent Brick together with Intelligent EV3 Bricks in many situations. However, if you want the full benefit of LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3, you will need to transition to Intelligent EV3 Bricks.


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How do I unlock the sunday surprise on the 2013 Star Wars Advent Calendar?
I'm trying to enter the code on the back of door number 1 into the Lego Star Wars site but it doesn't work.  Does anyone know how / where to input the code?

This question is a little ambiguous, there's almost 2 questions being asked here, 1) how do I get the instructions, 2) how do I use the code. I believe the OP thinks that they're the same question. The gev answer below is the simple answer to the question #1, question #2 is what the duplicate says it is. I'm going  to edit the question to make it actually the question I have, and the duplicate question has, namely #1

I don't think he was asking how to build the figures everyday. He is asking where do you go to use the code in the figures to see the SUPRISE they have. I tried to find out where to input it online and had the same issue nowhere to put it. Help please

I just found this website:
http://www.lego.com/en-us/starwars/games/web-games/advent-calendar
it has special stuff each day, the place you enter the code is the image of jango fett in the bottom middle.

By "the build instructions" you mean how to assemble the day one model? It's right there on the flap. I doubt there's anything more to be had.

Well, now that the original post has been modified to hell and back, my 'Answer' makes no sense at all. :P

The instructions to build it are on the back of the flap and to enter the code go to lego.com/starwars and go to fun and games or something. It mentions games. Anyways, there is a game called "Advent Calendar" and you click on a button torwards the bottom of the game screen (which you can make fullscreen) and enter the codes. They just unlock minifigures that you can be while playing the game.


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Where did "Cheese Slope" get its name?
Why is this piece called a "cheese slope"?  "Slope" I get; but "cheese"?

Aside from the shape, it is also true that the cheese slope is the same color as cheddar cheese.

Sadly it comes in a number of different colours, not all of which could be considered cheese. On top of that, the slope in the question is more of a Red Leicester, rather than a Cheddar.

custom names bother me sometimes, as not only do some of them only make sense in certain situations, like this one, but also it can make it hard to look for pieces on say, brick link. cause more often then not the name is NOTHING like the official name of the brick. the id for this piece is 54200 btw for anyone wondering.

@BoxNblox Welcome to Bricks.SE! Other sites may do a little better on search terms than Bricklink. For example, Rebrickable returns appropriate elements for search terms like "cheese", "erling", and "travis".

A cheese slope resembles a chunk of cheese from a cheese wheel. They happen to also be the perfect size for minifigures to interact with:

‘Lego Cheese Farm’  by AIatariel, http://www.flickr.com/photos/alatariel1181/10582728886/

Although "cheese slope" seems to be the more common term now, they are also sometimes called "cheese wedge slopes," which refers more clearly to the origin of the name.

According to BrickLink, the cheese slope, part number 54200, first appeared in a handful of sets in 2004.
In the mid-1990s, the AFOL community hung out on the Usenet newsgroup rec.toys.lego and its predecessor, alt.toys.lego. A Google Groups search of the archives of these newsgroups finds no references to the cheese slope.
At some point in the late 1990s, the AFOLs gradually migrated to LUGNET, which had a member area, a forum, a set reference, a part reference, and other features. A search of the LUGNET forum finds a message from 13 June 2006 referring to "cheese wedge slopes." The message author seems to assume that readers are familiar with the term, so the cheese term was probably in common use before this message. Other LUGNET messages from ~2008 also refer to "cheese wedge slopes" rather than the current term "cheese slope."
In the early 2000s, the AFOLs started buying and selling, and later conversing, on Dan Jezek's BrickLink, which he called BrickBay for the first two years of its existence. The early BrickLink used to delete forum messages after 6 months, so the messages from the 2004-2006 period no longer exist.
Based on the part information on BrickLink and the message on LUGNET, it seems that the term "cheese slope" AKA "cheese wedge slope" came into being sometime between the introduction of the part in 2004 and mid-2006.

As was mentioned in another answer, the cheese slope looks like a slice of cheese at around  minifigure scale. This part has also actually been used as cheese in official sets, including Medieval Market Village: