text:
Is there a changelog for any firmware updates on an EV3 brick?
When a firmware update is released for the Mindstorms EV3 brick, are there usually any changelogs for them explaining what's been added or changed? If so, where can they be found?

Update:
I have found a changelog in the firmware source code available on the download page at http://mindstorms.lego.com. The file is lms2012/doc/Implementation. Here is the history since v1.03 which shipped with the first retail EV3s.

/******************************************************************************
 * APPLICATION VERSIONS
 *****************************************************************************/
/*! \page applicationversions Application Versions
 *
 *  This section describes the relative changes from previous version
 *
 *
 *\version lms2012_v109D
 *
 *-# As v109H but telnet enabled with password "Just a bit off the block!"                    \n
 *
 *
 *\version lms2012_v109
 *
 *-# As v1081 but version changed to 1.09                                                     \n
 *
 *
 *\version lms2012_v1081
 *
 *-# Telnet disabled                                                                          \n
 *
 *
 *\version lms2012_v108
 *
 *-# Support for edimax added                                                                 \n
 *
 *
 *\version lms2012_v107
 *
 *-# As v1066 but version changed to 1.07                                                     \n
 *
 *
 *\version lms2012_v1066
 *
 *-# ISSUE 4330 - sub call aliases block local issue UN-fixed                                 \n
 *
 *
 *\version lms2012_v1065
 *
 *-# Bluetooth bundle changed to "BA9Q76VTQG" "com.lego.education.ev3"                        \n
 *
 *
 *\version lms2012_v1064
 *
 *-# Bluetooth bundle changed to "BA9Q76VTQG" "com.lego.edu.ev3"                              \n
 *
 *
 *\version lms2012_v1063
 *
 *-# Bluetooth bundle changed                                                                 \n
 *
 *
 *\version lms2012_v1062
 *
 *-# Bluetooth bundle changed for test                                                        \n
 *
 *
 *\version lms2012_v1061
 *
 *-# "Brick Name" app implemented                                                             \n
 *
 *
 *\version lms2012_v106_140502
 *
 *-# As v105a but version changed to 1.06                                                     \n
 *
 *
 *
 *\version lms2012_v105a_140327
 *
 *-# IIC issue with automatic update blocking access fixed in "d_iic.c"                       \n
 *-# UART protocol escape future issue fixed in "d_uart.c"                                    \n
 *
 *
 *
 *\version lms2012_v105H_140211
 *
 *-# As v104x but version changed to 1.05                                                     \n
 *
 *
 *
 *\version lms2012_v104x_140206
 *
 *-# ISSUE 4330 - sub call aliases block local issue fixed                                    \n
 *-# Number of memory handles rised from 250 to 500 (MAX_HANDLES = 500)                       \n
 *-# Color sensor mode 4 data checksum issue fixed                                            \n
 *
 *
 *\version lms2012_v104w_140110
 *
 *-# Test app "Sensors" changed to use "Modes" instead of "Views" in mode change limit        \n
 *-# opINPUT SETUP - IIC third party sensor read/write issue fixed                            \n
 *-# opINPUT READY_IIC implemented                                                            \n
 *-# More documentation about sensor reading (see \ref thirdpartydevicedesign "Third Party Device Design Guidelines ") \n
 *
 *
 *\version lms2012_v104v_131205
 *
 *-# Release of version 104u for testing                                                      \n
 *
 *
 *\version lms2012_v104u_131205
 *
 *-# Corrected issue when connecting to several devices using bluetooth (c_bt.c)              \n
 *-# opUI_DRAW VALUE bug fixed (negative figures)                                             \n
 *-# opUI_DRAW VIEW_UBIT bug fixed (negative figures)                                         \n
 *-# opINPUT_DEVICE INSERT_TYPE implemented                                                   \n
 *-# opINPUT_DEVICE SET_TYPEMODE implemented                                                  \n
 *-# Corrected issue if trying to search for BT devices and allready connected to 7 devices   \n
 *-# Corrected issue if get remote bluetooth name fails in a bluetooth search                 \n
 *-# Bluetooth connect is not called if create paired device fails                            \n
 *-# Bluetooth connection attempt actively rejected if user presses X on the UI               \n
 *
 *
 *\version lms2012_v104t_131108
 *
 *-# Corrected remote bluetooth name issue                                                    \n
 *-# Corrected brick crashing if number of motors diff from 2 in sync'ed motor cmds           \n
 *-# Corrected filetransfer between SD cards in bricks - Folder type issue                    \n
 *-# Corrected filetransfer between SD cards in bricks - Filehandle issue                     \n
 *-# opFILE CLOSE_LOG changed to free up handle when logging in memory                        \n
 *-# SD card back key bug fixed                                                               \n
 *-# ISSUE 2636 - "Brick Program" app - test for attached sensor                              \n
 *-# ISSUE 3226 - opMATH MOD8, MOD16, MOD32 zero bug fixed                                    \n
 *-# ISSUE 3492 - opUI_DRAW LINE and RECT hang bug fixed                                      \n
 *-# ISSUE 3565 - Brick Hang with 3rd party sensor bug fixed                                  \n
 *-# Added TIInit_6.6.15.bts to the filesystem to support 1325A version bluetooth             \n
 *-# Special exception text added to headers: "lmstypes.h", "lms2012.h" and "bytecodes.h"     \n
 *-# opINPUT_DEVICE INSERT_TYPE implemented for test                                                            \n
 *-# IIC 3rd party hang and data instability issue fixed                                                        \n
 *
 *\version lms2012_v104H_130531
 *
 *-# Bluetooth transfer folder error fixed in cComCreateBeginDL                               \n
 *-# First release for AFOL                                                                   \n
 *
 *

Original answer:
The LEGO Group has not been publishing changelogs for the EV3 firmware. You should call customer support or write them a letter and encourage them to do so.
I have gathered some information mostly from the (unofficial) LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 Facebook Page and also discussions with other MINDSTORMS hackers. This list is most likely incomplete.

v1.10E: Add USB support for Microsoft MakeCode (EV3 now appears as USB drive).
v1.09H/E: Disable telnet service (security issue in response to this German language article on how malware was discovered running on an EV3).
v1.09D: This is a new "developer" version of the firmware available on the LEGO Education website that has telnet enabled and there is now a password for root (see the readme.txt file that comes with the 1.09D firmware).
v1.08H/E: Add support for the popular Edimax EW-7811UN Wi-Fi dongle.
v1.07H/E: Add support for new Bluetooth chip shipping with newer EV3s (starting circa July 2015).
v1.06H/E: Work around checksum bug on EV3 color sensor RGB mode (used by custom block from David Gilday on the MindCuber)

What about 1.10E? The source available for download is still 1.09, so there's no changelog that explains what's new after that.

LEGO has been very slow about getting the source for 1.10E posted. I've contacted customer support and they are "working on it" for many months now. The major obvious change in 1.10E is that the EV3 now appears as a USB drive. This was done to support using the EV3 with Microsoft's MakeCode. https://makecode.mindstorms.com/


text:
What set are these minifigs from? What are their names?

Can anyone tell me what minifigs these are?

Welcome. From the shape of the legs I can tell you these are not LEGO minifigs, but some clone brand (Kreo, MegaBloks etc.).

I can't find an exact match, but they do look strikingly similar to some of the Mega Bloks Dragons figures.

I have a large set of these, and I believe them to be megablocks.

These look to be Mega Bloks Dragon figures.
The Vorgan (orc) is from the Krystal Wars era, which introduced the Vorgans and had Vorgans with brown vests. I can't find the set that fellow is in right now, but I found a future set with a look-alike in a blue vest where is name was Gohrgroc. The shield isn't used by the the Vorgan (orc), but is used by the Norvagen (blue armored guys not seen in the OP's picture). The Norvagen and that shield with the dragon head on a blue background are also from the Krystal Wars sets.
Here's a look at one of the sets in that line, with many of the names visible:

I've also found this video which shows most of the Krystal Wars figures, if not all, but unfortunately it's not tied to names or sets. Your Vorgan with the large underbite, as are your golden Draigar with horns up and forward, and the shoulder strap that goes across their torso (upper-left shoulder, to opposite waist, clearly visible buckle).
There's a possibility these figures are all from the Draigar Castle set, but the instructions for that are hard to track down and confirm. Mega Bloks has a very poor list of instructions on their support website (where they don't use the same names as available online, or even the same set numbers in some cases, and many sets appear to be absent).
Here's a link to the relevant instructions part for Draigar Castle. Right now, the host Photobucket is down so the link won't work, but it should in a few hours:
http://s935.photobucket.com/user/bloksforum/media/Instructions/9898/9898-03.jpg

For the record, I own a small collection of these figures/toys, that I inherited from my brother (I've never bought a MB toy myself). Unfortunately, I don't have the instructions or boxes/tins they came in, so I can't help narrow down the suspects with my own stock.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Shipping to Turkey
I am trying to order different single bricks with Pick a Brick system. It seems there is no shipping options to Turkey. I already picked around 32 Euro pieces but couldn't be able to change the shipping country.
Our distributer doesn't have Pick a Brick. So i am stuck. Any idea how to ship to Turkey? (http://shop.lego.com/en-DE/Pick-A-Brick-ByTheme)

I would recommend you look at one of the online third-party LEGO marketplaces. There are two main ones: BrickLink and BrickOwl. Both marketplaces offer individual pieces (both new and used) as well as sets. Added bonus, the sellers on these marketplaces have many more parts in stock than LEGO Pick-A-Brick, including no longer produced bricks. Especially BrickLink can be a little daunting at first use, but start with searching the Catalog and you'll quickly get the hang of it.
For both sites it works best if you create a Wishlist/Wanted List with all the pieces you need, and then start searching for sellers who have most of the items in stock, so you minimize the number of sellers you use (and hence the shipping fee). You can even filter by seller location (so you could get only Turkish sellers - Bricklink currently has 18 stores located in Turkey itself). BrickOwl even has a great "optimizing" routine which helps you get the lowest price across several sellers.

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


text:
Where to get additional part library graphics for BlueBrick layout designer
I love BlueBrick, the track and layout designer from developer  Alban Nanty. I have been using it for years and it is the best tool I have found for designing a full layout including train tracks.
However, the parts libraries available on the site do not include all sets. I am specifically interested in vintage town sets and to name just a few, the following are not included in the library:

6377 'Delivery Center'
6386 'Police Command Base'
6381 'Motor Speedway'
6389 'Fire Control Center'

Does anyone have links to BlueBrick library items for any of the missing sets, (not just the sample I listed above)?
It is possible to generate new library parts since they are made up of a gif image and an accompanying xml file, but I lack the creative ability to complete the library.
An example of a part image is shown below, (set 6394 'Metro Park & Service Tower')

Eurobricks LEGO forum has an index for additional Sets and Parts that can be added to Bluebrick. The sets that you listed above have not been recreated in Bluebrick so if you wish to use them, you need to recreate them yourself. This should be relatively easy if you find LDraw files of the sets you are looking for.
In case you wish to add new files to Bluebrick, please check the manual of Bluebrick by pressing F1 in the program. The online documentation is currently offline so I cannot directly link you to the info.


text:
How to store a matrix of values and pick out certain elements and compute the difference?
I at the moment am trying to make an EV3 robot which is capable of following a gradient decent method. The idea was to store a discretized function in a 2D matrix, and make several lookups in that 2D matrix where I compute the difference between its position and its neighbor's position. and then make the robot move in the direction with descending gradient.
To do so...
How do I use the EV3 software to:

Create a Matrix?
Store values in matrix?
Make lookups in matrix?
Subtract those lookups?

This could be way easier in C++, but is there any supported firmware capable of running C or C++ in the same way as with NXC or something like this? Something with some form of documentation?

Have you looked at LeJOS? Java for the EV3 ... pretty sure you can get this done there.

Java.. yeah, could i be done using c/c++?

Sure, check out RobotC

Problem is that i have to buy it, and the trial only runs for 10 days, which wouldn't be sufficient amount of time to test it, and see whether the coded solution has the wanted easiness..

Then check out this post on our sister site StackOverflow: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/28526200/how-to-program-lego-mindstorms-ev3-using-c-language

I don't have 10 consecutive days to test whether the solution i seek my needs.

This application does seem to be pushing the limits of the official software provided by LEGO. If you are interested in C/C++ (or any other programming language), check out http://www.ev3dev.org.
I like to say that ev3dev is not firmware since it runs from a microSD card and is not loaded into the flash memory on the EV3. Nevertheless, it is an alternate operating system for the EV3 with the goal of being able to program in any language that you like. You can find a list of existing programming libraries here.

I think i'll try this and see how it goes.. :)

EV3-G supports single dimensional arrays only.  You could write one array that is m times n in length where m is the number of rows, and n is the number of columns.  The correct row of the single dimensional array would be (col-1)*n+row.  You would have to write a myBlock to convert 2D index values to 1D index values and vice versa.  However, doing matrix manipulations in EV3-G is painful.  Using the array block, all you can really do is read at an index, write at an index, append, and calculate array length.  This would cover most of your goals (assuming you convert the 2D to a 1D array).  Possible, but painful.  ev3dev, LeJOS, or RobotC all would be better methods and they support multidimensional arrays.


text:
Order Number Problems
I think something is wrong with the email I use and for whatever reason i didn't get the email with the order details after I ordered. I quadruple checked that I got the email right before I typed it in but didn't get the email all the same. I would like to track my order but because I did not get the email I do not have the order number.

This problem should be addressed to LEGO Customer Support: https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwig6vzByLjKAhWKOxQKHexaBlEQjBAIJzAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fservice.lego.com%2F&usg=AFQjCNE9QJG5fJeZsX-vKtdNPx4LaWTWKw&sig2=4oidEl1E-6K6x1Prb2A8VA

Just to clarify: this forum is manned by Fans of LEGO, not by the LEGO Group themselves.
That said, LEGO order confirmations sometimes take a little while to arrive (a couple of hours). You can always check your order status online (if you were logged in to shop.lego.com and/or have a VIP account), the US-based Order Status page is here.
Finally, if it's been longer than a day, call LEGO Customer Service. The US number is 1-800-835-4386 (check the LEGO website for your local access number if you're not in the US).


text:
Is there an alternative replacement motor piece for 4.5 V Trains?
Is it possible to find on a market a simple 4.5V electric motor, that can be installed into LEGO Part 564c01?
The service pack No. 5000 is more and more difficult to find.

First, check the assembly is correctly greased - they can throw a lot of sqeak out if they are needing a little grease even if the motor is fine!
I have looked in to this myself, but the cost and trouble just isn't worth it - you can buy a used working unit for around £8 to £12 from a used / vintage Lego parts site.
These motors are really good quality and almost last forever if looked after, so chances are you will get your £8 - £12 worth from a quality used one - regular off-the-shelf motors cost anywhere from £4 - £8 and that's if you can get a perfect size and voltage match not to mention getting the drive gear to fit it etc. Stick with buying a using original motor/full assembly and check it is suitably greased and looked after it
I have lots of Lego train sets and that was my answer to non-working motors. I look after them well, and they just keep going!


text:
LEGO brick management tips
My 4 year old son loves to play with LEGO and we encourage him. We built a few sets together and he mostly builds stuff from his own imagination. He likes to build new sets with us and to follow the schematics, even if we don't have all the parts (we try to make changes as needed).
The problem is - we have gathered a big LEGO box of parts from about 7-8 sets and looking for a specific block is becoming more and more difficult. When we build sets together it's my job to find the parts and his job to follow the schematic. Needless to say, it may take me 5 minutes to track down a specific part and it takes us too long to build the set. Once a set is built he plays with it for a while (a couple of hours or days) and then comes back apart.
For now we try to keep the parts sorted by color, but for some colors (grey or blue) we have too many parts and we need to empty the bag on the floor to look for parts (and this gets messy).
I wanted to ask for advice on the following topics:

What's the best way to sort LEGO blocks so that they are easier to find and in a way that they don't take too much space (e.g. I wouldn't want to have to sort them by shape - it's too many of them!)
For some sets we don't know if we have all the parts (obviously because we don't have those exact sets). Is there an "app" that I can tell which sets we have and that can generate a part list from those so that I can look to see if I have the needed part? Or, better yet, tell the app what I want to build and it should tell me what parts I have (without keeping track of color - only shape) and what I'm missing? I'm thinking it's not an impossible app and something like this may exist, but I haven't found it yet.
Now comes the "sci-fi" part. Can I find a phone app that can use the camera to "scan" a bunch of parts thrown on the floor and do image recognition of the part that I need in order to highlight it? Image recognition can do shape recognition, so, again, it should be possible to implement - I just haven't found any.

Any tips on handling Lego for better management is welcome. Thanks!

Part 1 and 2 of the question could be a duplicate of the following: http://bricks.stackexchange.com/questions/122/what-are-some-storage-options  and http://bricks.stackexchange.com/questions/6261/software-to-help-inventory-set/6287#6287 . Solving part 3 would give you a doctorate in computer vision

Thank you both. Your links have been very educational. But why haven't you commented as an answer? I'm quite satisfied with the resources you provided.

@Adrian Multiple part questions are hard to answer. In this case 2 of 3 topics are duplicates which could close your question. I suggest you edit and focus the question around topic #3


text:
Infrared sensor behavior
I'm developing a small program with the LEGO's Ev3 development tool. I'm trying to make the robot rotate, 30° at time, and if the infrared sensor detects something then make something and stop. Here is my current program:

The result is odd: it makes a few loops, than I can see the sensor turns off for a few seconds and then it is completely unresponsive, even if I stop the program and run other programs! I have to turn it off and on again to make it work.
The sensor is on port 4, and it works with programs developed on the ev3 itself.

How can you "see" that the sensor turns off? Perhaps you have it mistaken for the Ultrasonic Sensor. They are similar shape, but the ultrasonic sensors has LEDs so you can "see" if it working. The Infrared sensors does not have LEDs, just red paint, so you cannot "see" if it is working.

You are right, I was using ultrasonic sensor! Thank you!

@DavidLechner Please consider posting your comment as an answer.

Try waiting longer - one second or one and a half. And you were using the ultrasonic sensor but in the program you use infrared sensor block.
You can switch to port view prior to running your program to verify that your sensor is of the expected type and works.


text:
HiTechnic Color Sensor analog
HiTechnic sales support said that HiTechnic color sensor hasn't been manifactured yet. Currently it's out of stock in HiTechnic shop.
Is there any analog of this sensor except NXT/EV3 color sensors?


text:
LEGO G-Scale train?
I have a 45mm gauge LGB-based G-scale garden railway and want my grandson to have a push-along loco and some rolling stock for it.  Can we make this with LEGO? The wheels need to be non-metal and have inner flanges. Apart from the gauge itself, it does not have to be to scale or be highly realistic. At his age, it's the scope for imaginative play with figures and loads that we're after.

The beauty of LEGO is that you can create virtually anything with it. I assume you are aware of the existence of LEGO Trains such as 60052 Cargo Train? The scale of these trains is not directly compatible with LGB's G-scale (the LEGO scale is sometimes referred to as L-Scale or L-Gauge) but many of the train elements can be used for building different scales. More details on the LEGO L-Gauge can be found here(l-gauge.org).

Some of the train elements you want to take a look at are Wheels, Magnetic Couplings and Axles, which form the basis of any train and/or wagon.

You will have to experiment a bit with sizing, e.g. how many bricks wide is G-scale track, and how do flange and thread dimensions of wheels work on G-scale rails. LEGO's assortment of train wheels is limited (only a few sizes), but you might want to check out Big Ben Bricks' Custom Train wheel collection for additional sizes.
You are not the first one to attempt this, though, a quick Google search showed several images and videos of LEGO trains running on G-scale track. Here is one recent video that I found interesting. The author's website (lgtrains.com) has more info on these trains.

Thanks Phil B.  I found this very useful.  In fact we don't have to worry about setting up track as my garden layout has a convenient siding/loop at a nice height next to a path where he can shunt to and fro.  Main challenge is getting the gauge right, which will obviously depend on getting axles that are long enough, as 'L-scale' seems to be narrower-gauge than our 45 mm set up.  Just wondering though if you know of a good Lego store we can visit in the London area or Derby-Nottingham-Leicester area.

You can always go to a LEGO store (I'm in the US, but lived in London 15 years ago :) ) or a big toy store (Toys'r'us, Smyths) to get some inspiration, but to get the pieces I mentioned you'd need to buy several sets which will set you back quite a lot of money. It might be easier to visit Bricklink.com or BrickOwl and buy individual pieces (or get them from the Pick-A-Brick section at LEGO Shop@Home. You could use Lego Digital Designer to mock up some designs first.

Once again thanks Phil B for taking trouble to help so much. Things have changed so much with Lego from when I used to do (pretty simple) things with my own children.  But also in UK we've lost a lot of good toy and modelling shops from many city areas like London in recent years.  But I think I've located one in a big mall in W London.  (BTW sorry for assuming you might have lived in UK.  I didn't really take in the geographical constituency of this forum when I joined only few weeks ago).

authors: Даниил Карпук


text:
Is there a web resource available to browse LEGO Minifig head designs?
I am curious if there is a minifig browser or gallery that allows you to view and identify LEGO heads created over time? Ideally, this resource would also list the date the minifig head was first available.
Brickset seems to have a minifig browser, but not specifically an option to browse by "head" types.

You can find all the minifigs heads ever made, with the date of release, in the BrickLink catalog: http://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?pg=1&catString=238&catType=P&v=2
Please note that I have already sorted the minifigs heads in the link above by year released, however on the first two pages of the results you will see heads where the year is not applied yet. These are new minifigs heads and the sorting and cataloguing haven't bee finished yet. You will start to see the yearly results on page 3.

You can try firestartoys.com. They sort minifig heads by theme. I hope this helps!


text:
Instructions for LEGO bag dated 2007 bought at a Thrift store
I need the instructions for a LEGO parts bag I purchased at a Thrift store

It is from Palace Cinema. Pink circles are from the candy machine, doors for the limo and squares for the ground (you're missing the rare ones with cameras on it).

Based on the parts, it looks suspiciously like an internal part bag for 10232 Palace Cinema - which means there's no specific instructions to make something with just those parts - the whole set of instructions can be found online.
To clarify - a set like Palace Cinema will have a number of "Numbered" bags that correspond to part of the building instructions, and those bags sometimes contain smaller sealed bags of small parts - it looks like this is what you have there.
This is based on the two black doors - these seem to be fairly rare these days and the other parts (especially the 11 new dark red 2x2 tiles) fit nicely with the contents of that set.
Note that the year printed on the bag is the date the bag design was introduced - according to BrickSet the pink circles  were first produced in 2008 - and of the 80 sets that it has appeared in, only one of them contains the black doors as well.

Thanks for the suggestion, but only some of the part are similar to the Palace Theatre. There were no Pink circle parts. This was a sealed bag, until I opened it to take the pic

A set that large has multiple bags of bricks inside. You've probably just got one.

I really don't think this is the 10232 Palace Cinema, this was released in 2013. The bag all these parts came in is dated 2007. And the Palace Cinema does not have the pink circles. Any other suggestion would be great, but keep in mind the year 2007. thanks

@Laura If you look at this pdf on page 24 you can see the pink circles and the various tiles from your bag. Page 6 shows the black doors being used for the car.

Thanks for all the help. My son can had the pieces to the rest of his Lego and create something with them. I only spent $0.50 for the bag. It's all good

@Laura Just FYI: the bags sometimes have information printed on them that applies to the bag itself, as a part used in the packaging. Some proof that the 2007 date applies to the bag: the bracket piece in that photo wasn't available until 2012.


text:
Loop doesn't work, always inputs the same condition
I have a loop but always inputs the same condition, please see the picture.

Likely the output of your IR sensor is always meeting the same condition (either higher than 50 or lower than 50). Try doing this again but instead display the measured value on the screen instead of doing a motor action, and see what values you are reading.

Yes always print the same values on the screen. So what is the problem?

What values does the sensor show?

What are you trying to accomplish with this program? What is the IR sensor measuring? What are you testing it with? As per @DavidLechner's answer, it will spend a lot of time inside the loop after the comparison block executing the actual turn, so any changes you are making should be long enough for the code to return back to the comparison block after completing the turn.

You have the motor power set to 1 and you are waiting for 1 full rotation. If the motor moves at all, it will take a long time to complete one rotation. Most of the loop is spent waiting for the rotation to complete (or if the motor is not moving at all, then the loop never actually loops).
Try using a higher power - at least 10. Also, use less than one rotation, or use time (just a fraction of a second) instead for the duration of the motor block.


text:
Yellow cross-shaped LEGO piece ID
I have had this for a while and was wondering what it is.

It is a Propeller 4 Blade 5 Diameter with Hole for Rotor Holder - used in 71 sets, but only in 5 in the yellow color you have.
It was produced by LEGO until 1994, and would have fit on Plate 2x3 with Helicopter Rotor Holder.

Together they would have made the rotor of a helicopter, such as in 1469-1 Helicopter Polybag.


text:
LEGO cleaning dust?
I'm a LEGO seller and buy around 20-50kg of LEGO bricks a week.
I need to clean these items before I sell them.
Currently I'm using the standard method using a bucket and soapy water.
However, this is not working on plates etc. Mainly the dust is still on the parts.
I have searched for the materials LEGO uses which is mainly ABS. This material has not such good wetting properties. Now I could imagine the studs on the plates could prevent wetting and thus cleaning of the parts? Is it possible to lower the surface tension of the water?
Furthermore does anyone have good tips on how to prevent this in the future ?
I have found thing but its all about keeping your LEGO collection clean from dust. and I do not want to put the parts in the washing machine.

Have you tried using a soft bristle toothbrush to clean the plates when you have them in soapy water?

hi, thanks for your comment, yes i tried but often the surface of the plates will be scratched when the dust/dirt came off :(


text:
How to build ar Z6 (TR-8R) riot control baton for 75114 (First Order Stormtrooper)?
Set 75114 has two guns but I would like my stormtrooper to have the iconic melee weapon.

How can I build one?

You could use the Chima sword:

Perhaps with the gun/torch as a handle:

Good suggestion, and maybe add 1 or 2 1x1 brick, round in Trans Red in between for the body of the gun.


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What is this piece and what is its number?
Does anyone know what number piece this is?

Looks like it's Support 2 x 4 x 5 Stanchion Inclined 4476a or 4476b.

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


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Torso ID (No hands)

What is the number of the piece and where does it come from?

Seriously? This is a Minifig torso, how would you not know where to use this? Or are you looking for all the sets this piece might have been in?

No The Number Of The Piece

This is a Torso Overalls Blue Pattern (Dungarees) / White Arms / Yellow Hands, which is used in 48 sets and 16 minifigs. It was last produced by LEGO in 2005.
I'd seriously recommend you make yourself familiar with BrickLink's Catalog Search feature and the LEGO naming standards as it helps you get these answers faster in the future, without having to rely on others on this forum to do the searching for you.

No I'm Just Trying To Find Out Who's This Is Is It A Mailmans Or Somebody Else's

This body piece was typically used for a construction worker (either male or female).

I would rather say it was typically used for mechanics people (repairing cars...) instead of construction workers.. ;)

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


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Sticker Identification

Does anybody know where this sticker is used or the set number it's used in?

This piece is 42023pb005R - Slope, Curved 6 x 1 Inverted with Orange and Yellow Marbled Flames and 'G' Pattern Model Right Side (Sticker) - Set 8897, which is used in only 1 set: 8897 - Jagged Jaws Reef.

But once more, please look at the Catalog Search function in BrickLink and spend some time learning it - this is the third consecutive "What is this piece" question for pieces that are fairly trivial to find. Bricks with a curved end are called "Slope" and are a common type (other common types are "Plate", "Brick", "Tile", "Minifig", "Wheel" etc.). You can also use the search bar at the top of the BrickLink screen, just make sure you switch the Search Scope field to "Catalog Item".


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What is the name/number of this brick
I was wondering what the two grey tile like bricks in the image below are? I wish to order some online, so would appreciate knowing their name.

Hi Kared and welcome to LEGO Answers :) Is there any chance you could edit your image to include some arrows or similar pointing to the exact elements you're asking about?

If you need any help in the future, you can check out Brickowl, Bricklink, or Firestartoys!

This is a 3743 - Technic, Gear Rack 1 x 4 and there are 2 times 2 of these in your picture (2 on the left and 2 on the right).

I guess your description is a little vague, because if you are talking about the middle part (the shining light gray pieces), they are actually not bricks/tiles, but the axle end of an NXT motor (the right side of the motor in the below picture).

Yep, I think the question is referring to the end of the motor.

It's difficult to be certain due to the angle and quality of the image but I think they are these:

Technic, Liftarm 1 x 3 Thick
Item No: 32523
They are/were produced in many colours including both 'light bluish grey' and light grey'.
More details on bricklink
Edit
Just realised you you referred to them as 'tile like bricks' so maybe it is this:

Part 3743 Technic, Gear Rack 1 x 4
Bricklink link
It would be a lot easier if you could isolate the elements you are interested in and take better photo


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Motorizing Hobby Train 10183
What are the PF motors available that will power the Hobby Train 10183?
Moving out from 9v tracks, will the existing 10183 wheels fit any other tracks?
Also, is there a difference between the PF motors used for the Technic models and for the train sets?
Much obliged for your help. This is my entry into Lego trains.

The motor used in Hobby Trains is the 9V train motor. This motor is externally identical to the new Power Functions train motor, so you should be able to replace one with the other.
That said, the problem with Power Functions is that where in 9V it was enough to have the train motor mounted on the train, in PF you will also need to provide an IR receiver and a battery pack. You would need to modify each Hobby Trains model to have it house those components and the connecting wires (one of which should go through the floor of the train to the PF Train motor, so you need a hole in the floor). Net, it will require some creativity, and some Hobby Trains models are better suited to this adaptation than others.

As Phil notes, the PF train motor is exactly what you are looking for:

You'll also need one of the PF battery boxes and an IR receiver. You will need to modify the trains themselves to house the extra components and make room for the wires.
In response to your second question, 9V, RC, and PF train track is all functionally identical. The only significant difference is the conductors on the 9V rails.
In regards to the PF system, the Technic motors and train motors use the same electrical connections, but they are physically different shapes.

Thanks so much! Also, is there a difference between the PF motors used for the Technic models and for the train sets? I'm really new to this, and really appreciate the help!

No problem. I've updated your question and my answer to explain this. Feel free to create a new question if you have additional questions.


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Please help identify Star Wars set - I have some very specific dark grey wings with brown paint
Please see attached pic, I reckon these are part of a Star Wars ship. Can anyone help me identify the set?

These pieces are indeed Star Wars related, they are from 7957 - Sith Nightspeeder from 2011.


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What is the set number for these Star Wars parts?
We lost the majority of my son's Lego collections in a flood. The attached pictures are all we have and need them identified for insurance.

Would appreciate your help identifying the set number.

This is mostly the Space Police Galactic Enforcer Set LEGO #5974.  Which Star Wars parts are you referring to?  Can you point them out in the picture?

Thanks for the help.  This was my best guess on the parts that went together.  Others are likely lost.

You have (part of) set 5974 - Galactic Enforcer (2009). This set is missing a few parts, as the back end is supposed to be rather symmetrical and there is a separate space ship (black). See the picture below.

Thanks for the help. This was my best guess on the parts that went together. Others are likely lost.

No problem Tom ... and so sorry to hear about what happened - hope the insurance covers enough to purchase some nice replacement sets!

We hope the insurance covers them.  I have several more to identify - since I am new to this site I am not sure the best way to post the pictures of the rest.  Any advice?  Thanks

You can put multiple pictures in one post and ask for identification of all of them. Alternatively, if you know your way around LEGO pieces and can identify some unique ones per set (e.g. with special stickers, or unusual shape) you can use the Catalog Items search on BrickLink to find which sets they appear in, that way you don't have to ask .... but there are many of us here who like the challenge :)


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Made a big program in EV3's programming software for AI creation and it went from slow to not loading
Made a big program in EV3's programming software for AI creation and it went from slow to not loading.
It just displays the loading bar in the middle of the page.
Even my lenovo windows 10 8GB RAM laptop won't load the program. I'm guessing I need more RAM? I knew big projects like 3D scenes and music needs 100s of GB of RAM.

Some consumer apps can use many gigabytes of memory resources, though few need that in the form of actual RAM. Your system is fine, and it is unlikely that adding more physical memory will help. The Lego app just scales poorly. You are probably ready to switch to a more comprehensive programming tool.

I CAN'T SWITCH..............I can only use it because it's easy, and if I can make it bigger then I can finish my AI creation in it.........it's gotta gotta gotta be my slow pc........Cubase music production/Video Editors have done the same to me dude, I need more/faster processors and RAM maybe too.

If (and only if) the app is memory-bound, then adding physical memory is only putting off the inevitable. And, there is a chance that the app is simply unable to handle data over a certain side, in which case adding all the physical RAM in the world will not help.

The answer is EV3's software allows putting many blocks into 1 myblock to be a program in a program. It's fast as slim silk sleek now.
How could it be that no-one nor tech support nor reps knew the answer!?
There is no limit now.

Glad to hear that it is working now.  Would you mind letting us know what the trick was to get the project open?  That would help future users who come to this site.

If you didn't make it super duper huge and it still opens but malfunctioning, all you do is go to the side where you can click, and click a loop and go to tools and click MyBlock builder to make it 1 single block!, repeat, save it, then reopen and it will soon now be fast and sleek, the key is to use MyBlocks before it gets to big, MyBlocks give you unlimited blocks, you can even put MyBlocks in-to MyBlocks yes.

"How did no one know?" well, because most people don't exercise the gui tool very much. The majority of such programs are going to be trivial. So, you are an outlier in an already pretty obscure subject.

Because exchanging comments over this is probably not appropriate, I'll answer with steps I'd take to determine the actual problem at hand. Right now we do not have the information we need to do more than guess.
These are somewhat rhetorical questions intended to prompt anyone having this problem in a useful direction.

What platform are we duplicating this on? Assuming Windows or OS X, these have very different designs when it comes to how the kernel allocates resources.
When the app is spinning, is the CPU also pegged? Are other applications also slow or unresponsive? This may indicate that the app is asking for system resources (e.g., like memory) and the system is "swapping" hard to handle those requests. This will result in an overall slow system and a stuck application.
Is there any indication in the usual "system health" views that either physical memory or CPU are exhausted? i.e., OS X has a "memory pressure" view that is a combination of the information you can get out of top and vmstat, which is useful. Windows may have similar widgets.

My guess is that the application is depending on the holding the entire program in memory, and this is just going to be impossible at some point, assuming it is a 32-bit application. It's a lot harder, but more correct, to "page" (not an OS virtual memory page) in parts as you need (like a text editor or word processor, or even those graphics programs you mention), but this has to be baked in from the start, and I imagine this tool was not intended to be used to make programs beyond modest sizes.
But, to answer your specific question, we don't know if more physical memory will help. It very well might be an expensive pointless operation. We don't know because we don't have the information we need to assess whether the app is memory-bound, CPU-bound, or at the actual limits of the size of data it can handle, regardless of the system resources available to it.

I find that all drag-and-drop programming eventually just slows to a crawl.  As jdv said, you should probably switch to a programming language.
There are a number of EV3 firmware replacements out there already.  LeJOS is Java based, and I think RobotC does C.  If you have gotten to the point where you can create massive AI programs in the drag-and-drop, you are probably ready to advance to this type of programming.  Sit down on YouTube one day and learn a little about the language (I'm aware of a lot of LeJOS, but I'd imagine that RobotC has some as well), and go from there.
It sounds like you are pretty advanced with the drag-and-drop software, and while it may seem like it's easy, it just gets to the point where you are at where it just stops working well.  By also switching out the firmware, your code will run faster and be more precise.
You may wish to try letting the computer sit overnight opening the existing project just to confirm that it is not going to open.  If you can open it, try breaking it into sections or projects or something to make sure that you have a backup of it (screenshots might work, though maybe not at your scale?).
8GB of RAM is a pretty good amount I would say though, for comparison, I did huge LeJOS projects with only 2GB in the past.


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Where are these minifigures from?
In this image there are two army guys guarding:

But where were they bought? I'm curious to know where to get them myself.
Reply to Zhaph's Answer: (I don't have enough reputation.)
I'm well aware the minifigures and weapons are custom made, but I'm more curious where exactly to get the same pieces. I will probably find the weapons on some Brickarms seller (for me: Minifigforlife), but I don't seem to find the same minifigs. Any chance I could get either a seller or these or list of parts with sellers?

The minifigs probably aren't genuine Lego, although the rest might be. I recall reading there's something in Lego company's bylaws, saying that "the Lego man should never be enemical to mankind". Apparently this is why they don't make modern day weaponry for minifigs.

The minifigures and the guns will be custom made. There are a number of sites that offer custom printed minifigs in military uniforms, and Brick Arms is a good place to start if you're after specific weapons.
The LEGO Group have a policy of not creating "realistic" weapons, although both fantasy and futuristic are acceptable.


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Help identify large white wheels
Have lots of mixed pieces that we bought second hand. We have come across very large white plastic solid wheels, resembles sand buggy wheels, but think they must be space related as they are white. Pieces could be from early 80s and forward.I might be wrong to think they are wheels but they came assembled like this so always thought they were. Love to find out which set they might have come from so we can build something awesome..

What you have there is a 6118 Wheel Hard Plastic Small (22mm D. x 24mm), and this wheel is pretty common, it features in 39 sets, but luckily for you only in 4 sets in the color White. These sets are:

1704-1  Ice Planet Satellite Plow - this set has 6 of these wheels.

6983-1 Ice Station Odyssey - this set has 10 of these wheels.

6814-1 Ice Tunnelator - this set has 4 of these wheels.

6898-1 Ice-Sat V - this set has 8 of these wheels.

If you count the number of wheels you have, you should be able to deduce which set they came from as each set has a different number of wheels.


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Assorted LEGO and BIONICLE set numbers
Lost many of the LEGO parts in a flood.  I've put parts together using best guess so some pictures may represent more than one.
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

The black craft in the third picture belongs with the Galaxy Police ship you posted earlier.

1: 8939
2: 7622
3: 5974
4: 7672
5: 8117
6: 8942
7: Definitely not LEGO... not sure what it is.
8: 8016
9: 10134 (NICE!!!)
10: 7262, maybe?
11: 8036 and 7673
12: 7659
13: 8697
14: Possibly 7256. Also 8117
15: 7656 and 7255

Thanks very much Ryan. #7 turned out to be a Lego Mind Storm Set.  Would have never figured it out without your help1

Wait, really? I've never seen it before; those parts look very useful if they do fit with regular Technic. Do you know which set?

They look like a BIONICLE vehicle, maybe a toa speeder from the series directly before Mata Nui's return?


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Best way to manage LEGO blocks
Maybe my question is not suitable for this forum, but I figure this is the place where people have the most experience, so, here goes.
My 4 year old son loves to play with LEGO and we encourage him. We built a few sets together and he mostly builds stuff from his own imagination. He likes to build new sets with us and to follow the schematics, even if we don't have all the parts (we try to make changes as needed).
The problem is - we have gathered a big LEGO box of parts from about 7-8 sets and looking for a specific block is becoming more and more difficult. When we build sets together it's my job to find the parts and his job to follow the schematic. Needless to say, it may take me 5 minutes to track down a specific part and it takes us too long to build the set. Once a set is built he plays with it for a while (a couple of hours or days) and then comes back apart.
For now we try to keep the parts sorted by color, but for some colors (grey or blue) we have too many parts and we need to empty the bag on the floor to look for parts (and this gets messy).
I wanted to ask for advice on the following topics:

What's the best way to sort LEGO blocks so that they are easier to find and in a way that they don't take too much space (e.g. I wouldn't want to have to sort them by shape - it's too many of them!)
For some sets we don't know if we have all the parts (obviously because we don't have those exact sets). Is there an "app" that I can tell which sets we have and that can generate a part list from those so that I can look to see if I have the needed part? Or, better yet, tell the app what I want to build and it should tell me what parts I have (without keeping track of color - only shape) and what I'm missing? I'm thinking it's not an impossible app and something like this may exist, but I haven't found it yet.
Now comes the "sci-fi" part. Can I find a phone app that can use the camera to "scan" a bunch of parts thrown on the floor and do image recognition of the part that I need in order to highlight it? Image recognition can do shape recognition, so, again, it should be possible to implement - I just haven't found any.

Any tips on handling LEGO for better management is welcome.
Thanks!

Not a full answer, really, but there are Brick-Sorters based on Mindstorms. Perhaps you can go from there?

Hmm, I had no idea these existed. However they seem rather limited and slow for what I wanted. But it's a starting place, thanks...

Augmented Reality could, in theory, do what you want, but to actually build a tool to do it sounds like a huge undertaking.

Stop trying to do that. Lego is much better when you use it to build what is in your imagination. Don't they do those big buckets of variadic Lego pieces anymore? Buy one of those, and mix all your parts in it.

Well, out of 10 sets built, I'd say 9 are built out of his imagination and one needs to be built according to schematics. Hence the need of having a way of sorting and keeping the blocks.

This is really more than one question, and the main one (storage) has answers here. For the second question, the answer is to use Rebrickable.com. You can put your sets into a database and it will tell you what else you can build. You can see inventories for each set and you can see if you have the pieces to build other sets.
For your third question, I don't know of any app that finds pieces based on computer vision. I sort by part and colour so I wouldn't need such an app, myself.
For a small collection sorting by colour is probably easiest. If there is a lot of one colour you can break it down by part type. If you primarily build sets and not your own creations, you could consider storing each set in a ziplock bag, that way all its parts are together. Of course, if you then pick parts out of those bags to build something custom, putting them back is annoying. You could have one bag for "unsorted" parts, and when you want to build any given set you grab that bag and the set's bag, and all the parts would be there. You do need to put them away in the right bags afterwards though.

The best way I've ever seen this done is exactly the same way you'd see a handyman manage all of his nuts, bolts, and screws. The general idea is that you have lots of small compartments for each of your different kinds of legos - and it can be up to you whether you separate by color, or just by shape and size.
On a quick glance at a big box store website, this seems like it might be a good inexpensive starting point:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-28-Drawer-Small-Parts-Organizer-222169/205053254

Our children worked this way they had smaller boxes, after playing they  put them in these boxes sorted. So next time they start directly without having to search a great deal of time.

Each Lego set has a parts list by color and shape. If you live close to a Lego store they can provide you with one. Many include the list on the box. I'm not sure if the downloadable schematics for consumers has a parts list. Once you have found the pieces once, bag them separately from your freestyle Legos. Additional Legos for freestyle are available online or at the store. If you are missing pieces from a set, Lego will supply them at no charge from a store or the cost of shipping by mail.
Personally, we like the 3-in-1 sets. It provides a little more variability if you're only going to purchase a few over time. As for an app, it seems like an awfully long process compared to just sorting it right the first time. But perhaps you could suggest it to the company!

For kids I favour a sheet or cloth circle with drawstring for the bulk of the Lego, then a few ice cream or take-away containers for small parts. There are lots of instructions for these online, including this no-sew version

If you have a tennis or badminton racquet handy to use as a sifter that makes it easy to separate out the really small parts that are hard to find in the big pile, and keep them in smaller containers.
Lego make the "big Lego head" storage/sifter containers that do the same thing, and they can sometimes be found cheaply (but are relatively rare in physical retails for the same reason they're often on sale... they are big and sell slowly)

I also like to build with wood and metal so I built my own version of those a few years ago using fairly thick nylon fishing line and some timber frames. That let me customise the size, since I have mostly Technic Lego and the part sizes are different so the Lego thing didn't work for me. They're not hard to make, just labour-intensive - think of a picture frame, with small holes drilled every 10mm around the perimeter and then strung up like a tennis racquet. Those work really well, and a couple of other people in the local Lego fan group have since made similar things. One by drilling lots (and lots and lots) of holes in a sheet of thin timber, another by simply copying exactly what I did.

I actually used to play with Legos quite a bit when I was 8-11. (Now I'm middle school). My mom bought me some fishing boxes (like this:http://www.dhresource.com/albu_267111068_00-1.0x0/box-new-plastic-buckle-case-styled-fishing.jpg). Then we would sort all the small pieces like minifigures, weapons, connectors, 2x1s, etc into these each being in its own section. Then, we would have another fishing box for beams sorted by length. Finally, I had a big bin to hold large pieces like plates and irregular objects.


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How to determine orientation of a EV3 gripper?
I have built the EV3 Gripper using the manual.
I am programming an ev3 brick using ev3dev. I need to determine the angle/direction/orientation of the robot programmatically, before I can issue a command to grab the object. How can I get the orientation?
One way to do this I know is to use an external camera to find out what direction the bot is pointing to, I want to do it without the camera.

How about using a gyroscope, like this one 45505 Ev3 Gyro Sensor?

well, the issue is, here in Singapore, these things are not easy to find :-( and due to shipping restrictions, I cannot have one shipped here as well!

Can you keep track of the position based on the rotation of the motors during moves?  I know LeJOS (Java for EV3) has a nice waypoint library with pathfinding etc. that keeps track of the position, maybe ev3dev does too?

thanks for the pointer @Gliderman! i will check that and update it here


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How to clear off oils in a way that will not damage the plastic?
Especially with the pneumatic cylinders, so it has to not make the metal rust too. Also, it is oxidized vegetable that is stuck in there, inside the pneumatic cylinders. And it started to make it all sticky inside. I used some Rem oil, which is a gun-cleaning grease that has Teflon in it, and it didn't really help. It just stayed the same.

Specific parts? Also look on SE Lifehacks for cleaning tips.

Dawn soap and water.
(They use it on sea animals who have been oiled

There are mineral oils specifically formulated for the plastics industry used for both lubrication and sealing. These would probably be more effective once you get the current gunk out. A little goes a long way.

Your question is general, so I'll try to answer generally, but I'll use the pneumatic cylinder as an example since you mentioned it.
If applicable, the first thing you'll want to do is break down the part(s) as much as possible. Open up the pneumatic cylinder and separate out the parts:

I'd recommend cleaning everything separately, lubricating the necessary parts, then putting everything back together.
For cleaning off oil and oil residue, you'll want some sort of solvent that is safe to use on ABS, such as WD-40. That should break down more viscous oils, gunk, and rust, but will also remove printing from printed parts. You can scrub ABS with a soft cloth without causing damage. If that isn't enough, you can get more aggressive and use something like steel wool or sandpaper, but this will cause light scratching. I've successfully use steel wool on the metal portion of pneumatic cylinders to remove rust, and it works nicely.
Once you have all the heavier oil and grime washed away, you'll want to use a common dish washing detergent to remove the remaining oil. I just put a few drops with water in a jar and shake with the parts inside. Rinse everything off, and repeat as needed if there is still any oil left on the parts.
In order to prevent rusting and ensure proper functioning of the parts, once the parts are clean and dry you'll need to now lubricate anything that was lubricated before since we've removed all the oils and lubricants. You can use any oil that is safe on ABS for this. I've use Vaseline on the rubber piece and cylinder shaft before and it has worked well.

Dang, oiling stuff is a problem. Probably your best bet is to try to power-wash it, or apply some sort of oil remover. As for the rust, the oil (how great is this) should keep any from happening, if there's any remnant.


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Can someone please help me identify this antenna/rod part? It attaches to the bottom of a brick
These red antenna-like pieces have four flanges at the base.  The base does NOT fit on top of a stud, but rather it will fit the underside/bottom side of brick.  The two pieces can also be connected to each other to extend the length and fit in lego people's hands.

I'm pretty sure we had some of these when I was a kid. I remember that they are not LEGO brand, but I can't remember what other toy they came from.

I think they are from one of the early lego sets, except I'm not sure which one. It might be one of the earlier legoland sets.

These bars are not referenced as Lego bricks by BrickLink, neither by Brickset.

The complete list of existing bars is available on the BrickLink
catalogue for example;
Brickset proposes a list of all Signs, Flags, and Poles since the last 27 years and that bar is not included.

Therefore I believe these particular bars are not from Lego.


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Where does the left hobo's head come from at 0:18
I identified the right one (Emperor Palpatine), but I can't find the left one's head. Any help?
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=befr11mPESE

It says the video doesn't exist, so it's not possible to see the minifigs you are referring to.

Does this work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=befr11mPESE? Apparently someone edited my question and broke the URL.

Yes, that works. My answer is below.

It appears to be this minifig, but the face is further customized with a marker. If you look at the eyebrows and the eyebags they have the same lines. But the mouth and nose and painted over, and the hair is darkened as well: http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemIn.asp?P=3626bpx109&in=M


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Mindstorms - want to perform various tasks, but never two of the same in a row (and other restrictions)
I want to make a program that does a few things in a random order: I have this so far:
The problem here is... I have set the switch block with the random number block to 3 different programs to run. So of course they run randomly. But I want to make it like this: When program 1 on the switch block has finished the random number cannot be 1. 2 can run twice but not three times, the same for 3. 2 can never run after 3 or 3 after 2. So when 2 finished the program, all of the numbers can be the case. If 2 comes after two, the next step should be 1. Not 3 because I made number 3 the reversed of 2 which I don't want to make run after eachother.
This is an example of how it should act in the loop that's going 6 times:

This looks like a state machine.
Save the "state" of your program in a variable. The state will be which program to run, so 1, 2 or 3.
You will also need some more variables to track the previous state and how many times a program has run.
Code flow will be something like this:
next_state = 1
prev_state = 0
run_count = 0
begin loop
    compute_next_state
    switch next_state
        case 1: run program_1
        case 2: run program_2
        case 3: run program_3
    end switch
    if next_state == prev_state
        run_count = run_count + 1
    else
       run_count = 0
    end if
    prev_state = next_state
end loop

I left out the implementation of compute_next_state since you have that spelled out quite well in your diagram.

I'm not sure how to use this code... I am not very skilled in coding and coding with nxt I have 0.0 experience...

To make it easier, I added an extra program to run which is the same as 2X program 2 or 3. Because Program 2 and 3 are 90 degree turns. So now it should be clearer what the idea is:
So the loop could start on program 1 and run 2, 3 or 4 after, but it could also start on 2, 3 or 4 on which the next step always program 1 is. It could stay running and keep taking infinite steps. So only after the first program is randomly chosen, the rest of the random chosen programs will be after program 1. The rest is in a logical order. After program 1 the system will randomly choose a new program for the next step that could be any of the steps exept program 1. So a long way of steps could look like this: Program 2 - Program 1 - Program 4 - Program 1 - Program 2 - Program 1 - Program 3 - Program 1 - Program 3 - Program 1 - Program 4 - Program 1 etc. etc. etc. The amount of steps that will be taken is the amount of times that the loop is set to. Right now I have made it in blocks. Very simple. Only the first two steps could be the same, but that's no problem to me.  :)

Even though I found it out myself I thank you very much!


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What are some creative uses of the orange brick separator tool?
I have these piling up around my LEGO corner:

Any suggestions for creative uses? Especially multiple?

Gawsh I have 5.

I have seen a number of very creative builds with the orange brick separator. Here are some examples:
Spaceship by F@bz: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fabz71/12434428513/
Mech by Lewis Meeny: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tr0jinh0rse/11318913594/
Deep Sea Explorer by Keith Reed: http://www.flickr.com/photos/keithreed/12943153094/
And my favorite is this Clown Fish X-wing by dr-spock-888: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_spock_888/20558633496/
And there is also the super secret worship room of the cult of the Followers of One Long Orange Object or FOOLOO by cimddwc: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cimddwc/24779936911/

How about a Minifig scale playground slide?

There is a connection point for an Technic Axle connector to provide the support for the slide and two stud connections to add a ladder.

Oh I love this

To add to TheBrickBlogger's suggestions, F@bz has another spaceship that I believe is worth mentioning: https://www.flickr.com/photos/fabz71/21111423905/
I recall seeing an awesome dinosaur made almost entirely out of Brick Separators on Flickr a while back (and I believe it was called a Separatosaurus) but all my searches have been futile so far. That said, google "Brick Separator MOC" and you can see many designs.

The space ship is really cool.

Oh, wow! How did I miss that one! So much orange goodness! Faved! I will also keep an eye out for that Separatosaurus. :D

One thing I've been using some of my brick separators for is in the construction of wedges for robotics and competition builds. The semi-sharp prying edge is sharper than most parts, and the angle is decent enough for a low wedge.

They have no strong connectors of their own, but the height of the brick edge is 2 plates tall, meaning it will fit well between 2 Technic bricks, with Technic pieces holding them together.

With a design like this, you can easily connect it to a Technic beam, with it freely swinging down to make ground contact.

This is a good idea for brick separators!

I use them to get stubborn batteries out of remotes, to open stiff ports on device cases, and to get under tabs on soda cans....I want one on a keychain!


text:
LEGO Friends lost instructions
Where do I find instructions for LEGO Friends that my daughter has managed to lose but are also discontinued?

You can find downloadable copies of LEGO instructions for any set (there might be a few exceptions but not for standard retail sets) at the LEGO web site: https://wwwsecure.us.lego.com/en-us/service/buildinginstructions

You can buy instructions at Brick Link web site: https://www.bricklink.com/browseList.asp?itemType=I&catString=771


text:
Having trouble pushing 6.6L bar into pin connectors
I have a dilemma where I am trying to push a 6.6L bar(4095)through 3 stacked pin connectors(62462) that have 1 long pin(6558) and 2 pins (4459) inserted. The bar only goes in a little bit and then it won't budge. I have a picture of it, if that would be helpful.

I second the motion for the picture idea.

The 2L pin normally fits a bar easily. But, there are older versions that have thicker sides (you can tell by the lip on the ends); you might check to see that yours are all the newer kind.
3L friction pins are all thicker, and do not allow a bar to pass through.


text:
Can someone please help me ID these parts?
I'm trying to recreate this small creation, but don't have a parts list:

Going from top down, here are my best guesses, but I'm not very good at this:

2654 (Black) Plate, Round 2 x 2 with Rounded Bottom (Boat Stud)
4623 (Yellow) Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with Arm Up (Horizontal Arm Length 6mm), qty 2
30151 (Yellow) Brick, Round 2 x 2 x 1 2/3 Dome Top

I don't have any good guesses at to what the next two parts are. The "stem" looks almost like a 18654 Technic, Pin Connector Round 1L, but they aren't available in yellow. Whatever it is, it connects to that 2 x 2 round plate that I can't ID either. The bottom piece I'm guessing is a:

4150 (Yellow) Tile, Round 2 x 2

Can anyone help me ID these parts more definitively? Thanks!

Pretty sure the piece directly under the Dome Top is just a 1x1 round brick, then a standard 2x2 round plate...

Thanks for the help. I wasn't familiar with the 1x1 round brick. I think you're right. Can you help me find a plain 2x2 round plate? link has ones with axle holes, but they don't have the 4 under stud holes as shown in the picture. (I'm relying on the 3d render...maybe it's wrong?)

As far as I am aware, all 2x2 round plates have those little holes under the studs and all have the axle hole in the middle.

Just found a photo. Yup, you're right. Accepting answer! Did my other items look right to you? Thank you for your help!

Yep, everything else looks exactly right.


text:
EV3 education brick doesn't work as is should
I have the EV3 education kit.
When I create a program and upload it to the brick and run it, the first time it runs very well and the robot goes in a straight line, then makes a 90 degree turn. But when I run it again it does not move the same way: it does not go in a straight line and turns 95 degrees or 86 degrees.
Can anybody help me find why?

Are you sure the battery is charged?  Are you confirming that the motors rotate the proper distance?  What is the method of travel (walking, steering, etc.)?  What firmware are you running on the EV3?

the battery is charged and i use move tank block (the robot has two rear wheels Responsible for moving the robot ) and i use 1.09 home edition firmeware

Do you tell the wheels to rotate a certain distance, or just "forward" until something happens? Same with the turning, do you tell it degrees, or just x time, etc.? What happens if you turn it off, and then back on and run, will it run straight for the first run? What surface is the robot on? Is your robot's weight distributed evenly? I will mention that there are firmware replacements out there that give you non-drag-and-drop programming, but much more accuracy when it comes to traveling and rotating as they can use the tachometers built into the motors (and do things like auto-pilot).

I tell the wheels to go forward until it see a color or a distance by ultrasonic sensor and turn until the gyro sensor read an angle but the problem is when the wheels start to rotate there is one wheel start rotate earlier than the other wheel so the robot doesn't move well I try to replace the motors and the cables but there is no change.the robot weight distributed evenly.

Contrary to the previous answer, I don't believe that the problem is EV3.
I do believe that your problem is a hardware issue. I have personally run a test or two on this, and my conclusion is that the wheels are set off kilter on their axles.
The answer is bushings. Bushings are the little doodads that keep a gear or wheel in place on the axle. Put one on either side of a wheel, and the result is that those 90-degree turns, which produce torque on the wheel, relieved by movement along the cross-axle, will no longer set your wheel out of place. If this doesn't work, I would do as the commentators and other answer-er suggest, and make sure that your unit can hold a charge.
Measure this by telling just one motor with your EV3 unit to turn. Measure the amount of rotation. Now run the program again. You don't need anything attached on the motor, so as not to throw it off, and when the next turn program is run, you will have your answer based on the amount of rotation.
If it is lower, your EV3 doesn't hold charge anymore, and you need a new one. Sorry.
If it is the same, it is a structural problem, and you just need to make sure that nothing is moving noticeably out of place when running it.

So it appears there is nothing wrong with the structure of your robot, you just aren't confirming that the robot is turning its wheels the proper distance.  I am not sure how to do that with the drag-and-drop EV3 software, but my recommendation is to have some sort of feedback loop that reads the rotation of the motors from their tachometers.  If you can, make sure that the move block is combined with the other wheels move block and not separate so that the firmware can't think that it should start the moves at separate times.
There are firmware replacements out there that do this feedback loop automatically, if that would be a preferred option.  This allows them to rotate exactly 90 degrees or move x centimeters.
You mention that you use the gyro, the last time I used that it seemed to be very hard to calibrate.  If the reading from it drifts over time even though the robot is sitting perfectly still, that could be part of your problem during rotates as well (and perhaps traveling if you use it to drive straight).

I know that gyros can be unpredictable. I'd recommend displaying the output of the gyro to the screen, and watching it. Is it drifting even when the robot isn't turning? That may be why. The only fix I've found is to hold the robot steady, then unplug the gyro and plug it back in, all while the robot is being held still. Then, check if the gyroscope is drifting. If it is, repeat from step one.


text:
Where does Saul's head come from at 0:12?
I'd like to build the same figure but I am unable to locate the head.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UajSKjQUDPE

Welcome! Could you perhaps snap a screenshot of the frame in the video where the head appears, and then attach it to your post? This will save us from having to watch the video, and will help others in the future, should the video in question disappear from YouTube. Thanks!

Minifig, Head Dual Sided Brown Eyebrows, Black Eyes with Pupils, Wrinkles, Smile / Determined Pattern (SW Han Solo) - Stud Recessed


text:
How to build a steerable remote-controlled vehicle with just 1 motor?
In WeDo 2.0 set there is only 1 motor, which can be remotely switched on and off by using the iPad app (by writing a Scratch program).
Also motor rotating direction can be toggled remotely.

As an inexperienced LEGO builder I wonder if it is possible to build a remote-controlled vehicle out of 280 WeDo 2.0 pieces, which would be steered by changing the motor rotation direction.

I am thinking of having 2 wheels with wide tires in front the vehicle, connected to the motor.
And having a single caster wheel with narrow tire at the back of the vehicle, not connected to the motor.
The caster wheel would roll straight, when the vehicle drives forwards.
But when driving backwards, it would snap to a certain angle.
UPDATE 3:
Found a picture for such a caster wheel in the LEGO Technic Idea Book by Mr. Yoshihito Isogawa:

UPDATE:
I have followed Aaganrmu's suggestion (thank you) and have tried to build a simple vehicle using ratchet instead of caster wheel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqYQ79SdBpY
Unfortunately, it doesn't work well. There is too much friction - on the axles of all 3 wheels and on the rubber band.
I wonder if experienced LEGO builders can propose a better vehicle out of WeDo 2.0 parts than mine:

And I feel that my Scratch program can be improved too, since it is not very responsive to user input (when touching the 4 green arrows):

UPDATE 2: Got a nice suggestion at Eurobricks forum:

(video authored by Mr. Yoshihito Isogawa again).
UPDATE 4:
Here a good WeDo 2.0 model with steering:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9sd4MxW4YY

This can be done without a caster wheel as well:
Start out with a three wheeled vehicle, with two wheels in the front and one smaller wheel with less traction than the front wheels in the back. All wheels need to be fixed.
One of the front wheels is attached to the motor. This might need to have some gearing to get an appropriate speed.
The other front wheel is unpowered but can only rotate forward by adding a ratchet:

The back wheel is unpowered.
Driving forward the vehicle will more or less move straight, guided by the rear wheel.
Driving backwards the ratchet will engage, stopping one wheel. The vehicle will now turn.

This is even better idea than the caster wheel, since I can change the turning degree (by rolling back shorter or longer periods of time)... thanks!

In WeDo 2.0 app "LEGO® Education WeDo 2.0" there is a complete project 12. Steer that is exactly about that
When it drives forward it goes in straight line, when it drives backward it then turns to one side.
There is full build instruction in the app.
I've also added distance sensor and made it fully autonomous - whenever it sees obstacle it goes back, turns, changes direction and continuous driving

I designed some WeDo 2.0 models that can drive and steer using just one motor.
This one uses a system of gears to alternately drive the left or right wheel of a differential drive robot, depending on the turning direction of the motor.

You can find the complete building and programming instructions here:
https://robotics.benedettelli.com/lego-wedo2-zigzag/
Another idea is making a steering vehicle similar to the one shown in the WeDo App, and involves directly driving a pair of wheels, and having two steering wheels that act as a caster with limited swinging movement. That way, when the motor pushes the vehicle forward, the steering wheels are forced to stay straight and the vehicle goes straight; when the motor drives the vehicle backwards, the steering wheels will be free to rotate a bit, and the vehicle will steer.

You can find the complete building and programming instructions here:
https://robotics.benedettelli.com/lego-wedo2-car/

Very nice! Thanks for sharing and for taking the time to expand this into a complete answer.

One motor and a caster wheel will give you two degrees of movement but will not be steerable. If you can build a differential, then drive two wheels with the motor.
If you have limited gears, then drive one wheel, have an idler wheel and a caster or simple skid arrangement.
You can get more interesting behaviour by having a bumpbot, that simply reverses the motor when it detects an obstacle.
See the Wikipedia article on casters, but there is a strong relationship between wheel diameter and how high the caster should be. And the surface area of the wheel and the mass of the load drive the how easy and fast things swivel. It's an interesting engineering trade-off, and I've never been able to make a perfect caster, even with lots of Technics parts. I now have reasonable respect for those people who design the casters into the everyday things we use without considering how difficult these trade-offs can be. (As in, it isn't an intractable problem, but the problem domain is extremely sensitive to small changes.)
Start with a skid first, and an easy, smooth surface to see if you get the basic behaviour you want.
Finally, you may get more interesting behaviour by ramping or stuttering motor direction and speed a little on obstacle sense. This is a cheap way to introduce some more randomness into the system.
Even more finally, you might want to get your hands on some LEGO Ball Casters, which I didn't know existed until this very moment.

By steerable I meant being able to reach (almost) any point at the surface. And yes (+1), I was planning to add bumping behavior (easy with WeDo sensor). My problem is to understand and build such a caster wheel, which would snap to an angle, when rolling back.

Well, by steerable I mean likely to reach any point in an area. You won't get much stochastic behaviour, even with a caster. I've added a link to my answer that may help you decide what pieces you have are best for a good caster design.


text:
LEGO Mindstorm NXT memorize line followed (LeJos)
I made a line follower program with leJos, it works pretty well; and I want to take it to the next level: I want to make it remember the line it followed; works like this: follow the line till the end, and store an image file with the path made by the robot.
I've been doin some reading; and there was something like Navigation class, or Waypoint class available in leJos; not sure how it helps me...
I have 2 motors, and a color sensor.
In my program, i'm just usin something like Motor.A.forward(); and stuff like this (and not any Navigation methode..)
I don't know where to start, and I don't have any leads. Any suggestions?

I will preface this by saying that I'm just going to summarize what I suggest you do, as writing out the code step-by-step would take quite a while, and you writing the code will help improve your skills.  I recommend checking out the LeJOS API while I describe some of the classes, it is pretty easy to look them up there.
If you want to know the location of the robot, you need to use some sort of Pilot class.  To me, it sounds like you want to use the DifferentialPilot (of course, use the Pilot class that controls your robot, for instance, a triangle robot).  You create the DifferentialPilot with a wheel diameter, distance between the wheels, the Motor that is on the left, and the Motor that is on the right.
Create a Navigator, and give it the Pilot so that it can control the robot.  Next, create a Timer that will poll the position of the robot however often you want (maybe something like every second?).  I think you get the position from the Pilot.  Call addWaypoint() on the Navigator with the x and y position (which I think you can pull the pose from the Pilot).
Now, modify your line-following code so that it uses the Pilot's controls (travel(), rotate(), etc.).
When you have followed the line, you should have a list of Waypoints that you can use to navigate the same path, without using the line-following code.
You can then call followPath() on the Navigator, and the robot should follow the path.
Of course, it is important to make sure that your DifferentialPilot or whatever is as precise as it can be, so measure and refine the wheel diameter until you get really good accuracy, using whatever surface you are going to be using in the end.  If you have any questions about calibration, I would recommend a new question, but for now, I have a video here which covers it and shows the step-by-step process (hopefully this doesn't count as advertising, it is not intended to be any).
Hopefully I was clear, it can get a bit jumbled together after programming NXTs with LeJOS for a number of years!

Wow, thank you so much for this explanation.
I will try it and I'll let you how it goes.
Thank you so much.

Sorry it took me some time to update the situation.
I tried it, and it works fine. Again, thank you

@user52713 Glad to hear!


text:
Is there a baseplate with connections on the bottom?
Today, I bought a baseplate (10700). Sadly, the female connectors on the back are not "LEGO compatible"...you can't plug any LEGO bricks into them.  I want to build a LEGO cart so dash can pull dot (a big mechanical moving robot can pull a small nonmoving robot). I need to plug the wheels on the bottom of the large brick and a fence to block the little robot in on top. I listed all items in category Bricks on Pick a Brick and found no match.  Similarly for bricklink.
Where can I find a large flat brick (at a minimum 4 inches by 4 inches) so I can build a wagon?
If all else fails, I can super glue some thin bricks together.

You can certainly combine a number of LEGO parts to build the sort of element you are hoping for. If you want just one part to do this as simply as possible, I'd recommend a 16x16 plate:

This part is about 5 inches by 5 inches and has studs on top and antistuds underneath. You can find it on Bricklink:
http://alpha.bricklink.com/pages/clone/catalogitem.page?P=91405
There have also been some large bricks (up to 12x24) that might work for you:

A baseplate does not have connectors on the bottom. The holes you see are simply an artifact of the forming process.
That said, it would be possible to build a scaffolding that supports a baseplate and keeps it "in system" with the surrounding bricks. A baseplate sitting (loosely) on top of the studs of another brick rests at the same height as a plate sitting on those bricks. So with three plates' height you can sandwich the baseplate in and attach it to something. This would allow you to secure the baseplate using the top studs and support it using the bottom of the scaffold. However, it should be noted that the baseplate is very flexible and won't support much weight in the middle without bending.

A baseplate is not the same as a plate.
A baseplate is meant as a base for your lego constructions, a plate can be used in a construction as well.
As for plates, I think 16x16 is the largest and 6x24 is the longest you can find.


text:
What is an inexpensive camera for photographing LEGO?
What is an inexpensive camera for taking pictures of LEGO? I currently use an iPad and I am not satisfied with the photo quality. I would prefer something 100$ or less, if possible.

photography questions here usually get migrated to photo.stackexchange.com. See this question for example.

Lighting is key for any camera, but especially for the sensors in cell phones, tablets, and inexpensive point and shoots.
If you place your LEGOs in daylight or under a bright white LED / CFL you may find your iPad will do just fine.   Whereas, under normal room lighting the photos become a noisy mess.

I've used pretty inexpensive point and shoot digital cameras to some degree of luck. But I also use a semi decent photo editing software to fix lighting and crop the image.
On my current LEGO Church Project build I've been using my Galaxy Tab Pro's camera which has a flash and it works rather well. Better than the cameras I had been using.
But the key as the other poster has pointed out. Lighting always makes things better. So a flash will help with that.


text:
Interface between keyboard and NXT mindstorm
I want to make an NXT program that handles key presses from a user. First, I'd like a message to display asking the user to choose a key on the keyboard (S or M), and then depending on the chosen key some actions take place (e.g. starts counting the time). How can I do this? Do I need Bluetooth?

I think you should buy a Bluetooth Card for your PC to connect the NXT with your PC. After that you should program your Bluetooth Card to send specific Bluetooth Signal to the NXT while you are pressing a key. Next you should program your NXT to "react" to the specific signal sent from PC... That's all, it's not too easy...


text:
LEGO model of USB socket?
I am looking to make a LEGO version of my laptop. Is there a LEGO brick or set of LEGO bricks that would form a USB socket?

What is the scale of your model?

@pcantin Roughly 3 blocks:1 inch

At a larger scale, a similar hole that includes an indent that can accept circular connectors, preferably 3-brick long for anchoring, for a true connection. But at that size, it would be roughly 3.2 times the size of a typical laptop.
For a tiny model, just do a 2 x 1/3 x 1 brick hole, into which a no-studs plate can be slipped.
If you are going for an actual socket that can hold a stick, sorry, but the end of the road is here, barring rubber piece use. A standard A or B type USB can't fit into LEGO proportioned holes.

It's not deep enough, but depending on what the model is for it might be sufficient: a 2x1 brick with no center pin is almost exactly the right width/height for a USB plug. These are easy to find in transparent colours but solid colours exist as well.

As Caleb already explored the 'rebuild it in bricks' option, let me add a few other options.

There are a few LEGO products that have a Female USB slot built in. You could look at integrating these into your build. Most of them have an awkward shape though. E.g.

LEGO Mindstorms EV3 brick:

LEGO Mindstorms NXT brick:

LEGO Digital Camera:

If you don't mind switching from a Female USB to a Male USB, you could buy one of these USB Flash drives and integrate it - it will look and act like a USB port and can connect (at least on the top as illustrated with the red 2x4 brick) to other LEGO pieces:


text:
How can I get a replacement of LEGO NXT Green City Challenge Activity Pack CD-Rom?
I purchased the LEGO Mindstorms NXT Green City Challenge Pack on LEGO many years ago. Now, I wanted to use back this challenge pack, but I found that I've lost the CD Rom and the class that I am using this for is going to start in no time.
How could I get a replacement copy of the CDROM only?

Welcome to Stack Exchange! As this is a Question & Answer site, not a public forum, I have cleaned up your question a little bit to make it more suitable to this site.

If you are missing a component of a set supplied by LEGO Education, you have the following options:

Contact LEGO Education support (different support line than the
regular LEGO service support line) at
https://education.lego.com/en-us/support. Their US telephone number
is 800-362-4308. Plead your case there - they might have a digital
copy or remnant copies on hand. You would likely need to provide
details to make sure you have bought the original package (e.g. your
NXT license number).
Look on second-hand marketplaces such as BrickLink, BrickOwl or EBay to see if someone is selling the CDROM. I have looked for you and can only find 1 complete Green Challenge kit at the moment of writing this answer, so this route is not feasible.
Asking for someone to make a copy of a copyrighted work is (at least in most countries) illegal, even if you once purchased the original.

NOTE: This is a Question & Answer forum, and proper questions are those that offer generic guidance, not requests for particular favors. I have edited your question to better fit this format.


text:
How to Motorize the LEGO Mars Rover
I am looking for some suggestions.
My daughter is building the Mars Rover set (go here for the details: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=98222) for a presentation at school and I told her I would help make it operate by remote control with one of the power function kits. Problem is that it is a lot more complex than I thought. (I have no experience at the expert LEGO building).
I think I can maybe get it moving with a remote, receiver, and simple motor attached to one wheel, but I do not have any idea how to do the steering and don’t know how to move any of the other functions (camera, antenna, robotic arm).  see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrGmxwcLcUE
So, to steer, I use a servo?
How do I operate the other things, more servos?
And to move things slowly, do I need complex gearing?
Any suggestions to help me figure out what I need to do and what to buy to easily make this work would be much appreciated.
Thanks

The biggest issue will be that it doesn't appear designed to be driven. The best shot are the middle wheels, but a cursory glance doesn't provide any obvious answers. Is it on a rocker like the actual rover? That eliminates another possible recourse.

@jncraton Thanks so much for the response.  I don’t think it is on a rocker.  Here is a photo of the underside.  http://www.brickpicker.com/images/set_images/medium/brickpicker_set_7471_2.jpg

With some minor adjustments, you can try adding Lego Power Functions to your Technic parts.
With the appropriate parts, you can motorize your wheels with motors then remote control them with the Infrared Sensor with remote control. It would be rather tight though as sets that can allow space for these functions will show the option for Power Functions on the box. This means that the Lego Mars Rover set might not be compatible with this set unless you can add some major adjustments or make a rover yourself!
You can find pieces and their details here: http://powerfunctions.lego.com/en-us/whatis/default.aspx#HowDoesPFWorkContentProvider


text:
Did LEGO ever make bricks without the LEGO logo?
While sorting my LEGO collection I found bricks with two different fonts and many without a font at all. I also found Tyco and Mega Bloks bricks. So did LEGO ever make blank bricks?

Yes and no. If you found normal basic bricks without the LEGO logo, then they are definitely not Lego.
However, some parts are too small to have the logo. Things like utensils from the Friends theme, balls, technic pins, etc. don't have room for the logo, but this doesn't mean they aren't made by Lego.
The very first Lego bricks (2x2 and 2x4 bricks in 1949) also didn't include any logo or markings on the bricks. They also had completely hollow undersides, and slots in the side walls. But I suspect this is not what you have.
As for the bricks with two different fonts of LEGO, these may be made by Samsonite (under contract with Lego) in the 60s–80s. They were notoriously careless with keeping the logo straight on the stud, or even having the same type of logo on multiple studs on the same brick :)

On closer examination the blank bricks seem to be Tyco.  They both have a number stamped in the underside button.  I've separated them to our kiddie toy box.  I don't plan selling bricks but do the older bricks have any value?  Thank you Ryan for your prompt answer.

As time marches on, Lego has (usually) become more aggressive with putting their name on pieces. Technic pins definitely have it now. Soccer balls do too. Even 1x1 round bricks finally do. Just today I found the Lego logo on the clip of a tiny Friends pen. https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=35809pb01#T=C


text:
How do I convert an .lxf file to an LDraw file for bricksmith on Mac?
How do I open an .lxf file in LDraw's Bricksmith on a Mac?

If you have a LEGO Digital Designer file (.lxf) and want to convert that to an LDraw compatible format so that LDraw-based tools such as Bricksmith can read it, your best bet is to use LDD's Export functionality to save your file as a .ldr file. The full details on this procedure are located here.
This post covers both LDraw to LDD as well as LDD to LDraw conversion.
Basically, there are 3 key steps:

Make sure LDD has an updated ldraw.xml file. This resets part origins, colors and part numbers.
Use the 'Export model' (CTRL-E) functionality in LDD to save your model (after you have saved it as a .lxf first). Make sure to pick the right file-type, and heed the warnings from the article about making sure you don't accidentally overwrite your .lxf.
Open the exported model in your LDraw tool of choice.


text:
What part(s) can I use to connect modules at a 90 degree angle?
I'm looking for brainstorming! All ideas welcome.
I have a design I'm working on which:

is made of a bunch of identical modules fitting into a single framework
has to allow the modules to "plug in" to the framework (be removable)

I'm designing the framework.
The problem is that in some places the modules meet at an internal corner in a way I can't connect: two modules are connected to the same framework brick (which would be in the space next to both of them).
Here's pictures of two modules meeting, without the framework, which would be in the space defined by the corner:

Is there a piece or assembly that matches either of these scenarios?

one suggestion has been Bricklink Part 10197 the "Technic, Axle and Pin Connector Hub with 2 Axle"
however, with this part, since the pins are mid-stud, the axles reach half a brick in.

Questions:

any part suggestions for either of these configurations?
any redesign suggestions?  Does anyone have a favorite combination for an internal corner like this?

Possible solutions so far:

use axles and the above Bricklink Part 10197
use axles and an as-yet unknown part which is a better fit
use pins and an as-yet unknown part which fits at all
use pins and move the pin hole to a single brick Technic brick, which has a hole aligned with the stud
move all the rightmost connectors slightly up and all the leftmost connectors slightly down (this is the least desirable for aesthetic reasons)

See also the question on this site, "What part(s) can I use to connect technic liftarms at a 90 degree angle?"

Added a better solution to my answer - check it out below in the section marked "BEGIN EDIT".

Here are all possibilities I can think of (most of them already listed in your question):

Use part 10197 Technic, Axle and Pin Connector Hub with 2 Axles together with 2x 4265c Technic Bush 1/2 Smooth, one on each axle end. This will keep it snug and prevents it from moving, but the axles are, as you observed, only halfway inserted into the bricks.

Similar solution, but use 22961 Technic, Axle and Pin Connector Hub with 1 Axle combined with 4265c Technic Bush 1/2 Smooth, and place 18651 Technic, Axle Pin 3L with Friction Ridges Lengthwise and 2L Axle in the hole, together with another 4265c Technic Bush 1/2 Smooth. This combination will have one end solidly inserted (actually sticking out 1/2 a brick) and the other end is halfway in.

Exchange the "standard" Technic 1x2 brick for a 6541 Technic, Brick 1 x 1 with Hole, or even better, a 32000 Technic, Brick 1 x 2 with Holes. Then use a 44809 Technic, Pin Connector Perpendicular 2 x 2 Bent and two normal friction pins to make the connection. This should be rock solid.

The solution would look like this:

BEGIN EDIT 2016/03/04:

I recently came across this piece that would be IDEAL for your original purpose: Part 6553 Technic Pole Reverser Handle.

This piece puts the axle it can accept in the opening at a 1/2 stud distance from the brick it connects to, which would work perfectly in your original design. Combine this with any axle and you get the following solution:

This solution has the advantage that you can take it apart much easier than solution 3, which is more of a "permanent attachment" option. The axle connected to 6653 is 1.5 long, so it does stick 1/2 stud out from the back of the +-shaped Technic brick. You will need to account for this in your design.
END EDIT 2016/03/04

Note that with option 3 you'd do best to connect the pin and the connector first to one part of your modules, and then slide the assembly onto the next part. Assembling this connection once the modular parts are in place is almost impossible due to the way the pins are aligned.

very nice!
Both 3 and 4 are good because there's a way to connect to another structure, in this case the "framework," which runs vertically


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NXT (NXC) Programs are too slow
I am using Bricx Command Center to write some NXC code for a side project. I am working with the MindSqualls C# Library in Unity and am trying to figure out some ways to use the NXT robots in an event-driven situation.
Since lots of things change on the fly with event-driven programming I need to be able to run different NXC programs multiple times, and very quickly.
I have a collection of basically three line programs that I need to run about 12 times a second or so.
The problem is, the NXT brick cannot run them fast enough, the NXT brick UI that goes from the file selected to "Done" is seemingly taking up a half of a second per run. Because of this I can only run the program about twice a second.
I was wondering if anyone knew how to disable the UI so it doesn't waste any time or even bypass the Brick firmware all together so I could just interface with the hardware directly, or maybe even rewrite some of the Brick's firmware to make it faster.
Any help is appreciated,
Thanks
Brick Firmware Info:
FW:    1.28
AVR:   1.01
BC4:   1.01
Build: 1902091856
MindSqualls v2.2.0

Why do you have to have 3 separate programs? Can't you just put all of the code into one NXC program and use messages to trigger the 3 different branches as needed?

Personally I'd ditch the brick.

I'm not quite sure that the UI is what is slowing the brick down, it sounds like your program is very resource intensive.  If you are looking to stay with the platform, you may wish to consider the BrickPI which is a little pricy (but hey, you have an NXT), and uses a Raspberry Pi to control the motors and sensors, which may give you the processing boost.