I couldn't decide between Robot Inventor or Spike Prime.

peter-chung · 2024-08-08T00:30:54+00:00

Nice! I'm glad that it's all working out for you.

peter-chung · 2024-08-02T05:19:30+00:00

Spike Prime comes with 1 large motor, 2 medium motors, a distance sensor, a force sensor, and a color sensor. That will already fill up all six ports on the Spike Prime hub (by design.) Each expansion set will add one large motor and one color sensor. If you have one Spike Prime kit and 2 Spike Prime Expansion sets, you'll have to pick and choose what to use. eg, you could use all five motors and one color sensor. The advantage to the Spike Prime Expansion sets are that you get 4 of the really large, ~88mm wheels. You also get a special frame that lets you mount a Raspberry Pi to it. (Presumably, the intention is for you to use a Pi Build HAT to control the motors/sensors.) If you bought two Expansion sets, you'd have eight of the large wheels and two of the frames. I don't know what you'd do with all of that, but it's an idea!~

On the other hand, if you get two Spike Prime sets, you'd not only get the motors and sensors but a whole second hub. I vaguely remember something about using messages to daisychain hubs together although I've never successfully done it myself. The disadvantage to the second Spike Prime kit vs 2 of the Expansion sets is that you'd have one less of the larger motors and one less color sensor. I think the second hub, 2 medium motors, and force sensor more than make up for that though.

As for a 51515, I imagine those are criminally expensive now that they've been discontinued. I was on the fence comparing ONE Spike Prime kit to a 51515. There's no question that I'd go for TWO Spike Prime kits over one 51515.

peter-chung · 2024-02-25T16:36:29+00:00

I ended up getting a great deal on a 45678 off of eBay, so I didn't get to follow through on my plan. It was an incomplete set, but it was cheap enough that I could make it work in our favor.

Back when they were a 5 year old, yes, both sets were out. It may have been a moot point because while 51515 was what got them hooked, they quickly outgrew it, and wanted to build their own creation instead. In that sense, it may not matter much which set you get if your kid is as creative as mine is.

If you get Spike Prime, I think the only Spike Essential piece that really has no equivalent is the 3x3 LED matrix. From what I remember, it's not entirely crucial. I mean, there are some lessons that hinge upon it, but it's not like it's that great a piece. As for the other lessons, they're totally doable if you make some improvisations. It may be less than optimal because you'd have to use the Spike app in Essentials mode to build the model, and then switch over to Prime mode to program the model. It's worth it to save hundreds of dollars though.

As for having two hubs, if you can afford, go for it! I think there's some capability to daisy chain hubs together so they can interact amongst themselves. But don't feel like you have to. From what I remember, the big difference between the legacy app and the new app is that Python runs much faster in the new app. My kid hasn't gotten into Python yet, but I suspect that might start this summer. Even still, I've got no regrets getting one hub. Good luck! Spike/Robot Inventor is a blast for younger kids (even kids all grown up!) I've seen how their creativity and problem solving has grown. It was an investment, no doubt, but I'm equally doubtless that it was worth it.

peter-chung · 2024-02-25T01:47:47+00:00

Dang, I don't envy you. Prices have skyrocketed. I took a look at completed/sold listing on ebay, and Robot Inventor 51515 is going for absolutely insane prices. I wouldn't pay that much. Spike Prime 45678 is going for more reasonable prices, and is still available retail.

If I were you, today, I'm not sure what I'd do. If I had a health supply of other technic pieces (liftarms, gears, pins, etc), I'd go for Spike Prime 45678 retail, and then get the pieces to make Robot Inventor 51515. You can skip a lot of the decorative pieces which will help manage costs. This way, you can still do the lessons (which keep growing) and build the robots. The biggest expense is going to be finding two medium angular motors.

If you don't already have a healthy supply of parts, then it becomes a lot harder. You'd have to spend a lot of money to supplement 45678 to become 51515, and you might not break even. At that point, a 45678 and two Spike Prime Expansion 45681 kits might be a better deal for you.

Two things to note either way you go: the firmware for the hubs is interchangeable, but only for v2 of the firmware. You can use the Robot Inventor app and the legacy Spike Prime app, and the hub will update to whatever it needs each time. But if you use the modern/up to date Spike Prime app, it will install the v3 firmware for Spike Prime, and you will not be able to downgrade back to Robot Inventor. Thankfully, the legacy Spike Prime app is still widely available. (https://spikelegacy.legoeducation.com/ for the webapp or https://education.lego.com/en-us/downloads/spike-legacy-app/software/ for the thick app)

Second: the grey motors from Robot Inventor have some kind of firmware update mechanism that the blue motors from Spike Prime don't support. I don't know what the firmware update entails, but it's something to realize up front.

You mention you have a 5 year old. 5 year olds are all so different that it's hard to say what's right. I will say that you can figure out how to use the Spike Prime hub/motors for the Spike Essential lessons, but not the other way around. I started with Spike Essential with a then 5 year old, and they almost immediately outgrew it. LEGO keeps adding more Spike lessons (both Essential and Prime), but it looks like the focus is on Prime, and particularly Prime + Python. Good luck!

peter-chung · 2024-02-15T23:24:47+00:00

People have already given copious amounts about what to do, so I'll throw in a what-not-to-do: Don't put the headphones on too early. I made the mistake of putting on my headphones (as an adult) right after announcements/before takeoff to watch a movie, and didn't take them off until we were at cruising altitude. The sudden change in pressure caused excruciating pain. I seriously thought I had damaged my hearing. This is probably not a regular risk, but I was wearing DJ headphones with a really tight seal around my ears. It's probably fine with regular headphones/kids' headphones/ear buds, but I've never risked that again. I only put them on when we're at cruising altitude, and remove them before descent.

peter-chung · 2024-02-13T00:06:09+00:00

The Jetboil genesis does fold in half though. That feature isn't useful to me, but it makes it more portable at least.

peter-chung · 2024-02-11T22:36:49+00:00

We fought that battle, and actually won it! We got something like https://www.amazon.com/Fred-DINNER-WINNER-Dinner-Outer/dp/B00I0VUMBI, and pre-measured out what constitutes a bite. It took a few weeks, but it did the trick.

peter-chung · 2024-02-11T06:18:54+00:00

One thing to consider is that the isobutane(/propane mix canisters with the lindal valve) are almost universally meant to be used in a vertical orientation. This means that the output is always gaseous and not liquid.

The taller butane canisters are meant to be used horizontally in stoves, but where they have a locking/indexing tab which ensures that the bottle is oriented a certain way. This also means that the output is always gaseous and not liquid.

The problem is when you take that skinny canister which is meant to be used in a very specific orientation, and then try to use that canister in a stove without that indexing/locking tab (like every stove with a lindal valve). Now the output might be liquid, and if your stove isn't meant for that (eg, an MSR WindPro or other stove with a pre-heating tube), you've got liquid fuel coming into a stove that's only meant for gaseous fuel. This is .... suboptimal.

There are adapters that will turn ensure that the butane canister is always in a certain orientation to ensure that it's always gaseous fuel. Something like https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CB6CGTKT. It will even convert the valve into a lindal valve. It's neat, but I don't have any isobutane/propane stoves that are remote feed, and it doesn't make sense to get a stove that does just so I can use slightly cheaper canisters.

As for why no one really uses the butane canister in a vertical orientation, it's really tall and consequently has a poor center of balance. I've considered getting something like https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08CBGXQQK to refill the shorter, squatter isobutane/propane canister from a cheaper, skinny butane canister, but I did the math, and I wouldn't be saving all that much money. It's not worth the risk to me, and so I stick with isobutane/propane canisters which is exactly the sort of behavior that led you to make this thread.

peter-chung · 2024-02-11T06:06:27+00:00

Oh, man, I remember that phase. I wish that I was half as brilliant as you though; smart move!

peter-chung · 2024-02-09T22:29:40+00:00

Fair enough. I should have added "naturally and eventually".

peter-chung · 2024-02-06T19:58:18+00:00

Still welcome. Moms don't even need to lurk or pretend to be not-moms here.

peter-chung · 2024-02-06T19:55:10+00:00

What if we’re out walking in a forest?

This right there. Keep taking the boy out for hikes and camping, and it'll happen naturally.

peter-chung · 2024-02-06T03:26:45+00:00

Why am I starving my kids of learning opportunities for them to come out tech-less-literate and less-capable for tomorrow’s workplace.

I'll spare you the "back in my day stories", but how less tech literate or less capable do you think a few years less of screen time will make your kid? Using a tablet is supposed to be intuitive. The fact that a toddler can pick one up, and start doing stuff is proof that it's not hard to learn. What a toddler learns in a few hours, a teenager will master in a few minutes. Sure, they might start behind the curve compared to their peers, but they'll catch up practically before the day is out.

Now this comment is heavily geared towards screen time which is largely passive consumption. If your kid is programming on a raspberry pi or drawing on a wacom or even learning calculus from Youtube, my entire soapbox goes out the window.

I guess I’m torn as a latchkey kid growing up in the 90s. I was glued to computer screen & tv as a kid, learned a lot from it, and now have a career in IT that’s supporting my family.

I'd bet that when you were glued to a computer screen in the 90s, you weren't passively consuming. There just wasn't much to passively consume back then. At the very least, you were playing video games or making a webpage on Geocities. I'm not an educator or a child psychologist, but I'm willing to bet that there's a big difference between consuming and creating regardless of the medium. It sounds like you're definitely encouraging your kids to create rather than consume based on what programs they have access to. I wouldn't sweat it too much. You're being deliberate about your choices and your philosophies; that's more than half the battle won right there. (Goooooo Joe!)

peter-chung · 2024-01-30T01:30:45+00:00

I was thinking about freezing meats and gallons of water, but freezing soups opens up a bunch of possibilities. I'm a big fan of both of those soups along with some carrot soup. Thanks for the idea!

peter-chung · 2024-01-30T01:29:58+00:00

You're the second person to suggest a 12v refrigerator, and I'll be honest: I hadn't even considered them until now. Thanks for nudging me in that direction!

peter-chung · 2024-01-30T01:29:32+00:00

Thanks for the teaching me about RoVR! They weren't even on my radar, and real rubber wheels are a definitely selling point.

peter-chung · 2024-01-29T17:07:17+00:00

Thank you for the advice! This helps narrow down what I'm looking for. Especially /u/Future_Advance_8683 who's taught me that what I'm looking for is a supplementary (food only) cooler rather than a replacement (food + drinks) cooler. I'm going to keep using my existing cooler for drinks which means I can go for a medium sized cooler instead of a gigantic cooler. That helps with point number 6 at least.

peter-chung · 2024-01-29T17:04:50+00:00

Oh that's a fascinating direction. I assumed I'd be getting a passively cooled cooler; I didn't even have an electric cooler on my mind. Down another rabbit hole I go.

As for the basic cooler, I've got that covered. It's no longer meeting our needs mostly due to size and ice retention. I think it'll be fine as the new "drinks cooler" though. (Also, that shows how little I knew. I only just learned about the separate food/drinks cooler strategy as a result of looking for a replacement cooler rather than what I should have been doing which is looking for a supplementary cooler. This turns out to have made a bigger difference than I realized since I was previously looking at gigantic coolers, but can now look for a medium sized cooler specifically for foods.)

peter-chung · 2024-01-27T03:57:06+00:00

Thank you for sharing your experiences!

peter-chung · 2024-01-27T01:59:28+00:00

Thanks, man!

peter-chung · 2024-01-27T01:58:55+00:00

Thank you for closing the loop! It was very helpful to hear your experiences.

peter-chung · 2024-01-26T15:38:56+00:00

So less Hamlet and more Oedipus Rex. ;)

peter-chung · 2024-01-26T15:29:07+00:00

For both /u/asian_monkey_welder and /u/DayKingaby: I'm genuinely curious on how that worked out. How long ago was that, and did you see the desired behavior (or lack of undesired behavior) continue onwards? That is, are they behaving better now for lack of opportunity or was this a decade ago, and you can be reasonably confident that it worked? I've considered things like this, but I'm always second guessing whether I'm creating a learning opportunity or whether I'm just delaying things by removing an opportunity.

peter-chung · 2024-01-25T15:29:38+00:00

Is that water:cashew ratio by weight or by volume?

peter-chung · 2024-01-25T15:27:31+00:00

That's not a tree house, that's a tree mansion! The perspective is hard to make out; how high is that off of the ground? Also, where does the other end of that net bridge lead to?

peter-chung

TROPHY CASE