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The Amazing Lego DAT Tape Changer

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the danish-people-must-be-very-proud dept.

lizardboy writes: "This is for the Lego loving computer geek with large backup needs. The Lego DAT Tape changer. It can be interfaced with any platform supporting Lego mindstorms. I have used it with OSX and Linux using dump and NQC with some custom shell scripts. It also works under a Mac OS 9 using Retrospect and RCX."

11 of 217 comments (clear)

  1. Ah, but the best RCX creation of all time is ... by J.D.+Hogg · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ... the lego Rubik's cube solver : that thing was so cool !

  2. Yah, but can it reboot the Lego Webserver? by Com2Kid · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Can it be setup to hit the reboot key on the Lego Webserver?

    That'd be mighty spiffy. :)

    Anybody else remember those old computerized Lego sets for the AppleIIs? I wonder if those could be interfaced to the mind storms, I know of a school that has quite a few of those lying around, it is just that all of their AppleII interface boards died.

    --
    Need help treating your acne? Come here!
  3. there could actually be use for this... by bastard01 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I don't know why I would think of this, but at where I currently work, there is a very large area between where all of the computers are, and if there is something that could make the tape backup process even more automated, it would be better. Time could be spent on better things, like figuring out how to slowly learn how to not use microsoft products, or actually fixing computers. imagine, this could save 5 minutes at least whenever a tape backup is needed, that really adds up with incrimental backups, or especially if there are regular full backups, more tapes to be changed.

  4. Legos Rock by iomud · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Wouldnt it be cool if lego made actual tools that werent marketed towards kids. Such that they would be designed to do things of this nature, all purpose reusable engineering kits. Not that I'm too cool for lego's or anything...

  5. Sorry about iTools by lizardboy · · Score: 4, Interesting
    I was in a hurry to post the pictures. I have changed the page. Hope it helps. I will now go back to my bucket of legos and work on the CD changer/ duplicator.

    Lizard Boy

    1. Re:Sorry about iTools by Night0wl · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Don't suppose you could send me an email to discuss things? :)

      I've been wondering about how to make a duplication machine via. lego's for some time now. (the @neversleeps.org addy will reach my inbox)

      I've figured out how you could off load burnt cd's. It would take some warranty voiding but could be done. Just simply cut the end of a tray loading drive out, giving you an open U shape.

      then it's just a matter of flipping the cd up and over to what ever you want, I was thinking a dowel rod would work.

      the only thing I haven't figured out is how you could load in a new blank cd with out needing to pre-load them into something to make it easy enough. Just right off the spindle.

      --
      Computational Madness in a round package.
    2. Re:Sorry about iTools by Night0wl · · Score: 2, Interesting

      There's still the issue of loading a new CD.
      I think it would be easiest to load from a spindle, i.e. take off the wrapper, open the lid, bingo! all set for your next batch of 100.

      Suction could be a possability. But without having lego's around to tinker and toy with I'm stuck thinking. That and I can see them getting suctioned on, but not off. Nothing quite like getting sucked off and it never ending :-\

      If you wanted to avoid cutting your burner's tray, I can think of a few other methods for offloading the finished cd. But this is simple. :)

      Drive's open, flip, and we're done.

      I don't mind cutting it either ;) i'm nutty like that..

      --
      Computational Madness in a round package.
    3. Re:Sorry about iTools by Pfhor · · Score: 2, Interesting

      If you look at a CD tray, you will notice two notches on both sides. My school just got a bulk cd copier, and it has two little flappers that pick up the cd from there, then has the tray retract, and just drops them onto a moving sled, to be shot out one side (burn successful) or the other (burn failure). Really quite cool, cause it uses standard CDR drive.

  6. Creativity vs. Unemployment Research by Pharmboy · · Score: 2, Interesting
    I have noticed a direct correlation between the unemployment rates in the tech sector, and these type of creative (although of limited practical use) technical devices.

    After two years of research, crunching numbers on dozens of computers using parallel processing, I have discovered the reason for this phenomena.

    Result: They have too much time on their hands.

    --
    Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
  7. How about for an HP DDS-3 drive? by nsayer · · Score: 2, Interesting

    First, like so many others in this thread, let me say that the force is strong in this one.

    From what I can figure from the pictures, it does ejection the same way that it does picking -- counting on the little lip on the bottom of the cartridge to stick out far enough that the matching hump on the end of the spatula can grab it.

    The problem is that since I have an HP DDS-3 drive, I won't be able to count on that mechanism because unfortunately when it ejects the cartrdige, the bottom slide is still in the open position. Actually pulling the cartridge out is what closes it. So the "lip" isn't there. One would have to give the picker some sort of horizontal tweezers to pinch the cartridge and back it out. That sounds rather difficult, unfortunately.

  8. Re:Too Bad by markmoss · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I grew up with erector sets -- the older part of my set (from the 1950's) was pretty strong, but very heavy. The later stuff had "beams" stamped from the thinnest possible metal, you had to bolt 4 of them together in a box beam to get any strength. Legos were a little pricy for my family. (Plastic resins are expensive by the pound, although forming them into intricate shapes is cheap. Carbon steel is amazingly cheap in bulk, but making something out of it can get pretty expensive. Erector set pieces, except the screws and nuts, were made by rolling and stamping, which is as cheap as metal-forming gets if the quantities are large enough.)

    I think Legos would be as strong or stronger than the later Erector sets if you glued the bricks together. One brick is pretty strong. Trouble is, if you used a strong glue, the pieces are no longer re-usable...