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Using the Education Version of the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Set

The NXT 1.X Projects on nxtprograms.com are designed for the original 1.X retail version of the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT (8527) kit.  If you are using the Education version of the NXT set (9797), there are three things you should know to build the 1.X projects, as explained below.  You will not in general be able to build the NXT 2.0 projects or use the programs designed for NXT 2.0.

1. You Need the Education Resource Set

The Education Base Set of the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT set (9797) by itself does not have enough parts to build most of the projects on nxtprograms.com.  You will also need the Education Resource Set (the new 9695 kit or the older 9648 kit) from LEGO Education.
 

LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT
1.X Retail Version (8527)
Parts Inventory

LEGO MINDSTORMS Education
NXT Base Set
(9797)
Parts Inventory
Education Resource Set
(new 9695 or older 9648)
9648 Parts Inventory

 

 

2. Use AA Batteries instead of the Rechargeable Battery Pack

The rechargeable battery pack for the NXT makes the brick larger than when AA batteries are used, so many of the projects will not fit the brick as designed.  You can either use AA batteries (a battery cover for using AA batteries is included in the Education NXT Base Set), or you can figure out how to modify the design to make the larger brick fit.
 

NXT Brick with AA Batteries

NXT Brick with Rechargeable Battery Pack

 

3. Some Parts are Different Colors

Some of the parts in the Education version of the NXT set are different colors than the corresponding parts in the retail set, as shown below:
 

Retail version

Education Version

The different colors will normally not cause a problem unless specific colors are required, such as the white beams used in Step 17 of the Car with Game Controller project.  As a workaround for this project, if you don't have any white beams, you could tape a piece of white paper over the part that the light sensor needs to see as white.
 

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© 2007-2011 by Dave Parker.  All rights reserved. 
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