Today on woot.com the VEXPlorer is being sold for only $80. Go check it out.
For those who don’t know what woot.com is: Woot.com is a site that sells 1 thing every day. Everyday it’s different and they will sell it until it sells out.
Why, oh why does this have to happen right after I spend all of my money? 
Oh well, at least I’ve got a Macgyver Watch!
AWESOME! but does this deal only last for today, or more days?
Only today.
darn! i won’t have enough money to buy it, along with the other stuff i’m buying. Before i buy the vexplorer, can someone who owns it tell me how good it really is? i like the camera, but i don’t really care for the other stuff.
I like it. The camera is good (for several rooms distance). The rest is also cool. For 80$ you can hardly buy the camera by itself. The motors are neat, and if you get the motor adapter you can use them with regular Vex (VEXred). Also, it comes with a cool claw. I found mine on amazon for 100$ a while back…
I agree. It is worth noting that the camera can be set to one of four channels, so you can have several cameras operating in close proximity. This is nice if you want a dedicated “claw cam” or “backup cam”. The receiver has a switch that lets you select between channels.
The control system is single-frequency, though, and you cannot operate more than one VEXplorer robot in the same area without cross-interference. There’s a hack I’m just about to post that allows you to slave a VEXplorer receiver to a VEX microcontroller and use it as a 6-port motor controller. Details will be added to this thread once I’ve got it all sorted out (it does require opening the VEXplorer receiver and doing a little fine soldering, though).
Cheers,
- Dean
fine soldering is easy, though! i love hacking…machines and computers…must hack…
I bought my VEXplorer last summer when it came out and I really love it. For me, it’s the whole package - the claw, the color camera, and of course, the color scheme!
I bought all 3 accessories for mine - the wrist kit, the tank tread kit, and the flashlight - and they are all great! I only had trouble with the wrist kit fitting together as described in the instructions.
It does have it’s drawbacks, but for a remote controlled building toy that completely compatible with all of the VEX structural and motion products - it can’t be beat, especially for $79.99!
well i bought one. i just couldn’t resist buying it for more than 50% off.
ah man i waited too long! the offer is gone…grrr…
Interestingly, it looks like the VEX Store now lists VEXplorer as “SOLD OUT”, with VEXplorer accessories listed as “available while they last…”. I guess the WOOT! deal was kind of like the Radio Shack clearance sale.
I wonder if IFI is clearing the way for VEX Mini and/or a revised RCR lineup?
- Dean
If you missed the $80 deal at WOOT!, it looks like Buy.com still has some at $90 with free shipping.
It looks like other retailers are selling them now at at around $150.
Best of luck,
- Dean
Thanks for the information - I just checked it out!
I wonder if the replacement parts will still be available - maybe I need to consider ordering a few just in case. I’m really glad that you posted this because I have been wanting to order some of the extension cables, but I have been putting it off. I didn’t need them urgently and just figured that I could always order them later.
I really like the VEXplorer, but I don’t know if it was ever as popular as they might have hoped it would be. I am anxious for the new VEX Mini and/or a revised RCR lineup to come out, but I had hoped that they would keep the VEXplorer around though.
I highly doubt that VEX is discontinuing the VEXplorer or it’s accessories. Most likely there was simply a surge in demand and they ran out.
I’ve seen the Vex store run out of stock before, but I’ve never seen a “SOLD OUT!” banner across a product. Also, the phrase “Accessories still available while they last…” seems to imply that they’ve been discontinued.
[INDENT]
[/INDENT]
I’m guessing the VEX Mini is taking VEXplorer’s place as their entry-level non-programmable clawbot. Perhaps there will be a VEXplorer 2.0? And I wouldn’t be surprised if many of the VEXplorer accessories continue to be available as VEX RCR accessories.
Cheers,
- Dean
I guess you might be right. That might explain how woot got them so cheap… Anyways I guess I thought they might have said something if they were discontinuing the VEXplorer.
I thought that too. I don’t know why they wouldn’t have posted something just to let everyone know. I hadn’t really been paying attention to the VEXplorer link on products page so I hadn’t even noticed it being sold out.
I hope that they continue to sell replacement parts, but I think that the controller and motors for the new VEX Mini are a little different. At least they looked that way in the pictures I’ve seen.
I really wish they would post a new update on everything - the last one was back in September.
Looks like Woot! has the VEXplorer deal back. Same price as before: $79.99 + $5 shipping.
If you missed out before, it looks like you get a second chance (at least for the next 21 hours or so)!
Cheers,
- Dean
This deal is totally worth it. I bought 2 back in December one of them was going to be a birthday present for my nephew but I ended keeping both of them. The camera works quite well and if you have a TV with Picture In Picture you can watch up to 4 at once. The claw is decent as well. You can also use the vexplorer motors with vex if you buy motor controllers.
I am going to get 1 more and this time I will actually give it to my nephew…I think.