I'm well past the point of being able to construct an oscillator out of an RCX in time for my lab. Just as well since the time to finish the lab is going faster than I thought. So that leaves me with a question of what the hell I'm going to do with the progress I've made (both with the NXT and the RCX). The utility of the NXT is in its sensors and it's mobility. While I have the interface to make it record things with Vernier sensors, I also have the LabQuests, which offer more options for analysis and less hassle to get data from. The NXT sensors are kind of crappy, aside from a compass and a sound intensity meter. The SIM might be useful, especially on a mobile device, to find hotspots and cold spots in a room. Maybe I can make a lab where you find the hot and cold spots?

The RCX looks like it will have more utility than I originally thought. The connectors are really easy to attach to alligator clips, and if I keep the PWM frequency high enough I can try to use it as a variable DC output for electricity labs. Still, programming it is proving to be more difficult due to lack of documentation and similarities/differences from the later versions of leJOS. Right now I'm trying to figure out how to use Sensor Listeners and while I can get one example to work it is still in the "magic" range of things where I can't dissect it and put it back together again.