TargettedWowWeeAccessories2017

 

Introduction/Definition/etc Body Conclusion Links Discussion License Page History Page Statistics Page Views:  since creating on 20170219

 

Introduction/Definition/etc

 

Bought some accessories as followup from WowWeeToys2017

and another Robot, Miposaur, which is not yet useful,

as requires batteries, and probably doesn't take rechargeables,

like the SmartBall, so problems with batteries, clearance

sales of things not working out of the box, and other issues...

 

Body

 

Target had some reduced priced WowWee accessories

(REV car rechargeable batteries

Item No. 0436

UPC 7 71171 10436 0

Sticker (Clearance  087 02 1126 Was $39.97 Now $11.98)

which LED flashes Red & Green

which means, according to printed instructions,

Check Batteries.

 

REV SmartRamp

Item No 0435

UPC 7 71171 10435 3

Sticker (Clearance 087 02 1126 Was $39.97 Now $19.98)

which takes batteries "Power Up With Duracell Batteries Not Included"

"Requires: 4x "AAA" (not included)"

and I have a feeling even the Duracell brand rechargeables won't work...

"Requires: Complete Battle Pack (not included)"

and few indoor places to try it,

"HACK - "Take Over" the ramp and make it damage enemies"

Marketing on so many levels, hacking defined as able to change,

no just coopt (sp?), display as turncoat, etc...

 

CHiP at list price ~ $200 and

REV Air at list price (~$120? iirc) which I hadn't even seen

in stores, nor the packaging before but hanging around

the toy section to read stuff, without your own kids,

is probably an issue, some places...

 

Toys R Us has a sale MipoSaur, (~$50, until ~3/6??

like the now past sale Lumi $80 list, - ~$30 off)

but no accessories of the props 

(propellers) for Lumi, 

had full price REV ramps and batteries for REV.

 

TriBot might need some surgery, as one of the motors

was going, and see what could be replaced on it,

to get it to work again...  Hence the buy two

with a spare type plans...

 

Other interesting accessories, and parts include:

CHiP wheels ($16 from online)

Lumi props (~$8? from online)

MipoSaur rechargeables ($30+? online?)

RoboRemote Dongle (~$22 online,

included in some other things like certain older

RoboSapiens, etc?)

+ Shipping and Handling?

Minimum ordering for free shipping,

postal addresses, credit card use online,

misplaced deliveries, etc...

 

So thinking the ones where you can replace the

battery pack YourSelf with regular disposable

batteries and remove them without problems

might be the best bet.  Some systems/toys

combo package things with, (SmartBalls,

SmartBeds/docks, SmartBands, SmartRamps?

 etc) and others like MipoSaur are upgrades

to rechargeables, with associated price jumps,

of $30 more for an accessory...  That one doesn't

have a dock/SmartBed, afaict...

 

Larger combo like packaging, and buying in bulk might help,

and plus becoming a distributor, maybe a

better loyalty program, for having so many WowWees,

and/or checking the competition, for say RobotCats

to fight with the RobotDogs, to go full circle with the

RobotMouses/Mices/Mice/Meeses (sp?)...

 

And creating an animal robo planet / menagerie,

like a Darwinian Toy Story, etc...

 

Can CHiP jump the ramp?

How about Mipo?

Coder?

COJI?

MipoSaur?

MipoFlop?

etc...

 

Cross products of x Product$ add another AdSense

to the BeaconSense (tm) and other NonSense,

of buying some stuff...

 

 

Conclusion

 

Summary of experience or similar

 

Annoying to buy something that didn't look opened,

but was not working, when you get around to trying.

Sure you take some chances buying something on sale,

but didn't look like it was opened, and to have batteries,

which some devices include rechargeables,

CHiP has the main one included, but takes disposable,

for the SmartBall (4xAAA, but rechargeables in that

just show Red and turn off, meaning the 1.2 instead of 1.5

volts of rechargeables aren't good enough, maybe other

battery technology (like Zinc?) might work?

 

Batteries sold separately, has both good and bad

connotations, the box is not complete, you have to

buy something else, or already have some fresh

ones, the TriBot took rechargeables, 6-8? AA

(which cost about as much as the device on sale

with it's batteries with charger AA 2600 MilliAmpHour )

and worked with those, but not other devices,

and some stuff is not even user serviceable,

for example taking the main chest CHiP

battery pack out, the instructions say call/

contact WowWee about it first, like your device might

not work, and possibly other FUD...

Wondering if the battery pack is it's identity,

and maybe an easy upgrade method,

including more than just batteries,

like it reports Dog Missing/ Stolen,

and WiFi/ GPS location is x,y,z...?_)

 

 

The FCC and other regulations are important,

as the manufacturer has to get compliance with stuff,

InfraRed, 802.11 WiFi etc signals not interfering

with other stuff (say visiting gramma/pa in a hospital

or nursing care?) and operation not harming others

(flooding BlueTooth so phones don't work,

WiFi 2.4/5.8 MHz blocked by too much traffic,

and the router is not yours but a shared public,

open and/or school / institutional one?),

but must be tolerant of problems (hence indoor use only?),

(reduces risk?) however, some of these rather expensive

toys are taking only premium fuels/ batteries,

and a green problem, both environmentally

and monetarily...

 

Stores that sell stuff that doesn't work,

i.e. non fresh rechargeables that don't work,

when new, may be doing you a disservice...

 

90 Day warrantees (sp?) require you to mail

it back to them?

In store replacements, not happening, must contact

the manufacturer?

 

Hacking the device, and replacing the rechargeable

batteries, may cause other problems, but if reports

are true that the USA version(s) of the RoboSapien V2

had faulty wiring in manufacturing, and might

short, start fires, and burn, especially years later,

people may be having other problems more important,

than little fire problems, as those were C or D

size batteries in the foot areas, and not Lithiums

which can cause fire on their own,

under and over charging and travel/flight

restrictions, etc like cell phones, portable computers, etc)

 

Some people drop cell phones, they are run over by

cars, bicycles, etc, and get wet, but we don't expect

much bad to happen with those...

 

Also, rewiring a robot, is not simple,

for some older kids, and not really easy to do,

from the video I saw, including wire lengths,

determining what connects to what,

leading wires after manufacturing assembly,

and the whole voids warranties (sp?),

other risks in opening consumer electronics,

(static electricity, bad jumpered/

open and shorted connections, etc)

but as you get older and maybe wiser,

you might want to learn how the toys work,

and despite any intentions of locking things

down, patent encumbered, copyright, etc

basic repairs for someone who qualified and

went to engineering school, though didn't finish,

should not really be prohibited, in my

humble opinion...

As older people lose eyesight, and magnifying

becomes more necessary, bifocals, etc after

40 years old, maybe hiring a kid to do the labor

part, like lab techs do stuff under orders/

supervision, for finer hand eye coordination...

 

Kind of like the Halloween Letters by Gates and M$,

saying hobby computers are dead, buy packaged stuff

instead, and the Basic Freedoms in Open Hardware,

to inspect, modify and redistribute modifications

to hardware and software, especially in the toy arena,

where people outgrow things so quickly,

(similar to kids bicycles and clothes)

and then they become landfill, instead of

repurposing and reusing essentially toy only

entertainment gadgets, in the millions sold category,

where the company probably made enough money

to recoup development, manufacturing, and

down to profiteering, perhaps...

 

Links

 

RoboSapien V2 YouTube video

USA known problems

 

Shipping RoboSapien YouTube video

broken bought used, (basically bricked:),

kid got something, but even worse shape

than expected, and maybe multiple times...

 

WowWee WikiPedia pages

showing company changes, restructuring

following one designer's product RoboSapien,

then a lull, (all from the economy?)

 

Robot Catalog type sites where the robots

are fairly and impartially described, what motors,

sensors, special features, etc so that you know

what you are paying for and what you are getting...

 

Competitive advantage in making stuff?

 

Toy Industry Association

How many Billions Spent on products like this,

all over the USA, World, etc...

 

 

Discussion

 

A place for feedback on the page presented

 

What guarantee do you have, spending your hard

earned allowance, gift money, disability, retirement,

etc that you are getting something that works

as intended?

 

Does buying something on sale, mean it will not work?

Are retailers targeting you with misrepresenting something

and/or selling something know not to work??

 

Does 8+ or 13+ mean that older people are of less

intelligence for playing with the electronics themselves?

 

Or like Disney movies there are multiple levels of the

story lines that keep adults entertained as well,

seeing as they probably have to accompany kids

to the movies, given ratings, safety, etc...

 

So building your own coder Mipo type Mini,

is not as good as the mods that helped make

RoboSapien original so popular with technical

people, of all ages?

 

If a box doesn't show what is inside with clear

windowing, or pull over covering, and you cannot

open it in the store to try one out, how do you

know the device is even in the box to start with?

Are you buying an empty box?

 

Drones for example are relatively light, and batteries

are LiPo to start, so checking shipping weight,

adding extra for boxing and do you know

if the packaging has been modified?

 

Bring a scale into a store and check if it is

actually in there?

 

Paying cash and the register, a self checkout

and you can't scan the barcode (UPC)

how do you prove you bought it?

Are they selling known bad stuff?

While laughing at customers who buy it?

Duplicitously selling and laughing and saying

it might not work, but selling it anyway,

because they are big, have lawyers,

security, corporate Ponzi schemes,

pointing towards others, and not make good

on stuff? You return too much, because you are

old, black, white, disabled, odd, bought bug

encasement stuff, (wrote them up, reported to Consumer

Affairs, Better Business Bureau, etc)

also said behind you on walkie talkie/ intercom/

thru security cameras with microphones and speaker,

whispering under their breath while turned the other way,

to avoid sousveillence (sp?) (bottom up surveillance (sp?)

it doesn't work, etc, you can't return stuff?

All the while following you around like a criminal

questioning why you fell on their stairs, you again,

etc...

 

All within blocks of a homeless shelter, so everyone

is somehow more suspect, for being baggy, not driving

SUVs, Big Box mentality, the only real customers are

the ones who could shop elsewhere...

 

While most customer service and tellers earn a fraction

of what you earned before becoming disabled...

 

Back to Walmart Greeter mentality, we need someone

to stand up and in the doorway and get the pity

vote for shopping there...  Which is probably what

corporate thinks of the customers there anyway,

and the attitude of the people working there matches

that...

 

Basically, a sucker born every minute...

Caveat Emptor (sp?), Buyer Beware...

 

Are model numbers, serial numbers and

modifications clearly marked on the box?

Would a user/ purchaser know what is really

inside it?  Does it contain a Lithium battery?

Or just a NiMH?

NiCad?

 

Something is stamped on both packages,

but no way of knowing what it really means...

Serial number(s) or batch numbers?

 

MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet,

like for FCC ID and what is really inside

the box?

What it radiates and at what frequencies? 

Bluetooth?

WiFi?

other EMI (Electro Magnetic Interference)

 

Are the hard cases on the battery packs necessary?

Is there shielding on them for EMI?

What about hard cases like LiPo phone batteries

for portable phones?

 

Is a service manual available?

How Much?

Schematics?

General engineering information?

You are selling the geekiness that STEM/STEAM

leads to a valuable degree in engineering?

 

Or just Marketing and Sales?

 

Or maybe a desire for law degree?

Like Corvairs (sp?) and Ralph Nader?

 

 

License

 

Creative Commons Share and Share Alike,

Non Commercial, Non Derivative,

for the whole site's contents

unless otherwise explicitly stated

 

Page History

 

20170219 Jerry

• Jerry created this page to document some issues
• Accessoreis not working out of the box
• Other compatablity (sp?) and store issues?
• Idears for better, whole system cross products?
• Small and Large battery packs? 
• AA take an AAA pack?
• Vice versa?
• ...

 

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