[BrianBSL]

As far as I know, there is currentally no provision for programming the Vex kits, however there is a serial port that uses a 6 conductor phone connector, but I am not sure of the pinout of this, nor do I want to assume that the code from the 2004 EDU-RC's is compatable with these kits without hearing from someone at IFI/IFO/RS. In addition, there is some type of IR port on the controller, although I am not sure what this is used for. There is also no autonomous mode in the game.

The transmitter also adds a teather port on the back side. All kits came with the same crystal set (all 12 of ours are chan 61). The reciever uses a 4 conductor phone cable, leading me to believe there is some sort of data modulation going on there, although I haven't had a chance to really look into it. The rules say you can use 2 transmitters to control your robot, allowing a driver and operator. The default code is quite robust for default code, and configurable with jumpers that come in the kit.

As far as battery packs, although it is not clearly specified in the rules, they do say you can not modify the battery pack, therefore I believe they want you to use rechargable AA's (we just ordered 100 of them and will be making adapters to charge these packs with the old Robovation chargers).