LEGO electrical systems

[Tmanderson]

Hi,

I have been thinking about the LEGO electrical systems that have been recently released. In 2016 there was wedo 2.0 with new plugs.  We heard that “PF 2.0” was coming.  In 2017 the Boost system was released.   This year saw Powered Up released.  Also technic Control + has debuted as well.  I’m not sure if control+ hardware is different from Powered Up items.  Adding mindstorms we now have 5 different electrical systems for LEGO.

I am not a technical builder (i.e. technic or mindstorms) although I have some of each in my collection. I am mostly a system guy.  But I like adding lights, motors and sound to my Mocs.

I picked up a boost hub from bricklink recently.  It is a battery box, receiver, two motors and two plugs all in one.  It is also huge.  Building this into a creation is a challenge.

some observations:

Back in 2016 when wedo 2.0 first came out LEGO suggested they were moving towards a more universal system with one plug and everything would work together.  It does not look like components from the different systems all work together.  LEGO also suggested that’s would be backwards compatibility with pf1.0.  This did not happen.  I know that sometimes you have to jump forward without backwards compatibility.  But the tech didnt move so far forward that it makes sense to me.

The new systems are not more flexible.  They really have done two things; put together receivers and battery boxes and added the ability to use your phone or tablet to control the system.   Overall items are as big as they used to be.  No small motors, no lights that flash or speakers have been added to the line.  No more compact battery box.  The phone control is the one great thing about the new stuff, with the boost I was playing with the brick in a few minutes.

You can add sound - well,  on your phone or tablet’s speaker.  There are no small speakers to add to your creation.  And no speaker even in the large boxes that have created.  I was going to make a little dog with the boost brick and wanted him to bark. It sounds weird coming from the phone not the model.

Pros: phone/tablet control, receivers added to battery boxes

cons: no backwards compatibility, confusing array of products that aren’t compatible with each other, parts still large,  no speakers, price increases

LEGO is a great company and I’m a huge fan of their products.  I know they are building toys for kids but I’m disappointed with the new generation of powered elements.

 

[Toastie]

Very nicely phrased!

I am closely following the LEGO electrical systems - as you call them - since 1998. All these years it appears (only to me!) as if there is no master plan. As if TLG is driven (or better pushed) by new technology emerging. As if they were seriously thinking about it - and then at some point lost it - or better abandoned it. Particularly the compatibility thing. It is all there, but they don't really promote or push for that. Of course they have to make profit, take care of children not eating the new stuff … but … something is missing. The idea of putting everything together. It may very well be that this is next to impossible - however: I don't believe that. Too many diverse electrical systems from TLG are easily integrated - if you want to.

But again: Legal issues may be in the way. Or motivation. Or declining sells. TLG is a very dedicated toy manufacturer - but at the same time a high-power globally operating company.

Best
Thorsten 

  

[MAB]

There are sound bricks with pre-defined sounds though. LEGO have produced many different sound bricks over the years, from castle to revving motors  to klaxxonsto space sounds. There is even a door bell with dog bark ...

 

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=55206c06&name=Electric, Sound Brick 2 x 4 x 2 with Light Bluish Gray Top and Doorbell then Dog Bark Sound (Set 5771)&category=[Electric, Light & Sound]#T=S&O={"rpp":"500","iconly":0}

 

[Tmanderson]

@MAB yeah I have a sound brick with an alarm sound, think it came from Agents.  It would be nice if we could add our own sounds though.

[MAB]

21 minutes ago, Tmanderson said:

@MAB yeah I have a sound brick with an alarm sound, think it came from Agents.  It would be nice if we could add our own sounds though.

You can actually do that in a purist way, if you don't mind using the rather large sound recorder from this Duplo set.

 

Although is recording a non-LEGO sound still purist ...?

 

 

[Aanchir]

For what it's worth, I'm pretty sure all the components of WeDo 2.0, Boost, Powered Up, Spike Prime, and Technic Control+ are cross-compatible. They all use the same parts, and in fact we've already seen some parts used across different platforms — for example, the Boost Move Hub is sold as a Powered Up accessory with a claim that you can run it using the Powered Up app (something that is presumably being added in a future update), and the motor from the Powered Up Batmobile is the same one used in the Boost Creative Toolbox. All of these sets have been consistent about using the same type of plugs. The LEGO Education Twitter account even confirmed that Spike Prime is compatible with all other parts featuring PF2.0 plugs

What does vary from one set to another is the software they use. But this is nothing new at all for LEGO. Back in the day, the motors and sensors from the LEGO Mindstorms Robotics Invention System and Robotics Discovery Set used the same 9V system as everything else, but not only did you need one of the Mindstorms intelligent bricks to make them run, but some even needed a certain TYPE of intelligent brick to run (for example, the RCX from the Robotics Invention System was compatible with the temperature sensor, but the Scout from the Robotics Discovery Set was not). What's more, it goes without saying that software designed for educational use (like WeDo) will have different features than software designed for casual play (like Boost or Powered Up).

I haven't followed news all that closely, but it's entirely possible that backwards compatibility might still be coming in the form of some kind of Powered Up to Power Functions converter cable, similar to this converter cable between Mindstorms NXT and 9V elements. That said, it's not always realistic to expect backwards compatibility when toy safety standards have changed so much over the years, and some of those older systems might not meet newer standards.

Similarly, a lot of other functions you might be hoping to see might still be forthcoming in the form of additional new parts. After all, the system has only been used in a handful of sets, with most aimed at mainstream consumers rather than educators only released in the past year. For comparison's sake, Power Functions had more than 20 different components over its 12-year lifespan, but several like train motors, AAA battery boxes sized for train sets, a speed controller remote, and a servo motor didn't come around until years after the system was launched to mainstream consumers in 2007.

As for the variety of PF2.0 parts that currently exist, I certainly can already see some big improvements on the Power Functions system:

• Even if the battery box in the train sets remains the same size it was before, it now no longer requires a separate IR receiver element that takes up more than four 2x4 bricks' worth of space in a model.
• Bluetooth control means that trains and other models no longer need to be designed with a reliable line of sight between the control device and the model itself, nor will control be unreliable in direct sunlight. There may also be the possibility with some of the more advanced software and hubs to "daisy chain" them so they can follow the same commands.
• The PF2.0 cable leads only take up about half the space as the Power Functions ones.
• This system can already be used for programmable creations with sensor inputs thanks to Boost, which shares some elements with WeDo 2.0. I suspect there will be similar consumer products that share their parts with Spike Prime. Power Functions only had sensors and programmable functions in the WeDo education sets, which were not designed or marketed for mainstream consumers.

Overall I think the system is not beating Power Functions by leaps and bounds just yet, but it's off to quite a good start!