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Posted

This all sounds like a great idea to me! I would be perfectly happy with just a double flash pattern similar to what is on the front of the airport fire truck at the top of the page. That would meet most of my needs.

Supported.

Posted
  On 11/26/2013 at 8:18 PM, dhc6twinotter said:

This all sounds like a great idea to me! I would be perfectly happy with just a double flash pattern similar to what is on the front of the airport fire truck at the top of the page. That would meet most of my needs.

Supported.

Thanks for the support.

The double-flash pattern is interesting: May I ask what kind of themes/models you are into?

Posted
  On 11/26/2013 at 8:51 PM, runekokholm said:

...May I ask what kind of themes/models you are into?

Mainly construction equipment, along with a few aircraft. I'm fine with a double flash for the construction equipment. A single flash would also be nice for the aircraft, but I could use the old 9v flashing system for that, if need be.

Posted (edited)

If you're looking for LEGO lighting solutions, there's also http://www.brickstuff.com. We have adjustable flashing and 10+ other effects, plus much thinner wires than Lifelites. Check out our latest installation (built by the folks at Brickmania and lit using our lights):

. Edited by Rob Klingberg
Posted
  On 11/26/2013 at 9:24 PM, dhc6twinotter said:

Mainly construction equipment, along with a few aircraft. I'm fine with a double flash for the construction equipment. A single flash would also be nice for the aircraft, but I could use the old 9v flashing system for that, if need be.

Ok – thanks for feedback!

  On 11/27/2013 at 10:48 AM, Lighti said:

I just remebered there was some 3rd party manufacturer for LEDs for lego and just searched around. And found out they are flashing as well ;)

You might want to have a look at those:

http://lifelites.com

Thank you for the link;

They do offer an exciting range of products - I haven’t used any of them, but they seem to fulfill most requirements someone may have to buildings and vehicles. It also seems they have found LEDs that fit technic/pin holes which is a big plus. Most LEDs I’ve been able to find come in sizes of 3mm or 5mm which makes them a poor fit for the standard technic beam or pin holes unless a special padding element is created (similar to the way TLG wrapped the PF Light’s LED in a housing). Anyway, the relevance of the Flash Element can obviously be disputed and energy is perhaps better spent elsewhere, however it is also a fun technical challenge so let’s see.

I’ll add Artifex light solutions as another reference; he has some cool stuff on the shelves. For example this light kit for the Tumbler: http://www.artifexcr...m/tumblerlights

Posted

I see just one problem with this element... What of someone plugs a motor to it and overloads it? There needs to be current protection, and since LED's use very little current a simple serial resistor would do?

Posted
  On 11/27/2013 at 2:45 PM, Rob Klingberg said:

If you're looking for LEGO lighting solutions, there's also http://www.brickstuff.com. We have adjustable flashing and 10+ other effects, plus much thinner wires than Lifelites. Check out our latest installation (built by the folks at Brickmania and lit using our lights):

.

Thanks for sharing. It’s a nice portfolio. I like the ice-rink – is it LED strips used for the railing? This technique allows for some very colourful rollercoasters and lead/chase-cars to be made…

Posted
  On 11/27/2013 at 8:31 PM, Zblj said:

I see just one problem with this element... What of someone plugs a motor to it and overloads it? There needs to be current protection, and since LED's use very little current a simple serial resistor would do?

Thanks for the input.

To prevent overload you are right that a serial resistor could be implemented. I haven't done calculations yet on the resistor size required and also max current the individual components are able to handle - just in case...

The PF battery box also have a current overload protection switch that kicks in when a given number of motors/max current level is reached.

It's a valid point you have brought up and something to look into in greater detail. Thanks again.

  • 8 months later...
Posted (edited)

Good idea!

Current PF stuff is slightly too much toy-like. Many AFOLs would like to see some serious stuff in PF.

Like smaller motors or longer actuators.

I think this is especially fun for those, who are playing only at night :laugh:

Edited by re465intube
Posted
  On 8/15/2014 at 11:27 AM, re465intube said:

Current PF stuff is slightly too much toy-like. Many AFOLs would like to see some serious stuff in PF.

Like smaller motors or longer actuators.

Yes; there is a number of PF components missing from the current lineup, however PF elements are designed for kids which after all is the primary target group.

As mentioned before the current PF lineup is probably supported by lot of market research and business cases, and I'll assume the rationale here is that ROI will be greater if money is spent on developing a new series targeting kids, e.g. Monster Fighters, than developing PF micro motors - which in itself isn't cool for kids but what is cool is the functionality it allows which can also be achieved by PF M og L motors.

However, this does not mean that there isn't a market for developing and manufacturing elements such as PF micro motor, micro motor driven by solar panel, electric switch for train tracks etc. as well as developing an interface for PF elements that use a (more) device-friendly wireless connection such as bluetooth or wifi. Sbrick is proof to this.

The flash element got some (~150?) supporters on "Cuusoo" (now "Ideas") before it was removed due to changes i Cuusoo policy so yes, to me there is a market. Basically there is always a market, question is just how profitable you want your project to be and what alternative investment opportunity is, but since LEGO has a very strong emotional factor the numbers may matters less. At least this holds true on buyer side... :classic:

Let's see what the future brings.

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