BuWizz - High Performance LEGO Power Functions Controller and Battery

[Capparezza]

11 hours ago, Tenderlok said:

I'm intending to use BuWizz for my train MOCs, as it should be more powerful and much easier to hide than battery box + IR receiver.
For that purpose, it would be handy to have the option to lock the sliders, so that they don't return to centre when you let loose. Maybe this could be realized within one of the next app versions?

Me too :) Count me in for a BuWizz if this is working as needed (and my budget restocked, haha).

[technic_addict]

12 hours ago, nerdsforprez said:

Question for the group....did everyone receive an email asking for updated shipping information before their units were sent? I never did......wondering if I should expect such an email...

Did you order as part of the Kick starter campaign?

I bought the early bird, received update address email over a month ago.  Received shipment email over a week ago but it is stick stuck in Slovenia.

It is getting frustrating considering the original shipment date was Nov 2016.

[nerdsforprez]

1 hour ago, technic_addict said:

Did you order as part of the Kick starter campaign?

I bought the early bird, received update address email over a month ago.  Received shipment email over a week ago but it is stick stuck in Slovenia.

It is getting frustrating considering the original shipment date was Nov 2016.

Yes, I did order it as part of KS campaign.  But not early bird.

I have not got any shipping details,  yet they said in email addressed to me that it would ship out in March.  Probably time to contact them again. 

[technic_addict]

19 minutes ago, nerdsforprez said:

Probably time to contact them again. 

I am sure you will hear the same promises that have been ongoing for several months.  If you haven't received an update address email yet, I wouldn't hold your breath to receive it any time soon.

[Aventador2004]

I hope this becomes a sold product but I hope they make a controller

[Eolindel]

Just received my two copies, work as a charm on a LG G2. Just hoping for a more customizable app.  Didn't have much time to test as it is still charging. It's really lightweight : I feared that there would only be one battery before opening the case.

It took me a short time to figure out that the arrows on the plugs are used to revert the controls (in the setup phase). It would also be nice to have a unique ID on each brick to avoid searching which brick is which (very minor). I will test it more heavily but it already sounds a very promising product.

[Void_S]

Another question (my BuWizz still didn't come): how it works with Servo? I watched a lot of videos and didn't observe any difference for a max steering angle between slow-normal-fast modes. Is it true of did I miss something? I suppose a possible reason is different voltage on power (outer) pins, not on control (inner) ones that controls this parameter for Servo (and other stuff as well). Did some one check these (inner) pins on slow-normal-fast modes?

[nerdsforprez]

On 3/22/2017 at 10:42 AM, technic_addict said:

I am sure you will hear the same promises that have been ongoing for several months.  If you haven't received an update address email yet, I wouldn't hold your breath to receive it any time soon.

I did contact them and they responded.  They promised my BWzz will go out next week. 

I know that some of these KS projects take forever to actually ship/come to fruition, and admittedly this is the first I have backed.  Although it certainly has taken much more time that I would have hoped, for what it is worth I really appreciate them getting back to me and keeping me in the loop.  I know I am only an N of one, but them taking the time to keep me in the loop is aces in my book. 

[technic_addict]

1 hour ago, nerdsforprez said:

I did contact them and they responded.  They promised my BWzz will go out next week. 

I know that some of these KS projects take forever to actually ship/come to fruition, and admittedly this is the first I have backed.  Although it certainly has taken much more time that I would have hoped, for what it is worth I really appreciate them getting back to me and keeping me in the loop.  I know I am only an N of one, but them taking the time to keep me in the loop is aces in my book. 

Indeed, it is good they are responding.  Although it would make you very happy if they ship out your package out to you, they still haven't shipped out people who supported them in the Early bird.  DHL has said since March 13th

Shipment information received

[imurvai]

2 hours ago, Void_S said:

Another question (my BuWizz still didn't come): how it works with Servo? I watched a lot of videos and didn't observe any difference for a max steering angle between slow-normal-fast modes. Is it true of did I miss something? I suppose a possible reason is different voltage on power (outer) pins, not on control (inner) ones that controls this parameter for Servo (and other stuff as well). Did some one check these (inner) pins on slow-normal-fast modes?

Hi,

It's not the turning angle that is different using different voltages but the speed of turning. The more the voltage the faster the servo turns.

[Nazgarot]

I just got mine! Unfortunately I got it only seconds before leaving for a two day conference... Well, at least I can download and play around with the app, and do a LDD of a test model... 

-ED-

[BusterHaus]

About shipping:

 

It seems that there is a bit of a delay between the printing of the shipping label and the actual shipping.  I received a notification about the label two weeks ago, and the the units shipped today.  No biggie for me, as the units are already delayed and I'm busy with other projects.

 

Edited March 27, 2017 by BusterHaus
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[GroundskeeperWillie]

Got my two units today

My shipping story is that it's been a about three weeks since I got the tracking number and nothing happened until late last week. But now they're here.

My OnePlus 1 (android) phone could not see them (it just displayed a "Scanning stopped!" message) so after a few attempts I took out my old android tablet instead. It detected both units right away.

When "starting up" a firmware update was started automatically, but unfortunately the "This will only take a minute" message is rather inaccurate in my case. The unit flashes red, alternating fast and slow, but after an hour there's no progress in the app's progress bar. I'll leave it running as others have, and if it's not successful I'll try another phone.

Even if it's not a great experience so far, it is nice to know the unit's behavior has been seen and corrected before.

Update:

Re-reading this thread, I gave up on the seemingly stuck FW upgrade. I was not able to turn off the unit so I just restarted the app and tried again. This time it completed in about a minute, with the progress bar moving steadily all the way.

So, I'm in business!

Edited March 27, 2017 by GroundskeeperWillie

[TechnicRCRacer]

This is definitely interesting! It is cool that this is a combo of a battery box and a receiver, but it would be amazing if the BB and receiver were the size of a PF receiver

[Nazgarot]

I'm finally home, and I've started to test the BuWizz. I had backed for two in a early bird offering, and got them yesterday as I was leaving for a Conferace. I was super excited to start testing them, but something is not right...

One of them I can't turn on unless it is connected to a micro USB charger. First time I tried to connect it to the app it uploaded new firmware, and seems to work ok once the charger is connected. It's even possible to turn it on and of with the charger connected, but it goes dead as soon as the charger is disconnected... A bad battery?

The other one turn on ok, appears in the list of the app, but won't connect. I did not get a question on firmware update on this one.

So, tow out of tow is faulty. I'm quite disappointed, buy I have high hopes that this is just a software/firmware issue. Hopefully a new version of the app can fix it. Once I've been in contact with the team behind it I'll ask if it is OK to open it and check the battery connection on the first one. I'll keep updating here to so you can see how this turns out...

 

Even though there are some problems I would gladly but another two if they can make them work. This project has such high potential that I can't really see it fail. It is everything the S-brick is not, and it solves the Power Function issue of underpower. I sincerely hope it turns out good!

 

-ED-

 

EDIT: After some more testing I'm convinced the battery is not connected, or is a dud, in the first one. It works as it should when connected to a charger, but it has no power, and powers off when I give the motors load.

Edited March 29, 2017 by Nazgarot

[technic_addict]

Did anyone have to pay Duty and taxes on their shipment?

[technic_addict]

Finally received the package.  I haven't had the problems others have reported with updating.  The GUI and setup needs a lot of work.  Unless I am missing something I don't see how you can put multiple motors to be controlled by same slider or joystick direction.  I would like to setup ICARUS or BMW cars which need to have multiple motors on multiple ports.

[BusterHaus]

12 hours ago, technic_addict said:

Did anyone have to pay Duty and taxes on their shipment?

I did, $20 coming into Canada, due upon delivery.  Not bad.

[kolbjha]

Is it a way to use BuWizz as a battery only?

[technic_addict]

10 hours ago, BusterHaus said:

I did, $20 coming into Canada, due upon delivery.  Not bad.

I disagree.  This could have easily been avoided and is a cash grab by DHL.  They charged $10.50 for a processing fee and $4.25 for a transaction fee.

4 hours ago, kolbjha said:

Is it a way to use BuWizz as a battery only?

Currently it seems like you can only use it as intended;  which is lacking dramatically IMO.  All the MOC's I wanted to test won't work because I require multiple ports to be used with same command.

[MajklSpajkl]

On 28. 3. 2017 at 1:13 AM, TechnicRCRacer said:

This is definitely interesting! It is cool that this is a combo of a battery box and a receiver, but it would be amazing if the BB and receiver were the size of a PF receiver

Yeah, and that small battery of the size of the PF receiver should be able to power a small village, right? 

It seems FW upgrade gets stuck for the first time by many. I wasn't so patient, so when that 'minute' was over, I imediately restarted the phone and the app and it when right through. If I'm not mistaken, this was the recommended procedure by the Buwizz team a couple of pages back...

[kolbjha]

2 hours ago, MajklSpajkl said:

It seems FW upgrade gets stuck for the first time by many. I wasn't so patient, so when that 'minute' was over, I imediately restarted the phone and the app and it when right through. If I'm not mistaken, this was the recommended procedure by the Buwizz team a couple of pages back...

I did the same, and no serious problems updating the FW.

[Nazgarot]

3 minutes ago, kolbjha said:

I did the same, and no serious problems updating the FW.

Thanks for the tip. I haven't tried to reboot the phone. I'll try it ASAP!

-ED-

[Nazgarot]

On 28.3.2017 at 7:12 PM, Nazgarot said:

I'm finally home, and I've started to test the BuWizz. I had backed for two in a early bird offering, and got them yesterday as I was leaving for a Conferace. I was super excited to start testing them, but something is not right...

One of them I can't turn on unless it is connected to a micro USB charger. First time I tried to connect it to the app it uploaded new firmware, and seems to work ok once the charger is connected. It's even possible to turn it on and of with the charger connected, but it goes dead as soon as the charger is disconnected... A bad battery?

The other one turn on ok, appears in the list of the app, but won't connect. I did not get a question on firmware update on this one.

So, tow out of tow is faulty. I'm quite disappointed, buy I have high hopes that this is just a software/firmware issue. Hopefully a new version of the app can fix it. Once I've been in contact with the team behind it I'll ask if it is OK to open it and check the battery connection on the first one. I'll keep updating here to so you can see how this turns out...

 

Even though there are some problems I would gladly but another two if they can make them work. This project has such high potential that I can't really see it fail. It is everything the S-brick is not, and it solves the Power Function issue of underpower. I sincerely hope it turns out good!

 

-ED-

 

EDIT: After some more testing I'm convinced the battery is not connected, or is a dud, in the first one. It works as it should when connected to a charger, but it has no power, and powers off when I give the motors load.

 

Sorry for quoting myself, but I have some updates.

 

Updates BuWizz No 1:

Still no change with this. I haven't heard back from the BuWizz team, and I haven't managed to turn it on with out external power. I'll take it with me to my lab and dismantle it so I can do a test of the battery if I don't hear back from the BuWizz team during the weekend.

If anyone have been having similar problems I would be very interested to hear their experiences. I'm guessing it is either a bad battery or a component controlling the battery doesn't work. If it's the battery that should be easy to confirm, but I have no idea where to start looking if it is anything else...

 

Updates BuWizz No 2:

I tried to reinstall the App on my mobile, but it still didn't work.

With experience from the S-brick app still i the back of my head I borrowed my wifes mobile to test it, and it actually did the firmware upgrade on it, and after trying to connect it through the setup a number of times it finally worked.

19 hours ago, MajklSpajkl said:

It seems FW upgrade gets stuck for the first time by many. I wasn't so patient, so when that 'minute' was over, I imediately restarted the phone and the app and it when right through. If I'm not mistaken, this was the recommended procedure by the Buwizz team a couple of pages back...

After this tip I did a reboot of my own phone and tried again. And it worked! No problems connecting, and the module works very well in my test model (MOC thread comming soon).

 

No I'm just crossing my finger that I can make my BuWizz No 1 work as well...

-ED-

[BusterHaus]

38 minutes ago, Nazgarot said:

Updates BuWizz No 1:

Still no change with this. I haven't heard back from the BuWizz team, and I haven't managed to turn it on with out external power. I'll take it with me to my lab and dismantle it so I can do a test of the battery if I don't hear back from the BuWizz team during the weekend.

I don't suggest opening it, as it voids the warranty.  This is a brand new unit, I would wait for BuWizz to respond, and only open it if you they don't honor the warranty.