Power Functions newbie help

[Wonderpants]

I’ve been toying with adapting my 42078 Mack to be R/C, but I’m not sure what to go with. Apparently Power Functions is being retired and replaced with Control+. Would it be better to use Control+ for better future proofing, or is Power Functions still good enough, have enough of a base, etc? 

And then there’s apparently a couple of third party options like buwizz and Sbrick. How do these compare to the Lego options for price, versatility, etc?

[JaBaCaDaBra]

FYI
Control+ is an app with wich you can control several Technic models.

What you mean is the Powered Up line of motors etc.
These are limited use with Control+ and free Programmable with the Powerd Up app.

Buwizz and Sbrick are awesome controllers for Power Functions components but Power functions will end this year.

Both systems are great but one has future and the other ends soon.
Buwizz and Sbrick will probable come with an own new control brick

[howitzer]

Powered Up is the future, but in its current state it's much more difficult to use than Power Functions. PF on the other hand won't receive any more upgrades and while all the other motors will be widely and cheaply available for many years to come, PF Servo is already somewhat expensive, so if you want a future-proof steerable vehicle, PU is the way to go. Simple vehicles (drive+steering) can be used with the current Control+ profiles of 42109 and 42099, and I'm sure that the new profile for 42114 can be adapted to many MOCs, but if you want something that can't be adapted from these, you'll have to dive into the coding of Powered Up and that can be pretty difficult. I know it would take me a good while to learn PU programming before being able to do something useful with the motors.

[Wonderpants]

Thanks!

Just looking for a fairly straightforward RC system (driving, steering, and maybe the crane and outriggers on the trailer) that I’ll occasionally use, so probably no need to get into complicated programming with the Powered Up stuff.

[trekman]

It depends whether you want to be building or programming.
I have an NXT, as well as power functions, and the powerfunctions will just allow you to get the thing moving and functioning as you intended.  I still have some of the older motors which, with the correct adapter cable are still compatible with power functions.  So I am still using these motors from 1992 (Air claw rig 8868) onwards.  So the functionality is still available at 28 years!
I somehow wonder how the Control + App will work in 28 years time...

 

[amorti]

Brickcontroller2 is what you need. It'll handle pf and pu systems, and it's very easy to program using whatever Bluetooth compatible gamepad will link up to your phone.

Also why not KISS? This project has been done already.

https://racingbrick.com/2018/01/lego-technic-42078-mack-anthem-test-rc-mod-images/

[Wonderpants]

Yes, I saw that already, but I was really wondering if Powered Up, SBrick, etc would be a better bet than Power Functions, since that’s a couple of years old now

Edited August 4, 2020 by Wonderpants

[howitzer]

21 hours ago, trekman said:

It depends whether you want to be building or programming.
I have an NXT, as well as power functions, and the powerfunctions will just allow you to get the thing moving and functioning as you intended.  I still have some of the older motors which, with the correct adapter cable are still compatible with power functions.  So I am still using these motors from 1992 (Air claw rig 8868) onwards.  So the functionality is still available at 28 years!
I somehow wonder how the Control + App will work in 28 years time...

 

Dumb battery box for PU is coming though, even if it's proper release is now delayed with the cancellation of 42113 so using it you can get things moving as simply as with PF.

Old motors of course work if they're not broken (I, too, have 8868 fully functional except for one missing pneumatics tube) but they are still obsolete. No replacements or spare parts are made and when the world supply of the existing parts run out, it's the end of these systems. Same is now happening to PF and it probably will also happen to PU at some point. Technology marches on and new systems are always going to replace old ones so nothing is really, truly, future-proof anyway. That's no reason to not enjoy them now though, and I'm sure there will be many useful years ahead for C+ sets with the app entirely usable for a long time. Of course support will end at some point and maybe the smartphones of the future refuse to install it, but that is the natural order of things with software. I bought computer games in the 90's which I can't easily play anymore but I got a lot of enjoyment out of them in those times and with Lego, you will at least have your non-electric parts which will always be useful for MOCs or whatever.