Control Bricks

[Ropefish]

As my project nears the building phase I've run into a funny little fork in the road, How the heck am i going to control this thing? Ive seen a lot of talk of the PFx brick, Sbrick and BUzzwizz but nothing that really tightly compares the three! if anyone has some better insight on their upsides and downsides that would be very helpful... ive already leaned a bit into the PFx brick as it having sound and ability to create sound profiles is pretty big pro so far.

[Chromeknight]

I think the below information is correct, but I’m not totally certain as I don’t have all the systems,
The answers apply to a pure system of that type. There is some ablilty to mix and match and to use something like the Brick Automation Project for control. Anyway… the comparison 

	LEGO PU	LEGO PF	PFx Brick	S Brick	BuWizz	Bluetooth Circuit cube
Power	Lego Battery or equivalent	Lego Battery or equivalent	Lego Battery or equivalent USB power	Lego Battery or equivalent	Internal LiPo	Circuit Cube battery box
Connector	PU proprietary	PF proprietary	PF compatible	PF compatible	PF compatible	Propietary
Output #	2	2	2 plus Light board and speaker	4	4	3
Control medium	Bluetooth	IR	Bluetooth, IR, USB	Bluetooth	Bluetooth	Bluetooth
Native multiple Unit control	Yes	Yes	Yes (IR only)	Yes	Yes	No
Sensor support	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes, plus Internal 3 axis and port voltage	Propietary sensors
Sound output	On app, non-modifiable	On app, non-modifiable	16kb internal memory, speaker output	No	No	Buzzer cube
Light output	PU plug lights, on/off	PF lights, on/off	PF lights, plus many others.	PF lights, on/off. S Brick light box for more	On board multicolour LEDs, PF/PU lights	Yes

if there are other helpful rows to add, let me know!

[Ropefish]

9 hours ago, Chromeknight said:

I think the below information is correct, but I’m not totally certain as I don’t have all the systems,
The answers apply to a pure system of that type. There is some ablilty to mix and match and to use something like the Brick Automation Project for control. Anyway… the comparison 

	LEGO PU	LEGO PF	PFx Brick	S Brick	BuWizz	Bluetooth Circuit cube
Power	Lego Battery or equivalent	Lego Battery or equivalent	Lego Battery or equivalent USB power	Lego Battery or equivalent	Internal LiPo	Circuit Cube battery box
Connector	PU proprietary	PF proprietary	PF compatible	PF compatible	PF compatible	Propietary
Output #	2	2	2 plus Light board and speaker	4	4	3
Control medium	Bluetooth	IR	Bluetooth, IR, USB	Bluetooth	Bluetooth	Bluetooth
Native multiple Unit control	Yes	Yes	Yes (IR only)	Yes	Yes	No
Sensor support	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes, plus Internal 3 axis and port voltage	Propietary sensors
Sound output	On app, non-modifiable	On app, non-modifiable	16kb internal memory, speaker output	No	No	Buzzer cube
Light output	PU plug lights, on/off	PF lights, on/off	PF lights, plus many others.	PF lights, on/off. S Brick light box for more	On board multicolour LEDs, PF/PU lights	Yes

if there are other helpful rows to add, let me know!

Thank you so much, this is a very handy chart!

[zephyr1934]

I forgot that PFx is usb power compatible, but it is limited to 5v, has anyone had good luck with PFx @ 5v power for trains?

The fact that the PFx brick is compatible with IR control is really nice at shows where Bluetooth is overloaded by too many nearby devices. Or simply not needing to keep your phone on and ready.

The Circuit Cube is really in a class by itself, it is unlikely that you will be choosing between that and one of the other power sources. You either want the circuit cube for small builds or one of the other alternatives for larger builds.

I think the BuWizz is the only "off the shelf" option with an integrated rechargeable battery at the moment (excluding the 5v usb input to PFx), which is a nice feature for building the battery/controller into a model. Lego had a PF battery that I really like, but they are long discontinued. It looks like they make rechargeable batteries for one or more of the larger PU hubs, but I'm not sure they are "charge in place". The small hub looks like it was designed for a rechargeable battery retrofit, but if it ever comes to market the design of the hub itself makes me think that it would still require removing part of the hub from your model for charging.

BTW, @Chromeknight thanks for the comprehensive table

[Ropefish]

12 minutes ago, zephyr1934 said:

I forgot that PFx is usb power compatible, but it is limited to 5v, has anyone had good luck with PFx @ 5v power for trains?

The fact that the PFx brick is compatible with IR control is really nice at shows where Bluetooth is overloaded by too many nearby devices. Or simply not needing to keep your phone on and ready.

The Circuit Cube is really in a class by itself, it is unlikely that you will be choosing between that and one of the other power sources. You either want the circuit cube for small builds or one of the other alternatives for larger builds.

I think the BuWizz is the only "off the shelf" option with an integrated rechargeable battery at the moment (excluding the 5v usb input to PFx), which is a nice feature for building the battery/controller into a model. Lego had a PF battery that I really like, but they are long discontinued. It looks like they make rechargeable batteries for one or more of the larger PU hubs, but I'm not sure they are "charge in place". The small hub looks like it was designed for a rechargeable battery retrofit, but if it ever comes to market the design of the hub itself makes me think that it would still require removing part of the hub from your model for charging.

BTW, @Chromeknight thanks for the comprehensive table

I think im going to go with PFx Just for the sound features alone, It seems to have the most expand-ability to. Battery wise i think i should be fine via some other avenues of power source.

[BrickTronic]

12 hours ago, Chromeknight said:

..

	LEGO PU	LEGO PF	PFx Brick	S Brick	BuWizz	Bluetooth Circuit cube
Output #	2	2	2 plus Light board and speaker	4	4	3
Sensor support	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes, plus Internal 3 axis and port voltage	Propietary sensors

 

Only small remark :

PU can have 0/2/4/6 (0=Mario; 5=Control+; 6=Inventor) external Outputs that can also be used as Inputs

Beside external Outputs/Inputs there are also availavle

internal Outputs (LED, 5x5 LED Matrix, Spealer) / Inputs (Gyro, Voltage/Current Measurement); ...)

At BuWizz there are BuWizz 2.0 with 4x PF Ports and BuWizz 3.0 with 4x PU + 2x PF
Colored connectors are only at BuWizz 2.0 PU Connectors

 

Jo

[Hod Carrier]

Unsure what is meant by “Native Multiple Unit Control”, but if this means that you can control more than one hub via the official app then you should enter “Yes” under Circuit Cubes as you can control two hubs at the same time. 

[LEGOTrainBuilderSG]

13 hours ago, zephyr1934 said:

I forgot that PFx is usb power compatible, but it is limited to 5v, has anyone had good luck with PFx @ 5v power for trains?

The fact that the PFx brick is compatible with IR control is really nice at shows where Bluetooth is overloaded by too many nearby devices. Or simply not needing to keep your phone on and ready.

The Circuit Cube is really in a class by itself, it is unlikely that you will be choosing between that and one of the other power sources. You either want the circuit cube for small builds or one of the other alternatives for larger builds.

I think the BuWizz is the only "off the shelf" option with an integrated rechargeable battery at the moment (excluding the 5v usb input to PFx), which is a nice feature for building the battery/controller into a model. Lego had a PF battery that I really like, but they are long discontinued. It looks like they make rechargeable batteries for one or more of the larger PU hubs, but I'm not sure they are "charge in place". The small hub looks like it was designed for a rechargeable battery retrofit, but if it ever comes to market the design of the hub itself makes me think that it would still require removing part of the hub from your model for charging.

BTW, @Chromeknight thanks for the comprehensive table

Never knew the bluetooth control could be interrupted by presence of many other bluetooth devices! 

I prefer the bluetooth option because I don't like having the IR receiver seen and the fact that I have to be real close to stop the train (a lot of close calls from falling off the table). 

Also, @Chromeknight fantastic table! 

On 11/24/2021 at 12:11 AM, Ropefish said:

As my project nears the building phase I've run into a funny little fork in the road, How the heck am i going to control this thing? Ive seen a lot of talk of the PFx brick, Sbrick and BUzzwizz but nothing that really tightly compares the three! if anyone has some better insight on their upsides and downsides that would be very helpful... ive already leaned a bit into the PFx brick as it having sound and ability to create sound profiles is pretty big pro so far.

I only have experience in PFx bricks and they work wonders especially for LEGO train enthusiasts. The only downside I could think of is the need for space within your trains - PFx Brick, PF battery box, XL-speaker, PF motors and take note of all the wirings. Might not seem like much but in my 20 Class video you can see how tight it gets even though the body is essentially a large rectangular box. Take note that there are specific ways to attach the wires (e.g. the speaker wire attaches to the top of the PFx brick whilst the lighting goes into a chip connected to the side of the PFx Brick. The PF related wires goes on the top (for motor) and bottom (for battery box) of the PFx brick. All these consideration makes it a little tricky to place the PFx Brick especially when PF wires are so 'stiff'. 

Aside from that, PFx brick is my go to. I was able to reverse engineer (using real loco clips and Audacity software) to make my own sound profile for my locomotive. A big plus over the other Bricks IMO. 

All the best! 

 

 

[Chromeknight]

9 hours ago, Hod Carrier said:

Unsure what is meant by “Native Multiple Unit Control”, but if this means that you can control more than one hub via the official app then you should enter “Yes” under Circuit Cubes as you can control two hubs at the same time. 

Ah cool! Thanks for the addition.

yes, I meant control of more than one hub using the offical app for the product.

The TLDR version for those on mobile devices that have trouble reading the table.

I want to control a train?

Use PF.

yes, but I want range!

ok use PU.

yes, but it needs lights too!

ok SBrick is what you’d want

And sound!

ok, use PFx, but you’ll need space in your loco

Oh but my loco is tiny!

if you forgo light/sound, circuit cube is tiny. Or BuWizz for a set or two of lights.

 

[zephyr1934]

8 hours ago, LEGOTrainBuilderSG said:

I prefer the bluetooth option because I don't like having the IR receiver seen and the fact that I have to be real close to stop the train (a lot of close calls from falling off the table). 

The PFx brick has an IR extension cable (actually two options, long and short) so you only need to make a little bit exposed, like smaller than 1x1.