MouldKing Rechargeable Battery question

[Polarlicht]

I bought the mouldking 31061 G700 6x6 "mercedes" and it comes with a recharchable battery with 4 sockets for motors and such. The set has 2 motors for steering and shifting the gearbox on socket C and D. It also has 2 big buggy drive motors on socket A and B. Now these motors are connected together with one drive shaft, so i have to press both A and B buttons at the same time on the remote controll.

Now there is a trick where you can combine buttons, like A and B together to only press A to use both motors, which works.

But why didn't they just put both buggy motor cables on one socket, since you can stack them???

 

Edited July 13, 2022 by Polarlicht

[Gimmick]

12 hours ago, Polarlicht said:

But why didn't they just put both motor cables on one socket, since you can stack them???

Too much current.

[Polarlicht]

Which means?

[JaBaCaDaBra]

I wonder why there is a topic about copyright voilating chinese producers on this forum

 

@Jim

[Polarlicht]

Why did you write that? Thats not true! At least not for the set i bought! If you don't have anything to contribute, don't post and report silently if you think this thread is wrong or whatever!

Not every chinese brick toy is a copyright violation!!

It's a legal brand and a legal product i bought on Amazon germany!

[Jim]

Hi,

We are lenient when it comes to discussing some non-LEGO brands, but I am not sure MouldKing is one of them. When I visit their store, I do see these products:

https://mouldking.store/shop/leji-1661-the-police-station-with-2923-pieces/

https://mouldking.store/shop/mould-king-21015-minifig-scale-at-at-w-interior-with-6919-pieces/

And when I Google a bit, I come across stuff like this:

https://brixxtoys.nl/mould-king-lamborghini-sian-compatibel-met-lego/138117

While they might seem like a legit company, this does reek of plagiarism.

Other than that they seem to steal MOC design. Article on Rebrickable.

@Polarlicht What makes you think it's legal to copy designs and sell them online?

[Polarlicht]

@Jim Ok, fair enough... As for the set i bought, it is legal, since they have permission from @Zerobricks, and it is not copied from Lego.

If Zerobricks said NO to MK,  and they would have just stolen it anyway, that would be a different case. I would not support that

Again, i bought it on Amazon germany, and when you buy something in germany it's more than legal. I don't know if they even offer these other copied sets here...

I will change this topics name to something different, since i just want to know the answer to my first question, and further MK discussion won't be needed. Also i don't really now where else i could ask.

@Gimmick what do you mean with this? I am not into electronics...

[Gimmick]

10 hours ago, Jim said:

@Polarlicht What makes you think it's legal to copy designs and sell them online?

Yes, MouldKing sells licensed models, stolen designs, own designs, advertises c-model-mocs with the TLG a-model.... they go all-in ;) One of the companies I avoid even reading about ;D

8 hours ago, Polarlicht said:

 

@Gimmick what do you mean with this? I am not into electronics...

Each internal connection of each port has a maximum power it can supply a short time and continuous. Plus the whole package has a limited combined power. The maximum stable power delivery per port is usually lower, than the combined power. Therefore the combined power of two motors can be ok for the whole package but not for one port. Depending on the electronics and mechanical contacts two much power can damage the electronics or melt the contacts. Buwizz describes it nicely on their page.

And btw. buying copied designs in germany is no problem at all and Amazon is a bad reference, you can even buy products with fake "CE" labels, powerbanks filled with sand,... and so on... xD

[Polarlicht]

5 minutes ago, Gimmick said:

Each internal connection of each port has a maximum power it can supply a short time and continuous. Plus the whole package has a limited combined power. The maximum stable power delivery per port is usually lower, than the combined power. Therefore the combined power of two motors can be ok for the whole package but not for one port. Depending on the electronics and mechanical contacts two much power can damage the electronics or melt the contacts. Buwizz describes it nicely on their page.

 

So it could mean, they get warm first before melting or something.

[Gimmick]

1 minute ago, Polarlicht said:

So it could mean, they get warm first before melting or something.

Usually the electronics will simply cut off the power and the motors will run slower and completely cut of if the temperature gets too high. Bad electronics will be damaged, worst electronics will create a smoke-cloud ;D

[Polarlicht]

3 hours ago, Gimmick said:

Usually the electronics will simply cut off the power and the motors will run slower and completely cut of if the temperature gets too high. Bad electronics will be damaged, worst electronics will create a smoke-cloud ;D

I think they might cut off. I have tried them before i started to assemble the set and they worked fine, but they ran for themselves, without any load.

What happens when i put a extension wire between the hub and both motors plugged together?

[Gimmick]

One extension to two motors? Should be the same as two motors on one port.

[Polarlicht]

On 7/14/2022 at 7:52 PM, Gimmick said:

One extension to two motors? Should be the same as two motors on one port.

I finished the model today. I ran both motors on one socket. One motor directly on the socket and one with a Lego PF switch in between to get this motor running in the same direction as the other.

It drives just fine, at the same speed as when i use 2 sockets. No melted cables or plugs. Motors are a bit smelly sometimes... you know that spicy electric motor smell... but so far so good!?!?

The only thing which melted was the red lever part which switches the gears. Changed that to a Lego part and added some grease to it, and to one spot in the driveshaft, which melted on peoples sets.

Edited July 16, 2022 by Polarlicht

[Toastie]

4 hours ago, Polarlicht said:

No melted cables or plugs.

You know, the "Chinese" - so often called out here, but ubiquitously in our every day's life (and very well received by "us", cheap, cheaper, cheapest) - are excelling even faster than we can envision.

Of course, they did not melt down. These folks have a brain as well. And know how to roll the dice. As we did, for centuries.

Best,
Thorsten

[Polarlicht]

9 hours ago, Toastie said:

You know, the "Chinese" - so often called out here, but ubiquitously in our every day's life (and very well received by "us", cheap, cheaper, cheapest) - are excelling even faster than we can envision.

Of course, they did not melt down. These folks have a brain as well. And know how to roll the dice. As we did, for centuries.

Best,
Thorsten

Then why did they do it like that?

[Gimmick]

15 hours ago, Polarlicht said:

I finished the model today. I ran both motors on one socket. One motor directly on the socket and one with a Lego PF switch in between to get this motor running in the same direction as the other.

It drives just fine, at the same speed as when i use 2 sockets. No melted cables or plugs. Motors are a bit smelly sometimes... you know that spicy electric motor smell... but so far so good!?!?

The only thing which melted was the red lever part which switches the gears. Changed that to a Lego part and added some grease to it, and to one spot in the driveshaft, which melted on peoples sets.

I still would not recommend it. Not because it's Mouldking or "chinese", but two buggy-motors can go up to ~6-6.5 A if stalled. That's just barely ok for a short time for a Buwizz 3. Maybe it would be better to add a second box and pair the remote to both boxes - if that's possible.

 

11 hours ago, Toastie said:

Of course, they did not melt down. These folks have a brain as well. And know how to roll the dice. As we did, for centuries.

Best,
Thorsten

Calling products cheap/bad only because they are from china is as wrong as a general absolution because "they have a brain as well". There are potentially deadly (metal housing with direct contacts to the circuit xD) LED lamps, USB chargers, powerbanks,... all available on amazon and made in china :) And eventhough I'm not into MK models and i'm not searching for Mk-news I heard about two or three reports in youtube about molten battery boxes (while charging, not while driving around) from MK.

[Toastie]

13 hours ago, Gimmick said:

general absolution because "they have a brain as well"

Oh, that was absolutely not meant as a general absolution - it what meant as stating a fact, which some folks tend to forget - at least as it appears to me, when it comes to The Chinese.

Copying, not behaving, etc. etc. - all true. But this is how "we" got there in the first place, back then, when the industrial frenzy began: Copying (like crazy), not behaving, etc. etc. "We" is meant as competing - mostly western - "parties".

And then "we" wanted it cheap. So "we" looked around and found ... China! They could make things dead cheap. We couldn't or better: We were greedy enough to not do it.

The thing that is really bothering me is: Just don't go there. Just don't buy their dead cheap, explosive stuff, if you don't want to see a melt-down. And when you do buy it, be prepared. That is all. Regardless of what is printed on the product: "Super safe, don't worry", for $9,99, where the competition abroad sells it for: $69.99. At this point, something should kick in and think: Ooops, what is this? Should we be concerned about safety? And not: Wow, whatta deal, I'll order 7 for the same price of 1. Then it blows up and then the hooray begins ...

And letting make folks stuff so much cheaper than "here" - one should recognize, that there is a brain in each human head. Not a brain that may think: Nice, we are allowed to make this stuff, so our life is becoming "better". No, a more greedy brain that thinks: Wait a minute: Why are they asking us to make that stuff? And then: Hmm, what is in it? What do I care? I want to be rich as well. And so on and so forth. You know, the capitalistic 101.

That's all.

Best,
Thorsten

 

Edited July 17, 2022 by Toastie

[Gimmick]

4 hours ago, Toastie said:

 Wow, whatta deal, I'll order 7 for the same price of 1. Then it blows up and then the hooray begins ...

Best,
Thorsten

 

Product got 99 problems, but the fun ain't one? :X

 

[Polarlicht]

Anyway... The cada 4x4 jeep uses a similar rechargeable box and uses 2 L motors stacked. Yes they are no buggy motors, but is it known how much non-lego buggy motors produce or use. There are several manufacturers...

[MAB]

On 7/17/2022 at 8:05 AM, Polarlicht said:

Then why did they do it like that?

Because it is a better solution to spread over two sockets than both on one. It might work fine in your case, but then it might also shorten the life or fail in 1 in 10 or 20 or 50 cases.

11 hours ago, Toastie said:

The thing that is really bothering me is: Just don't go there. Just don't buy their dead cheap, explosive stuff, if you don't want to see a melt-down. And when you do buy it, be prepared. That is all. Regardless of what is printed on the product: "Super safe, don't worry", for $9,99, where the competition abroad sells it for: $69.99. At this point, something should kick in and think: Ooops, what is this? Should we be concerned about safety? And not: Wow, whatta deal, I'll order 7 for the same price of 1. Then it blows up and then the hooray begins ..

It depends what you are buying. I buy loads of DC motors and "knock off" electronic components (arduino and microprocessors, etc) direct from China. The motors especially are often the same as ones sold by hobby stores here. The micro processor boards are not original branded that you would get from the Arduino store online or official component resellers, but again are the same as the knock off ones sold by UK/EU sellers (but charged at 4-5x the price). For 5V - 12V stuff, there is not really much that can go wrong (aside from failing).

[Polarlicht]

I played with it for a while now and the plugs got a bit to warm around those tiny contacts. They still work though.

Would it be better if i change the 2 MK buggy motors for Cada ones, also using a cada battery box? Or do these have the same current and such?

 

Edited August 23, 2022 by Polarlicht

[dtomsen]

The internal LEGO motors have all been outsourced to mostly China since the 12v era. So there is that 

Hoi Po in the case of PF M-motors.

[shroomzofdoom]

Just going to throw this out there... I struggle every day with hubs. There's nothing more frustrating then spending an entire weekend on a design only to have to your power supply cut off in use and need to be connected to a USB or needing to leave the thing on a shelf until the power drains. Some are glitchy, some are underpowered, only use smartphones, not enough inputs, unreliable, etc. I don't give a rat's megablocks about their other lines of business, if someone invents something that works I'm using it. I'm adding MK to my long line of hub related disappointments because I bought it to test and it won't pair. Every single hub I've purchased disappoints me in some way. That's what hubs do. 

[Toastie]

17 hours ago, shroomzofdoom said:

Every single hub I've purchased disappoints me in some way. That's what hubs do.

Hmm.

Like it or not, but the LEGO hubs never failed on me. And believe me, I am what I would call an inverse LEGO fan in some regards ... but not with their hubs.

Best,
Thorsten

[shroomzofdoom]

1 hour ago, Toastie said:

Hmm.

Like it or not, but the LEGO hubs never failed on me. And believe me, I am what I would call an inverse LEGO fan in some regards ... but not with their hubs.

Best,
Thorsten

I love them with pybricks. The original firmware is painful on both the mindstorms and technic hubs. I actually had a mindstorms hub fail on me and Lego replaced a full year after I bought 51515.