LEGO Mindstorms to be discontinued

[gyenesvi]

3 hours ago, UltraViolet said:

When the process was running on my four motors, all of them spent the same brief amount of time trying to fight against the required shaft locking device, but it was the time period following this when the motor was not trying to turn any more that was significantly longer for two of them to reach the end of the progress bar.

Oh, I see, I don't quite remember the details when I did this, whether it took longer for some motors (maybe it did now that you say), but now as you describe it, it does sound like it was doing something else as well. Maybe you could look in other threads about dismantling motors to understand what's inside, whether there's some electronic part that might have updatable firmware.

[Toastie]

5 hours ago, UltraViolet said:

This also means I wouldn't be quite so concerned about opening one battery to rebuild it should it fail.

Just make sure, you charge that battery (it is the rechargeable type, right?) from time to time, as they do not like to go into deep discharge state.

I take that you want to conserve the extra "battery" for a very long time, correct? In that case (several years) and without charging, they may - but don't have to - go bad.

Best,
Thorsten

 

[barberminged]

7 hours ago, UltraViolet said:

  When the process was running on my four motors, all of them spent the same brief amount of time trying to fight against the required shaft locking device, but it was the time period following this when the motor was not trying to turn any more that was significantly longer for two of them to reach the end of the progress bar.  I would really like to know exactly what it was doing during this phase and what communication is actually taking place with the hub.  Is this process unique to this hub and these gray motors, considering the above mention that the Spike app never does it at all?  The motor update screen won't acknowledge the presence of anything but the regular gray motors.  I wish more of the tech info was properly documented.

I wondered the same thing about the motors and what it actually updates. It turns out it seems there actually is a flashable microcontroller inside. According to this link, the angular motors have an STM8S103 microcontroller..maybe thats whats being updated.
https://bricks.stackexchange.com/questions/16554/what-electronics-are-inside-the-spike-prime-angular-motors
 

7 hours ago, UltraViolet said:

  By the way, I just received a spare yellow battery, and yes, it is identical to the original Mindstorms hub battery in every way, right down to all of the text printed on it.  It is relieving to know I have options now.  This also means I wouldn't be quite so concerned about opening one battery to rebuild it should it fail.

Thats awesome! :D

[UltraViolet]

  Thank-you very much for that link to the motor teardown.  The information presented there leads me to believe two things.  The first phase of the motor update where the motor actually is fighting the shaft lock more than likely checks for valid calibration of the reference point for the hall effect sensor versus the completely random field alignment of the ring magnet from where it was placed during production.  The magnet has four teeth on it to keep it in a fixed alignment with the output shaft, but the receiving teeth on the shaft allow somewhere around 22 possible relative angular positions versus the shaft zero-angle mark, and there is no starting point of reference physically - the relationship between the magnet and the sensor must be uniquely calibrated.  The second, longer, phase of the motor update, if and when it occurs, very likely writes this calibration data to the microcontroller chip if it had differed from saved data but may also send a revised version of the microcontroller firmware.  It would be very interesting to know if and how this affects other motors or even sensors in the whole Powered Up family, and how it is handled in the various software packages.  What would be the implications after the Mindstorms software is dropped from support/availability?  It would also be nice to know why the motor update has to be performed after a hub firmware update, where I can only guess that if the new hub firmware contains an updated motor microcontroller firmware, the software insists on checking the motors to see if they need this update applied also - the zero-point calibration seems to be done no matter what as insurance that it is correct.  I would have to think that the calibration data would need to be retrieved from the motor first before being injected into the microcontroller firmware file before it is written back to the microcontroller.  Every new motor I've seen came with the zero-angle mark sitting at zero already, implying that all motors go through an initial calibration at the factory when they are first programmed and tested on the production line so that they at least have a good chance of functioning right when fresh out of the box/bag.

  I do try to keep all my batteries maintenance charged on a regular basis, no matter the chemistry.  The same thing applies back to lead-acid batteries (non-LEGO devices) - They will often become unsalvageable if not periodically topped up.  I have a large number of AA/AAA/9V lithium batteries with built-in USB charging and constant voltage circuit.  The internal circuit bleeds the lithium cell over time, so I have to keep them regularly refreshed.  Interestingly, the much newer production ones that have USB-C connector are worse for bleed than the older ones I have with micro-USB.  I would recommend the Beston brand ones to anyone interested, although you'll likely have to order them through Aliexpress or similar.  Just bear in mind that I found the physical length of this brand for AA/AAA out of tolerance - They are ever so slightly too long physically, which makes them very tight when inserted in battery housings.  Other than that issue, they've been great.

[MP LEGO Technic creations]

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Edited December 3, 2022 by MP LEGO Technic creations
Moved question to a separate topic