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thanks! :) 

We have learnt, over the years, that the highly decorated modules (even if they have simple mechanisms), can hold just as much attention as an intricate/complicated mechanism

 

unfortunately that exact module (dual arm lifter, over the river) was VERY finicky all weekend - it's quite sensitive to the level of the tables.. and we were supplied with plastic blow-mould tables, which sag a bit in the middle, making it hard to get that module perfectly level.

It's input isn't the best, so I will be pulling it apart, and rebuilding it completely!

Some of my other modules have gone through 3-4 rebuilds before becoming perfectly reliable!

I had a lot of fun building the big mountain.. it has several other interactive features on it too, that the kids loved spotting!

 

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Nice work Rohan (and team).  It looks like most modules were running fairly smoothly, with only a few hiccups.

Sorry I couldn't be there to see it in person.

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I'm in the process of unpacking after Brickvention, and I'm wondering what to do about the balls we used: they're filthy. Assuming this problem is suffered equally by other GBCs around the world, what do people do? Do you clean your balls? If so, how do you do it efficiently? I'm not particularly keen to hand-wipe three hundred balls.

Owen.

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funny you should say that..

... I just washed all my balls last night! :D

All 121 of them!

I just put them in warm soapy water for 5mins.. to begin to soak off the dirt..

Then I just grabbed a handful at a time, and rubbed them with a sponge...  5-10mins later... clean balls! (a lot cheaper than building the Akiyuki Ball Cleaner! :)

800x1422.jpg

800x1422.jpg

800x1422.jpg

 

On an semi-related note.. I am banning anyone from using coloured-in balls on our layouts!!! 

Edited by RohanBeckett

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On 1/20/2017 at 4:54 PM, Splat said:

Nice work Rohan (and team).  It looks like most modules were running fairly smoothly, with only a few hiccups.

Sorry I couldn't be there to see it in person.

don't believe everything you see in GBC videos! ;)

It took us 2 days before everything 'settled down', and you could expect to follow a ball around without it stalling, or dropping out!

But by lunchtime Sunday, it was super easy to look after the whole thing - everyone on the team knew where the troublesome modules were.. kept a close eye on them.. and fixed issues very quickly

We definitely need to work on our power distribution system better.. that was always a pain, when you needed to swap a module out, and the previous one had power in a different spot, and the extension lead didn't reach.

Ideally, I'd love to have a 'common rail' running along the inner edge of the table, and have tap-in points every 1/2 metre or so, making it easy to plug in a train controller, or modified battery box.. so we have less need of PF Extension cords

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4 hours ago, Captainowie said:

I'm in the process of unpacking after Brickvention, and I'm wondering what to do about the balls we used: they're filthy. Assuming this problem is suffered equally by other GBCs around the world, what do people do? Do you clean your balls? If so, how do you do it efficiently? I'm not particularly keen to hand-wipe three hundred balls.

Owen.

I put my Quercetti balls in a protective zip bag for lingerie and in a washing machine - easy care program (40 degrees C) . As clean as they can get, and almost dry too. No sign of scratches, wear or deformation.

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I use a damped towel with soap or cleaning solution and wipe down a handful of balls at a time while watching a TV.  :classic: 

Speaking of balls, there is a new unprinted white ball in the Friends Sports Center set and CITY Fun in the Park set.

 

 

 

 

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I wipe the worst offenders clean during the show with a damp towel. I like the washing machine idea for bulk cleaning. Similar to what Akiyuki must have concluded, in a ball cleaner module (two failed attempts so far) I found that wiping them with a dry towel is as effective as using a solvent.

This begs the question: what is the dirt composed of? My hypothesis is 90% ball paint and 10% human skin cells and oils.

Edited by ALittleSlow
typo

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3 minutes ago, ALittleSlow said:

This begs the question: what is the dirt composed of? My hypothesis is 90% ball paint and 10% human skin cells and oils.

I'd say it's more dust that balls pick up from modules and some air humidity. The modules also get rather filthy during exhibitions...

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My LEGO balls are regularly washed in a washing machine. As I normally bring 1250 bals to an event, I also wash them in bulk...

On events there is a lot of dust falling down on the exhibited models. That is why a lot of people cover their models with plastic after closingtime. I don't cover the modules so they gather dust from the event and also dust from the wear and tear of the modules themselves.

Edited by Maico

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1 hour ago, ALittleSlow said:

I wipe the worst offenders clean during the show with a damp towel. I like the washing machine idea for bulk cleaning. Similar to what Akiyuki must have concluded, in a ball cleaner module (two failed attempts so far) I found that wiping them with a dry towel is as effective as using a solvent.

This begs the question: what is the dirt composed of? My hypothesis is 90% ball paint and 10% human skin cells and oils.

I had other stuff like pollen and tire bits.  We had an outdoor picnic event that was timed perfectly to when all the trees decided to pollinate.  Another time one of my high speed tires rubbed against the edge of a brick and left tiny black bits everywhere.

 

 

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2 hours ago, Maico said:

My LEGO balls are regularly washed in a washing machine. As I normally bring 1250 bals to an event, I also wash them in bulk...

Do you also use the lingerie bag? Or do you just throw them in loose? I can imagine that just soap and water won't do, you'd need something to physically rub against the ball. Presumably that's provided by the bag itself.

11 hours ago, RohanBeckett said:

Ideally, I'd love to have a 'common rail' running along the inner edge of the table, and have tap-in points every 1/2 metre or so, making it easy to plug in a train controller, or modified battery box.. so we have less need of PF Extension cords

It's a trade-off: Either you have lots of extension cables, or you have lots of train controllers. If you have lots of motors from one controller and you hit the current limit, it's easy to see because it's right there on the table. If you have lots of controllers on one power point, you get more choice in the current limit (whatever you spec your adaptor for), but it becomes a lot harder to see whether you've hit it.

Also, in my setup I run the train controllers off 12V, so that they give the full 9V output at full power (I found that if you only give them 9V input, full power tops out at about 8.5V). I haven't experimented with putting 12V into a PF battery box - would it limit to 9V output? Or would it pass the full voltage on to the motor? If the latter, I'd be reluctant to have it too easy to plug something into the wrong port.

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17 hours ago, RohanBeckett said:

... I just washed all my balls last night! ..... I just put them in warm soapy water for 5mins.. to begin to soak off the dirt....Then I just grabbed a handful at a time, and rubbed them with a sponge...  5-10mins later... clean balls!

I'm not sure you needed to share this much.

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4 hours ago, ALittleSlow said:

Tire bits. Right. That's why a certain GBC Coordinator reportedly banned tire-using GBCs modules. 

LEGO disintegrating is part the GBC life style.  Do I know this GBC Coordinator?  Does this GBC Coordinator know me?  :classic:

 

3 minutes ago, Blakbird said:

I'm not sure you needed to share this much.

 :laugh::pir_laugh2:

 

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5 hours ago, Blakbird said:

I'm not sure you needed to share this much.

what?  I'm totally innocent here! :D

We get all our 'ball jokes' over and done with in the first day....  although you still get the odd adult spectator who thinks it's hilarious to ask "do you always love playing with tiny balls" or somesuch.. 

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18 hours ago, Captainowie said:

Do you also use the lingerie bag? Or do you just throw them in loose? I can imagine that just soap and water won't do, you'd need something to physically rub against the ball. Presumably that's provided by the bag itself.

It's a trade-off: Either you have lots of extension cables, or you have lots of train controllers. If you have lots of motors from one controller and you hit the current limit, it's easy to see because it's right there on the table. If you have lots of controllers on one power point, you get more choice in the current limit (whatever you spec your adaptor for), but it becomes a lot harder to see whether you've hit it.

Also, in my setup I run the train controllers off 12V, so that they give the full 9V output at full power (I found that if you only give them 9V input, full power tops out at about 8.5V). I haven't experimented with putting 12V into a PF battery box - would it limit to 9V output? Or would it pass the full voltage on to the motor? If the latter, I'd be reluctant to have it too easy to plug something into the wrong port.

Yes, I use a lingerie bag to. No soap. My balls don't get that dirty...

I connect a couple of modules to one train regulator, depending on which motors are used in these modules. I try to not to max-out the regulators. I mostly use one extension cable per regulator and one switch per module. A switch gives you extra cable length, polarity switch option and the possibility to switch off only this module in case of a problem. Offcourse I also have plenty 220v powercable with plenty of sockets...

This picture gives you an idea of what I bring to an event...

a-few-boxes.jpg

Edited by Maico

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Amazing photo Maico!

I guess we really just need more train controllers.. but they are rare to buy, here in Australia... so just have to buy them from Europe, and pay the extra postage

But they definitely help in the smooth running of a large GBC layout.. being able to fine-tune certain modules, so everything runs 'in balance'

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Last time I spoke with Maico at an event (Hi Maico :) ) we discussed this. Usually we had all train regulators run on full power because it is easy to reset a module that has been fixed.

However. Running on full power also causes a lot of wear and tear, so we are discussing whether we should aim for 3 or 4 (out of 6) and simply have this as a standard speed. I have always used lower speeds for my own modules (down to 1 for my big rings and even ½ for a module once), but it quickly becomes a mess when the modules need individual voltages.

What do you guys think about making 3 or 4 the standard speed?

Edited by Lasse D

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well, for one.. we have nearly all standardised on 'turn the dial to the right'  :)

and the same on battery boxes.. push the switch away from the PF connector, to run in the right direction

But yes.. I do agree.. running them slightly slower will save motors.. as long as your module is still running close to the GBC standard!

 

One interesting thing I noted, when testing my 4 recently purchased train controllers:
On the underneath, near the power input, it clearly says 9-12V
Yet of my four... (when fed from a 12v power pack) 3 give me a maximum of 9-9.2v output.. but one outputs at 10v!

I also try to build my GBC's so that the motors are easily changeable - that means always attaching with pins.. and.. if possible, designing it so you use 3L pins, locked behind a beam/liftarm, that can't be pulled/pushed out.. and the driveaxle also locked into place.

This last year, I have been trying to build them, so they run the Module at standard rate, at maximum power... but maybe this point should be reconsidered?

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Not sure I can support a "standard speed" of less than full power - it means that anyone who doesn't invest in a train controller can't test their module under standard conditions. This does two things: 1) it raises the barrier to entry (which, let's face it, is already high enough) and 2) it means fewer train controllers will be available for us to purchase!

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how about approximately whatever on the Train dial 7.2v is?  ie: 6 x 1.2v rechargeable batteries..

it's actually what I used to test on, before I got all my mains power / train controllers setup anyway..

I'm all for extending motor life!  pretty sure I came home with at least 1 dead M Motor

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I don't have any train controllers.  I run my modules at full power off battery boxes.  I used gears to mechanically regulate speed. My GBCs are normally displayed outdoors with no AC power.  My power source are sealed lead acid batteries and AA batteries. It is also possible to use the Power Functions IR receiver and PF train speed controller to set a lower speed.  Then cover up the IR receiver so that nobody else can change it.

I think if you're own running your own display and modules, you probably could have everything run at a lower voltage and speed.  Assuming you don't have modules that absolutely need full power to work. The general public isn't going to time you to see if you are running the average 1 ball per second.  Although it would be funny to see a group of kids with smartphone stopwatch apps timing me.  :laugh:

 

 

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Actually.... it doesn't matter at what speed the motors in your modules are running. What is important is that I can easily spot at what speed I need to switch on your regulator when I have fixed your module.

I use these tiles: http://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=3068bpb0703#T=C&C=1 to mark the speed of the regulator.

Klaus Hansen sets the speed on the regulator and uses the switches to switch off one or more modules. His switches can only be used in one direction to switch the module on again.

It is important for the other participants of the GBC circuit to be able to see what speed your motors need. If I don't see anything, it means full power clockwise.

 

 

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Yeah. I like Klaus' solution. It saves his motors and doesn't cause others to have to change the voltage for their modules.

 

Meanwhile I'm looking into a pump design for a tight space, and after fiddling around I built this:

pump_full.png

It is super simple with round bricks on a 2L thin liftarm that pumps:

pump_open.png

The blue part rotates while the red part is pushed back and forth. I have seen similar ball pump designs, but I don't recall them being this simple. Does anyone have experience with this design and know if there are any serious flaws?

I am concurrently constructing a bunch of models, but hope the GBC module will be done by the end of this week.

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