Mr Hobbles

That is a strange bug indeed. If it was corrupted firmware I would have thought *nothing* would work...is it just that the educational train hub has less capabilities? Does it come with the other color track pieces in the box? In another note, I recently moved from London to San Francisco (two weeks ago), and decided to go along to this weeks BayLUG meetup and see what it was about. @M_slug357 happened to be there, and I got to see his 9v battery mod on his Hogwarts Express! Talk about coincidences. I will definitely be going back. :)

Are you talking about the new Powered UP trains? Then yes, it's possible, if you're comfortable with programming. Using Node.js you could create an HTTP server that serves a web interface your nephew could access in a web browser. I've created a Node.js library to interface with Powered UP trains - https://github.com/nathankellenicki/node-poweredup You could then send commands to the train when the web interface is hit.

Duplo #10874 and #10875. Like other Duplo trains, the locomotive is in two pieces - a black base with wheels attached, and a body shell you place on top. JopieK did the electronics teardown earlier in the thread. The new Duplo train base is Bluetooth and app-controlled like the new Lego trains.

I got my hands on the Duplo train base. Manage to figure it all our through a combination of sniffing and playing. Has some interesting features: 1. As @JopieK said, the front light actually behaves the same as the RGB indicator light on other hubs. 2. There are three sounds - 0x05 is a "train departing jingle", 0x07 is the train whistle, and 0x09 is the sound of water filling. All are played through an onboard speaker. 3. The downwards color sensor is a bit different from the Boost color sensor. It does color detection, of course, and it also does distance detection. It seems to count down rather than up though (i.e. further away has larger values). I suspect this is used in combination with the color value to ensure that the colors it detects are on the rails rather than under the rails (ie. ignore carpet color). 4. There is a speedometer on the front wheels! The front wheels are completely free wheeling, but the speedometer also reports the speed that they're going at. Interestingly, if there's no movement on the front wheels, the motored wheels don't go, no matter what commands you give it. So if you tell it to go at speed 100 while holding it in your hands, it will turn on for a second or so, but then turn off again, as the front wheels aren't rotating. It remembers though - if you manually spin the front wheels, it will start moving again. I've added support to my Node.js library (https://github.com/nathankellenicki/node-poweredup) - since, in LEGO's own words, they consider the new Duplo trains part of the Powered UP range. :)

Yes, I've done it with my Metroliner. You need the new PUP Hub and the new PUP Train motor. The PUP Hub fits perfectly behind the engine doors if you remove the arch just behind the driver doors. I've replaced it with two 1x1 bricks. You also need to raise the Hub about two plates off the floor so the train motor wire can feed through the floor, but it still fits perfectly within the available space. The front lights can't be powered currently as there is no converter cable yet, but you could use the new PUP lights instead.

@JopieK I don't suppose you (or anyone you might know) with the new Duplo train hub would be able to send me the manufacturer data string and the port notifications sent at startup? :) I'm trying to avoid buying a Duplo train just to add support for it to my library!

EDIT: Wrong thread, sorry!

Well, for my needs it's a big step up from Power Functions, so I'm quite happy with what they've sold me. :)

It's not a UCS. Despite it having a similar looking black box, it doesn't say "Ultimate Collectors Series" anywhere on it. The press release says this is part of a new "Master Builder Series". After the backlash of the Assault on Hoth UCS it seems TLG now wants to keep playsets seperate.

Got a few sets of the new lights today. Pretty easy to get working for us Bluetooth guys figuring out the protocol. It's the same command as setting basic motor speed: Powered UP Hub and Boost Move Hub: [0x08, portId, 0x81, 0x00, 0x11, 0x51, 0x00, brightness] Sent to the main BLE characteristic used for everything. Brightness is 0-100 (0x00-0x64) WeDo 2.0 Smart Hub: [portId, 0x01, 0x02, brightness] Sent to the MOTOR_VALUE_WRITE characteristic (000015651212efde1523785feabcd123). Brightness is 0-100 (0x00-0x64) same as above. Pictures: https://imgur.com/a/ZUGOtyZ I've added support to my Node.js library: https://github.com/nathankellenicki/node-poweredup EDIT: Forgot to mention, AutoID value of 0x08. Wonder what 0x04 will be then? (0x01 is medium motor, 0x02 is train motor)

Yep, an mSATA cable with half the connector cut away. It has 7 pins, I think he's just ignoring one of them, perhaps they line up well enough

I don't have the LED lights yet, with the motors, the voltage on the DC lines varies with how fast the motors are instructed to be going. The other 4 wires do nothing other than power the AutoID (for simple motors, not the case for the Boost motor). They're not always switched on at 9v. I don't believe in PUP there is any way for there to be a direct connection to the battery, as the ports are switched on/off activated by the firmware and triggered by either commands from the remote or over bluetooth. So unlike PF you can't just plug a motor into a battery pack and turn it on. See this video Jorge did on getting old 9v/PF stuff to work with Boost (which is identical): The rest of his channel has lots of other newer videos on Powered Up: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCURXu8zPd8XQirxT9HkAd1g/videos

"Simple" hardware (WeDo 2.0 Medium Motor, Train Motor, and presumably the LED lights) use a resistor for the AutoID. Smarter hardware (Sensors, Boost Interactive Motor) have an inbuilt PCB that does a more complex handshake to set up the AutoID. I don't know how this works. WeDo 2.0 Medium Motor - AutoID 0x01, 2k2 resistor between pins 3 and 5, short pins 3 and 6. Train Motor - AutoID 0x02, short pins 4 and 5, and short pins 3 and 6. When buttons are pressed on a paired remote control, the hub drives the motors differently depending on the AutoID. Up/Down buttons with AutoID 0x01 devices have bang-bang on/off style operation. With AutoID 0x02 it has train style speed increase/decrease operation. Theoretically, to convert the extension cable between the two modes, you could have a small switch that switches the pin connections around. But for least effort on Legos side, I'd argue that a AutoID 0x02 cable increase/decrease operation (light brightness, motor speed, full "speed" could even power a PF IR receiver) serves more use cases than 0x01 bang-bang operation (RC cars only?)

I think my absolute #1 item is a PUP->PF/9v conversion cable. Exactly the same as the existing PF extension/conversion cable, just chop off one end, and stick a PUP connector on it. Give it AutoID of 0x02 (same as train motor) so attached PF devices function the same.

https://shop.lego.com/en-GB/LEGO-Powered-Up-LED-Light-88005 LED lights now available in UK at £8.99 price point. :)

Yay, glad to you got it working. :) I wonder if the firmware update makes it less fiddly...my timing has never been that great and its seemed easier, or maybe I was just totally coincidental. Either way as you say, once paired, they all just connect. Re. Above, yes, 100% correct! They do remember their pairings via their unique device ids. In the latest Lego Ambassador Network FAQ they call them "networks". There can be an unlimited number of those independent networks in the same room as much as RF interference allows. You just need some way of remembering which controllers are paired with which hubs as the colors won't be enough to go on (colored tiles?)

I've managed to acquire 7 sets of PUP controllers, hubs, and motors on eBay, with each set costing £40-45. :) Lego in general seems to go up in cost over time, so it doesn't surprise me that the new system would be a bit more expensive. You're right, the new lights are $3.50 more than the old lights in the US. By itself, that's not too outrageous, but we'll see what the rest go for in January (When TLG has said they'll go on sale individually). Regarding your pairing woes, I hope Lego can help, but sadly I suspect you might be SOL until you can upgrade your firmware. I hope you find some way to do so.

The dream is to have a house like the home alone toy shop where everything is moving ?

Just a heads up, 88005 Powered UP LED Lights are now up and available for purchase on the US Shop@Home store at the $9.99 price point. :) This means UK is likely not far behind. \o/

Excite! I've wanted those two for ages!

I've no idea about 3D printed ones, but the real ones are on BrickLink for between £80-100, if you can spend a bit more. Amazon is about the worst place for second hand and discontinued Lego. :)

Not as yet, no. The 6399 motor uses the old 9v power cables and plugs. Powered UP uses a new type, and there are no adapter cables available (yet). You could however use the previous Power Functions system with the PF extension cable, which provides a 9v compatible plug.

I have indeed. :) EDIT: I've gone with PUP as it rolls off the tongue easier to say "pup" as in a small dog, than it is to say "pee-you", or, dare I say it, "poo"...

So I've managed to acquire all the Powered Up hubs and train motors I want to convert my trains. Mainly the Metroliner, Maersk train, Horizon Express, and Emerald Night. Metroliner, Maersk, Horizon - trivial to convert, and the Maersk train has the added bonus of having room for a downwards facing color sensor with no modification whatsoever! The Emerald Night, however, has a problem. Obviously it doesn't use a train motor, it uses a normal PF motor. With PUP, this equates to the WeDo 2.0 Medium Motor (as there is no XL equivalent yet). HOWEVER, the default behaviour of the controller is to "bang-bang" control the motor. This means it has two modes - full speed go and stop. And only for as long as you're holding the button down. There is no continual speed control. That seems like quite a large oversight! Now for me, it's not such a problem, as I plan to control the trains with my laptop, which means I can make the controller act however I want. But when connecting the controller directly to the train, it can't be controlled properly.

Well, that's both good news and bad news. The good news is that they plan to continuously update hubs firmware to bring them all to compatibility. Also more hubs - perhaps a "Smart Hub 4 I/O" at some point in the future, two on each end? The bad news is that he seems to be adamant there won't be a compatibility cable released. This is extremely disappointing. I still love the 9v micro motor, which was compatible with PF through the conversion cable. Looks like I won't be able to use this anymore. :( There are lots of hints throughout that they expect the community to step up though. Stuff about "its capable through this, but not officially through Lego yet", sounds like they're aware of some of our reverse engineering efforts. Plus the hint about the two power wires being compatible and expecting third parties to make compatibility options. Which is annoying and triggers my purist sensibilities. Finally, the news that the PUP range will hit S@H in "early 2019" sounds like it'll be a little while yet before we can buy components separately, but I'm guessing they're also waiting for more products to be released. Perhaps the Technic range will get new models in first half of next year that will use PUP, and they want to release all the components at once. EDIT: Saying the WeDo 2.0 Smart Hub can't have its firmware updated is incorrect... they've updated it via the official LEGO app quite a few times.