Brick Tamland

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  1. Brick Tamland

    Where does the excess energy go?

    The capacitor and inductor have no impact on energy efficiency. They simply eliminate ripple in the output current. The energy they store from cycle to cycle is not the same as the energy dissipated by the load, which you seem to be implying is "lost". This is why you get longer battery life at low power. However, I'm done arguing about this. I know what I've stated can be backed up with math, if you choose to believe it its your own decision. My qualifications? Masters degree in Electrical engineering, currently working in the power transmission industry.
  2. Brick Tamland

    Where does the excess energy go?

    Again, you are incorrect. Torque is a product of flux, which is a product of current and inductance. It doesn't work the other way around. You are also wrong about the light bulb. Take your multimeter and try to measure the voltage across it when its not plugged in. Then measure the resistance. For a fixed current, the voltage drop across the bulb is a product of resistance. For a fixed voltage, the current is a product of resistance. The switching converter will generate a constant current regardless of what is connected on the other end(it will actually oscillate slightly as a function of circuit components, but its close to DC). The other components I mentioned do not dissipate energy. Transistors will have a slight leakage, but its so small its negligible. In periodic steady state, the average voltage across an inductor is zero. The average current across a capacitor is zero. Power is equal to current times voltage, so its obvious that neither of these can dissipate power. All of these components are necessary to create a switched converter, so yes, in some form or another, the PF receiver has them. The transistors do the actual switching, the capacitor and inductor filter out high frequency ripple from the current, ensuring you don't destroy your motor. They have no effect on energy efficiency. The point of the converter is not to turn 9V 100ma into 4.5V 200ma, as the power consumed would be equal. The point of the converter is to turn it into 4.5V 100ma and half the power consumption. Its not really all that complicated if you understand switched converters, which you don't(no offense intended). I can recommend some books if you want to learn about them, but it will require a solid Calculus background(Calc IV level) and a good understanding of electromagnetic theory to really get anything out of it.
  3. Brick Tamland

    Where does the excess energy go?

    This is untrue. The amount of power delivered to the load(and hence the energy consumed by the load) is independent of the type of load. Switched DC power converters are immensely more complex and much more expensive than the alternative, which is a voltage divider circuit consisting of a single resistor in series with the load. For a switched converter, you need at minimum, an inductor, a capacitor, and two transistors just for the converter. Then you need a microcontroller to generate the switching commands to implement PWM. To reiterate what I said before, batteries will last longer on low power with a switched converter than they would on high power. I don't mean to seem argumentative, but this is a fact.
  4. Brick Tamland

    Where does the excess energy go?

    True, a very insignificant amount of energy is dissipated inside the power supply. Switched DC converters operate by turning on and off very quickly, on the order of hundredths to thousandths of a second and beyond. The motor only sees the average value of these pulses. There is no excess power dissipated as in a voltage divider circuit because the batteries are constantly being switched on and off. Your multi-meter will measure average values, the only way to see the actual pulses would be to hook up an oscilloscope. The batteries will absolutely last longer running on lower power vs. higher power, that is the point of switched power supplies. If this were not true, no one would spend the money designing and building them. A voltage divider circuit with a fixed resistor or rheostat is way cheaper to design and build.
  5. Brick Tamland

    REVIEW: 4194 Whitecap Bay

    My first review here on Eurobricks, so bear with me :) I was so excited to build this set I didn't take any pictures of the build, which took about an hour. The pictures are not the greatest quality due to the lighting I have to deal with here. Official Description: Relive movie moments with the LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean Whitecap Bay (4194)! Captain Jack Sparrow and his band of pirates are lying in wait, plotting to capture one of the mysterious mermaids of Whitecap Bay. Hide inside the lighthouse, then use the searchlight to spot them in the murky depths below. Shoot the net from the boathouse cannon when they get close to shore! Beware of the whale oil barrels tipping near the open flames! Front of the box. Back of the box. Two instruction books are included. Also inside are a sticker sheet and a collectible card. There is also a poster. The set contains 6 minifigs including four exclusive to this set. They are all excellent, featuring front and back printing. Both Jack and Scrum feature leg printing as well. The mermaids, Jack, and Phillip feature alternate head printing as well. The mermaids have great hair pieces and carry strands of seaweed. The tails work forwards or backwards which is nice for posing them. From the back. Alternate head prints. Jack's torso is the same as the one found in several of the other sets. He sports his hat and compass in this set. Phillip is wearing a great black torso and the same wig as Will Turner in the Mill set. Phillip is exclusive to this set. Both feature back printing. Back printing and alternate head printing. Scrum is another minifig exclusive to this set. He features a great looking brown torso and leg printing. I think his face is also really cool, with a scruffy looking beard and scar over his eye. The gunner zombie is the same as that found in the other sets. Both feature back printing but no alternate head printing as there isn't any place to hide it. Now onto the rest of the set. The movie trailer hints that Jack must capture a mermaid, and that seems to be the basis for this set. It includes two great black rowboats with lamps, oars, and buckets. It also includes a net with a plastic rope for a minifig to hang on to. The net folds up nicely and allows for the capture of a mermaid! The build for this set is divided up nicely into modules, each with their own bag of parts which makes the build go relatively quickly. The first module is a large 4x4 barrel on a stand. It holds a few black 1x1x1 round bricks and can be tipped over onto a bad guy. Also included are another barrel with a bunch of the new pearl gold coins. As others have mentioned, these look pretty bad when compared to the old pirate coins. Hopefully all the negative feedback will make Lego go back to the chrome gold if/when there is a second round of POTC sets. Pull the pin and the barrel tips over. The lid doesn't always fall off, but its a decent play feature. The lighthouse is the next module in the build. This is one of the highlights of the set in my opinion(pun intended). The build is fairly straightforward with a bit of snot work and some hidden play features. One of the coolest features of this set is the working light at the top of the tower. It uses a lightbrick with a magnifying glass to focus the beam of light. This actually works pretty well. It would be nice if there was a way to keep the light on without having to hold the button down. The tower consists of three floors. On the first floor is a small table with two stools. On the table is one of the new bottles and an astrolabe. The second floor is empty aside from two steering wheels on the wall which don't actually do anything. There is a mechanism on this floor that knocks out the side walls and collapses the top of the tower. I assume this is a reference to something that will happen in the movie, but I haven't seen it yet so I can't say for sure. It easily knocks out the two sidewalls, but the top of the tower only collapses about half the time. The build is very solid, so it stays together when it does fall down. The only pieces that tend to fall off are the two 1x1x1 brown cones on the top that sometimes pop off and go missing. The final two modules of the build are the small connecting room and the cannon building. This portion of the set features the giant cannon mounted on a sliding track. The cannon fires another mermaid catching net. There is a plunger inside the cannon, which when flicked from the rear will fire the net a meter or so. Inside the connecting room are a square barrel with a shovel and pickaxe, and another new bottle. You can see the track system for the cannon and the firing plunger. Pseudo-action shots of the cannon! And finally a shot of the completed set. My Ratings: Minifigs: 9/10 The minifigs are excellent and one of the highlights of the set. Two are duplicates from other sets, but one of these is Jack, so thats to be expected. The mermaids have great head printing and hairpieces that will be great for Mocing. I would give this a 10/10 if the gunner zombie was a different minifig. Parts: 10/10 Lots of dark grey! A light brick, two new bottles, and two of the new sword scabbards. This would make a great parts pack for any castle fan. Build/Design: 9/10 I really like the modular build. There were some repetitive steps and some of the elements are a bit fragile until they're fully assembled. The set is much bigger than it looks in pictures. Since it is supposed to sit on the waters edge, a baseplate would have been nice. Playability: 9/10 Lots of play features. The collapsing tower would be better if it worked all the time. Price: 8/10 I did get this half price at TRU after buying the QAR, so for me it was a bargain. However, at full price I feel it is about $10 too high. Overall:46/50 This is a really cool set overall. It is the biggest of the POTC sets aside from the QAR and features some great minifigs and play features. I bought this set(and the other POTC sets) primarily for moccing, and it really is going to be tough for me to tear this one down. Hopefully everyone likes this review. If you feel there is something I missed, please ask and I'll try to address it.
  6. Brick Tamland

    Carriage House (POTC)

    Put together a carriage house to go with the tavern from the London Escape set. I tried to imitate the style of the real set. I'm currently limited to black and grey bricks, with some random accessory pieces thrown in, which is why this MOC lacks any real color. There isn't anything inside at the moment, but it does feature a second floor. The large iron doors open up to fit the small coal carriage inside. This is the first MOC I've put together in real bricks in over 10 years.
  7. Brick Tamland

    Bluecoats

    These soldiers are garrisoned in a far off corner of the empire. After a fierce band of pirates destroyed the rest of their unit, the remaining red coats sought refuge with the blue coats. Unconcerned with the politics on the other side of the world, the blue coat commander welcomed any able bodied soldier willing to help defend the settlement from the pirates.
  8. Brick Tamland

    Bluecoats

    Dug through some stuff in the attic earlier this week and fished out all of my old pirates stuff. I'll be making some creations in the near future when I get done sorting, but here is a picture of my bluecoat army, with a few redcoats too.
  9. Brick Tamland

    WIP LDD "The Vasa"

    I never thought of this, but I switched them out and it looks great, thanks! I'll be posting more pictures soon. I'm using various photos of the real ship and models found on google images for reference. I gave up pretty early on accuracy and have been focusing on just getting the shape and feel of the original. Even at this scale, the build is already over 5000 bricks. To really build an accurate model, the dimensions would have to be approximately doubled in length and width.
  10. Brick Tamland

    WIP LDD "The Vasa"

    I may put some furniture in the captains cabin when I'm finished with the rest of the ship. Thats probably as far as I'll go though. The new release of LDD added the new hull pieces, so I'm already planning a new project that I can eventually build in real bricks.
  11. Brick Tamland

    The Pickle: Now under sail

    Great job! You really captured the look of the real thing. Can't wait to see it completed with sails.
  12. Brick Tamland

    WIP LDD "The Vasa"

    Quick update. Currently working on the curves for the bow of the ship. There are about 20 studs left to complete the hull. Decks have been added and I've started on some of the detailing. Here is a shot of the entrance to the captain's cabin and the stairs to the upper deck. The wheel is temporary. I'd like to sink it into the deck a bit and I may move it to make room for the aft most mast.
  13. Brick Tamland

    H.M.S Saint Matthews

    That is a huge ship! I think one or two more hull sections would make it look a little more proportional.
  14. Brick Tamland

    The Black Pearl in a bottle

    This is great! I'd buy this as a set if they sold it.
  15. Brick Tamland

    LDD WIP

    I use both of these methods to flip the bricks. I sometimes end up with a weird height offset, but the way I place my decks you usually can't tell.