holisko

Absolutely mind-blowing! ==================== Hi, this is my first post on this forum - have been lurking on Eurobricks for several months now, but decided to finally register after reading this thread. I could get almost no sleep the night I found out about this project, especially after you incorporated the PFx brick support, which, on its own, is a magnificent tool, but has been hard (impossible?) to incorporate in an automated setup. Until now! :) My life dream is to recreate the whole railway network of my home town in Poland from 30 years ago, maybe as a permanent exhibition where kids (and AFOLs) could play/interact with it in semi-automated modes. To get there in a about 5-20 years, I need to make some smaller steps and the first one is to build one Lego train station that can be operated in an automated mode, just to test the designs and implementations. I was going to use PFx bricks for trains, train and track crossing signaling (picoleds from Brickstuff), motorized switches and boom barriers (PF motors) etc. But I quickly realized that the applications of currently available software are very limiting and would require costly and complicated workarounds or solutions which where not designed for Lego (like Arduino) - and I'd like to stick to original bricks or dedicated products as much as possible. So I kind of ditched it... But with your software... sky is the limit! And by sky I mean the number of devices the BLUEtooth hardware can handle :) Because of your project, I decided to put my other hobbies on hold, get back to the Lego project and... work longer hours to be able to afford all of the new stuff I need. Because, as somebody in this thread already pointed out, this project can indeed drive an increased demand for Lego (as well as products of other companies). Take me for example: I put my hobby on hold, stopped buying PF accessories, did not buy the new Lego trains (as I did not want to invest in PUP, as it did not seem to have many advantages over PF). But after testing your software with my PFx bricks a couple of days ago, I already ordered several PUP/WeDo/Boost hubs, remotes, sensors and motors. And as soon as I am able to afford them, I will buy additional PFx bricks (if there are any left) & light boards, Brickstuff lights, 4dbrix yards (maybe some boom barriers as well) and TrixBrix switches. There is an educational benefit as well - this project will give me an incentive to expand my programming skills (so far I know the basics only). So, @Cosmik42, I can't thank you enough for this marvel. This is truly going to make my life better :) It brought back the hope to be able to make my biggest dream come true one day. But even if I can't, simply because of lack of funds or space, me and my kids are going to have so much fun with the "demo setup", that I'm going to build this year. As @ElectroDiva already said, it is an amazing time to be a train AFOL - so many options on the market already, so many more to come (Bricktracks R104 switches maybe, 4dbrix decouplers?), yet still so many to dream of (double slip switches or power pickup solutions). I know a simple "thank you" is not enough for all the work you put into this and for the decision to share it with us for free, so I'd like to make a "starter" donation - how can I do that? I promise to give you as much feedback as possible once I have all the parts and a functioning layout. Until then I'm looking forward to further development of BAP and all the implementations the users are sharing. I would also like to thank all the people who have already supported this project by praise (reading input from @Toastie felt like reading my mind), comments, suggestions. This is a great community and I'm glad I finally joined it :)