Toastie

Wow! Instantaneously recognized, from the front, side, and back perspective - at this scale. And even better: This is a truly remarkable rendition! It is so hard to do on this scale - you mastered it. Congratulations! All the best Thorsten

Yes, yes - and yes. Plus: They use 5V from the USB port for charging. So the homemade solution is really, really simple: One bridge rectifier, a 5V regulator, USB cable ... and a power pickup. Wow. If this is even only remotely resembling the performance of PF/PUp controllers, I am ... getting softer and softer. Best Thorsten Shoot - the power pickup is for my train controlled version only of course. Discussed in this thread; sorry for that

Same here and transparency inquiry sent out. The BlueBrixx bot already told me they are at it - as fast as possible of course

Certainly not. If it were, electro-mobility problems were all gone. Now I browsed there forbidden zone a bit - it such a pain in the butt. But: These clone LiPo boxes, be it "PF"/2.4GHz or PUp all seem to be in the same range, about 550 - 1000 mA. Capacity wise I simply could not find out. After 30 min I had it. Best, Thorsten P.S.: I just sent them a message and asked about the data.

Wait - I believe capacity and amperage is not used correctly here. In the document for that BlueBrixx box/system it reads: Daten: Spannung 7,4 V Output 500 mA Kapazität 14500 mAh Funk.: 2,4 Ghz Need to dig up, what the LiPo (8878) was delivering. Best Thorsten

That is really not necessary at all. And because of that, it becomes so attractive to support a "new" 9V system - provided though there is a reliable power pickup AND an affordable power feed system for the track AND there are rechargeable battery packs for the devices (smart hubs) controlling the motors! The thing is that the pickup powers the rechargeable battery whenever it finds metal track. When on plastic track it runs on the battery. You won't notice any difference, as the power from the track is completely decoupled from the power going to the motor. I have a completely mixed plastic/metal track layout here. The moment the engines are on metal track, they are charged. At the same time, they power the motor. It really works very nicely - but so far the elements are not available for all e.g. PUp devices. This is the idea - a bit old now, celebrated it's 10th anniversary lately - but still in full operation here: https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/45963-some-powerfunctions-insights-the-lego-lipo-rechargeable-battery-and-l/ Best Thorsten

When you have done it for the first time ... you sort of get used to it - that is my experience Best Thorsten

Well, I believe I have voiced this before, so my apologies of being somewhat acid: The cost of electronics, once fully developed, is next to nothing, as compared to any other assembly aspect. Which may include assembly time, number of individual major "pieces" to be put together, etc. But it is never the microcontroller, the PCB board, the number of parts soldered to it (surface mounted that is, so a Chinese machine does it anyways). It is much more so: Firmware, operating system, accessibility, etc. I believe this new Mindstorms line is much more aimed at addressing a different target audience. The EV3 needs serious multilevel attention and awareness. Sure, folks here program that thing into the heavens, but you know what? There are only a "few" freaks here - as compared to a "general audience". Few is relative and the general audience is relative. But TLG has to sell sets. Regardless of how much a set costs in production - it eventually pays off >only< in sales, and not in "likes". I believe there is no "downgrade" here - it is simply a smart move to generate more revenue on this type of line of product. PLUS: It is a very attractive approach. I personally like it very much. Will not go there - simply because I took the long way - RCX, NXT, EV3 and everything in between. And now Boost/PUp/Spike. So the differentiation becomes - well - almost arbitrary. But not with the line of RCX/NXT/EV3; this one is straight and clear. In my perception, the new Mindstorms set is diverting into another branch. Let's see how that evolves! Best Thorsten

Very nice analysis, @zephyr1934!!! Thank you very much! I believe this is the >key< thing: Traction bands on the (metal) track running surface AND the spring-loaded power pickup scheme from the flanges. With such mechanism, power delivery to a whatever train-controlling device is rather smooth. With regard to motors: I really believe that PUp motors with tacho will make the difference. They have some serious torque for one - but more so they are seamlessly integrating into the PUp controller line. Even the 2I/O hub has PID speed control firmware on-board. Which means that torque becomes "manageable". I used the speed (not power) setting on the Crocodile equipped with 2I/O PUp hub and PUp L-Motor. That engine runs smoothly at speed (not power) settings on "5%" with constant motions regardless of track geometry/friction. I believe this is the future. Not endless torque or inertia but intelligent power delivery to the motor. The power pickup feeding the intelligent controlling device then ensures endless hours of smooth operation. All the best Thorsten

I believe this is a very sensible and very well phrased statement. I believe so as well. I tend to call that "intelligent" - as in "educated". There is one more thing I like to add (have already). Current items that are just cheaper: I totally agree. But I would really have a look at the fake's performance and voice that here. If worse: Good to know - never go there. If equal: They did not have to come up with all the design issues, health issues etc. pp. so do not go there. However, if better - and that is certainly not out of range here, taking into account what China cranks out on their very own(!) - it would be good to flag that up as well. Because just being expensive does not automatically convert to being superior. And I will bring it up again here, just to make sure, the notion that the folks at TLG have, are not only having the good of the world in mind - and this may be a little shortsighted: The 10V wall wart they sell/sold for almost 30€/$ for many, many years is a pure and utter marketing joke. I am sorry to say this, but that was - for me - over the top. I bought one, took it apart (well broke it, was glued) just to find dirt cheap China stuff in there. No other company in the world is misleading their customers that way - there is no need for a 10V DC power supply for a truly average demand such as charging a totally protected LiPo battery pack. All LEGO rechargeable's can be charged with plain vanilla 9 - 12 - 15 V (and more) wall warts. It is that attitude that really frustrates(d) me. My problem, I know. But when they do it with wall warts, what else comes to their mind? And I like to discuss such things here. In an educated, calm and polite way. As I would like to learn about fakes that are better than the original. Just my 2 Cents and not wanting to be offensive at all!!! Best, Thorsten

And the moderators here have handled comparable posts and discussions with great care and oversight. Which is another very good reason to be part of this community. Best Thorsten

Wow - why do I miss such nice things so often? That truck is also a jewel. It is so much more a truck than every LEGO model of the same scale I happen to know. The cab, the pick-up (whatever it is called in proper English), the sloped frame - it is so much more! And once again: On this scale. Every piece finds its proper place. Perfect. I am really deeply impressed. All the best Thorsten

Wait - I can't seem to remember ... what did I do when I was 47 ... So what does Bricktsar call fans of very old LEGO? AFOVOLs? Got my first set in 1965 ... which is still here on a shelf (I made in 1979) from two pieces of wood from far earlier my father had lying around in the garage ... Have fun! Thorsten

And this is what I found and still find a little - lets called it short-sighted. Not because you phrased it - because it is the law (broken many times!) here. I know that if such things are allowed per se that all bragging and cussing and shouting may begin - as self-discipline seems to have become an ever increasingly though "feature". And there would be no handle to cut it off. With a rule in place, that is much easier. But: The moment we close our eyes to what is going on out there, each attribute we assign to TLG/LEGO in discussions conducted here become simple self-criticism or self-promotion. I believe it is always good to watch out and carefully share some of these observations. Again, such observations or even comments going along with them should be phrased carefully as this is indeed a LEGO forum. Just because we look away or don't look at all - does nor make things disappear. What I don't want to happen is that people turn entirely away from TLG because they can get almost same quality stuff somewhere else for far less money. I also believe that the die-hard community - grown-up with LEGOs and completely inherited the whole family-owned business story and willing to pay whatever price tag is on the box - may become smaller and smaller over the next decades. I would like to be on track with what else is out there - certainly also to help this community here to become even more powerful. But oh well - just my two cents worth nothing. Best Thorsten

Well, over the last couple of years I got my hands on only a rather limited number of sets. With a large BL store around the corner, things have shifted here a bit. The sets I actually built (instead of buying them for parts - small sets that is - I still like to do that from time to time) were Architecture/Paris and the Crocodile - plus a few minor things. From that very limited experience I did not really notice any quality degradation. But again, this is a very, very limited "database". However, this is for sure true. And there is only one way to find out: Get a - forbidden - set from the competitors. Many people talk about that without having had the actual experience - for whatever reasons, loyalty plays certainly a big role, as it does for me. I "did" that last year (the Black Pearl), felt totally bad - just to find out what happened: I was boldly impressed with the overall quality - of the bricks that is. The instruction was simply copied from the original. But again, this is only a single point observation - and adds nothing to the general picture. Best Thorsten

Yes Sir! I have the feeling that this core thing gets off the radar of many folks too often and needs to be brought up from time-to-time. And yes, they are a family owned business. But they are as far away from what a family owned business of this size can family-wise do to keep it going (I mean the million/billion$ decisions while having a nice cup of tea at grandpa's beautiful home, which was built back then in the early days, with all the kids running around playing joyfully with wooden toys) - in a world consisting essentially of businesses operating on a non-family business philosophy called: Survival of the fittest. The really nice things about TLG are: They still successfully maintain this charisma, they do produce >top< quality plastic products (I am not talking about themes or the like), they have a very nice philosophy people actually accept and develop further - and they do very well in the big pond full of sharks. Which always makes you wonder why that is - but it is. So here is to TLG: (And I am sooo glad, they are still doing bricks and stuff. Soo glad!) Best Thorsten

Hmmm - I had the same issue (regularly) with original LEGO motors as well, in the days when I was building autonomously operating "robots". As you said, key was to detect any "off" from set-point as fast as possible without over-steering - which got me knee-deep into the PID world (which basically eliminates that problem - and is total fun to play with!). I had this issue even on Spybotics PBricks with two built in motors. I believe that many "tolerances" add together to cause such behavior - in addition of course to pure motor operational margins. And the less power they have, the more it shows. @dr_spock: Nice website they have! Thanks for sharing the link! Best Thorsten

Is there any evidence for that? What about ordering 10 from one source and then pick the 2 matching ones? Still cheaper than two original ones ... Also, making electrical motors is not necessarily rocket science - they have been around for some time now. I am just curious: Is there evidence or any reports for such issues on a larger scale? CE certification does not look that much (if at all) at "performance" but rather safety. We need to do these things in the lab, when our stuff goes out to companies that require CE (or the like) certification. The guy showing up then is mostly concerned with: Will this blow up and then potentially hurt/injure/kill you when he injects 2kV at sustained amperage, which is frying everything having a touch to ground potential. If not, you get the stickers. Best Thorsten

But Marc: Is this really a concern at 9V - far less than 1A? Folks buying "Chinese" motors (this is where the high quality motors from TLG come from as well) may well be aware of issues? I don't know, but when I buy <10$ stuff from "there", I am ready to accept any surprises - but mostly the surprise is that the stuff works very nicely. Best Thorsten

Yes we are. And may I add: It appears as if it renders life sometimes a lot less wishy-washy. But then again: It is a cultural thing. I like. Guess because I was socially imprgenated in Germany. So then: Here's to the culture of all EB members!!! (Replace the beer with water/or whatever if inappropriate - been some time in Bangladesh - and I call tell: Water or fresh juice from the country works very, very well when you are guest in a completely different culture. All the best Thorsten

Very, very nice!!! And I love that tail - I know it is not the thing here, but it adds to the entire beauty. Best, Thorsten

Well, I made up my mind. I go with Legoino (Cornelius Munz' open source software available on GitHub). Fully disclosed - nicely documented - evolving. No smart whatever devices for control/programming required, just plugin to Arduino IDE and off you go. ESP32 boards run below 10€/$, allow you to do whatever you want, and that is my world. C source code, fully open, does not get any better But that is only my personal preference - I simply don't like "blocks", smart devices, Python - whereas others do love them! I have learned programming, when the "Kernighan and Ritchie" book was close to a bible. That may explain it all ... Best Thorsten

To be quite honest: I absolutely do see your point. And that is not just a "comment"; it is a feeling I so often share. However, (what else could come now ...) - I fully agree with @Mylenium on the comments he (she - I don't know) made: It is sometimes better to just being hammered to reality as merely floating within hopes and ideas - which will eventually be crushed - just to figure out that this world - reality - is a bit - discomforting, to say the least. However, (we need to come to ... merging feelings) - I'd be better told in a bold and "it is what it is" way than being pampered with "who knows, maybe, try this and that". This issue has been discussed here on EB so many times - in this and that and that and another forum - and it may be that folks being around for ages getting a bit tired and take the "shortcut". This "shortcut" maybe then be perceived as "unrelenting negativity". For sure. Old farts like me receive such posts as "heard that, been there, done that ..." - and conceive the consequences as "reality". Maybe an emoji placed here and there makes a difference in perception when posting, maybe not. All the best, Thorsten

Thank you, Sir! Will download later tonight!!! Best Thorsten

Hey All, a Windows app! Nice. That one does not work by any chance with the 2I/O and 4I/O hubs, correct? Thanks! All the best, Thorsten