Toastie

I believe linear medium PUp motors do have such a rotation sensor inside with 1° degree resolution. They don't have an absolute position encoder, which means that when you power on the electronics within the motor (i.e., plug them into a hub and turn the hub on), it does not know where absolute zero is, it just counts degrees up/down from its current position. Linear L PUp motors, according to Philo's motor page know both the relative (as per relative to the position they have when powering them), as well as absolute position, however they have no position zero mark on the case/shaft, which is weird but ... so you have to find out, where that zero position is. Hmm. I don't know - when it is like that, then you should be able to get the abs. zero info from the hub. Never tried that thought ... Best, Thorsten

For me, it is not only another level - this was built in another universe. Completely unbelievable. The video is also excellent ... Wow.

Hi Dave, "So, I hope you enjoyed" is what you are saying at the end of this breathtaking video ... ... I am "on" a 60 x 2 years birthday party - just quickly cycled back to our home to give our lady dog her eye medicine; she had surgery on Tuesday otherwise she would be blind in a couple of months the told us, recovery seems to be going well so far, but she needs to get her drop every to hours for text two weeks. There is so much more than enjoyment here - I must say I am completely up in the air. Man, everything is so nice in this video (the lovely mess(!), the layout, the woodwork - and the windshields are making all the difference!!! Wonderful. I am so glad, you posted that here - fantastic. And I also love, love to see that power switch having its very own hole in the plate - TLG doesn't make these - so you made your own. Entirely my approach as well - so nice. So much more to say, but I have to cycle back to the party. All the best - wait, yes, also from Beanie, our dog. Thorsten

Thank you very much, Dave! Well, there is a little video holdup - the BR 23 asks for more space than expected - oh well, first think, then measure, then build - and not - build, measure, think, ... The 23 has quite some overhang (cabin, back) when she is on curvy track - you did not see that one coming, did you ... so I needed to open the drywall and made a little breakout box ... Yes, I do love my 23 Need to finish that up first. This sloped wall makes me fuzzy - all weird angles - nothing close enough to 45° to do some cheating, no. Oh well: "Arbeit sind die Flügel, die tragen über Berg und Tal" Best, Thorsten

OK, but the outcome is strongly on the very, very nice side of designing!!! Even better that it is strong - the look though is fantastic! Congratulations on that achievement. Wow. Every time I see something beautiful like your MOC, I think to myself: "Don't even try it. Stick to your programming fun and crazy things and all is good." And here's to feeling good Thank you very much for sharing!!! All the best, Thorsten

Update: BR 89 MOD now in the Community Forum Best regards, Thorsten

Dear all, as discussed in the TrainTech forum, I am posting here in the Community forum some modding on a 10-wide BR 89 fully LEGO compatible display model from BlueBrixx, I got as birthday present this year. Why in the Community forum? Because this is - well - a BlueBrixx (BB) set MOD - mostly using LEGO stuff though. This is how she currently looks like (see below for changes to the original BB model) featuring a PoweredUp (PUp) City hub, PUp L motor, PUp color sensor, and custom rods: The TrainTech forum post referenced above shows in addition a turn table I made explicitly for the BR 89 – as I don’t have any more space in my attic to 1) accommodate a full circle of track and 2) no more floor space at all. Which means she has to run on slightly curvy track mounted to the sloped walls in my room, and since I don’t want her get too bored when just steaming back and forth, I thought she might enjoy being turned around at one end of the track section from time to time … Why the BR 89? Because I got her 50 years ago as H0 model from Märklin (in German) as Christmas present from my parents – but then really never got into model railroading – LEGO just was so much more attractive to me back then. Nevertheless, this engine is still available today from Märklin, and the 10-wide BB model looked really nice to me on their website. Some remarks BB BR 89 original set €70 – which a very good deal, bricks and plates with good quality having mostly superior clutch power as compared to LEGO pieces. Colors: I am a bit color-blind, but an expert on shades of gray, and there is room for improvement (some black pieces). However, I like the less perfect, less glossy appearance of a steam engine – have never seen a real one, even when perfectly restored, in super-glossy colors. Changes/additions Rebuilt the lower frame/driving gear/running gear. Main changes: Front axle driven by a PUp L motor (original: center axle/BB PF M motor). This also allows removing the clearly visible “Technic gear 20 Tooth” as seen in this step of the original BB instruction: Furthermore, narrowed the frame at the center axle/wheels from 4- to 3-wide, allowing the flanged center wheels to move inward when negotiating corresponding curves. As the BR 89 is running in eye height in my room, I simply do not like the blind wheels. These are perfect and unavoidable in other builds, however in this case I reverted to the split axle design originally shown by @Ben Beneke on his BR 23 and used all six wheels with flanges. I have motorized Ben’s BR 23 over 10 years ago using the same approach as shown here:With regard to the 89 it is even tougher for her to manage R40 curves, see MLCad picture below, as the front and rear axles are 13 studs apart and the big train wheels don’t help at all. On the split axle there is a piece of medium soft foam inserted between the “Technic axles 2” pressing the wheels very gently onto the connecting rods. When going through a curve, the inner wheel is moving correspondingly and moved back on straight track: Lowered the position of the motor within the frame and moved it forward. This is required when the cabin space shall remain (almost) as “spacious” as in the original, as the PUp L motor is two studs longer than a PF M motor. Added/moved some plates here and there to make the frame a little sturdier, as it became rather “brittle” with the PUp L motor installed. Rebuilt the lower section (frame) of the smoke box to attach a PUp color sensor facing down as well as for the wires (motor and sensor) and accommodate a PUp City hub, which is 3 plates higher than a BB RF battery box. The upper body of the engine seen from below in the picture below does not fit this way onto the frame - this was work in progress. I disassembled the upper body layer by layer and rearranged the layout on the fly when building up the engine on the new frame: Rebuilt, raised (1/2 stud), and moved (1 stud) the cylinders so that the valve gear still runs free, the piston rods are almost on the same height as the wheel axles, and the main rod does not become too long: Moved the connection point of the main rod to the rear wheel (as in the real engine) using custom connection and coupling rod(s) and added some "valve gear": And placed the PUp City hub partly on top of the motor with a one-plate-spacing for the wires: An ESP32 Dev kit (nothing else required, about 10€) programmed within the current Arduino IDE (C++) using the current Legoino library from Cornelius Munz is controlling the setup (turn table and engine operation). Manual control can be done with the PUp remote (left dial keys: turn table motor fwd, rev, stop; right dial keys: BR 89 motor fwd, rev, stop; center key: emergency, all hubs turned off immediately), however this is intended for debugging only, as the setup runs autonomously. The turn table features a PUp L motor as well, so on both table and engine, repeatedly pressing the fwd key increases speed (not power) by 5% using a smooth acceleration profile; same for rev. Stop is a brutal stop though! Some remarks on the original BB BR 89 set: As said, the original BB version is a display model. It features 6 flanged driver wheels; in addition, they give you two blind drivers as well – which tells you that this model is already sturdy enough to go through curves. The original idea is to put the engine onto a (very nicely done!) stand, which elevates it slightly above track level, and then use a BB PF compatible M-motor along with the BB RF battery box and RF controller to "just" turn the wheels. A PF M motor is not powerful enough to run her on track. YouTube's user Bricked4You has published some very nice videos on retrofitting the original display model into a nicely performing LEGO track compatible engine (in German), which is also nicely coping with R40 curves, using a BB PF-L compatible motor. Instead of using BB’s PF compatible stuff (L-motor, RF battery box, RF controller) I wanted to operate my 89 with TLG’s PoweredUp gear – why? Because using a tacho motor (e.g. PUp L motor - BL price for a new motor is about 1/3 of what LEGO asks for on their shop website) along with the “SetSpeed” command (rather than “SetPower”), she moves slowly but steadily, curved track or not, i.e., is far less affected by changing friction forces. The regulated rpm setting is ensured by the motor’s built-in rotation sensor and the PoweredUp hub hard/firmware, which reads and translates the rotation sensor data into appropriate power settings to maintain the "desired" speed. I really like to watch the valve gear when a steamer moves slowly … And I wanted the entire setup (BR 89, turn table) to run autonomously without any user interference (other than moving the BR 89 into startup position). One issue in this scenario is “safety”. When the 89 dives from the approximately 1.5 m height and crashes into the 9/12 V train layout below, serious damage is to be expected – and I don’t want that to happen (I also don’t like crash-videos ...). The TrainTech link given at the top of this post shows the (elevated) track the BR 89 has to negotiate along the wall. (Note that the following two files are deep linked on BrickShelf - thus you are taken directly to the file content. When moderated, I will change this to point to the files) LDraw model including the PUp stuff is available here (note that there are two versions of the drive mechanism – the “new” one is described here); current Arduino sketch as well – rename .txt file to .ino to load it into the Arduino IDE. Video will hopefully follow in a couple of days, I sure hope – I am terrible at doing videos . Best regards, Thorsten P.S.: YES, there is also real cheating going on here : I filed off the "flange"(?) at the long side of the "Technic Pin 3/4" (LDraw #32002), which is driving the center wheel and thus needs to slide in and out in curves as well, as the wheel is moving but not the side rod. On the short pin side, it is legally attached to the center hole of the custom side rod. The would-be Walschaerts valve gear is missing (among many other things) the union link - and the combination link is made from a broken "Technic flex system cable". The intact cable terminal is legally fixed to the upper "Technic flex system pin hole connector" (LDraw #2900), the broken cable terminal is (illegally) just sliding in and out of the lower connector. I like illegal stuff

Wow!!! Thanks a million for that tool!!! I am using MLCad for building and thus the LDraw library. I like to use Stud.io for rendering ... and now this will be one genuinely nice workflow. Nice. All the best, Thorsten

Well. They should remain exactly there. And if not: Screw them. In the past, there was Technic. Now we have folks voicing this: (From the "you get something like this" - uhmm - review, @nerdsforprez is referencing): "The packaging is a next level experience" No more to add, I just stopped watching it right there. And should have stopped it >way< earlier, as I lost 30 seconds of my life. Best, Thorsten

Hmmm ... Let me wrap this up: You don't want to learn Python or better Pybricks, which is a lot easier, as it is tailored towards PUp. The PUp remote is not an option, because ... it has only 7 keys to use, correct? A smartphone is not an option, because ... why exactly? Would you be comfortable making your own key type interfaces? I don't understand what you really want, with what kind of effort. Best, Thorsten

Oh yes, for sure. Me too I don't get the next to the entrance shelf position though - good for me - lots of time for browsing - particularly the sedimented samples at the bottom :D Best, Thorsten

Wow!!! Really impressive - I was not aware of that - that is really nice. Actually, I browse these magazines every time when shopping at (the remaining) real,- stores, book stores, ALDI, Netto - they have them close to the entrance or check-outs. Which is a bit arbitrary. Very nice! Thanks a lot for doing this! Best regards, Thorsten

Heehee ... LEGO ... Wife: You have so many bricks up there, don't you have enough? No, don't say anything: You - do - have - enough! Xmas approaching. Wife: You need to get your wishlist ready. Me: Don't know, I am happy. XMas coming closer: Wife: (Really concerned) What? No LEGOs (or compatible bricks, yes, I know the dark side very well ) on the list??? What I like the most is the "really concerned" bit. This is not about mental illness to be smoothed - this is about "You like LEGO and I can see that". New Year's a couple of weeks old - my Birthday approaching - and then we start over. The rest of the year is the same - I keep it really low level, though. We love each other. A lot. BTW, she is into plants, flowers - also A LOT. Well ... guess what: Saturday approaching. Wife: I will go to the market garden, do you need anything? Me (thinking: Yes, The UCS Millennium Falcon) saying: No, but don't we have enough ... no, I don't say that. There is a BIG difference between ABS and living things. And that is one reason I love her, for sure. Best regards, Thorsten P.S.: If this is not off-topic, then I don't know what off-topic means. I am sorry.

Oh yes, I believe so! That's a very good idea - the Technic forum folks use these racks over and over again. But ... ... I didn't have it. I bet two of these 24121s would be of great usage here! You are absolutely right! I just love the challenge. Best regards, Thorsten

Thank you! On the BR 89 there is one single PUp color sensor - and there are 9 colored plates/tiles on the track. I am using red/green/yellow/blue only as these are recognized "as such" most reliably by the City hub's firmware, but only when the rest of the track is covered with e.g. black cardboard. The track is software-wise "segmented", so that 4 colors are enough to allow rather secure autonomous operation of the setup consisting of engine + turn table. (decoded as (color# && segment#)) The Crocodile track has 4 optical sensors, of the type "combined emitter + receiver" for proximity detection: Their sensitivity is adjustable, see top picture. The "curved slope with cut out" (LDraw #29119) is reliably detected. Best, Thorsten

Hi Dave, I'd say why not posting it here? This is TrainTech and you added something you made to your train MOC that is not well doable in bricks. As far as I am concerned, there is absolutely nothing wrong with posting that here. In contrast. Let it be controversial to those who want to take it there. I am always very much interested in learning from others. Adding your very own parts to your very own MOC is that: Learning from others what one can achieve by doing that. Benn's daylight would not look that nice without his rods. They make a huge difference! On each LEGO steamer I have seen so far. I bet this will be the same with your own parts. Best, Thorsten

Shelves are up, nothing destroyed, nor even damaged Quick update: Top: Crocodile track; lower section: BR89 track (the BR23 is 100% LEGO from 10 years ago, Ben Benekes design, the carriage is BB made (oh my) This shows how the turn table shelf is attached to the wall This is the track section the 89 has to negotiate (not really challenging, I know, but she features 3x2 all flanged wheels, as the BR23 does). Black cardboard on the track is there to make sure the PUp color sensor does not freak out, when seeing alternating "White" - "DBG" changes - without, it just reports all shades of colors ... no surprise. BR89 is not shown for obvious reasons - this goes into the Community forum. I guess any videos as well, as she is the star. Did a couple of runs today (BB track arrived today, so I can replace the 9V track I used for testing. It appears as if "it" works (the automation that is - the whole thing is about automation, not any manual control: Upon startup, the turn table looks for the initial position, as does the 89. And then I press one of the domes of the 89 - short for one run, long for doing this repeatedly. Well, I am a little fond of the BR89 split axle design ... but not here. And: This is @Ben Beneke's idea! Not mine. Uhh: The Croc features that as well: All flanged wheels BTW: The Croc is steered differently: There are optical sensors embedded into the track attached to the ESP32. Which define the acceleration/full forward/deceleration sequences. The 89 does that via reporting colors to its ESP32. Total fun - even seeing it failing . I need to add more safety measures, i.e. ramps at the terminal locations, lifting the BR89 up, so it can't move any further (as I have done for the Croc.) Best, Thorsten

Hi Emanuele, thanks for your nice comment! Well, with regard to the racks withstanding the moment of force: They are attached to each other using the hinge plates resting on tiles. They are fixed to the moving table in positions 0/90/180°. And they are "self aligning" when on the 1x4 gear rack driven by the PUp L motor. So the rack-assembly driving the table is essentially of no concern - at least as judged by applying a manually imposed force ;) - actually the gear is then slipping, then anything else happening. The 89 is easily turned - and she has put on some weight . All the best, Thorsten

Obvious or not - just let time, light, and oxygen "work" on the stickers. Yes, prints will degrade as well, but if done appropriately, much slower than the adhesives used to affix a tiny polymer film onto an ABS surface. And furthermore - it depends . For one, there is the application finesse. It appears as if you managed that. And even that depends; putting on a sticker of the size "a" on a flat plate of size "a+" is one thing. Putting them across more than one plate/brick is another. So yes, maybe it is a good idea to decide individually. Generally, and to be quite honest, I never put up any stickers; too much light/temperature changes in my attic, way too much peeling observed (from past = 10+ years stickering). Never had/have issues with prints. Just my personal observation. Best, Thorsten

Glad that it works!!! Best part: I just learned that I am not the last human on this planet using MLCad - and still having tons of fun with it. Best, Thorsten

Well then, I am outing myself: I love this place. Everything. Particularly the etiquette here. The way moderators moderate. Even playing hide and seek with the mods on clippable blocks is fun (in Germany, we for some years now have the word "Klemmbausteine", which - to me - is less disrespectful as "clone bricks" or other weird words, c'mon, we all do the Chinese Dance on so many other things, and with impetus - just look for the "Made in NotChina" tag on stuff you buy - but not LEGO, oh no! - and then we brag about THE DEALS we got ...). Yes, I am old. Yes, maybe forums are dying. Well, so do washing machines. Even Luke Skywalker! I found my home here on EB. Should it die, I go along. No other place for me then to tell people that I'm da man. And that BB rocks. And that I like the bricks TLG makes but not the company - anymore. Or just feel as I never got anything decent to work when looking at the so many beautiful MOCs introduced here on EB. Introduced, not thrown at me/us. And no, I will not praise the mods, all their work and time (voluntary!), their compassion, and their resilience. Why not? Because they know already. I sure hope that EB will be around for long. Best place on the LEGO internet - for me. Thank you all!!! Best, Thorsten

All what @Mylenium said! Maybe this explains it a bit: https://hps.org/publicinformation/ate/q12082.html Don't underestimate elevated temperatures, again, as Mylenium said. And most importantly: LEGO aging will happen. I believe it is a good idea to maybe slowly but steadily accept that - entirely normal - process. I am looking at this process as becoming ... mature. Richer in colors (well OK, in theory - I can only see white becoming less white or brownish - and I love it on my tanker train cars - I also do like color fading (e.g. on my 727 diesel engine from 1977 - it adds a natural touch). Even dust adds to the look, provided the model is not entirely covered and barely visible anymore . I don't understand the hype about tiny little scratches on brand-new LEGO tiles or transparent stuff ... I like models looking - "alive". BTW, the X-wings >never< looked shiny and clean in - uhmm - real life, they were essentially in combat all the time! Laser guns do leave scratch marks and change colors, for sure! Oh well, just my opinion. Just don't overdo it - life goes on - and eventually we all degrade into dust, why shouldn't we allow LEGO bricks to come to rest as well. Best wishes, Thorsten

Thanks, Werner! And nice solution on your gear rack as well! As I said, I really want to be careful here - when the BR dives deep, severe damage is to be expected. I thus used the "go XYZ degrees" with maximum delay in the acceleration and deceleration profiles. The hard stop is to secure both 0/180 positions with respect to the static track. The thing with the gear racks is that you can easily get two of them straight with only minor force. Also, that small gear came easily off, as it does not sit 100% aligned with the racks but rather on the inner radius - that way the table turns rather smoothly. Will do as soon as I have it up there ad ready to go! Best wishes, Thorsten

OK - this is all your fault The entire idea of this setup - located about 1.5 m above floor on a sloped wall - is to automatically start up the 10 wide BR 89 to reach full speed, decelerate when close to the turn table, slowly move onto the table, turn the table by 180°, slowly leave the table, go back to the start position, redo the whole thing (as we are now in reverse), and either stop (done) or do this indefinitely. I know, sounds stupid, is fun for me though, particularly as the Crocodile does that as well about 20 cm below the 89 - but it goes only back and forth. The entire sequence is "color coded", as the 89 has a PUp color sensor on board. I will do this as @Murdoch17 has suggested: The BR 89 "Umbau" in the Community Forum - the whole setup focusing on the "turn table" and the engine shuffling back and forth here. However: Just decided today to put up the IKEA Lack shelf on the sloped wall - man. But: Done (28+°C up there ... I am now re-filling all water I lost with beer(s) - Carlsberg Premium Lager Beer. This causes a slight delay in showing stuff ... here are just three photographs of the turn table, will get this into the clear in the coming days. Now, I know that a turn table is something very special in the LEGO train world. Nothing as such is happening here. It is simple - but functional, that's all: It turns my 89 by 180°. That's it. And it is built into an IKEA "Lack" shelf - these are 5 cm "thick" and thus can nicely accommodate a turn table . Even better, Lack shelves are just hollow structures - about 0.5 cm thick top and bottom cardboard type panels and in between there are hexagonal structures made from paper nicely supporting the panels. The side panels are 1 cm thick particle boards. A couple of notes: Table color scheme: Here is to the Yoda set I got as present , I simply don't have other bricks for the looks. Well, the white bricks. And 1x2 and 2x2 LGB_BB tiles ... It automatically finds its starting position by turning on the PUp L motor and looks for the yellow/red color change (photograph #3), then reports that to the ESP32. Should it be already on red when fired up, it just turns on the motor for 0.5 s to "secure" the starting position as there is a hard stop at 0 and 180°. It turns 180° using the corresponding PUp (#rotation by degree) command with acceleration and deceleration parameters set. This is very accurate. The speed is set rather low, as well as the max power to regulate the speed. I let it run into the stop, however, then the PUp deceleration ramp is already close to "done". The table is controlled by an ESP32 running Legoino. There are some other just functional and no beautiful features as well: It self-centers the more or less wobbly drive mechanism consisting of these 1x4 gear racks, which are simply attached with hinges and secured only at 0/90/180° to the table: The white wheel on the motor pushes this assembly back in place should it move out of specs ;) and there is a similar mechanism to push back the axle/driving gear into position at 90°. I really need to ramp up safety measured here - whatever goes wrong may cause the 89 to dive about 1.1 m onto the 9V/12V train section below ... or 1.5 m onto the floor, depending where she is on the track. Just realized: The black 2xX plates on the track are there to get more reliable color sensor readings. The green section is checked by the ESP: When she is on green, she is securely resting on the table . When not: Immediate power down of all PUp components ... Damnit - I keep editing this post like crazy - quickly for the purists out there: Yes, I believe the two 1x5 Technic beams securing the two technic brick sections (PUp L motor top secured to structure bottom) are illegal connections. Here is to illegal connections . As said, will post more soon! Best Thorsten

Good evening Holger, thank you very much for your reply - more importantly: Very best regards - I hope all is well with you and your family! Sincerely, Thorsten