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Toastie

Eurobricks Grand Dukes
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Everything posted by Toastie

  1. Toastie
    Any thoughts on wireless as well? The principle is the same: There is a central brain (the Client, representing many clients = trains, e.g. a RPi or ESP***) and the servers (= individual trains with a brain = ESP*** or PUb hubs) - which is more or less identical to DCC, but differently realized. DCC needs all metal track, wireless some metal track for recharging (on the fly - whenever on metal track, the motors run off from metal power, when on plastic track, they run off from the LiPo/NiMHs or whatever rechargeable you prefer). With a mixed metal (80%) all plastic (20%) track the net outcome is charging, at least with the load I was pulling back then, see above. The other thing is, the double cross-over (e.g. from BB, with some tinkering) works, wyes work, back loops work ... all plastic stuff from X and Y works ... But: Just my take! All the best, Thorsten
  2. Toastie
    Very cool, thank you!!! Absolutely understandable. I am also waiting for their pickups, because then one can get the juice on a much smaller "scale" Thanks, and all the best, Thorsten
  3. Toastie
    @McWaffel This is not directly about DCC, but about modifying a 9V motor as power pickup AND DC motor controlled by a PF receiver, which is in turn powered by the 8878 LiPo, which is in turn charged on the fly by the motor pickups. As the 9V train motor handles PWM very well without any issues since 1 1/2 decades (surely not every day(!!!) but every now and then), I don't see why you want to wait for DCC (DC) motors - other than that they are different from regular DC motors of course! This is a "real" train operating in that principle: BTW, 7938 has been retrofitted to PoweredUp (City Hub) two years ago => removed the battery compartment of the hub (cf. third pinned topic in the TrainTech forum), hooked that one up to 8878, which is charged via the 9V motor pickups. The City hub runs the 9V motor in the pickup - all works well. Will be fun to see your DCC solution!!! Best, Thorsten @Sunil766 As we are in @McWaffel's DDC thread: You want to go DCC or are you not yet sure, which system to use? The confusing ESP*** numbers in the other thread were mostly related to wireless control (WiFi or Bluetooth Low Energy, BLE, which is what TLG uses for PoweredUp components equipped trains - and all their other current remote controlled sets) Best, Thorsten
  4. Toastie
  5. Toastie
    That's what I meant. I am also on some electronics and how-to-fix-a-20-years-old-Sony-amp forums. Naturally, they don't discuss that much - it is more about showing how-to. But sometimes it gets a little ... "different", compared to this place. I believe it has much to do with educated moderation - there, virtually absent - here, well, educated moderation. That's why I like this place so much. Wait - yes, also because it is about my favorite hobby Best, Thorsten
  6. Toastie
    Yes - my bad.
  7. Toastie
    May I? What >This< forum is for. Best, Thorsten
  8. Toastie
    I like that very much! Best, Thorsten
  9. Toastie
    @Tolletyle Welcome to EB! I believe SteamSewnEmpire has left this forum - or was "banned", as you can see below his avatar. No idea how to make contact with him. Best, Thorsten
  10. Toastie
    Wait ... it was about parents or grandparents not knowing what to buy as a gift for their kids or grandkids because they have already everything, wasn't it? Not about LEGO "fans". I have seen these folks browsing the shelves at Smyths or Target - because it is "LEGO". With probably no real grasp of what that means other than: Expensive, thus valuable educational toy. TLG has accomplished that. And that's good. Their win. But there is also fall-out. And I believe the world of non-LEGO fans browsing the shelves for gifts (without any "mean" thoughts) may be much bigger than other fan worlds. Maybe I am wrong - I don't know. Best wishes, Thorsten
  11. Toastie
    And this is where it is getting to the core, isn't it? DCC, ESP32, ESP8266 ... all work very well. Is the train motor in your approach powered off from the battery box? Then @McWaffel will freak out. So again: Power pickup from the dumb DC powered track, rectify to +/- where it belongs, regulate the voltage, feed that into the ESP's batteries + power feed (for the motors), and let it do the work. Right? All the best, Thorsten
  12. Toastie
    @JopieK I was hoping so much that you would reply ... and you replied (thank you very much!) in a manner that is - boldly representing the Eurobricks Forum for it's best. The best may be not good enough, but let's keep that to building and building skills. I really think your reply is essential. To the very point. It puts things into perspective and at the same time reaches out to everyone. And that is a skill, which makes all the difference. Did it before, do it again: This community is so much more than a "forum". Owing to the thread starters, discussion participants, and - very much so - to the moderators. Thank you again, all the best, and have a very nice day/night. Thorsten No. I like discussions on behavior/perception/reflection in a MOC topic. Put this into any let's talk about "how to" forum and see it drowning into "yeah, sure, now let's move on to the real stuff" comments never posted. All is good! Best, Thorsten
  13. Toastie
    Now I got you! The ESP 01 board uses an ESP 8266 chip, which has an TCP/IP stack onboard + WiFi, is that correct? And then sure, you can use the various transport protocols. Funny enough, we use numerous ESP 8266 boards (the dev board type) equipped with pressure, humidity, and temperature sensors spread out in my labs. They are hooked up to the fire-walled university network - and within range of the building's Wifi/IP sub-domains you can look up the lab data. When you do stuff like ambient and even "closed" source atmospheric pressure ionization, you won't believe that some ionization mechanisms do depends on these conditions. Before we realized that, we were sometime totally puzzled when things went apparently "wrong". Today, when something is weird, we first have a look at the air "condition" ... When I read ESP, for some reason, I wrongfully assume we are talking about the ESP32 (VROOM) boards. With those (slightly larger than the ESP01 boards), you can also use BLE, which in turn is compatible with the current PoweredUp hub line of TLG. That was my reasoning of using them. And yes, add an H-bridge, grab power from the dumb track (man, we now have dumb battery boxes as well as dumb track ) and off you go. Best, Thorsten
  14. Toastie
    Ahh, I see! Thanks a lot! Best Thorsten
  15. Toastie
    Well, than DCC has wireless on board! Cool. Sure thing that the right track meets the left track. I am using RC plastic track to do the separation, as I am using 9V motors as power pickup and the wheel on one side are electrically connected - which requires the wheel distance as isolated section. RC track came in very handy - before that, I did cut the metal rails ... Yeah, that's why I use the rectifier - it always keeps the polarity right. DCC decoders must do the same. All the best, Thorsten
  16. Toastie
    Absolutely! I guess, this all is more of a philosophical type thing: With wireless (named it BLE or whatever) and permanently powered track, you hook up a decoder in the incarnation of a wireless decoder, name it ESP32 (plus motor driver of course, sure). Or use a PUp hub with some minor extra electronics (bridge rectifier + voltage regulator). Energy transport = track, information transport = air With DCC you hook up a decoder in the incarnation of a DCC decoder to the track; this one has the motor driver(s) on board, but that is not important, from a philosophical standpoint, as you can hook up a tiny H-bridge driver to the tiny ESP board as well. Energy transport = track, information transport = track. As air is not that expensive and easily shaped into any geometry, both approaches do work quite well, I guess. It is also a question of further required infrastructure for both approaches (DCC brain + boosters vs DC power supply and (name it) BLE Client + software and so on and so forth. I decided on: What do I have already? Quick question to the DCC experts: Is changing track polarity (Wyes, backloops) any issue for DCC? I don't know but I don't think so, right? Best, Thorsten
  17. Toastie
    Huh? No. Otherwise, cell phones won't work reliably. Or BT headsets. With BLE it gets even more secure. Range may be an issue, but within the dimensions of a decently sized layout with lets say 30 switch points that is not true (anymore). BLE pairing is as far as I have experienced using an ESP BLE client [running e.g. Legoino with multiple BLE instances to connect to multiple BLE servers (=PUp hubs), or an n!software BLE stack on VB6/Win10], nothing ever happened with regard to reliability of the connections. At least not here. Huh? I am controlling 30 switch points via dead cheap home-brew OOK modulated 433 MHz transceivers of the size of 3 stacked 2x4 bricks based on the Mindstorms RCX IR protocol (used for specifically addressing individual bricks and establish some communication "security" (no other frigging 433 MHz device interference - and there are many in the neighborhood) for about 10+ years now. See below for powering. Yes. Well, I do that . I power RCX' + Scouts + PUp hubs from the > 90% metal track; that one has 15V DC - with changing polarity on the rails here and there as I have some weird layout geometry up here under the roof, which is taken care of by bridge rectifiers (< 10 cents, size < of 1 cent coin) feeding the wirelessly bound "smart bricks". They have rechargeables because otherwise they lose their brains upon track power outages. And they control currently lights, switch points, and a larger draw bridge. No restrictions for expansion! To be honest: I am glad that some of my engines do haul them around - the metal tracks are pretty slippery - one PUp L motor has "no" weight, nor has the 8878 LiPo. You know what I do? I try to get in as many drained alkalines as possible into the engine to get more tractive force. Hmmm - I guess @Pendra37 uses/wants to use ESP32 based controllers; when using boards with the ESP-WROOM-32 chip - man, it gets powerful, cheap, almost no power consumption, and no antenna. Check (for example) this site out: https://eckstein-shop.de/ESP32-ESP8266-Modul. They're small. These modules have (among other) BLE, BT, WiFi on board ... for $4 - and you can get them even cheaper "somewhere else". And: Programming with the Arduino IDE and the library for instant PUp hub/PF connection is readily available). Trackside locations may even use the ESP dev boards (still rather tiny, most use the ESP-WROOM-32 chip); with those, you have the computing and interfacing power to fly to the moon and return safely. I guess wireless has advanced as much as DCC has over the years. All the best, Thorsten EDIT: @Pendra37 replied 5 minutes before I did, @McWaffel sorry!
  18. Toastie
    Just - do - your - thing!!! It is really so important. DON'T feel "bad" about "no" responses. Just ignore comments of the tone "a bag of bricks" and put them, where they belong: That is where the light never shines. There were so many discussions in this Technic forum about why folks "appear" to be rude when they wanted to be "educational". You know what? There is a thing called politeness. Yes, learning can be/is a steep curve. But so is teaching. "Educational" means much more than that. Ask @JopieK, he has a load of experience in that regard. Yes, there may be the super experienced, seasonally nicely aged, knowing-it-all folks here in this forum. They know. And some know better. And that is entirely OK! I can't encompass what I am seeing here in this forum. And I don't reply here, because it is out of my reach what they do here. The thing is: A "teacher" - in contrast to an "assessor" - in other words, a person you can - and may want to - learn from - is so much more than "having" superb skills. Focusing on the latter is just that: Narcissistic. Passing along knowledge and skills is something entirely differnt. OK, the above ranting was not planned ... let me reply to your original post. I very much like they way you presented your MOC. I like the functions for its size - and - to me - it looks very cool. And I bet you are having a lot of fun running this car down the road/dirt/backyard/living room. Does not get much better! All the best, and: Stay here, post here and have fun! Thorsten
  19. Toastie
    Hmmm. That is a pity. Numbers would look much nicer, but will never beat off-the-wall-wart operation. As don't e-bikes, recharged from a solar panel on the roof. Never. Thing is: The extension cord for the bike ... with trains the situation is of course different. There is no question - zill - when you calculate the power needs and costs. However, the whole thing is a bit more complex, isn't it? Remote control, automation, and so on. When you don't want that: I'd go your way. But what if you do want to go there? We have no DCC. You can implement that when you want. You have to do it on your own and all is good. No doubts. There are the tracks, the 9V motor as power/signal pickup and that's it. I believe, DCC, with some restrictions (educate me, I have no clue!) could work. Maybe not. I don't know. However, there may be a sort of "LEGO way" to run trains: With some TLG controlling "bricks" (PF receivers, PUp hubs, PBricks) operated on rechargeable batteries (because they lose their brain without), recharged on the fly. Why is this relevant? Because some folks try to live with what TLG (and others! But there is nowhere brick based DCC, as far as I know) within their universe is providing - and then add what they feel is required (in a totally self-centered "my idea" environment). When you do your calculation with all that in mind, the math gets quite complex, I believe. Best, Thorsten Wait: They run on Diesel, don't they?
  20. Toastie
    I had to google it, but there was a time in my dark ages, when orange was simply wishful thinking ;) @Stoffer70 This is really wonderful. I can imagine your joy every morning - fantastic. Well - 19 + 16 makes it for me: Colorful Orgasm. And then the day begins ... All the best, Thorsten
  21. Toastie
    Oh, sure, I totally agree here as well - but when you have all the 9V track already - and I believe @McWaffel has a lot, then it is really frustrating to live through decades of train decay at TLG. 12V was brilliant with regard to the many things you could get, working signals, motorized switch points, diverse(!) trains and carriages - track-side stuff, buildings - the came 9V - far less of all of the above but still tons more of what is available today - and a power pickup system that, if I am not mistaken, was/is perfectly well suited for DCC, but I don't know. The invention barrier to really nice pickups allowing that were/are not that high, though. And then came all plastic - I believe in terms of decay we should skip the next evolution step and call it quits, train-wise. As in: The original from TLG. You know, all my trains do have either 8878 on board, or simply 6 x 1.2V NiMH rechargeables, which are always charged when on metal track (for a non-LUG member I believe quite a bit here) and run on battery when on plastic track, which is there as well, mostly for insulation purposes (another BIG advantage of battery operated trains with power pickups: Polarity changes simply don't mean anything: The motor is operated via a PUp hub or PF receiver or RCX brick, the batteries are charged via bridge rectifiers, always providing the correct polarity to them. 8878 gets the full +15V track +/- DC (OK, minus the two diode drops), the NiMHs get constantly 8.4 V (9V regulator fed via pickup and bridge rectifier = 14.2 V), + one series diode = 8.4 V; a fully charged NiMH cell has about 1.4 to 1.5 (max); 6 x 1.4V = 8.4V so they trickle-charged whenever on metal rail = always full overnight, are never overcharged, and when they are below 8.4V and on metal track DC goes directly into the controllers = almost full blast. This setup works now for about 6 - 10 years - I have never changed the NiMH cells nor any 8878 - no leaks (they hardly can) - and ready to go. The last two years time was devoted to other things - fired the trains up last week: All ready to go. Yes, there is a benefit to "battery" operation, for sure! Best, Thorsten
  22. Toastie
    Yes and yes! Have a good one, Thorsten
  23. Toastie
    But this very forum is the anchor for all the busted LDD users, isn't it? I never tried LDD, MLCad is my world. However, LDD folks seem to be quite active. What about "Digital building tools (Studio, LDD, LDraw based ...)" All the best, Thorsten
  24. Toastie
    I have heard that a lot - particularly when suggesting LEGO (or clone) sets/pieces for Christmas or birthday gifts to the family . Also, when people visit my "home-office" (which rarely happens, as LEGO does not really appeal to many around here) they tell me that I have preserved my younger days, which is very nice ... You know what? I am grown-up (well, I guess slowly decaying is much better suited ) - I deeply enjoy the 4-wide thread (and many other threads here on EB) as a grown-up person. There is no preservation of being a kid, I am no kid, I enjoy LEGO as a grown-up with the passion and emotions of a grown-up ... All the best and thank you for all your wonderful contributions! All the best, Thorsten
  25. Toastie
    Forgot to mention that one. Yes, same here. Most cost-effective, but less what-will-I-do-with-all-that-stuff from the apparently "useless" sets purchased. Well, not entirely true - filling the gaps with all sorts of small - whatever pieces - is "useless" as well. Well, for the time being. Who knows what they will do "just sitting there, waiting", as @koalayummies said (below/above - I was editing - but I like that notion very much!). Best, Thorsten
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