Toastie

Oh, absolutely! I'd do the same, if I had consumers happily willing to pay that amount! This was in reply to the "whopping $70" in @kbalage's comparison to what you pay for good rechargeables on the market. If TLG sold AA or AAA rechargeables, I'd say they would cost around $12 each, because 6 x $12 is a little more than 1x$70, which is equivalent to "better". There would be the LEGO sign on the cells, they would be all black, have the warnings, and maybe something like: Fully compatible with LEGO devices. Recommended to charge ONLY with THE LEGO charger. Since this one would charge 6 AA type LEGO rechargeables, it would be 6 times more expensive than the $30 wall wart minus the actual value of such a charger, which is may be around $40 (in Germany) - getting me to $140. And yes, because they a) certainly have fun coming up with the price tag and b) because they can. Best, Thorsten

... or use them to shovel away your front yard with the Liebherr No honestly, that is an almost unpreventable thing to occur when alkalines are either used to "the model's limit", i.e., maybe even above "their" own secure amperage rating (the motors attached to a dumb battery box don't care about that - as doesn't a PF receiver pumping juice into a stalled XL motor) - or have to supply tiny amounts of current for a very long time (this is why they usually don't leak when stored away removed from any current sucking device). It's too bad that alkaline batteries don't have a brain that tells them not to crank out as much current as their chemistry allows flowing upon almost shortening them; would they have that (a current limiter would do as well) it would not happen by looking at them funny. Overcurrent rapidly causes H2 gas building-up in the cell leading to tiny ruptures - and within weeks or months, they corroded the battery box - not the H2 gas, but the NaOH leaking out through the cracks, reacting to Na2CO3 with the CO2 of in the air - that's the gunk showing up. Here is a good one for those interested: https://www.panasonic-batteries.com/en/news/battery-leakage-causes-and-prevention And then the time to crack or breach seals inside is certainly a function of manufacturing skills as well. So the $0.10 cells from a country far, far away may (but don't have to) fail earlier than others. The LiPo chemistry does not have any significant pathway leading to gas production (not anymore that is) Best Thorsten

@kbalage Wait, I didn't say "TLG should put proprietary rechargeables into each and every set", I said TLG "should really strongly consider rechargeables as their way to go forward". With that I meant the entire recognition of this technology in and on their boxes/programs. And push for suggestions and or endorsements which ones to use. They promote Disney like crazy, so teaming up with an environmentally engaged and reasonably operating supplier of such renewable technology would be, in my opinion, are smart move away from the 1950's - 1980's approach (make, use, throw away, get new stuff, in cycles ever spinning faster, as resources are endless) towards a recognition that that approach may lead nowhere. That is what I tried to say. I fully agree with you; NiMH AAs from IKEA represent one aspect of this approach. Now, when it comes to the whopping $70: That would be another approach: Make rechargeable technology much more affordable. TLG also charges $30 for a wall wart charging their $70 LiPos, knowing that a $5 wall wart will do. TLG's LiPos are nice, but imagine BUWIZZ needing to put that into their intelligent bricks. I do see a pattern here regarding the price politics at over TLG. Best Thorsten

Absolutely - as also others already said! I mean, there are these valid safety fears and discussions - the development process of LiPo's (and the like!) is in full swing though, and they become far less a threat virtually every day. There was a time when blimps/Zeppelins were filled with dead cheap Hydrogen gas, that went terribly wrong, they replaced it with really expensive Helium and eventually figured out that the global supply of Helium is - well - limited. As everything else in/on a confined volume called planet is. I have not really looked into the overall environmental footprint of using 2 or 3 LiPo cells and recharge them about 500 times versus using 3000 AA batteries of the one-way alkaline type. Yes, the latter are hopefully recycled (oh well ... see below), but the former as well. In this study (out of several, simply don't have time) the environmental performance of LiIon, which mostly compare to LiPos, are compared to NiMH cells. Well, no doubt, that LiIon technology is far better in almost every regard: https://www.mdpi.com/2313-0105/5/1/22/htm And yes, there are many more, and maybe even more important aspects, when it comes to manufacturing Li-based rechargeables. This more recent study discusses some issues (>and< how to alleviate them): https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01735-z Once again: Today, production of one-way chemical reactors (= batteries) will never be "better" than making multi-use reactors (= rechargeables). Usually, media and thus people tend to focus on things - such as LiPo's, since the Lithium resources are somewhat "focused" on Earth as well. It is terrible what is happening there, no doubts - none. But for those who are interested (and have the time ...), this article sheds some light on the making and performance of alkaline type batteries: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351978920307794/pdf?crasolve=1&amp;iv=5be49ba377d574fc121c7f2a1256a33b&amp;token=66373530373566396236616238333832633234333030636138303665643037623839376530333964316132373239393364663635393834323861386561353261393264336234363933626463383339623566333537363939393235663a363233343363393534373466386262663534323166366564&amp;text=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&amp;original=3f Just as illustration [citation from the above referenced article, >I< have underlined the text]: 5. Conclusions Alkaline batteries account for 80% of manufactured batteries in the US and over 10 billion individual batteries are produced worldwide annually most of which are disposed of in landfills [7]. It could be that people are treating an expensive LiPo less disrespectable than a dead-cheap, apparently environmentally "felt-like-okeyish" alkaline battery, also recharge them enough times to easily break even on an overall scale. It is also conceivable that the "Hindenburg" memory regarding Zeppelins works along the same lines as the memory on exploding LiPo's. My conclusion is that the caring family owned company located in a rural setting in Denmark should really strongly consider rechargeables as their way to go forward. And yes, I know, it is highly unlikely to happen (... money, money, money, must be funny, in the rich man's world ... ). All the best, Thorsten

Hi @Khasen, and welcome to EB! Others may know much better, but have never ever had any issue with the hole-pegs. I believe some of the technic beams I used for my "structures" here are dating all the way back to 1996 (Control Center II / set 8485) and they don't have any issue, nor are they structurally weaker than solid peg beams. But as said, the technic gurus here know better. Best Thorsten

How on earth do these cell phone suppliers - and vacuum cleaner, tooth brush, laptop, ... suppliers cope with this hassle? Best, Thorsten

@Aanchir, thank you very much for your very kind words - it is really just sharing thoughts, though. I have no clue what is going on, on the other side of the LEGO boxes ;) Sometimes I sit here and think: Oh my, maybe one of the TLG folks is reading your blurb and laughs his, uhm, tush off ;) I have said it before: I really enjoy (and learn) from your always politely, knowledgeably and very nicely phrased posts on EB, using the entire width or better volume of the English language. I really do enjoy that reading. I guess this was far less clearly phrased - I am German - my teacher in high school, some 40 years ago, used to call me out: "Language, Mister". Well, he was German as well ;) Now what I wanted to say was that economically, it makes much more sense for TLG selling the lights separately than putting them into a set "for free" - or - as you said, increase the price for the set to a level, that makes it unattractive for those, who just want to run a train. Hmmm. Difficult. TLG's current train sets are not necessarily in the low cost price range ... I am unsure whether the max. +$2 (for TLG!) would make the targeted train set customer population unhappy. I believe TLG is simply better off asking for $10 at S&H or in any store (where people may even consider getting something else ;)) Oh well, what does a chemist know about marketing ... All the best, Thorsten

Less than one hour - sure - provided "everyone" is one with your imagination and superb skills I love all your videos and have learned a lot in this one as well! Very nice, thank you very much. I haven't heard from Geekservo before - this sounds really interesting - as does your little crawler solution! All the best, Thorsten

Well, I actually believe they calculated that through to the fraction of a cent. We collaborate with a good number of companies in Europe and the US; they (in contrast to us ;)) make stuff. The things they produce are leaning towards the expensive side and require quite some supply chains, as rather diverse materials and pieces are required for assembly. What I have learned from them is that the least thing to care about is electronics. Once the printed circuit board is ready for production (even in small numbers as low as some 100's) - which translates to: all the expensive work has been done - neither the actual making of the boards nor the electronic pieces populating the boards - is treated as severe cost. Once again, for expensive instruments, that is. Nevertheless, making a dual wire cable and the 6 wire cable means you need to stock both types (or order two different things from an external manufacturer). Putting them together is different (OK, machines do that, but you may need again two different kinds of machines or one kind capable of making both, but consecutively). Also, a mechanical step (crimping on the cables) is a rather different task than getting SMD resistors into a plug. These are all severe costs for TLG. They'll save 4 wires of certain length per LED light, but I bet that that is far less attractive (cost wise!) than having solely 6 wired cables crimped onto the plugs. That's the other thing I learned: The more entirely identical production steps are in your work-flow, the (much) better off you are. Maybe that is one of the reasons, but this is pure and utter speculation. Best Thorsten

I don't think it is the cost of the LED lights. PUp or PF - these LEDs were and are (and should be) the cheapest elements in each line-up (and they are "dumb"). Consumer price-wise that is. Actually, I buy them to cut the plugs off from the lights for connecting non-PUp things to PUp hubs. The cost of the LED PUp lights is next to nothing regarding production. Throwing them into a train set results in a blip of cost increase (manufacturer-wise). However, adding such a feature generally means adding more bricks and pieces, as you have to cope with the a) the geometry and b) with a 6 wire cable - which is completely unnecessary electronically-wise, but a PUp hub needs to learn what is attached to its ports, otherwise the app freaks out. I believe this is what makes it far less attractive for TLG adding PUp lights, but certainly not the cost of the lights. So experienced users simply do it - buy the separately sold lights - and then they have the parts required available. Smart move, I'd say. Best, Thorsten

This: I believe this is the core of the matter. Secondly, I believe that the "learning" aspect on "how to build in 3D" - and then securing that knowledge in your head (to be able designing "complex" things on your own) is much better trained using flat 2D paper like instructions with callouts and the like, as @Mylenium has laid out. There is no reason at all >not< going into the 3D animated route later on - in contrast. But at this stage - assembling LEGO pieces for a model - where you can, at every stage, either return to the instructions or rely on your assessment of what may have gone wrong/right by looking at the model in your hand, is my proposal. At this stage, you should use your head, but not a program/app. Just my 2 cents. Best Thorsten

Could not have said it any better. This is precisely my point of view - and behavior Best Thorsten

Well, to be honest: Most of my Google internet searches actually point to the WayBack machine - so basically I am browsing the WayBack machine, when being online. Nice place. Right click on the ?!42_* told me it is apparently an image ... but to no avail. Got it - thanks for the advice! Best Thorsten

Welcome to the club . Just curious: What was the time-to-termination for your device in DLDC units? Mine was 0.9. Sometimes feel like I am lost in space ... disconnected ... ... No I'm not. Or ... Best Thorsten

Well, I have a different view on that. I am in no way pessimistic, as I simply try to make my own stuff, to have "old" LEGO hardware keep going. Here is one example - it works quite nicely https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/188584-mulpi-a-multiple-lego-remote-protocol-interface/ I believe that it is not the hardware going away (and/or a protocol, such as 2.4 GHz/BT/BLE): IR is not only still there, but very prominently used all over the place. Nevertheless, TLG phased PF/IR out. There was quite the line-up of PF motors, still all working perfectly fine. And before PF, the 9V line of electronics including the RCX programmable bricks had everything from diverse motors, actuators, sensors, and most importantly were fully compatible with the entire LEGO world of bricks and pieces: Train, Technic, City ... No, I believe, TLG does that on purpose. With the event of the NXT, the plug/socket geometry for the electronics changed in a way that nothing other than TLG's proprietary >new< stuff worked. Sure, all of a sudden the polarity issue called for that, the additional signal lines made that necessary and so on. My point is: TLG wanted it that way - and made everything else (electronically) incompatible. Yes, there were conversion cables, but this is ages ago - and these compatibility efforts have completely come to an end since years. The NXT uses BT - gone. The EV3 as well ... Now they have chosen BLE technology. Changed again (more wires = necessary) the plug/socket geometries, made everything before PUp incompatible to their entire line-up of electronics they ever made. And again, we do get even more powerful control hard/software, and yes, TLG seems to sweep that technology all over their themes. Well, as they have done before with 9V. The problem though is: 9V was comparably cheap to add to a "medium-sized" model. TLG made PUp so expensive that adding it to a model mostly determines the price. Not good for using it across multiple themes, I believe. What leads to your assessment that PUp/BLE will not go away from TLG's portfolio in the foreseeable future? I believe they did exactly that so many times - simply because they need and want to sell new stuff. Third party companies ... well no, I do not believe they really care about that much. Yes, going to new technology is a must, also for a toy company of this size and with their high own expectations. But third parties ... they may endorse them, but that's it. Endorsing in terms of not suing them and maybe give them a little more insight into the works. This is no problem, as the next change for the better is already scheduled. And lastly: When I (chemist, not electronics freak, with a hang of keeping old stuff alive) can make a $10 microcontroller board + fairly outdated IR pieces for about $5) make all these abandoned TLG electronics alive again, why can't they? As simple as that: Because they don't want to. As in: It does economically make no sense at all. So my "conclusion" (what do I know) is: The very moment, a group of people at TLG believes the time has come (simply by looking at sales) for a change towards "new exciting technology, that allows unprecedented performance never seen before" - they'll do it. As I would, when running a company of that size. Best, Thorsten

Oh man, absolutely (the generations bit ;)) - sorry that you weren't born then And here on EB we have a platform to share ... through these generations! Oh yes! Or setting RAMTOP to 32k - to free a humongous amount of space (16k+) for weird machine code - loading into the machine via tape recorder - having absolutely NO clue what is going on ... Best, Thorsten

Very nice write up, and I really appreciate the time you took to compose it! I never thought about any of this. I work with SOE (in Germany) at a public joint, which translates to "never even think about making money outside the allowance from the government, or you'll burn in hell" ;). So this entire world of "where the real money is" is somewhat distant from >me<. I see LEGO as one means of getting away from concerns about - running a research group, which is 95% operated on extramural funding - so much about "making" money ;) but not for me, for the joint. Well, not true; with SOE: For the folks doing their work within the joint. Thanks again. All the best, Thorsten

Can't copy this to dump it into Google translator - now that makes me curious (the cannot copy thing): What does the "_olyY" bit mean? I have deciphered everything else using my brick-built Enigma . Don't want to post it publicly as this may make some folks nervous . OK, as my former graduate student Ruben Wrist'grf:?!_0 would phrase it: "Yeah, dude, man you're really old". Heehee. 42 Best Thorsten

And nothing is wrong with that when people want to do that! The big difference to what was raised here - as far as I understand - is: You simply did it without bragging and calling others out for not getting the real thing. Plus: Someone else is happy! That's a very big difference to me. See, I wanted the Black Pearl for many, many years - looked at the price and said: Nope, better invested in something else, got a rip-off from somewhere else, changed/added/removed) this and that on the ship with "real" LEGOs - worked on the sails - they look like the Pearl being in quite some windy waters - and now I have my Black Pearl, and I am very, very happy. And I believe there is absolutely nothing wrong with that either. Reported it here and no one was calling me - well - whatever I should be named. But did not tell people that paying a lot of money for her is preposterous. For me, >that< is the big difference here on EB vs other places (I have hardly visited at all). Win-win-win. Best Thorsten You definitely should do that, when you feel comfortable to do so. Don't worry about "the others" - just do what you want to do! Best Thorsten

Hey @Ondra, I am very glad that you made it out of "there" and into "here". I am turning 60 in a few weeks - hardly use social media other that WhatsApp on the Family group (otherwise I wouldn't know anymore what's going on at home - or when do we go where (and why ). I love this place very much. It is diverse, it is rather calm most of the time, it is nicely and flexibly moderated, it does call out for rude behavior - and even moderators can write something like "I like LEGO, but I don't like TLG's behavior". OK, now and then (scarcely) the heat is on, but usually everything cools down quickly. And what would be a chili without chilies ... I can write "I am impressed with Mould King", I can show off my stupid electronics from the last decades of the last millennium, can do many other things related to LEGO and LEGO building. And when hopping into the pubs - talk about - whatever. In the Community forum, I can brag about competitors of TLG with no harm at all. Most importantly, I can ask questions in a myriad of directions, ranging from "how to fix a washing machine using technic beams?" to "possible to use a vacuum cleaner as 1x1 plate collector?" and will get decent and educated answers. And for sure some good humor. It is a fun place, where I can (do and will) learn so many things from others. I am on EB for 10 years and 4 months. There were never ever any regrets. I love this place. All the best, Thorsten

- at first I thought: This is not 8-wide, what is @XG BC talking about. Then I saw the bit bit. So a synonym for "12V era" is "8-bit retro style" - I love it! Did not know that. And it is an almost perfect match! The Intel 8008 was introduced in 1972, my beloved Zilog Z80 in 1976, and it "ended" in the 1980s (the "real" 8-bit architectures) - 1969 the 12V era began and ended about 1986. Did not check thoroughly; but 8-bit retro style is it for me! @Paperinik77pk another masterpiece! I definitely need to build one of your 8-bit retro style trains and show it next to my 8-bit Z80 powered Sinclair Spectrum! All the best and thanks for sharing, Thorsten

Hi Emanuele, ahh, this is another advantage: No it does not, as any excessive surplus dries off really slowly. Be careful when trying to wipe it away - it will leave marks for sure. Just let the surplus dry (for an hour or so) and then cut it off with a very sharp (exacto type) knife. The adhesive surface area is secure within a minute or so. As @dr_spock noted: In contrast to epoxy glue, this stuff barely "fills" any gaps. It joints surface contact areas. And it hardly increases the "distance" between the parts glued when applying some very minor pressure. As said: Leave the resulting excessive glue showing upon applying pressure alone and deal with it later. Acetone (2-propanone ) is nice as well but may result in a slight geometrical loss when applying pressure - and tends to go everywhere, particularly to regions you don't want it to be; this is less favorable when moving elements are close to the application area. Tried it and yes it readily and securely fastened the point blades and/or the lever operating the blades to the enclosure. And yes acetone is flammable but so is gasoline and if I am not mistaken, many folks use gasoline by the gallons. Acetone for gluing is used in microliter amounts (about 0.0000005 gallons ). Chloroform (trichloromethane ) as mentioned by @JopieK is, as Wikipedia knows, "a powerful anesthetic, is euphoriant, anxiolytic and sedative when inhaled or ingested" and is overly careful with this assessment; I have used CHCl3 here and there (it removes many stains) and unfortunately never experienced any of these side effects. But the same caveats as for acetone apply. (I love chemistry ) Best Thorsten

Same here; I love LEGOs (no offense, trying to be funny with the s), but I absolutely do not like how they behave (in certain areas, particularly legal) anymore. Best Thorsten

Gluing (naturally) always depends on the material you want to glue. When the material is ABS, then "superglue", i.e., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanoacrylate this stuff is the best. It makes connections, which a) dissolve ABS on the surface, and then b) basically chemically reattach the ABS structure. Now there are at least two kinds of this type of glue: One is even more fluid as water and creeps everywhere - be very careful with this one - and then there are more viscous glues (gels). These are, what I prefer when it comes to gluing ABS. Takes a little more time to get to the point of releasing any pressure (tens of seconds, vs. seconds) but allows you to "adjust" when putting the parts together - for several seconds. You need to be rather careful to not apply too much of that stuff (as it easier to do so - it then builds up and again tends to go somewhere else ;)) Here is one brand (that I used all over for LEGO and recently for my broken Sony amp switch) ... it's a link for "Australia", but I could not find the US link. https://www.pattex-adhesives.com.au/en/products/super-glues/superglue-ultra-gel.html Works quite nicely, not only on TLG's ABS: Best, Thorsten

Oh yes! Happy New Year everyone! Just finished fixing the good old Sony 5-1 surround sound amp, which we bought in 1998 from Circuit City in Tustin/CA. It runs off from a 220/110 Transformer (yes, a plain vanilla transformer - no fancy step-whatever electronic converter - as do the other components (cassette player - double-deck!), and FM tuner. The VCR has gone bye bye some decade ago and was replaced with another one - the 2001 400 CD changer needs repair as well - used cheap rubber bands I found in the kitchen last time). The on/off-key was broken - superglue is your friend - and the relay contacts connecting the preamp(s) to the main amp required a little contact spaying . Removed the trans-clear cover of the relay, did some thorough contact cleaning, sprayed a bit more here and there, cleaned up and: Bingo! It was a nightmare though to get the thing back into the "rack", as there is also the TV set, another box and this 110/129 and 220/240 power need ... worked out as well. So it was a good start into the New Year, I guess. Here is to the next decade Best Thorsten