Tcm0

That's actually a problem with the winter holiday train, too. It just doesn't fit in the normal train scale and looks really bad near every other recent train. So maybe it's time to start a 2nd layout/ collection for amusement trains? :/

I think that the motorization is very lazy. You can see that they put a train motor into the tender - and not a large motor into the actual train.

The file name is "abc" in this case, it's defined in the upper right corner. The first row is to write the stuff to the file. It's a list that contains "10", "10", "12", "20". The second row is the actual reading process. It reads the first value of the list (I'm not sure if it starts from the beginning with the 10 or from the end with the 20), the second read command reads the second value etc.

It should work more or less like that. There is no "move X rotations for X seconds" so you would have to calculate the speed from that. I'm not sure about the order the values get read/ written so you might have to write them from last to first.

There is also the possibility to program your own remote control options in the powered up app (but only one "design").

Which programming language do you use? X3 has the ability to read files. They are in a table format (and I think that they are read as arrays).

@Mr Hobbles is the Control+ hub compatible with the powered up app? (with the "programming part" of the app)

I really hope that they only use them for trains that are not ment to be motorized.

Maybe it's used to detect if a rechargeable battery is inserted (that's how they did it with the mindstorms). The rechargeable battery has a small "knob" that presses the button while the battery pack doesn't. There is no rechargeable battery yet but they kinda made the promise that there will be one.

Yep. And there is another train coming according to rumors. That makes 5 trains in 2 years (and a few months). BTW the download link doesn't work; it links back to the download page. /edit The link to the instructions is https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5c548dfdebfc7f726814ea8e/t/5d4bc9ad5ad6d10001f0760a/1565247943894/BTD+70424+Powered+Up+Upgrade.pdf You're welcome. BTW I did another test and put 2 metal axles on top of the hidden side trolley to see how big the impact of the additional weight of the metal is. The hidden side wheels performed a bit better (maybe 10 studs or something like that) but the difference is still there and very clearly visible.

The set includes one magnet and a few other train parts (a window, doors etc). I wonder if TLG didn't use magnetic couplers for the whole train to compensate the additional friction.

I bought the hidden side train (we already had 30% price cuts), did a test and the result is that the hidden side train wheels have much more friction. For anyone interested in the details of how the test was performed: 2 basically identical "trolleys" - one with the hidden side train wheels (purple) and one with the train wheels from a city train (golden). Both started at about the same position (1 brick height) and had a straight track to roll as far as they could. The hidden side train wheels performed much worse. I switched the trolleys after one test to show that it's not a problem of the track (if anyone thinks that).

C1 and C2 are not control signals in the classical sense - they are direct voltages to drive a motor. The servo just translates these voltage to positions.

You could try to turn the motor for a given amount of rotations or you could use a light sensor (dark = elevator in front of it; light = elevator not in front).

That's why a power pickup would be really interesting. You could run whatever motor you'd like and you only need a tender with one power pickup wheel to power it. No need for a fixed size motor.

Maybe the lipo replaces the complete lower part including the outer shell. That would make sense to me (and they could easily add a charging port at the outside). But who knows if it will happen.

I'm pretty sure that it's always trixbricks.

I have the impression that lego built the PUP controllers (the normal hub and the technic hub)/ battery box with modularity in mind. You can easily replace the battery compartement of both battery boxes with another one, so maybe we'll get a rechargeable battery as "addon" to the normal receiver. That would keep the cost for the battery itself down since the receiver etc. would not be included. Regarding the adapter cable: lego announced at a fan event that they are thinking about making an adapter cable but they aren't sure how far compatibility should go (PF/PUP motors, WeDo/WeDo 2.0 sensors).

The question whether you'll have the blocks or not will depend on the "model" you use. The blocks with the eye are there to show the control option, the one with the crossed eye to hide it. You can use the orange "variable" blocks at the bottom to access the actual values of the slider etc. The joystick has a X and a Y axis, one has an arrow and the other one has a steering wheel. The blocks with the tablet return the X and Y values of the tablet's gyro sensor. The block at the right is for the button (it looks like the joy stick block but has no additional symbol and is a bit larger).

Sorry, I uploaded the image somewhere else. There are bricks built above it but the rails where the train drives are directly connected. That wouldn't be possible with a brickbuilt crossing. The rail piece itself looks to be 32x32 while the older one was 16x16

I just watched parts of the "Lego Time Train" video from Lego Masters Australia and they had a crossing piece that I didn't see before (and I'm surprised that I've seen no one talking about it). It's a "x" crossing like the old 9V one but without metal rails and with longer track connections. There clearly is no gap between the different pieces like there would be if it was brickbuilt. I think that it's weired that they changed the length of the track connections. But do you think that it's possible that we'll get a new official crossing piece? The video for reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLR_RcW9doM

There are also rumors about a 300$ Disney park train set

64 bit windows is backward compatible with 32 bit software. Otherwise 90% of the apps wouldn't work.

There will always be differences in friction etc. which make layouts that rely on time unrelieable. I think the only real solution would be to add serveral sensors to detect the actual position of the trains.

I think that one might have to check the type of the diodes to be completely sure. They might not be made for constant 9V.