Fx Bricks (Michael Gale) announces Fx Track system

[LEGOTrainBuilderSG]

9 hours ago, Ropefish said:

I have a odd question but would it be possible to run a smoke generator off a PFx brick LAB?

I've had this question on my mind too.. 

[TuffTuffTuff]

4 hours ago, LEGOTrainBuilderSG said:

I've had this question on my mind too.. 

There is a cheap chinese PF component that does it. It is water based.

[Brickblock1]

Yes if it runs on the current and voltage the lab outputs or you could use a relay.

[Matt Dawson]

Seeing as the turnout timeframe was "Summer 2022" how close are you @michaelgale?

[derlumpi]

So, are there any news? 

On 10/29/2021 at 2:19 AM, davidzq said:

 

[Black Knight]

Well, technically summer 2022 only begins on 21. June, so @michaelgale has over three month left! 🥴

[legoboy3998]

Perhaps there will be some info at Brickworld this week.

Sal

WFB, WI

[M_slug357]

Has anyone bought & received Fx’s R104 curves yet…? 

[Jedi Bert]

I placed a pre-order on Jan 9 and items arrived on April 6 in the US. I did get the R104 curves and they look great.

[M_slug357]

@Jedi Bert nice!

Did you get a full circle?

[Jedi Bert]

@M_slug357 Yes, I did. I have purchased full circles of all FX Track curves. My idea was to have as much flexibility for track layouts when my club does shows again, post Covid.

[HoMa]

See https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/183202-a-review-of-the-first-elements-from-the-fx-track-system/&page=7&tab=comments#comment-3536157 for the latest updates on Fx Track announced at Brickworld 2022

 

[Ropefish]

So, i dunno if this is the correct place to talk about it but i don't see any other thread for the PFx Brick specifically but it would be great to see some firmware and software updates to the brick itself and the desktop app, the mobile app seems to have options that do not line up with with the desktop app resulting in some funky things now and then. Another thing is it would be great to have gated playback loops set to the index notches as it has some really bad playback at high speeds sadly, and i have had a lot of problems where the indexed notches just get reset when trying to set any custom config of notches.

[derlumpi]

I was at the BTST 2022 and Michael was there with some of his tracks and they also had a small layout. He did an Interview in YouTube. I saw it live and found the video on YouTube. 

 

Edited August 14, 2022 by derlumpi

[GoHabsGo]

Very good news! I cannot wait for testing these products

[Duq]

On 6/23/2022 at 12:04 AM, Ropefish said:

So, i dunno if this is the correct place to talk about it but i don't see any other thread for the PFx Brick specifically but it would be great to see some firmware and software updates to the brick itself and the desktop app, the mobile app seems to have options that do not line up with with the desktop app resulting in some funky things now and then. Another thing is it would be great to have gated playback loops set to the index notches as it has some really bad playback at high speeds sadly, and i have had a lot of problems where the indexed notches just get reset when trying to set any custom config of notches.

All the focus seems to be on the track. The last update for the Android app was 4 years ago and I've given up hope on it ever getting beyond prototype stage. The iPhone app looks better but I'm not buying a iPhone just to control PFx bricks.

The PFx brick looked promising for my trains but as it looks right now I won't be buying any more of them.

[Chromeknight]

21 hours ago, Duq said:

The iPhone app looks better but I'm not buying a iPhone just to control PFx bricks.

The PFx brick looked promising for my trains but as it looks right now I won't be buying any more of them.

As an iPhone and PFx brick user, the app… works? But doesn’t do anything beyond basic control. Certainly not multi brick Bluetooth control, which was my projected use case. And to program sound profiles I still need to plug it into a desktop.

I like the PFx brick, but with advancements such as the blunami dcc controller that have become available at comparable price and the projected availability of a DCC enabled 9v motor, the PFx brick is falling behind the tech curve. I don’t know if better app would keep it relevant.

Edited August 22, 2022 by Chromeknight

[TuffTuffTuff]

On 8/21/2022 at 4:32 PM, Duq said:

All the focus seems to be on the track. The last update for the Android app was 4 years ago and I've given up hope on it ever getting beyond prototype stage. The iPhone app looks better but I'm not buying a iPhone just to control PFx bricks.

The PFx brick looked promising for my trains but as it looks right now I won't be buying any more of them.

I agree. The pfx brick is great and I would like to buy a lot more. But the app needs an upgrade. I miss especially the option to connect a PUP or game controller.

Controlling a steam enigne with sound and light using the tochscreen feels not good.

I asked the brickcontroller app developer some time ago to support pfx brick. Although he was interested, it seems to be tricky.

Since the android pfx app is available on github I hope somebody can improve it.

To my mind pfx brick is still the best option for trains if you want light and sound. 

[emm]

I have a Pfx brick and did enjoy using it but i have the feeling it wont be developed any further due to the 9v track.

I think its great they have gone down the 9v track route but its a shame the brick is basically dead in terms of development. There was meant to be a sound update but it never came.

I will be moving to another option i think. Its a shame but the 9v track is what people want.

[TuffTuffTuff]

2 hours ago, emm said:

I will be moving to another option i think. Its a shame but the 9v track is what people want.

I think there ist still a market for the brick. It also useful for other themes like technic as well. And I do not think all railroaders will switch to 9v. At least I do not have any plans.

I also do not see any other alternate control units that offer light and sound in a comparable way.

The brick ist great but probably has currently not that much attention due to 9v. The small speaker has not been available for years.

Hope they will find some time again.

[zephyr1934]

3 hours ago, emm said:

I have a Pfx brick and did enjoy using it but i have the feeling it wont be developed any further due to the 9v track.

At the Brickworld show and tell Michael said that one option for the 9v motor was to use it as a power pickup to feed the PFx brick through one of the ports on the top of the motor, which would then control the 9v motor by feeding back to the other port on the motor. I believe Michael also said that the "super 9v motor" would have an integrated PFx brick. So the PFx brick probably isn't dead, but it might be ignored for a while.

[Ashi Valkoinen]

22 hours ago, emm said:

I have a Pfx brick and did enjoy using it but i have the feeling it wont be developed any further due to the 9v track.

I think its great they have gone down the 9v track route but its a shame the brick is basically dead in terms of development. There was meant to be a sound update but it never came.

I will be moving to another option i think. Its a shame but the 9v track is what people want.

I don't think that the production of 9V tracks will make the PFx brick out of use. On longer term - as Michael said here many times - the aim is some DCC-based train controlling system, powering the trains from the track but offering the digital control (analogous 9V lacks this option anyways), so there will be surely future for a smart brick inside. Maybe it will be a totally new product (since the powering will be switched from DC to AC), but you will still need the app for the digital control. The new P40 switches are designed to be powered both way, independently from the position of the switch, which mean all tracks on a yard will be powered at the same time which fits better the needs of DCC than simple 9V. 

[dtomsen]

@michaelgale  Your European reseller JB Spielwaren haven't had any S32 Straight Tracks (and a few curves) in stock for an extremely long time now. Half a year I think. Any news when they will get any?

Edited September 14, 2022 by dtomsen

[RedBrick1]

Is there any chance that the 'Power Feeders' and other wire accessories may hit the market sooner than later? Weighing whether I want to take the time to re-wire my current sets or wait for the FX ones to hit stores. 

[Matt Dawson]

Any news on production? The P40 turnouts were originally due autumn/Q3 2022, and there's been no official update yet.