TRAIN TECH Help, General Questions & Talk to the Staff

[ISD]

On 3/21/2020 at 5:51 PM, zephyr1934 said:

Belt drive is iffy, you need high tension to ensure the yellow bushing will turn, but that then results in high friction between the technic axle and lift arm. I tried it with this little engine, and it probably cannot pull much more than the battery box car. I'm not saying it can't be done, just that it will be non-trivial

And what about this?

 

[Thai bricks]

How are you going to get curves with this track?

[zephyr1934]

On 3/27/2020 at 11:53 AM, ISD said:

And what about this?

I would say inconceivable, but that word does not mean what I think it means, so instead I will say very cool. You might need to cheat with a bit of cragle though, those crankshafts have very low clutch on the technic axles.

[ISD]

On 3/28/2020 at 9:42 AM, Thai bricks said:

How are you going to get curves with this track?

Basic R40 track + TrixBrix "R40+1/2" for narrow gauge.

Maybe, later I'll print my own track.

[Thai bricks]

Genius! Will you cut the R40 inner off?

[ISD]

50 minutes ago, Thai bricks said:

Genius! Will you cut the R40 inner off?

No. I think this can be used for holding the scene together.

[ISD]

And... are there any materials about magnet drive for train?

[CSW652]

On 7/15/2019 at 5:39 PM, Duq said:

Remember this?

Eurobricks banner by Duq, on Flickr

According to the Wayback machine we've had these silly rabbits for well over 2 years now....

I like this banner for the trains, can it be used again?

[SteamSewnEmpire]

I had a few power questions, but decided they probably didn't require a new thread. Is there a rough torque equivalency for motors? For example, would 2x PF Large motors be roughly the same pulling power as one XL? Are certain motors better for certain tasks (speed vs. power), or is it all dependent on gearing?

Thanks much.

Edited August 8, 2020 by SteamSewnEmpire

[M_slug357]

@SteamSewnEmpire The best places  to look would be @Philo ‘s website or @Sariel ‘s website for comprehensive motor info.

But I think they can be grouped like this:

M motor is speed / torque

xL motor is torque / speed

L motor is balanced, but higher amps
 

Hope this helps?

[Dean2113]

Hi I am trying to build an 8 stud wide undercarriage with a motor does anyone have any suggestions to help me achieve this. Thanks 

[Duq]

Step 1: Head over to the LEGO Train Ideas group on Flickr, you'll find lots of inspiration there: 

Step 2: Try. Forget what Yoda said, just try and give it a go.

Step 3: Try again. Your first attempt will most likely fail so try again.

Step 4: If you're still stuck, show us pictures of what you've tried so far, and I've no doubt people will be happy to help.

 

[ejayb]

Is there a Powered Up motor model for Stud.io?

[Train_man]

Hi all,

Not sure if this needed its own topic so ill just put this question here. Is it possible to have 2 devices (Arduino & Lego train controller) connected to a single train hub at the same time so it gets input from both? (Powered up lego)

My Idea is, I would like to be able to have my kids use the trains on the track with the lego controllers but the Arduino would force the trains to adhere to the rules of the track and sensors. I. E speed limits, collision sensors (hitting the brakes), blocked sections of the track etc. I basically need the Arduino to super seed the kids controllers only to enforce a rule like speed or having to stop, so they dont crash.

Any ideas would be much appreciated. 

Thanks in advance

 

[dr_spock]

22 minutes ago, Train_man said:

Hi all,

Not sure if this needed its own topic so ill just put this question here. Is it possible to have 2 devices (Arduino & Lego train controller) connected to a single train hub at the same time so it gets input from both? (Powered up lego)

My Idea is, I would like to be able to have my kids use the trains on the track with the lego controllers but the Arduino would force the trains to adhere to the rules of the track and sensors. I. E speed limits, collision sensors (hitting the brakes), blocked sections of the track etc. I basically need the Arduino to super seed the kids controllers only to enforce a rule like speed or having to stop, so they dont crash.

Any ideas would be much appreciated. 

Thanks in advance

 

You can do this using the Powered UP app and create your own custom control.  Your phone or tablet can connect to the train hub and remote control.

If you prefer Arduino, you can use an ESP32 module and the Legoino library.

[Train_man]

14 hours ago, dr_spock said:

You can do this using the Powered UP app and create your own custom control.  Your phone or tablet can connect to the train hub and remote control.

If you prefer Arduino, you can use an ESP32 module and the Legoino library.

Thanks for the reply! Yes im aware you can use the app to make custom controlls but im intrested in coding the arduino myself hence here asking the questions. 

Im not sure you understood the question i asked. I need the train hubs to accept bluetooth connection from both the arduino AND the controller at the SAME time. At the moment i cant see how you can pair more then one device to a single hub??

I tested it this morning... I first paired the app on my phone but then you cant pair the controllers without disconnecting the app and vice versa. There isnt a way to ask the hub to pair without dropping the current connection. Which means only one source of controll can have control at any one time.

And what im trying to achiev is the kids ability to control the trains but the arduino and sesnors would still super seed the users controls if in danager.

Or is there a specific way the Legoino library allows two devices to connect to a single hub?

[dr_spock]

On 12/31/2020 at 7:36 AM, Train_man said:

 

Im not sure you understood the question i asked. I need the train hubs to accept bluetooth connection from both the arduino AND the controller at the SAME time. At the moment i cant see how you can pair more then one device to a single hub??

I don't think that is possible with the firmware in the train hubs. There can only be one "master" at a time as your testing showed.  You could connect the hubs and remotes to the Arduino.  The Arduino would pass-on the commands from the remotes or override them as required, like man in the middle (MTM) positive train control (PTC).

Legoino works with the ESP32 microcontroller.  I don't know if it works with Arduino plus an external bluetooth module. There are Legoino code examples of connecting multiple hubs and remotes to it.

[Train_man]

13 minutes ago, dr_spock said:

I don't think that is possible with the firmware in the train hubs. There can only be one "master" at a time as your testing showed.  You could connect the hubs and remotes to the Arduino.  The Arduino would pass-on the commands from the remotes or override them as required, like man in the middle (MTM) positive train control (PTC).

Legoino works with the ESP32 microcontroller.  I don't know if it works with Arduino plus an external bluetooth module. There are Legoino code examples of connecting multiple hubs and remotes to it.

You're right! Received my new Arduino and external BT module today and tested... It does not work with Arduino :(

From what ive read their used to be a library using node.js and that allowed you to do it on the Arduino but it looked very complicated to set up and im not sure one of the dependency is being supported anymore, which is unfortunate.

Like you said, i did also have the idea of the controller sending commands to the Arduino, passing them through a filter (rules of the rail) and then the Arduino sending the commands to the train as well.

If i ever get this working, thats what i plan to do. I have a ESP32 ordered and will try again. Hopefully with some better luck! Not a great start to my Arduino career xD

 

Thanks for your help

[Poco Lypso]

Is there a website which explains the basics of lego trains for train newcomers? 

[Duq]

Have a look at L-Gauge.org: http://l-gauge.org/wiki/index.php?title=Welcome_to_L-Gauge

[zephyr1934]

Holger Matthes's book is a great place to start, details of the German version here, and if you scroll down to about the 3rd blog post you can find other language versions here.

[ivanlan9]

Here's a link to a National Geographic article about Lego and its previous rejection of AFOLs. Trains, as well as Jamie, are mentioned:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/adult-legos?cmpid=org=ngp::mc=crm-email::src=ngp::cmp=editorial::add=Compass_20211009::rid=D0535FB13342F855875E7D57E8239B15

Metta,

Ivan

[zephyr1934]

15 hours ago, ivanlan9 said:

Here's a link to a National Geographic article about Lego and its previous rejection of AFOLs. Trains, as well as Jamie, are mentioned:

Jake McKee is featured prominently throughout the article. He's the one behind the first official contact with AFOLs in the form of the Lego Train Clubs (LTC). I think he was also behind the Ambassador program (it was a LOT more involved in the first generation than it is today).

[Duq]

Jake also wrote one of the first AfoL books:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2202119.Getting_Started_with_Lego_Trains

[JopieK]

It is of course present in my bookshelf.