Lego Powered Up Pocket Book

[idlemarvel]

In case you don't visit the Technic forum, this is to let you know that I have written a reference book about Powered Up and the Powered Up app, now available as a paperback book or a free download. If you already know this skip the rest of this post.

The book covers the hardware and all the possible uses of the remote controller, but most of the book is about the Powered Up app. Anyone who has used Powered Up for a while will probably have worked out most of the content of this book for themselves, but if you are new I think this will help. Part of the content is an up to date reference list of all the programming blocks, and a how to guide for creating controllers and writing code, including the use of composite blocks. The PDF version also has a "behind the scenes" section where I delve into the file system (Android users only) and show how to backup and share projects, choose a different background for your controller, and add Lego provided widgets.

If this is of interest, as a Eurobricks member you can download the PDF version of the book for free.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Nk-d_0VggsBx8QXqB_JbU1QHrYM1M_Ea/view

(2nd edition - added SPIKE Education motors and sensors, moved advanced topics to the appendix, other minor corrections)

If you prefer a hardcopy you can now buy the paperback book version on Amazon. This is a link to the Amazon UK listing

https://www.amazon.co.uk/LEGO-Powered-Up-Pocket-Book/dp/B0CYQ6DKM1/

If you click on Read Sample you can see the contents and a few other pages. It should be available world-wide now, costs approximately UK £11, US $14, EU €13 plus P&P.

Thanks for reading this far, possibly again(!), Dave

Edited May 4, 2024 by idlemarvel
update to PDF

[JopieK]

@idlemarvel thanks for sharing! Really extensive work. I would almost buy an Android phone :) Is part 2 going to be on the Raspberry Pi?!

[UltraViolet]

  This is wonderful!  It is absolutely what LEGO should have published themselves.  Thank-you for doing this!

[idlemarvel]

1 hour ago, JopieK said:

@idlemarvel thanks for sharing! Really extensive work. I would almost buy an Android phone :) Is part 2 going to be on the Raspberry Pi?!

Thanks! I know next to nothing about Raspberry Pi so probably best I don't write a book about it!

1 hour ago, UltraViolet said:

  This is wonderful!  It is absolutely what LEGO should have published themselves.  Thank-you for doing this!

Thank you. I agree Lego should have done this themselves years ago.

[JopieK]

43 minutes ago, idlemarvel said:

Thanks! I know next to nothing about Raspberry Pi so probably best I don't write a book about it!

There was a time when that was the same for me :)

[Toastie]

3 hours ago, idlemarvel said:

Thank you. I agree Lego should have done this themselves years ago

Dave - EB does not appreciate cross posting!!!

So, it took about less than an hour, to get this pinned in the TrainTech forum. Over at the Technic forum, they still discuss what to do ... man. What is this?

PoweredUp is so "Technic" - "they" have the servos, the tacho M, L motors, the Spike and the boom bang what not - and here we have the totally dumb train motor, using about 5% of the brain of PUp hubs ... yes I know, trains can be powered with smart motors as well. Not the point.

What I find sort of funny: This fantastic document you compiled, this beautiful "how-to" do PUp post - just goes down the drain in the Technic forum - drowned by supercars, backhoes, cranes ... and still there is so much whining about how bad PUp is over there.

And here on TrainTech ... folks, read that document @idlemarvel has composed!

@JopieK thank you so much for pinning that topic (OK, my guess ...)!

All the best,
Thorsten   

[idlemarvel]

1 hour ago, Toastie said:

Dave - EB does not appreciate cross posting!!!

...

@JopieK thank you so much for pinning that topic (OK, my guess ...)!

Yes @Toastie sorry about that but clearly some people had not seen it 

I echo your thanks to @JopieK

[Selander]

Excellent stuff ! Very well done @idlemarvel

[JopieK]

On 3/23/2024 at 10:14 PM, Toastie said:

@JopieK thank you so much for pinning that topic (OK, my guess ...)!

All the best,
Thorsten   

You're welcome ;)

[Riggar]

Wow! - really excellent, thank you very much for putting this together.

[idlemarvel]

13 hours ago, Selander said:

Excellent stuff ! Very well done @idlemarvel

 

3 hours ago, Riggar said:

Wow! - really excellent, thank you very much for putting this together.

Thank you both. I enjoyed doing the research and I enjoy writing so it was a good way for me to spend the winter months!

[Sunil766]

Great work, kudos! 

Once fxbricks has published the power pick ups I'll carefully open the pup door. 

Best

[JHS_NL]

Owh this is cool! Certainly gonna give it a read! Thnx for posting. 

[BillytheKid]

Book out of stock :( .

[idlemarvel]

10 hours ago, BillytheKid said:

Book out of stock :( .

I just checked on amazon.nl and it is available.

https://www.amazon.nl/LEGO-Powered-Up-Pocket-Book/dp/B0CYQ6DKM1/ 

[BillytheKid]

thx, just ordered it.

[idlemarvel]

I have updated the free to download PDF version of the book to include SPIKE Education motors and sensors, and have moved the advanced topics to the appendix, otherwise the content is more or less the same.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Nk-d_0VggsBx8QXqB_JbU1QHrYM1M_Ea/view

[JopieK]

Great job Dave / @idlemarvel!

[idlemarvel]

On 5/9/2024 at 1:09 PM, JopieK said:

Great job Dave / @idlemarvel!

 

6 hours ago, Demis23 said:

Thanks! Great work.

Thanks both. Global sales of the paperback version have hit a massive 10 units. Watch out Tom Clancy! 

[Space78]

19 hours ago, idlemarvel said:

 

Thanks both. Global sales of the paperback version have hit a massive 10 units. Watch out Tom Clancy! 

I downloaded the pdf version (thanks very much for making that available), but will put the paperback on my next Amazon order.  I prefer physical copies when I can get them. 

I think the main issue right now for Lego train fans using power up is that the motor is currently out of stock at Lego, and has been for some time.  The only way to get one seems to be to buy one of the train sets.

[idlemarvel]

I know you are in the US but FYI the train motor #88011 is available on lego.com/en-gb (UK) with an order limit of 20! Have you tried looking for the part on Bricklink for example?

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=bb0896c01&idColor=11

[Space78]

27 minutes ago, idlemarvel said:

I know you are in the US but FYI the train motor #88011 is available on lego.com/en-gb (UK) with an order limit of 20! Have you tried looking for the part on Bricklink for example?

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=bb0896c01&idColor=11

Thanks for the info.  I'm not desperate for one at the moment.  It's just surprising and a bit disappointing that Lego has been out of stock here for so long. 

[Rob Klingberg]

@idlemarvel wow, what great work-- I can only imagine the amount of time and effort that went into making this great resource.  Thank you for this very useful contribution to the community!

[idlemarvel]

16 hours ago, Rob Klingberg said:

@idlemarvel wow, what great work-- I can only imagine the amount of time and effort that went into making this great resource.  Thank you for this very useful contribution to the community!

Thanks for your comments I'm glad you find it useful.

[Dillan23]

On 3/23/2024 at 3:33 PM, idlemarvel said:

In case you don't visit the Technic forum, this is to let you know that I have written a reference book about Powered Up and the Powered Up app, now available as a paperback book or a free download. If you already know this skip the rest of this post.

The book covers the hardware and all the possible uses of the remote controller, but most of the book is about the Powered Up app. Anyone who has used Powered Up for a while will probably have worked out most of the content of this book for themselves, but if you are new I think this will help. Part of the content is an up to date reference list of all the programming blocks, and a how to guide for creating controllers and writing code, including the use of composite blocks. The PDF version also has a "behind the scenes" section where I delve into the file system (Android users only) and show how to backup and share projects, choose a different background for your controller, and add Lego provided widgets.

If this is of interest, as a Eurobricks member you can download the PDF version of the book for free.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Nk-d_0VggsBx8QXqB_JbU1QHrYM1M_Ea/view

(2nd edition - added SPIKE Education motors and sensors, moved advanced topics to the appendix, other minor corrections)

If you prefer a hardcopy you can now buy the paperback book version on Amazon. This is a link to the Amazon UK listing

https://www.amazon.co.uk/LEGO-Powered-Up-Pocket-Book/dp/B0CYQ6DKM1/

If you click on Read Sample you can see the contents and a few other pages. It should be available world-wide now, costs approximately UK £11, US $14, EU €13 plus P&P.

Thanks for reading this far, possibly again(!), Dave

Thanks for sharing!  I've always found it helpful to have a quick reference guide when working with LEGO Powered-Up systems. The Pocket Book sounds like a great idea, especially for organizing information about the various components and how they interact. However, if you're diving deeper into understanding how these systems work or comparing them with other tech, it's worth consulting expert resources. For example, while I was researching the broader topic of educational frameworks, I found this service where u can buy a literature review paper invaluable. It might not be LEGO-specific, but having a well-organized source of information can help structure any technical project more effectively.

Edited November 4, 2024 by JopieK
Link removed.