Klaus-Dieter Posted March 30, 2009 Posted March 30, 2009 (edited) 8878 RECHAREABLE BATTERY BOX (Without the transformer to be able to recharge it) £42.09!!!What's it made of, does it come with a lifetime warranty? No. You can't see it on the pics of the Lego catalogue but in reality it comes with a surface area of gold foil. PF motorized trains - mainly that rechargeable battery - are (at least in financial regard) a total regress - and not an advance! Klaus-Dieter Edited March 30, 2009 by Klaus-Dieter Quote
Freddie Posted March 30, 2009 Posted March 30, 2009 What's it made of, does it come with a lifetime warranty? It's a Lithium-Ion Pollymer battery. For now this is about the most advanced type of consumer-market battery there is, before you jump outside any sensible price-ranges. Now take into account that you'll never have to buy batteries again to power your MOCs, it's got a speed dial and not just a simple on/off switch and that it's way smaller than the old battery box. Hmm, I'd still like to see it cheaper though. I'm crossing my fingers that it can be used while charging, so animatronic displays can be constantly run. Quote
frogstudio Posted March 30, 2009 Posted March 30, 2009 What I really hate is that they sell the battery and the charger separately. To me, this is a total rip off. How are you suposed to charge the battery if you don´t get the charger? This kind of "tricks" in order to make prices seem cheaper, simply blow LEGO´s reputation as a serious company away. It´s not a problem of the price itself, it´s simply the manner. Anyway, I´ve already ordered the collection and wll surely enjoy it. :) Quote
Staszek Posted March 31, 2009 Posted March 31, 2009 What I really hate is that they sell the battery and the charger separately. To me, this is a total rip off. How are you suposed to charge the battery if you don´t get the charger? This kind of "tricks" in order to make prices seem cheaper, simply blow LEGO´s reputation as a serious company away. It´s not a problem of the price itself, it´s simply the manner. Anyway, I´ve already ordered the collection and wll surely enjoy it. :) Well, if you think about it, selling battery and charger separately is the only sensible way to go - would you like having two batteries and two chargers if you just need one charger? Unless of course you always end up having to charge two batteries simultaneosly, which is rarely the case.. Selling bat + charger as package - that would be a total rip off, not vice versa. Quote
Legoist Posted March 31, 2009 Posted March 31, 2009 What I really hate is that they sell the battery and the charger separately. To me, this is a total rip off. How are you suposed to charge the battery if you don´t get the charger? This kind of "tricks" in order to make prices seem cheaper, simply blow LEGO´s reputation as a serious company away. It´s not a problem of the price itself, it´s simply the manner. Anyway, I´ve already ordered the collection and wll surely enjoy it. :) It's not a trick, it's the most reasonable idea... If you create a small collection of trains (3-5 trains) you need a battery box + engine for each, but you may get away with just 1 charger. A bigger collection may find multiple chargers useful, but still you ain't really going to need 1 charger for each battery! Anyway, I think the battery's biggest problem is the size. It should be smaller. Battery and motor take up too much space. Quote
legotrainfan Posted March 31, 2009 Posted March 31, 2009 Does anybody know if the connector of the 9V speed regulator, which leads from the wall socket to the speed regulator, can be used as a charger for the PF battery box? Quote
Freddie Posted March 31, 2009 Posted March 31, 2009 Sadly, it isn't. The battery needs its own type of charger, that isn't compatible with the old ones used by the Command Centers, Minstorms and 9V speed regulator. Quote
Dr. Brick Posted March 31, 2009 Posted March 31, 2009 It's a Lithium-Ion Pollymer battery. For now this is about the most advanced type of consumer-market battery there is, before you jump outside any sensible price-ranges. Now take into account that you'll never have to buy batteries again to power your MOCs, it's got a speed dial and not just a simple on/off switch and that it's way smaller than the old battery box. I agree. It might seem expensive when you buy it, but you'll never have to buy any batterys again. In the end it will be cheaper, and better for the enviroment. I will buy several of these. Good move Lego! Dr. Brick Quote
weelean Posted March 31, 2009 Posted March 31, 2009 I really miss out a lot of information. I hope to have an answer. Can anyone tell me... the traditional 9V train motor can be used on this train? Quote
Holodoc Posted March 31, 2009 Posted March 31, 2009 Can anyone tell me... the traditional 9V train motor can be used on this train? Nothing, a little MOCing wouldn´t fix. The answer is "yes - somehow", but maybe you have to work on some details to make it look good. Quote
Eilif Posted March 31, 2009 Posted March 31, 2009 I really miss out a lot of information.I hope to have an answer. Can anyone tell me... the traditional 9V train motor can be used on this train? Yes. It wouldn't take much to mount the 9v motor under the tender. You might have to go to a total of 6 axles on the tender instead of 8, but it wouldn't be a hard modification. Just don't expect to find any instructions included with Emerald night on making switch to 9v. Quote
paul_delahaye Posted March 31, 2009 Posted March 31, 2009 I agree. It might seem expensive when you buy it, but you'll never have to buy any batterys again. Dr. Brick So do I understand correctly, this battery technology has no memory and in theory will really last forever and not die after 1000 charges like a NiMd battery? Quote
Dr. Brick Posted March 31, 2009 Posted March 31, 2009 So do I understand correctly, this battery technology has no memory and in theory will really last forever and not die after 1000 charges like a NiMd battery? That I do not know. But it will definitly last longer than 10 reloads! (by which time you would allready have spent at least 70 euros on normal batteries) Dr. Brick Quote
Freddie Posted March 31, 2009 Posted March 31, 2009 It won't last forever, and it does have a memory effect. But if Wikipedia can be trusted, it is one of the (if not the) best rechargeable battery technologies available today. Quote
WesternOutlaw Posted April 1, 2009 Posted April 1, 2009 It looks like; in addition to the XL Power Function Motor that the Emerald Night will utilize, Lego has also provided train fans with the new 8866 Train Motor. Now I'm a little bit confused. I'm guessing this motor is for use with existing 9V trains; which would be great (if that is the intent). It looks like Lego has delivered. NOTE: I just spotted this on Lego SAH, and missed it if it's been discussed previously in this thread. Quote
Captain Zuloo Posted April 1, 2009 Posted April 1, 2009 If the speed can be controlled from the dial on the battery box, does that mean the remote control doesn't control speed? Quote
Legoist Posted April 1, 2009 Posted April 1, 2009 (edited) I agree. It might seem expensive when you buy it, but you'll never have to buy any batterys again. In the end it will be cheaper, and better for the enviroment. That's true, and was true also for any other type of rechargeable battery made in last 20 years. Incidentally, I use rechargeable batteries in the RC equipment, and they're much cheaper than the PF battery. The problem is that they need to be recharged quite often and they're so many they take up a lot of space. The problems discussed here are whether the Lego PF battery could be cheaper and smaller than what it is now, still being rechargeable. I think it could, and hopefully the price (and maybe size too) would go down if Lego sticks with the PF power system for many years and invests in improving the technology. BTW, rechargeable batteries usually do have a finite life, based on how many times you can recharge them proficiently. Usually it's not a short time, it's at least hundreds of times, but it's not that "you don't have to buy any battery again". Edited April 1, 2009 by Legoist Quote
highlandcattle Posted April 1, 2009 Posted April 1, 2009 It looks like; in addition to the XL Power Function Motor that the Emerald Night will utilize, Lego has also provided train fans with the new 8866 Train Motor. Now I'm a little bit confused. I'm guessing this motor is for use with existing 9V trains; which would be great (if that is the intent). It looks like Lego has delivered. NOTE: I just spotted this on Lego SAH, and missed it if it's been discussed previously in this thread. That motorblock would simply be for MOC purposes I guess. Quote
MightySlickPancake Posted April 1, 2009 Posted April 1, 2009 just wonderd if any one knows it you can fit a third wheel in the midle where the whole is ? i asked this because it would be very good for mocs and i know you can have the big wheels attached to the motor. cb ps 'TheBrickster' the motorblock will not work for 9v and only rc but the 9v motorblock does work if you use the rc battery box. and 'highlandcattle' i think that lego will incorpurate the motor block into diesls some day. Quote
BitsNPieces Posted April 1, 2009 Posted April 1, 2009 The 8866 motor says it is compatible with other Power Function Elements. Since the Power Functions, RC line, and 9V lines all operated on 9V they should all be compatible if the wires work with each other. I hope the old battery box with the one 9V square battery can be used somehow. I already have plenty of those. Quote
Mirandir Posted April 1, 2009 Posted April 1, 2009 The 8866 motor says it is compatible with other Power Function Elements. Since the Power Functions, RC line, and 9V lines all operated on 9V they should all be compatible if the wires work with each other. I hope the old battery box with the one 9V square battery can be used somehow. I already have plenty of those. All you need is this cable to hook up your 9v batterybox to the PF-system. Quote
whung Posted April 1, 2009 Posted April 1, 2009 Instructions of 10194 are uploaded to LEGO.com, including the part of installing Power function motor and IR receiver. 10194-1 http://cache.lego.com/bigdownloads/buildin...ons/4561463.pdf 10194-2 http://cache.lego.com/bigdownloads/buildin...ons/4557567.pdf Quote
brickzone Posted April 1, 2009 Posted April 1, 2009 (edited) I had some input from an expert, who suggests that an *ordinary* (i.e. not Lego-ified) battery of this type might be in the region of €35 for *bulk* purchase from <random-asian-supplier>. Apparently it's fairly high spec, and you would need some electronics inside to control the charging*, as well as it being two units in one for the 7.4V. As such, the Lego price is probably not surprising, and only slightly on the high end of what could be expected (Up to €10 less might be reasonable, but probably not including development costs for "Lego-ifying" and getting manufacturer/supplier chain). It's still something I had not myself anticipated - and although I still plan on getting Emerald Night, I now have a tough choice as to whether to get the power functions gear as well or not. Probably not, as the money would go a long way to ordinary Lego or just day to day living expenses, even if I was just paying the UK price. *Presumably the alternative is the unit going "kaboom" under certain charging situations. Edited April 1, 2009 by brickzone Quote
Svelte Posted April 1, 2009 Posted April 1, 2009 Thanks for the instructions, whung. The Power Function motor looks kind of obtrusive Quote
Mirandir Posted April 2, 2009 Posted April 2, 2009 People must be buying this set like crazy or why is there a max 5 per customer limit? Quote
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