Pix Posted July 28, 2014 Posted July 28, 2014 Hi pasztorl, one questions, when sbrick will see the light, how much is the cost for one sbrick? Quote
pasztorl Posted July 28, 2014 Author Posted July 28, 2014 I am preparing for the video. This is my first proto for a track switch. The servo motor handle the switch. Two semaphore signal. All controlled by 1 SBrick. You can see the images here: 1 2 3 In the video I will use 2 train and 2 track switch. My custom profile will control 4 SBrick simultaneously. And finally here is the video: Quote
pasztorl Posted July 28, 2014 Author Posted July 28, 2014 Hi pasztorl, one questions, when sbrick will see the light, how much is the cost for one sbrick? It will be a depending on the quantities reached during the Kickstarter Campaign. Our aim is to get the price between 30 and 40 pounds. But this will be greatly affected by factors beyond our currency control: ie: local tax, margin for local stores, etc.. Quote
kieran Posted July 28, 2014 Posted July 28, 2014 And finally here is the video: Nice really nice Quote
toxicbananna Posted July 29, 2014 Posted July 29, 2014 Hi pasztorl, one questions, when sbrick will see the light, how much is the cost for one sbrick? yeah, agreed.. do we have any indicative pricing on 1 sbrick? Quote
Pix Posted July 29, 2014 Posted July 29, 2014 yeah, agreed.. do we have any indicative pricing on 1 sbrick? Read up... It will be a depending on the quantities reached during the Kickstarter Campaign. Our aim is to get the price between 30 and 40 pounds. But this will be greatly affected by factors beyond our currency control: ie: local tax, margin for local stores, etc.. Quote
Duq Posted August 2, 2014 Posted August 2, 2014 It will be a depending on the quantities reached during the Kickstarter Campaign. Our aim is to get the price between 30 and 40 pounds. But this will be greatly affected by factors beyond our currency control: ie: local tax, margin for local stores, etc.. That's my biggest problem with this project. The IR receiver costs €15. I'm prepared to pay a little more for Bluetooth but not 2.5x-3x more. Any plans for a smaller, cheaper version? Quote
ancestral Posted August 3, 2014 Posted August 3, 2014 A quick question, before moving out and creating my layout The 280 pound pledge includes 8x sbricks, and as each brick has 4 ports, would one get to control 128 devices (lights, track switches, trains, train light) on paper? Is it possible and safe to feed 1 train motor and 1 pf light on same output from sbrick? And last one, will there be any problem shipping to Turkey? Thank you. Quote
JopieK Posted August 3, 2014 Posted August 3, 2014 That's my biggest problem with this project. The IR receiver costs €15. I'm prepared to pay a little more for Bluetooth but not 2.5x-3x more. Any plans for a smaller, cheaper version? The BLE chip is already about 10€ in large quantities, so if you also need to make a housing, motor drivers, etc. it will be impossible to sell it for under 30€ I think. Quote
pasztorl Posted August 4, 2014 Author Posted August 4, 2014 A quick question, before moving out and creating my layout The 280 pound pledge includes 8x sbricks, and as each brick has 4 ports, would one get to control 128 devices (lights, track switches, trains, train light) on paper? Is it possible and safe to feed 1 train motor and 1 pf light on same output from sbrick? And last one, will there be any problem shipping to Turkey? Thank you. Hi, With train pledge you got 8 SBricks each 4 ports on it. So you can drive 8 * 4 = 32 devices. Yes, you can connect multiple devices to one port. :) The international shipping is 3 GBP. Quote
Heppeng Posted August 4, 2014 Posted August 4, 2014 On the topic of sensors for trains, here is another idea for the future wish list. Rather than a touch sensor, it would be great to have a bluetooth reed switch to pick up the train magnets. Sensitive enough so that it would detect trains in the given track, but not so sensitive that it also responds to trains in the adjacent track. That would enable grade crossings, block signals, and a host of other applications. An IR sensor may be a better option, it's what a lot of model railroaders use for train detection, and would also have many possibilities beyond trains which would help increase sales. I think their range is sufficiently narrow that they would not interfere with, or pick up interference from any PF elements either. Quote
pasztorl Posted August 5, 2014 Author Posted August 5, 2014 An IR sensor may be a better option, it's what a lot of model railroaders use for train detection, and would also have many possibilities beyond trains which would help increase sales. I think their range is sufficiently narrow that they would not interfere with, or pick up interference from any PF elements either. Nice idea! We will make a survey about the future addons for SBrick users. We made SBrick for you, we listen to you. :) Quote
JopieK Posted August 5, 2014 Posted August 5, 2014 It still is a large challenge to control LEGO trains: it is not only the hardware, but also the rest that comes with it. I have quite a lot of experience with automating LEGO trains and all concepts that I tried have their disadvantages. Routing trains is the most problematic part, that is what DCC for model trains is very good for, but my experiments with DCC for LEGO trains were not pleasing me either. In my opinion IR sensors aren't that great, I have done quite some tests with them, reed sensors (see the current RailBricks issue), are much, much better: more reliable and easier to use and hide. Quote
Pix Posted August 7, 2014 Posted August 7, 2014 Are you planning to produce a first batch of sbrick and to implement soon some new features also from the hardware point of view or just to refine the software management? From the video review it's clear that the lower PF connection is one plate outside the original IR receiver shape: is there any technical reason for this odd solution? Last question: did you think about a high degree of integration of sensor management for the use with train and rails? Quote
Conchas Posted August 7, 2014 Posted August 7, 2014 Are you planning to produce a first batch of sbrick and to implement soon some new features also from the hardware point of view or just to refine the software management? From the video review it's clear that the lower PF connection is one plate outside the original IR receiver shape: is there any technical reason for this odd solution? Last question: did you think about a high degree of integration of sensor management for the use with train and rails? This design has the advantage to allow cable routing underneath the SBrick. It could be particularly useful in trains and to pass PF lights cables to the front or rear side. Quote
pasztorl Posted August 8, 2014 Author Posted August 8, 2014 This design has the advantage to allow cable routing underneath the SBrick. It could be particularly useful in trains and to pass PF lights cables to the front or rear side. Wireless sensors maybe cool future additions for SBrick ;) Quote
pasztorl Posted September 18, 2014 Author Posted September 18, 2014 Thank you for your pledge, you pushed us one step towards our goal. ;) We will get ASAP a 9V power supply to test the brick properly, and modify the circuitry if it's needed. We'd really like to get it to work with this PS too. https://social.sbrick.com/videos/5963/16/sbrick-v4-9v-power-source-and-m-motor-test Quote
leg01982 Posted November 17, 2014 Posted November 17, 2014 looks like a very interesting concept! currently rebuilding all my trains and getting PF into them all, and this looks great too. would love to try it out Quote
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