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Hey all,
Well I’m at it again. This time I bring you something with more usability. As
most of you reading this should know the Lego Company recently released 2 IR
train sets. While the idea is great, the implementation left much to be desired.
The main issue with the IR train is the train base, which holds the electronics.
“The base is 6 studs wide by 30 long with a 4x10 stud blob protruding from the
center” This train base while engineered for ease of use by kids, is extremely
limiting for those who wish to build realistic and or custom models. To address
this issue I began thinking of ideas and came up with the solution shown further
down.
To start I disassembled the train base by taking out the 8 extremely tight
screws I then removed the circuit board and soldered on a diode bridge (bridge
rectifier) in place of the 2 tin battery pack leads. Now basically what this
means is no matter what the polarity is going into the IR unit, the voltage
going into the circuit board remains the same. This protects the circuit board
and makes it idiot friendly. =). The next thing I did was solder on wires for
both the input and output for the IR unit. “I used a plug from a 9v train
transformer to differentiate the “in” from “out”. I then extended the wires for
the IR receiver eyes and made the 4x10x4plate high case to put everything in.
last but not least I changed the red LED to yellow so I can use it for a cab
light or headlight(1).
What does all of this mean?
The user of this IR unit is now able to build virtually any model he or she
wishes too around it. Steam engines are possible, models aren’t limited to the
30-stud base, you can control a monorail, you can build a 12stud long engine,
you can animate something on your layout, space ship exc., you can build a
4-wide Moc around it, and last but not least you may be able to use it with
Mindstorms.
Here you can see the complete unit in its case. The yellow lead is the input,
black is the output. I will be marking all future units “in and out” with a
paint pen. You can also see the 2 IR eyes mounted to the 2x4 plates. I later
realized, after I built the IR eye mounts, that 1x4 plates would make more
sense.
Here are just a few ways you can use the IR unit. Keep in mind that any power
provided from a 9v train motor would have to come from a case with the motor
striped out.
Your opinion??
Ok so I’m curious as to what you really think of this. Do you love it/ hate
it? Please share your ideas as it will help me help you.
Product ideas
I will probably sell these but I need some feedback. Is this something you
would want? Would you prefer I sell them preassembled or should I sell just
instructions? Any ideas/opinions on this would be great as well.
Ondrew
(1). Lego fiber optic would easily transfer the light to the headlight area of
your model.
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ONDREW HARTIGAN wrote:
> Hey all,
> Well I’m at it again. This time I bring you something with more usability. As
> most of you reading this should know the Lego Company recently released 2 IR
> train sets. While the idea is great, the implementation left much to be desired.
> The main issue with the IR train is the train base, which holds the electronics.
> “The base is 6 studs wide by 30 long with a 4x10 stud blob protruding from the
> center” This train base while engineered for ease of use by kids, is extremely
> limiting for those who wish to build realistic and or custom models. To address
> this issue I began thinking of ideas and came up with the solution shown further
> down.
<SNIP>
>
> [Your opinion??]
>
> Ok so I’m curious as to what you really think of this. Do you love it/ hate
> it? Please share your ideas as it will help me help you.
Well, its persuaded me to go and get one to modify sometime :)
> [Product ideas]
>
> I will probably sell these but I need some feedback. Is this something you
> would want? Would you prefer I sell them preassembled or should I sell just
> instructions? Any ideas/opinions on this would be great as well.
Seeing a the instructions are already here (in your post). I'd look at
selling preassembled units rather than explaining how to further than
you already have.
--
Dean Earley, Dee (dean@earlsoft.co.uk)
irc: irc://irc.blitzed.org/
web: http://personal.earlsoft.co.uk
phone: +44 (0)780 8369596
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In lugnet.trains, Ondrew Hartigan wrote:
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Hey all,
Well I’m at it again. This time I bring you something with more usability.
As most of you reading this should know the Lego Company recently released 2
IR train sets. While the idea is great, the implementation left much to be
desired. The main issue with the IR train is the train base, which holds the
electronics. “The base is 6 studs wide by 30 long with a 4x10 stud blob
protruding from the center” This train base while engineered for ease of use
by kids, is extremely limiting for those who wish to build realistic and or
custom models. To address this issue I began thinking of ideas and came up
with the solution shown further down.
...
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It’s a nice modification, but I can’t help thinking it’d be better and cheaper
all round to just build an IR receiver circuit for this - there’s very little of
the original configuration left in your mod.
One mod I would like to see (to save me the effort) is to remove the ends of the
baseplate and re-attach them (either permanently or with technic pegs) to make a
16-stud long baseplate (or 18 studs at most). You could fit a wheelset on each
end and use it like an old 4.5V battery tender. It would be a lot less work, a
lot less vandalism, and would look OK in nearly all cases where you couldn’t
just use the longer base.
It’d probably be easier to hide a plain boxcar in a small train than to hide the
separate battery box and receiver.
Jason R
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> It's a nice modification, but I can't help thinking it'd be better and cheaper
> all round to just build an IR receiver circuit for this - there's very little of
> the original configuration left in your mod.
It would be a useful exercise for someone with electronics skills to (if
possible) figure out the IR stuff and draw up a circuit diagram for the IR
baseplate piece.
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In lugnet.trains, Jonathan Wilson wrote:
> > It's a nice modification, but I can't help thinking it'd be better and cheaper
> > all round to just build an IR receiver circuit for this - there's very little of
> > the original configuration left in your mod.
> It would be a useful exercise for someone with electronics skills to (if
> possible) figure out the IR stuff and draw up a circuit diagram for the IR
> baseplate piece.
i'd be happy to take some detailed photos but i suspect that the person will
need to see the circut in person. from what i can tell the control circut that
takes the IR signal and makes the thing work is buryed under a black blob. i
should also note that it is a 3 layer circut board. if anything it might be
worth it to figure out how they stepped the speeds without having to worrie
about the unit burning out.
ondrew
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In lugnet.trains, Ondrew Hartigan wrote:
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Hey all,
Well I’m at it again. This time I bring you something with more usability.
The user of this IR unit is now able to build virtually any model he or she
wishes too around it. Steam engines are possible, models aren’t limited to
the 30-stud base, you can control a monorail,>
Ok so I’m curious as to what you really think of this. Do you love it/ hate
it? Please share your ideas as it will help me help you.
Product ideas
I will probably sell these but I need some feedback. Is this something you
would want? Would you prefer I sell them preassembled or should I sell just
instructions? Any ideas/opinions on this would be great as well.
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Ondrew
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I knew it would only be a matter of time before someone found an alternative
to the new LEGO IR sets configurations. I have some photos of the circuit
board posted in yahoo photos. They were taken at the NMRA show in Philadelphia
by another club member.
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http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/chamberscd/album?.dir=d83are2&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/chamberscd/myphotos
I would be interested in purchasing the modified version. Any idea of the cost
based on your parts, etc?
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In lugnet.trains, Clifton D. Chambers wrote:
> In lugnet.trains, Ondrew Hartigan wrote:
> > Hey all,
> > Well I’m at it again. This time I bring you something with more usability.
> >
> > The user of this IR unit is now able to build virtually any model he or she
> > wishes too around it. Steam engines are possible, models aren’t limited to
> > the 30-stud base, you can control a monorail,>
> >
> > Ok so I’m curious as to what you really think of this. Do you love it/ hate
> > it? Please share your ideas as it will help me help you.
> >
> > [Product ideas]
> >
> > I will probably sell these but I need some feedback. Is this something
> > you would want? Would you prefer I sell them preassembled or should I sell
> > just instructions? Any ideas/opinions on this would be great as well.
> >
> >
> Ondrew
> >
> > I knew it would only be a matter of time before someone found an alternative
> > to the new LEGO IR sets configurations. I have some photos of the circuit
> > board posted in yahoo photos. They were taken at the NMRA show in
> > Philadelphia by another club member.
>
> http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/chamberscd/album?.dir=d83are2&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/chamberscd/my_photos
>
> I would be interested in purchasing the modified version. Any idea of the
> cost based on your parts, etc?
I’m still trying to figure all that out. If I make 20+ at a time it wouldn't be
horrible but it's still a little time consuming. Here’s a short list of
components
1 IR receiver base <not listed on bricklink yet so ???????????????????
2 28guage 4 strand wires. $ .05 per in.
1 diode bridge $1.50
1 3mm 1.5v LED White LED's are expensive $.10-5.00
1 Lego wire price varies on length $2-10.00
1 4x10 brick price varies on color $,25-2.00
1 4x10 plate " " $.10-1.00
2 1x1 black tiles $.15
Time I.E. labor 3-4hrs <--will hopefully get quicker $??????
That was the short list but as you can see there are a lot of variables. i may
end up making an order form or something if I go ahead with this. I am however
exploring another option as well.
Ondrew
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In lugnet.trains, Ondrew Hartigan wrote:
> In lugnet.trains, Jonathan Wilson wrote:
> > It would be a useful exercise for someone with electronics skills to (if
> > possible) figure out the IR stuff and draw up a circuit diagram for the IR
> > baseplate piece.
>
> i'd be happy to take some detailed photos but i suspect that the person will
> need to see the circut in person. from what i can tell the control circut that
> takes the IR signal and makes the thing work is buryed under a black blob. i
> should also note that it is a 3 layer circut board. if anything it might be
> worth it to figure out how they stepped the speeds without having to worrie
> about the unit burning out.
Actually, it would be easy enough for someone with electronics and
microcontroller experience just to build a new receiver. You typically record
the IR signals on a PC, figure out how they're coded, then program a
microcontroller to decode those signals.
You'd want to check with people in the Mindstorms groups. Something similar has
surely been done already for interfacing with the Mindstorms units, which can
use IR to communicate with each other.
Jeff
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In lugnet.trains, Ondrew Hartigan wrote:
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To start I disassembled the train base by taking out the 8 extremely tight
screws I then removed the circuit board and soldered on a diode bridge
(bridge rectifier) in place of the 2 tin battery pack leads. Now basically
what this means is no matter what the polarity is going into the IR unit, the
voltage going into the circuit board remains the same. This protects the
circuit board and makes it idiot friendly. =).
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Ondrew, how did you handle the voltage drop through the bridge rectifier? Did
you measure any top-speed dropout?
Curious,
---Will
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In lugnet.trains, Will Chapman wrote:
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In lugnet.trains, Ondrew Hartigan wrote:
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To start I disassembled the train base by taking out the 8 extremely tight
screws I then removed the circuit board and soldered on a diode bridge
(bridge rectifier) in place of the 2 tin battery pack leads. Now basically
what this means is no matter what the polarity is going into the IR unit,
the voltage going into the circuit board remains the same. This protects the
circuit board and makes it idiot friendly. =).
|
Ondrew, how did you handle the voltage drop through the bridge rectifier?
Did you measure any top-speed dropout?
Curious,
---Will
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i never really tested it to see what the drop was. i can’t imagine it was much
though. ondrew
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In lugnet.trains, Ondrew Hartigan wrote:
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In lugnet.trains, Will Chapman wrote:
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In lugnet.trains, Ondrew Hartigan wrote:
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To start I disassembled the train base by taking out the 8 extremely tight
screws I then removed the circuit board and soldered on a diode bridge
(bridge rectifier) in place of the 2 tin battery pack leads. Now basically
what this means is no matter what the polarity is going into the IR unit,
the voltage going into the circuit board remains the same. This protects
the circuit board and makes it idiot friendly. =).
|
Ondrew, how did you handle the voltage drop through the bridge rectifier?
Did you measure any top-speed dropout?
Curious,
---Will
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i never really tested it to see what the drop was. i can’t imagine it was
much though. ondrew
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Actually a typical bridge rectifier will drop ~1.4 volts in the supply. That’s
alot! About a 16% drop in voltage, and a 29% drop in overall power at the top
end. I’m not sure what effect this would have on the control circuitry.
Mat
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