Subject:
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Re: New Press Release about Power Function Trains
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.trains
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Date:
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Wed, 26 Mar 2008 18:00:15 GMT
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Viewed:
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10616 times
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Eric Kingsley wrote:
> I found the real news in this release was the battery box. What I am waiting to
> hear is some real tests in terms of battery life before a charge is needed and
> how long it takes to charge. (How many batteries are we going to need to do a
> show without having a long period waiting on batteries).
>
> Ideally I want a battery that can pull a standard 6 wide train with 10 average
> cars for at least an hour and a recharge time of less than an hour**. If we get
> that minimum standard or more I will make the switch. If not I may be stuck
> nursing my old 9v stuff for the foreseeable future.
Several people, myself included, have tried Lithium camera batteries in the RC trains.
They run for 4-6 hours, and can be recharged in 15 minutes. I would hope that the Lego
battery box would be similar. That, coupled with fixing the traction problem (my
RC freight train had trouble coping with the very slight slope on my dining room
table!) should make the new power functions stuff a lot more usable.
A big issue for our group is that we do train shows with a large layout. The layout
has big buildings, mountains, etc. The IR (infra-red) stuff on the RC (Remote Control,
not Radio Control) trains is blocked by big chunks of Lego, and does not have very
much range. Also, I believe they said there are 4 channels. That doesn't allow for
much expansion - I would like more.
It occurred to me that a WiFi system could work nicely. It could have greater range,
reaching 50 feet or more even through big piles of Lego. If the system were designed
so that it had 10 "domains" of 10 channels each, it could even work well at a big
Lego train show - allowing up to 10 layouts of 10 trains each. In the next couple of
years, I think the cost of using WiFi will be minimal, so perhaps we should all lobby
Lego to switch to WiFi in a couple of years. If the power functions system ends up
modular enough, this could be done as special-order items on Shop@Home that are not
normally included in train sets. Or, it could be custom-built stuff.
-Chris Gray (NALUG)
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Message has 3 Replies:
 | | Re: New Press Release about Power Function Trains
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| (...) This was precisely what I was discussing with Abner at a recent show. What happens with the IR trains at a show like Brickworld? I have to admit that it will be pretty funny to mess another layout's trains...for the first 5 minutes. Once the (...) (17 years ago, 26-Mar-08, to lugnet.trains)
| | | Re: New Press Release about Power Function Trains
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| (...) I was thinking of switching to radio control. From what I've read regarding IR systems, it should be straight forward to to modify LEGO IR transmitters and receivers to work with small radio modules. Converting them to transmit the unmodulated (...) (17 years ago, 26-Mar-08, to lugnet.trains)
| | | Re: New Press Release about Power Function Trains
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| I agree that the lack of traction is still one of the biggest hindrances to the new system. My latest trains (to be revealed at BrickWorld) have eight of the new RC-type wheels that are all powered, yet they barely get any traction! Has anyone tried (...) (17 years ago, 27-Mar-08, to lugnet.trains)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: New Press Release about Power Function Trains
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| (...) Thats funny, I read it as 4 bricks. I didn't even notice the 4 studs until you pointed it out. I have to say I am intrigued. The battery box seems to be a decent compromise. I would have prefered it either a couple of studs narrower or a (...) (17 years ago, 26-Mar-08, to lugnet.trains)
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