Can Lego City Powered Up trains be automated?

Post by jacquesm » Mon, Dec 05, 2022, 4:23 PM UTC

TonyTrapp wrote: post #28

Kon-Peki wrote: post #25

Is this the 3rd generation of Lego City trains? We have the first (?) generation in which each train uses IR (I think) and each controller can deal with 2 trains at once, but are selectable to 4 "channels" - so 8 trains in total. I wanted to buy another train or two a few years ago but they had switched to a bluetooth-only system. We also have one of the Duplo bluetooth trains and it is pretty nice as well.

There's at least two generations before that "first (?)" generation: 12V powered trains from the 80s and 9V powered trains from the 90s. In both cases, the train tracks were conductive. No batteries needed. A controller was attached to the train tracks. Still my favorite system, as it has no parts that can ever become obsolete (dead batteries, unsupported phone apps, unsupported bluetooth protocols...)

Post by iancmceachern » Mon, Dec 05, 2022, 4:40 PM UTC

lode wrote: post #26

Automating my Lego trains was my first introduction to programming, back in the late 1980s using GW-Basic. (When I was about 8 years old.) I had several stations on a looped track, and controlled the train position by switching on the power to the motor for a certain time. At first I used a photodiode taped to the CRT monitor (and controlling the motor by lighting up a square in the corner of the screen), later I upg…

Post by TonyTrapp » Mon, Dec 05, 2022, 4:47 PM UTC

mschuster91 wrote: post #32

TonyTrapp wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's at least two generations before that "first (?)" generation: 12V powered trains from the 80s and 9V powered trains from the 90s. In both cases, the train tracks were conductive. No batteries needed. A controller was attached to the train tracks. Still my favorite system, as it has no parts that can ever become obsolete (dead batteries, unsupported phone apps, unsupported bluetooth protocols...)

> 9V powered trains from the 90s You could use an RCX to control and power the train motors. Fun times from a simpler world, the downside was obviously that you could have only one train running on the grid because the power was supplied back to the rails!

Post by blobbers » Mon, Dec 05, 2022, 4:51 PM UTC

lode wrote: post #26

Automating my Lego trains was my first introduction to programming, back in the late 1980s using GW-Basic. (When I was about 8 years old.) I had several stations on a looped track, and controlled the train position by switching on the power to the motor for a certain time. At first I used a photodiode taped to the CRT monitor (and controlling the motor by lighting up a square in the corner of the screen), later I upg…

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Dec 05, 2022, 4:58 PM UTC

TonyTrapp wrote: post #28

Kon-Peki wrote: post #25

Is this the 3rd generation of Lego City trains? We have the first (?) generation in which each train uses IR (I think) and each controller can deal with 2 trains at once, but are selectable to 4 "channels" - so 8 trains in total. I wanted to buy another train or two a few years ago but they had switched to a bluetooth-only system. We also have one of the Duplo bluetooth trains and it is pretty nice as well.

There's at least two generations before that "first (?)" generation: 12V powered trains from the 80s and 9V powered trains from the 90s. In both cases, the train tracks were conductive. No batteries needed. A controller was attached to the train tracks. Still my favorite system, as it has no parts that can ever become obsolete (dead batteries, unsupported phone apps, unsupported bluetooth protocols...)