LEGO® Power Functions Train Motorproduct_label_list_price_accessibility 13 Reviews123451FIND MORE PRODUCTS LIKE THISTrainsPower down the tracks!Power Functions (short PF) is a TECHNIC based system of electronic components, such as motors, lights, (remote) control units and receiver or different power source units. These parts can be connected by cables with brick-shaped connectors. It was released in June, 2007, in the sets 4957 Ferris Wheel, 4958 Monster Dino and 8275 Motorized Bulldozer. (Note: These sets include motors, lights, etc. These are not the sets in the theme, however. Please provide these sets.) Sign up or log in to customize your list. Here's how it works: Anybody can ask a question The best answers are voted up and rise to the top The Official site detailed page states that: Motorize your Maersk train by adding LEGO Power Functions #8878 Rechargeable Battery Box, #8887 Transformer 10V DC, #8884 IR Receiver, #8879 IR Speed Remote Control and #88002 Train Motor!
Is it true that I need all of them (costs ~$150) to motorize the train, or can I omit some? The strict minimum you need for PF motorization is:Sounds obvious, but don't forget these. Nope, there are none with the Maersk train. A PF train motor A PF battery box (plus 6 AAA batteries) Now, as oezi says, it's a bit senseless to have a train which you can't control. Well, you can control it, but it's limited to switching it on and off (if you can catch it). Yet, it's a start. Now, as far as limited control goes, don't neglect the polarity switch! If you place it intelligently, it will be easier to stop your train. Or you could even mimic the old 4,5v system and have your train switch direction automatically at both ends of a track. Of course, for more serious control, yes, you'll need: PF IR speed remote control Note that all these elements (tracks, motor, battery box, IR receiver and remote) are also present in these trains: Red Cargo Train (red battery box)
So it may be worth to do the math and see if you're not better off just buying one of these. Sets are usually cheaper than standalone elements, and considering the extra parts you'll get, it may be a wiser investment. Not to mention that they may be easier to find in regular shops, which means maybe Christmas discounts and the like. And the design of these trains is quite good too. Of course, batteries are going to be a problem, so if you don't want to sink too much money in them you'd better use rechargeable batteries as fast as possible, or yes, switch to: 10VDC transofmer - or use a cheaper one As you can see, it can be a costly investment in the long run, but nothing forces you to buy it all in one step, especially the rechargeable battery and charger which are far from cheap. The transformer can be omitted, if you find a suitable, cheaper one. Take a look at this question for more information about the exact requirements. I don't think the other parts can be omitted, as...
A motor clearly is required to motorize something (#88002) A motor won't work without a battery (#8878) Something motorized that can't be controlled is senseless (#8879 & #8884) In addition, you could try to buy these 4 parts on Bricklink, which is a bit cheaper, so you end at ~$105 (+ ~$10 for a third party transformer) - this should save you $35 (~25%). You don't need the rechargeable battery box and that's the most expensive part. Get the AAA battery box and use your own rechargeable batteries. $13 88000 AAA Battery box $14 88002 Train Motor $13 8879 IR Speed Remote $15 8884 IR ReceiverNot cheap but not over the top. You'll also need tracks but even on a set you're going to need to spring for more tracks if you want it to be awesome. Sign up or log in Sign up using Google Sign up using Email and Password Post as a guest By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service. Not the answer you're looking for?
Browse other questions tagged power-functions trains set-modification or ask your own question. Please enter a quantity of $qty_dummy$ or less Please enter a quantity of 1 Purchases are limited to $qty_dummy$ per buyer Please enter quantity of 1 or more Please enter a lower number Choose quantity that is less than $qty_dummy1$ or equal to $qty_dummy$ You can only choose quantity that is equal to $qty_dummy$ See details about international shipping here. help icon for Shipping - opens a layer Visit eBay's page on international trade.Mar. 9 and Mon. Mar. 20 Seller ships within 1 day after receiving cleared payment - opens in a new window or tab. help icon for Estimated delivery date - opens a layer Estimated delivery dates - opens in a new window or tab include seller's handling time, origin ZIP Code, destination ZIP Code and time of acceptance and will depend on shipping service selected and receipt of cleared payment - opens in a new window or tab. Delivery times may vary, especially during peak periods.
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Today we will discuss how the IR power functions work, various resources and how I eventually got it to work. I hope that this is beneficial to somebody and that you share your experiences and other ideas. Ideally, somebody could take the time to write a nice NodeJS NPM to simply include into a project and share with the group 😉 The circuit for controlling infrared Lego power functions is not that complicated. We basically just need to attach an infrared LED and a standard LED to the Raspberry Pi GPIO pin 22. The standard LED will be used for visual feedback that the infrared LED is transmitting. This is extremely helpful while troubleshooting. I’ve chosen to use the Keyes KY005 infrared transmitter, as it was part of this awesome sensor kit I purchased. There will also be an infrared proximity (reflective distance) sensor to detect when the train has arrived at the station. This is attached to an Arduino because of a larger project, but could easily be connect to the Raspberry Pi instead.
Pin 22: LED and IR Transmitter Power Infrared Sensor and transmitter from 5v source This code was created from searching the Internet and reading forums that only got me half way there. The only NodeJS infrared module was called lego-ir but was designed for the (expensive) Tessel transmitter module. There is also an Arduino sketch library that I imagine would work very well, but that’s not the language I am working with. But then I found the answer! I used the following code/guide from Diomidis Spinellis who was kind enough to post this on GitHub. Click here for the complete work. Ultimately, the answer is to use the LIRC infrared linux driver. By using NodeJS to call a native Linux command, I was able to easily send signals to my Lego power functions. We will first follow the steps outlined in Diomidis’s GitHub post to get the Raspberry pi using the IR transmitter. Now we can work easily with Infrared using the Raspberry Pi !! Note: If this is your first project, you will need to initialize the folder and add the johhny-five module.