Controlling Lego Trains from a PC! (Brick Automation Project)

[@genagarrison7302]

Excellent. You get an A+ from Mom!

[@AFOLKFOLBricks]

This looks great! I’m definitely going to have to try this, especially when I need to control multiple trains at the same time. Thank you for making this video!

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

No problem! When I find something like this I have to share it. It's going to be a game changer for my layouts. Could be useful for crash videos as well, you could tie all the hubs together on one slider 😅. I'm just not sure how the Bluetooth communication would handle that

[@aleks1105]

you just showed a man, who has a giant track with over 20 locos a lot of customs who has been jumping between old powered up, old powered up knockoffs, lego powered up the way to make it all smooooooooth

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

If I had a large more permanent layout I do think that BAP would be my control method of choice

[@aleks1105]

@@BatteryPoweredBricks Yeah just the small downside of being limited to bluetooth of max 12, didn’t found a dongle cable of more yet

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

I've always wondered about the upper limit of Bluetooth in one area, like if another PC could be used for another 12 devices or if there would be a ton of interference. I don't have enough devices to try 😅

[@thedutchwoodworker3472]

If only this where available for mac Looks great ❤

[@Ironninja84]

deffintly going to try this when i have my set up ready

[@PurgatoryIndustries]

Sounds to good to be real, cant wait to try it out tonight

[@SaadForGaming7]

This is so epic, I love this video! Very informative indeed

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

Thanks! My train tutorial videos are quite a lot of work, but I try to fill the gaps for cool concepts that don't have tutorial videos already

[@erwin4225]

Thanks for sharing. Finally a solution without having to cut and solder wires :)

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

Sure thing! I'm no stranger to soldering / custom solutions but I like to share simple solutions as well. I still use this software quite a bit for different projects

[@glowytheglowbug]

cooool :D i wonder if you can make a musical box on a train that works as it rolls :D

[@alexgavril6875]

You deserve more subscribers

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

Thanks! I generally don't ask viewers to subscribe, my video topics vary quite a bit. If they watch my train tutorials (the videos I've put the most work into) they should be recommended the others without having to be subbed. I've heard KZbin kind of punishes channels with large numbers of subs that don't watch their videos in the algorithm. I'm happy that the number of subs I do have were organic, they clicked on their own 😀. Whether or not that's the best strategy is anyone's guess 😅

[@ThordyUndead]

Thanks for this, I'm one step closer to setting up so my twitch viewers can activate the train!

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

ohhh, sounds awesome! Glad to help!

[@BrickTrains]

OK, so I have down loaded the software. Hopefully this weekend I can play around with it.

[@AleksandrIvin]

Cool video! Thank you for sharing

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

Thanks for the comment! I'm glad it's continued to get views despite the subpar thumbnail 😅

[@AK.__]

Wow, thank you very much. Never knew about this piece of software. Basically, all i want it my 'out of box' 3 trains will be controllable from a single device + something makes available primitive (start - stop) programming using sensor and color.

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

This software is great! I haven't had time to make a dedicated video yet but the Brickrail project looks very promising as well for more more advanced automation. Going all the way back to the Mindstorms RCX the Lego community has always blown me away with the custom software / solutions over the years, they are the real heroes!

[@AK.__]

@@BatteryPoweredBricks Thank you

[@magnumsalyer]

This seems to be a very helpful guide 👍. The powered up hubs can also be controlled on Scratch, I don't think it's necessarily easier 🤷‍♂️. But it's the way I do it if I want to control from my laptop.

[@Ezz652]

Okay really cool video but i still have a question: what if i need multiple lights in my train? i need interior light, and white + red on either end of the train. Plus one motor. How could I do that? from my understanding one powered up hub can only control 2 things.. and i need all in all 6 controlable functions for 1 train.

[@Ezz652]

does that mean i need 3 hubs in my train?

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

I wouldn't. The hubs are expensive and that's way too many batteries. I would use a PU to PF adapter cable (they are pretty expensive to buy but I have a guide for making one dirt cheap). You wouldn't be able to control the lights independently but could turn them all on or off together. Otherwise you basically have to use a non-Lego solution

[@ВасилШулев]

Can you share instructions for track switch ? Have you bild different from TrixBrix switches ? Regards !

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

Links don't always work in comments, check out "Controlling Lego train switch tracks remotely (part 2)" it has instructions for a modified version of Tom Cook's design linked in the description. I still haven't found a solution for TrixBrix that I am happy with, I've been doing so many 9v projects I haven't tried in a while.

[@karmabasedj8184]

Super cool! One question: is there a similar setup for the older IR Remote Control?

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

Not that I've seen, but I would imagine someone has done it with an Arduino or Raspberry pi. The problem with the PF IR system will always be range / interference. Not that Bluetooth can't have interference of its own 😅. If I find anything on that front I'll be sure to share it!

[@karmabasedj8184]

@@BatteryPoweredBricks Makes sense. Thanks!

[@BrickwedelCity]

Very cool :) how much hubs are you able to connect to? Cheers and thx

[@BrickwedelCity]

12 ... to fast :D

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

Way ahead of ya 😅 Again 12 was with a USB BT adapter, otherwise it was 6 or oddly enough sometimes 7

[@hollow_stud]

A nice and versatile piece of software. Is there any need to update the firmware of the hubs? Btw: I like your videos but there is no necessity for background music, it makes it harder to follow for non-native english speakers like me.

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

The software communicates with the official Lego firmware. I tend to connect the hubs I acquire to the Lego app at least once to make sure it is using the latest version. I've had issues with direct connection to controllers before updating, but I haven't had any issues with this software so far. Thanks for the feedback, I'll keep that in mind for my next tutorial. I often watch these videos dozens of times before uploading so I feel the background music makes them a little less dry. If nothing else I could lower the volume of the music more, but it will always be at different levels depending on the device it is played back on.

[@BricksWorks]

I don't get, why you don't have more subscribers, than what you have. And I bet that 90%+ watching your videos don't get the mention in the outro :) I do, but I grew up just a little over 50 miles from where Lego is from.

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

For some reason this comment was marked as spam and I didn't see it, maybe they thought you wanted to sell me more subscribers 😂. Thanks for the kind words! I always think to myself, surely there are more people on this planet that would enjoy these videos, but it just takes time to reach them. I just try to be unique and true to myself, over time growth has been increasing across the channel, but it does feel slow sometimes 😅

[@BricksWorks]

@@BatteryPoweredBricks YT has funny ideas. It happens. And yes .. peeps do enjoy the videos. I'll be uploading some myself soon, seeing that i've got back into Lego trains and our little one has reached the age to enjoy them.

[@nivethofficial]

How can you connect servos/ trixbrix track switches to BAP. BAP apparently has a function, but I'm wondering as how to wire it.

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

I'm not sure, I've never owned any of the TrixBrix servos. I've made various attempts to motorize the TrixBrix switch tracks but I'm still not really happy with them. If I find the info on the servos I'll let you know. One of the reasons I made this tutorial and didn't get too deep into it is because I couldn't really find much information on the software. Also the fact it hasn't been updated in years kept me from going further with it.

[@nivethofficial]

@@BatteryPoweredBricks any suggested alternatives?

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

I've had a few shiny objects distracting me from trains for a while. I feel like I've seen a few solutions on KZbin, many seem to come from Germany where model trains are much more prevalent

[@nivethofficial]

can I connect sensors, for example tilt sensors to control speed of the train?

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

I haven't messed with it much but it does support using boost / wedo 2.0 sensors.

[@nivethofficial]

@@BatteryPoweredBricks by any chance do you know if the Wedo 2.0 sensor work with the standard hub? that comes with the train sets?

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

Pretty sure it will work with any software. I know the sensors work with BAP and PyBricks, I think it works with the Powered Up app as well. I don't really use the PU app much. I just got the tilt and motion sensors in, I'll give it a try with BAP

[@nivethofficial]

@@BatteryPoweredBricks thank you

[@PurgatoryIndustries]

Do you have a full parts list for the switches? So I can find them on bricklink? I don't know what gears to get? Thanks

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

I need to build some more of them, I can lay out the parts when I get that far. I built them a bit differently than they did and used some parts I had a ton of from Pick-a-Brick. The link to the LGauge website in the description has pictures of them partially disassembled. Click the picture of the switcher and there are 10 pictures from different angles. The gears are 12 and 20 tooth

[@PurgatoryIndustries]

@@BatteryPoweredBricks thanks mate

[@HdTvVR]

Can I control a 60051 or is the powerblock the wrong one for that

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

The 60051 uses the Power Functions (infrared remote) system which isn't compatible. I converted mine to Powered Up (Bluetooth) to be able to use it with this software

[@TrainsForNSWVlogs]

Will the remote save like it would on PyBricks?

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

I'm not sure what you mean by save

[@TrainsForNSWVlogs]

@@BatteryPoweredBricks On Py Bricks, when you turn the train on again the code saves.

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

No code is saved to the hubs or remotes. It uses the stock firmware as well. Everything is controlled by the PC

[@GoranCrnogaj]

Hi. Can I buy BT adapter 5.0 must be 4.0? ..does it reallay matters at all?

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

I'm not sure if I've tested a 5.0 BT adapter but I would think it should work fine. 4.0 should be the minimum version

[@_Novak_123_]

What hub do you use for trains

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

The standard "city hub" that is included with Powered Up train sets

[@_Novak_123_]

Thanks.

[@whatthedeuses]

Do I have to use a powered up motor hub?

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

Yes and no. Brick Automation Project is "compatible" with BuWizz 2.0 as well as the SBrick, but I have had issues using them. I typically only use Lego Powered Up hubs

[@whatthedeuses]

Can I use a Powerfunctions hub @@BatteryPoweredBricks

[@Avia_HoleOfficial]

Is it Chrome OS Supported?

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

I don't think so. I only see the msi installer for Windows and the download in the Microsoft store. The software hasn't been updated in years so I wouldn't hold my breathe for support on non-Windows environments 😔

[@BuildLego]

Will this app work on a Android phone?

[@BatteryPoweredBricks]

Unfortunately no. You can use the Powered Up app to create a custom control panel, I'm not sure how many trains could be controlled at the same time. I really don't use the app much. Most of what I do is to avoid using phones