[blockquote]Vernon Jettlund said:
Even with the expanded wattage possible, I would like to see the ability to add battery packs in parallel for added longevity. That however also opens up the ability to add them in series, which doubles voltage, and can cause problems if misused, so i understand why it was removed when PF was developed to replace the old 9v 2x2 from the 80's.
If this could be done, the SBrick would be a powerhouse with the ability to run a ton of XL motors simultaniously for an appreciable duration.
I'll probably just have to build my own though & be careful not to let the magic smoke out.
[/blockquote]
Dear Vernon,
Thank you for this detailed description. I will forward this to the competent person to check it!
We will check what could we do! :)
Have a nice day,
Best regards,
Balint
SBrick Team
Even with the expanded wattage possible, I would like to see the ability to add battery packs in parallel for added longevity. That however also opens up the ability to add them in series, which doubles voltage, and can cause problems if misused, so i understand why it was removed when PF was developed to replace the old 9v 2x2 from the 80's.
If this could be done, the SBrick would be a powerhouse with the ability to run a ton of XL motors simultaniously for an appreciable duration.
I'll probably just have to build my own though & be careful not to let the magic smoke out.
It would appear, based on my reading of the feature and my (admittedly limited) electrical knowledge, that the 'Chip Tuning' feature is more an expansion of previous hardware limitations to provide better support for over-voltage and higher amperage.
This means, basically, that the SBrick can pass a higher voltage and amperage (more watts, theoreticaly almost 4x) through to the motors than the IR sensor could. For all practical purposes, this means a modest improvement if you are using a 6x AA or AAA power unit, which can provide a peak 9v (6x 1.5v); but not through the IR sensor, it limits to 7.4v 1A, probably for battery longevity. But to achieve 10.8 or close to 11.8v, you will need a different or modified power supply (with traditional batteries) or non-traditional batteries.
For example, you could use 7x alkaline AA to get 10.5v by using a 8-AA pack and a blank (pack linked below) and splicing on a PF cable cut from an extension.
If you change up your battery chemistry, you could use 3x 3.7v Li-Ion AA (used in high-end flashlights) and 3 pass-through blanks to achieve 11.1v 3A in a 6x AA battery pack, which would over time drop some as the batteries drain, but still be well over the 7.4v 1A expected and delivered before. It would deliver 33 Watts of work, while before you would have gotten 7.4 Watts, an improvement of 4x for as long as the battery's charge held out.
You could also build or modify your own battery pack with 8x NiMh rechargables, which are 1.2v instead of 1.5; this would grant a voltage of 9.6v, or add another for 10.8v, both of which are well over 7.4v, and more batteries also mean longer running life than if there were only 6 - though you are still draining faster than before, even with more batteries to pull from: 50% more capacity, but 3-400% more drain.
But that's what you are looking for, performance.
8x AA battery box: Amazon
9x AA battery box: Amazon
Then take a PF cable (linked in the store or from Lego.com), cut it, and splice it onto the battery box, making sure to get the + & - correct, and you have a high-voltage setup when plugged into an SBrick.
Disclaimer: I am not an EE - just a hobbyist - and I have not tested this. Yet.
Hi,
I have a similar question please.
I have updated my 4x4 crawler 9398 model with the sbrick as the control interface instead of the IR receiver. All is working well in terms of motor operability but I am now wondering what I can do to improve the performance of the model. By performance I generally mean speed!
I have a pair of xl motors here that I can use to replace the standard motors (M or L - I can't remember) but I too thought that just using the sbrick with standard battery and motor would result in increased performance. I was obviously wrong so I'm wondering what it is I need to do in order to get more performance from the standard motors (if it is indeed possible)?
Does it require a new battery type that can deliver more voltage / current?
It is interesting that both myself and the original poster had the same 'confusion' on the chip tuning feature. It might be worth elaborating on it slightly for less technical people like myself to avoid further misunderstanding.
Thanks
Rob
Hello Roland,
You don't need to active it. The "chip tuning" mean the following:
- Safe operating voltage range: 4V - 10.8V
- Absolute maximum voltage: 11.8V (Above this voltage, the motor driver ICs will be damaged)
- Continuous current per channel: 3A, if thermal limits are honoured
- Peak current per channel: 3.5A
This is much more than the LEGO IR Reciver can. (7.4V 1A)
Learn more about the SBrick: https://social.sbrick.com/wiki/view/pageId/9/slug/user-guide-for-sbrick