I also have two of these sets, and managed to connect the two battery boxes, each with one motor connected to channel A, to a single remote controller. So now I can control both motors simultaneously with just one set of plus-minus buttons. Of course this means that I had to install one of the motors backwards, which was a bit of a messy job, but it works. I also lengthened both the engine and the cars by using 28-stud train bases, swapped the motor and the unpowered bogie so now the bogie is next to the bogie of the passenger car (symmetry!), moved the battery box forward to be above the relocated motor (for better traction), and added a small passenger compartment with windows and seats to the back of the engine where the battery box was before. Looks pretty awesome now :-D Also runs like a charm, no struggling whatsoever in a 2 engines + 4 cars configuration.
One motor can do it with rechargeable batteries for more power and rubber bands on the wheels. It is a good idear to lubricate the wheel axels of the carriages with a silikon spray.
You can just use the APPs programming feature to control both motors at the same time but in different directions. You can even program a slow ramp up in speed. Or just use two hubs and sync them together. So you can have a motor in the front and a second in the back for a push/pull setup.
You can sync two battery boxes to the same color and because of the lego technic connections on the controller, you could easily make a thing that pushed both buttons with you pushing just one
Best option is two battery boxes to one remote. If you did it right might be able to add 4 motors off one battery box.....not sure it would have enough juice, but sounds like a good video.
What I did was modify the Gangway so then the rear motor can drive forward and put the magnet in front of wire. Then I put the wire through the modified Gangway and reversed the direction of the hub so then the port faces the rear of the carriage rather than the front.
This was really useful to know two motors can work for the train. I’m building a custom Polar Express train and thought of having two motors in the tender to pull the weight. Last night I tried with a single motor and it did have a bit of trouble.
Just use the app, probably one of the simplest coding things to do and you can perfectly sync both motors. I use it all the time with the coding features to run my trains. The app can handle up to four hubs in one program and each hub can control two motors. So you could write a simple program in it that theoretically runs a four hub/ eight motor train in perfect synchronicity.
You can synchronize buttons in one controller - need to disassembly it and connect micro-switches with thin wire. Its very simple . I use one hub with 2 motorized boogeys
I followed a tutorial on it by someone else. The biggest issue is getting the throttle back to zero. There a bug in the controller that makes getting it there almost impossible
Great layout through the city and interesting to see two motors running to pull the long train. I'm saving my pennies for a bunch of servo and XL motors which I am hoping to control using a couple of BuWizz Bluetooth hubs and the BuWizz app. 😀👍
Nice! I enjoyed your thoughts. Of course you realize that RR curves/diverges are similar to plumbing elbows (psi loss). I agree that daisy-chaining is possible provided we can get the correct connectors. Keep up with the "quarantraining!"
Neat t-shirt ;-) I didn't know that the controllers could turn like that. Listening to the cadence of the train when you put on all the carts, I think you can hear that it's going slower than with fewer carts. I'm wondering if there would be a difference if you put the second motor in the first and last cart - one pulling and one pushing!? Maybe something you can play around with. Thanks a lot for sharing this and keep up the experiments!
It's a sweet train! I'm really happy with it! And be sure to check out my Jacobs Bogies mod for it. Makes a great train even better! ua-cam.com/video/z-Wg3qUxkcc/v-deo.html
Good video indeed. Agree though, would be better to control both motors with one button. All Lego needs is a Y cable like we have in the RC world, would make it a lot easier.
I'm working on an intermediate drive car atm. I think if the two motors are central to the train they'll pull a little better. I'm waiting for a spare train motor to arrive so I can swap some of the wiring around.
I'm on the fence on that. Because the cars are quite light, they can be easy to "push off" the track. So having them in the leading car adds weight and reduces that risk. That's the issue that the crocodile train has which can be fixed by adding some pie weights to the front and rear sections to keep it weighted down. But, I look forward to seeing what you do and hopefully I get proven wrong by you!
Great video, thanks for explain. Sorry, dumb question: instead of flipping the controller 180 degrees, couldn't you just flip the motor under the train? And another one - so the 2022 started, did anyone come to way, how to have the sensor + lights in the train, and to illuminate the cars, without having cable running through entire train? Happy New Year!!!
While you can flip the motor the power wiring comes out of one side and you can see on the train base that the hole to route it through is near the center. If you want to route the wire easily through the hole you need to orient it backwards like this.
Sorry for the slow reply. To add to what rpazda said, if you flip the controller you have to try and make sure the motors are running at the same power and there’s no visual way to know. Run them at slightly different speeds and one or both is going to get damaged
I haven't tried 2 switches. You can pair the hubs but becomes so expensive. But I'll try it at some point. Something I also learnt since doing this video is that you can program the phone app to handle two motors at once so I'll try that too.
@@GJBricks I literally was watching a video explaining that when I saw your reply 😂. I guess powered up can do a lot more than expected. My fiancee and I are excited about experimenting with the programming part. Eventually I want multiple trains running and doing their own thing, but I think I need to find a way to make switches automate before that can be interesting. Then I could have freight trains pull into sidings to get out of the way of the passenger train.
Ive thought about this too even making sure the motors were the same direction. Lego needs to come out with a splitter or something cause two motors means no lights. I also noticed 5 carriages hmmmm is that 3 passenger trains you have or just bricklinked them?
Hey @GJBricks! I see you have two Locomotives connected on your city passenger train. Did you leave the motor in the rear one, or take it out so you would have less resistance on your pull?
I notice a lot of people have two city trains running back to back in their videos. I have been wondering how they controlled both motors at the same time when they’re at opposite ends of the train. Is there an easy way to do this ? Thank you
Tbh, you can run the two trains with one motor. That’s what I used to do. But, I’ll be doing a video on using two motors, but they are both in the front engine connected to a single battery controller box. But, it is possible to have to of the controller blocks “paired”. I’ve not done it personally but I know it can be done. So then you have one at the front and one at the back
@GJBricks you can get them working together only with the powerup app ua-cam.com/video/BNNHfuEImqo/v-deo.html You can pair, reverse one motor etc etc etc. its kind of crazy what you can do in that custom build option in the app
Since you like to use the app. drive.google.com/file/d/15Af6lwSid2ty17EZt5PHo-f1FKLBl_te/view?usp=drivesdk Screenshoot of a Quick program to control 8 motors on 4 hubs with one speed regulator. B motors are runing opposite of A motors. Good Luck
I’m trying to figure out a witty comment with ‘quaran-train’ in but I’m just not witty enough 🤦♂️ Enjoyed this video - seeing your in your element solving Lego questions and making things better for us all. Great work pal 👍👍👍
with this you'll drain your batteries superfast and can't use lights.... best thing is use 9v track and a fake 9v motor as power pick up but with two pf motors on the loco it should be placed on the first wagon... too complex...
@@GJBricks Yeah, I checked the app and it's settings after typing and realized that it doesn't allow for what was needed here. I think they should open up the programmable side a bit more. It is fairly limited at this point.
![Lego Powered Up Tutorial #04: first steps with the (boost) color & distance sensor [English|HD]](/img/n.gif)
I also have two of these sets, and managed to connect the two battery boxes, each with one motor connected to channel A, to a single remote controller. So now I can control both motors simultaneously with just one set of plus-minus buttons. Of course this means that I had to install one of the motors backwards, which was a bit of a messy job, but it works. I also lengthened both the engine and the cars by using 28-stud train bases, swapped the motor and the unpowered bogie so now the bogie is next to the bogie of the passenger car (symmetry!), moved the battery box forward to be above the relocated motor (for better traction), and added a small passenger compartment with windows and seats to the back of the engine where the battery box was before. Looks pretty awesome now :-D Also runs like a charm, no struggling whatsoever in a 2 engines + 4 cars configuration.
Berti Air do you have instagram or something i want to see it 😉 my Instagram is bruma_thegoat i would love to see a DM/message from you
i did this too!! but I struggle to get both to pair. i found a video on youtube once which explained it and I lost that
One motor can do it with rechargeable batteries for more power and rubber bands on the wheels. It is a good idear to lubricate the wheel axels of the carriages with a silikon spray.
You can just use the APPs programming feature to control both motors at the same time but in different directions. You can even program a slow ramp up in speed.
Or just use two hubs and sync them together. So you can have a motor in the front and a second in the back for a push/pull setup.
You can sync two battery boxes to the same color and because of the lego technic connections on the controller, you could easily make a thing that pushed both buttons with you pushing just one
Best option is two battery boxes to one remote. If you did it right might be able to add 4 motors off one battery box.....not sure it would have enough juice, but sounds like a good video.
That is what I do! Well done haha I was hoping someone in the comments would have figured out the best option
Awesome video, must try this one!
What I did was modify the Gangway so then the rear motor can drive forward and put the magnet in front of wire. Then I put the wire through the modified Gangway and reversed the direction of the hub so then the port faces the rear of the carriage rather than the front.
This was really useful to know two motors can work for the train. I’m building a custom Polar Express train and thought of having two motors in the tender to pull the weight. Last night I tried with a single motor and it did have a bit of trouble.
Excellent video! I really enjoy these videos and you’re inquisitive nature around everything trains makes these videos real gems.
Well done awesome vidio looks great well done
Very cool video! I have yet to get any powered up trains, but really want to get both sets that are out right now. Thanks for the great tip!
Just use the app, probably one of the simplest coding things to do and you can perfectly sync both motors.
I use it all the time with the coding features to run my trains.
The app can handle up to four hubs in one program and each hub can control two motors.
So you could write a simple program in it that theoretically runs a four hub/ eight motor train in perfect synchronicity.
You can synchronize buttons in one controller - need to disassembly it and connect micro-switches with thin wire. Its very simple . I use one hub with 2 motorized boogeys
How about the powered up system compared to the old 9V system (Metal tracks)
You can set up 2 ports to move the train in create you just got to code it.
I followed a tutorial on it by someone else. The biggest issue is getting the throttle back to zero. There a bug in the controller that makes getting it there almost impossible
Great layout through the city and interesting to see two motors running to pull the long train. I'm saving my pennies for a bunch of servo and XL motors which I am hoping to control using a couple of BuWizz Bluetooth hubs and the BuWizz app. 😀👍
The rotating Christmas tree is very hard to pull because of all the mechanics that is why it is struggling.
Do you have any update on this? Is there a better way now, 2 years later?
Did you try the Batmobile option for the test train? Because the batmobile was designed with 2 ports in use.
Nice! I enjoyed your thoughts. Of course you realize that RR curves/diverges are similar to plumbing elbows (psi loss). I agree that daisy-chaining is possible provided we can get the correct connectors. Keep up with the "quarantraining!"
Cool train
Neat t-shirt ;-) I didn't know that the controllers could turn like that. Listening to the cadence of the train when you put on all the carts, I think you can hear that it's going slower than with fewer carts. I'm wondering if there would be a difference if you put the second motor in the first and last cart - one pulling and one pushing!? Maybe something you can play around with. Thanks a lot for sharing this and keep up the experiments!
ahh awesome idea. Ive just bought 2 sets of this. Actually done a review video today lol. Really like the look of it though! Good job man!
It's a sweet train! I'm really happy with it! And be sure to check out my Jacobs Bogies mod for it. Makes a great train even better! ua-cam.com/video/z-Wg3qUxkcc/v-deo.html
Good video indeed. Agree though, would be better to control both motors with one button. All Lego needs is a Y cable like we have in the RC world, would make it a lot easier.
I'm working on an intermediate drive car atm. I think if the two motors are central to the train they'll pull a little better. I'm waiting for a spare train motor to arrive so I can swap some of the wiring around.
I'm on the fence on that. Because the cars are quite light, they can be easy to "push off" the track. So having them in the leading car adds weight and reduces that risk. That's the issue that the crocodile train has which can be fixed by adding some pie weights to the front and rear sections to keep it weighted down. But, I look forward to seeing what you do and hopefully I get proven wrong by you!
Simple answer yes
Great video, thanks for explain. Sorry, dumb question: instead of flipping the controller 180 degrees, couldn't you just flip the motor under the train? And another one - so the 2022 started, did anyone come to way, how to have the sensor + lights in the train, and to illuminate the cars, without having cable running through entire train? Happy New Year!!!
While you can flip the motor the power wiring comes out of one side and you can see on the train base that the hole to route it through is near the center. If you want to route the wire easily through the hole you need to orient it backwards like this.
@@rpazda Thank you for clarifying!
Sorry for the slow reply. To add to what rpazda said, if you flip the controller you have to try and make sure the motors are running at the same power and there’s no visual way to know. Run them at slightly different speeds and one or both is going to get damaged
Do you have trouble switching off the powered up hub? Are you supposed to press & hold the button? Cheers, great video :)
I haven't tried 2 switches. You can pair the hubs but becomes so expensive. But I'll try it at some point. Something I also learnt since doing this video is that you can program the phone app to handle two motors at once so I'll try that too.
Could you build a long button on the controller so it pushes at the same time?
I’ll be doing a follow up to this. There’s a way to program a dual controller 😃
@@GJBricks I literally was watching a video explaining that when I saw your reply 😂. I guess powered up can do a lot more than expected. My fiancee and I are excited about experimenting with the programming part. Eventually I want multiple trains running and doing their own thing, but I think I need to find a way to make switches automate before that can be interesting. Then I could have freight trains pull into sidings to get out of the way of the passenger train.
Ive thought about this too even making sure the motors were the same direction. Lego needs to come out with a splitter or something cause two motors means no lights. I also noticed 5 carriages hmmmm is that 3 passenger trains you have or just bricklinked them?
Hey @GJBricks! I see you have two Locomotives connected on your city passenger train. Did you leave the motor in the rear one, or take it out so you would have less resistance on your pull?
Both motors are in the front car. I found someone that had programmed the remote to control both. I think it wasRacing Bricks
Awesome!
Thanks! You got this train?
Unfortunately not. I do have a very old train with blue rails though.
Maybe try one motor at the back and one one the front of the train.
I was thinking the same =)
Confess I haven't really dabbled with Powered Up yet. Still an old dinosaur with PF! 😉
your not that old as me xD
Heh, 9v all the way:)
9v motors... put easy multiple motors
Nowdays you can get a splitter cable to use 2 motors on one port and still have one port free
Cool! 😎👏👏👏
Thanks! 😃
I notice a lot of people have two city trains running back to back in their videos. I have been wondering how they controlled both motors at the same time when they’re at opposite ends of the train.
Is there an easy way to do this ?
Thank you
Tbh, you can run the two trains with one motor. That’s what I used to do. But, I’ll be doing a video on using two motors, but they are both in the front engine connected to a single battery controller box.
But, it is possible to have to of the controller blocks “paired”. I’ve not done it personally but I know it can be done. So then you have one at the front and one at the back
@@GJBricks, can you add two Powered Up motors to one dial?
@GJBricks
you can get them working together only with the powerup app ua-cam.com/video/BNNHfuEImqo/v-deo.html
You can pair, reverse one motor etc etc etc. its kind of crazy what you can do in that custom build option in the app
Add some weight to the locomotive
Since you like to use the app. drive.google.com/file/d/15Af6lwSid2ty17EZt5PHo-f1FKLBl_te/view?usp=drivesdk
Screenshoot of a Quick program to control 8 motors on 4 hubs with one speed regulator. B motors are runing opposite of A motors. Good Luck
I push my train with a dual motor power function boxcar and I invert one with a switch
Nice. So take it you’re using Power Functions to do that rather than Powered Up?
I’m trying to figure out a witty comment with ‘quaran-train’ in but I’m just not witty enough 🤦♂️ Enjoyed this video - seeing your in your element solving Lego questions and making things better for us all. Great work pal 👍👍👍
with this you'll drain your batteries superfast and can't use lights.... best thing is use 9v track and a fake 9v motor as power pick up but with two pf motors on the loco it should be placed on the first wagon... too complex...
You can
You can indeed
The Batmobile uses two motors as standard. :)
So you could try to open the app in bat mobile mode and see if you can program both motors to work there.
It does but they run independently, not together. But I had forgotten it was the same hub. Tbh, I am not happy with this solution.
@@GJBricks Yeah, I checked the app and it's settings after typing and realized that it doesn't allow for what was needed here. I think they should open up the programmable side a bit more. It is fairly limited at this point.