Hub

Reviews

• March 29th, 2020
  Average rating1out of 5 stars

  1.0
  Limited options, shameful battery life
  HRBuildNStuf | 45-54
  Purchased for: Self

  Where to start? To access the battery chamber you have to unscrew two small screws. This worries me because you have to put in fresh batteries like every few hours. The appetite this hub has for batteries is enough to make this simply unusable. Don't make the mistake of using any non-recharchable batteries even if you're excited to put things in action for the very first time. You're giving those batteries an hour-long death sentence.) At any rate, those screws are going to wear out, never mind they're inconvenient. It's LEGO! It should secure shut with studs or snaps! Especially considering how frequently you'll have to change batteries! Next up is the huge limitation that you only get two accessories. No more daisy-chaining to bedazzle your project with lights. I'm building a train and if it uses the older PF which they're trying to phase out, I can have two motors and several lights off of one battery box AND I won't have to change the batteries in an hour. With the new Powered UP components, I have to choose between two motors OR a motor and one light. I can't even daisy-chain more lights to light up the trailing cars! Lastly we have the controls. If you're using one of the linear motors (rather than the train motor), and you have the remote control unit, you get binary output from the motor (it's either on or it's off) with no modulation (no regulating the speed). Also, you have to sit there and hold the button down, the moment you lift your finger the motor will stop. So it sucks for trains. You can get more fine control if you download the app to use, but be prepared to spend quite a long time just trying to figure out how to do the most basic things in the app with little success. There's no documentation and very little guidance on the Internet to help you utilize the software. I'm an IT Engineer with programming experience, I figure software out for a living, and this one is a challenge! The programming itself is simple enough, but the UI around the actual programming is as clear as mud. If you try the "controller" option which should simply just simulate a controller, well one of the two choices won't actually do anything so even that wasn't 100% "plug and play" (I had the misfortune of trying the one that won't do anything first). Even the cords seem like a poor choice, carrying on from the ribbon cables of the PF world but seemingly even more rigid this time. So if you're building a project with any articulation, the PU component cables are REALLY working against you. By being flat ribbon cables they'll only flex in one plane, and they're rigid enough that they're more likely to move your project's joints than your joints are likely to move them. They pose a significant engineering challenge (and restriction) for my train. The one positive (and reason I tried the new components) is not needing the IR module (which means I don't have to figure out how to build it into my project, plus it means fewer cords). But despite that huge gain, I'm at a loss to compensate for all of the other shortcomings. The battery life is really the big one. Even if I use rechargables, having to change them so frequently (basically every time you want to run your devices) is just not going to cut it. Well oh and I want two motors plus lights. Can't have it with Powered Up, can have it with Power Functions. Why is that, LEGO? Why have you added that limitation? At any rate, I'm pretty dissatisfied with their design choices and their execution of the new PU components and pretty sure I'll be returning everything and going back to PF (while I still can).

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  Play ExperienceAverage rating1out of 5 stars

  1.0

  Level of DifficultyAverage rating5out of 5 stars

  5.0

  Value for MoneyAverage rating1out of 5 stars

  1.0

  Build Time: 10 mins
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  100

  10
  15Hub
• June 1st, 2020
  Average rating2out of 5 stars

  2.0
  Missed opportunity
  DutchofCambridge | 35-44
  Purchased for: Son

  Rediscovering Lego 38 years after receiving my very own first Lego set must be the best thing about parenting. So many new builds to explore! I surprised my 7-year old son with the Lego City Train set that comes with this hub and was surprised hub and remote take 10 (!) AAA batteries together. Judging by the other reviews these may go in a day. Would it be a good idea to use rechargeable lithium batteries that can be charged using a USB cable (like a phone)?

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  Play ExperienceAverage rating4out of 5 stars

  4.0

  Level of DifficultyAverage rating2out of 5 stars

  2.0

  Value for MoneyAverage rating2out of 5 stars

  2.0

  Building Experience: Expert LEGO builder
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  21

  3
  25Hub
• March 18th, 2020
  Average rating1out of 5 stars

  1.0
  Terrible battery life
  shopcooker2504 | 45-54
  Purchased for: Son

  We have a bunch of the power-up products for Lego trains and they run great. Unfortunately, this is what came with the remote control Batmobile and after using it for a few months the battery life is literally zero. I can put new batteries in the case and run the product for about 10 minutes. Such great products but this is an utter dud.

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  Response from LEGO SHOP

  19 March 2020

  Samuel, LEGO Customer Service

  That shouldn't be happening. Could you please get in touch at LEGO.build/Service-BV, our experts would love to help you! :)

  Play ExperienceAverage rating2out of 5 stars

  2.0

  Value for MoneyAverage rating1out of 5 stars

  1.0

  Building Experience: Advanced LEGO builder
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  24

  2
  15Hub
• May 10th, 2019
  Average rating4out of 5 stars

  4.0
  Fair but expensive replacement to the PF battery
  organista014 | 45-54
  I would recommend this to a friend!
  I got this along with the new train motor (88011) to replace my Holiday and Harry Potter train's setup. So far I'm happy with the setup. On the plus side, the receiver is already built in so it gets rid of the IR receiver for a cleaner look, and remote in favor of the Powered Up phone app. Does not require line of sight to control but you will need a compatible device (phone, tablet,or the new Lego bluetooth remote) which needs to be on all the time to control. It has 2 ports but only port "A" can be used for the motor by the "train" app (port "B" can be controlled using the "Batman" app but can be weird -- download or review the Powered Up app to better understand what these mean). I use the "B" port with the color/distance sensor (88007) to experiment on some coding controls. Controls are responsive so far, but the app in its initial development stage is too basic. The app can control up to 4 of these hubs. On the minus side, this hub is limited in use to creations that don't use too much controls (like trains). You cannot daisy chain components like how the old motors and lights did -- you cannot control 2 motors simultaneously on a single channel. This "Powered Up" (PU) technology is not compatible with the older "Power Function" (PF) technology. Also, the ports don't have clips and components will easily slip out of this hub when pulled. Battery life seems to be shorter given that it also powers the Bluetooth radio receiver. A big bummer for me though, with the old one (PF) you can leave the train running when you turn off/toss away the remote, but with PU the train stops when the app turns off or moves away from range, so you can't just leave your train running in the background when you step away. This hub is more for the tech oriented kids and adults, but may not appeal to younger kids looking to have a simple motorized out-of-the-box fun with their builds. However, I do like how this reduces the parts needed to control my trains. This seems to have firmware capability so current limitations *may* be addressed in the future with firmware updates.

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  Play ExperienceAverage rating4out of 5 stars

  4.0

  Value for MoneyAverage rating3out of 5 stars

  3.0

  Building Experience: Expert LEGO builder
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  109

  5
  45Hub