Microbit Express 3.0 with all the bells and whistles

 

Once I had the power adaptor working with the two motors, I wanted to take the project one step further.

The obvious next challenge was: could I actually fit all of this inside a LEGO train?

The answer, as it turns out, was yes — although it was a bit of a squeeze.

I started by adding lights to the train. I wanted lights at both the front and the back, so I connected one set of lights to motor 1 connector and repeated this for the the second set of lights adding them to the motor 2 connector. This meant that everything could run from the same battery supply rather than needing separate power sources.

I didn't actually have the LEGO light brick I needed, so I improvised. The light was hot-glued into place instead. It's not exactly the most elegant LEGO solution, but it works — and once the body of the train is back together, you can't really see it.

The next problem was fitting everything inside.

There are now two motors, the battery holder, the power adaptor, wiring and the front and rear lights all competing for space inside a relatively small LEGO train.

There was quite a lot of carefully arranging wires, moving components around and trying to get everything to fit without stopping the train body from going back together.

Eventually, I managed it.

The result is a LEGO train that looks fairly normal from the outside but has quite a lot going on underneath. The two motors provide the drive, while the battery pack also controls the lights at either end.

It's definitely not the neatest piece of LEGO engineering I've ever produced, but that's rather the point of this project. I'm interested in seeing what can be made to work with the parts I have, rather than designing the perfect solution from the beginning.

And, importantly, it works.

From a cheap adaptor and some wiring to a fully powered LEGO train with two motors and lights front and back. 

Here is a video of it working:

https://x.com/ChrisPenn84/status/2096696401845432332/video/1?s=46

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Creating a Micro:bit a LEGO motor connecter

 

Creating a Micro:bit a LEGO motor connecter

I wanted to experiment with connecting some of my LEGO electronics to a Micro:bit. The problem was finding a simple way of getting the LEGO connector onto the Micro:bit without destroying any expensive LEGO cables.

The answer turned out to be very cheap extension cables from AliExpress.

They were only around £1.46, so I bought a few to experiment with. At that price, cutting one up didn’t feel too painful!

Cutting the cable

First, decide how long you want the cable to be and cut it to length.

Once cut, carefully expose the four wires inside the cable.

There are four individual wires. Twist the two wires on the right together, and then repeat this with the two wires on the left.

This leaves you with two connections rather than four.

Those two connections can then be attached to the Micro:bit, as shown below.

And that’s it. A £1-ish LEGO extension cable has become a very useful little interface for experimenting with LEGO electronics and a Micro:bit.

Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best ones. I've found that you can also stack them. So I have been able to run a motor and lights from the same connector with no issue. 

 

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