Duplo Intelli-Train Discovery & Website

[jwedel]

Hi guys, I posted here a while ago asking for more info on the LEGO Duplo Intelli-Train. As there apparently are no fan-sites dedicated to the Intelli-Train sets, I decided to build my own website.

The site has detailed information on what each code brick does in a variety of situations and it even includes sample sounds to listen to. I also show how to dismantle the Intelli-Train engine (so you don't have to break it apart, unlike one of my engines). There are a variety of track layouts pictured, as the track shapes are different for Duplo trains, so the track designs also have to be different.

In researching the background the site, I discovered two unpublished code bricks for the Intelli-Train! That means there were more sets planned, but the new actions are already built into the train engines.

The site is essentially finished, it just needs a bit of tweaking. I figured I'd ask you what you thought about it before I start to link to it from the world at large. Also, I was wondering if you had any suggestions on where it might be appropriate to link to the site, so I can get the word out to other LEGO community members who are interested in Duplo trains and the Intell-Train.

Here's the semi-perminant web link:
http://cavefish.net/Intelli-Train/index.html


Thanks for your feedback.
Jeremy

[Andrew]

Hi Jwedel,thats an impressive amount of research on duplo trains,very enlighting.makes me wish I had picked some up while they were available.
I guess all those sounds come from the engine,which puzzles me on why LEGO would put the horn sound in the new IR battery train into the handheld con troller.by the looks of it they could have had 3 or 4 sounds coming out of the engine instead of the handheld.
I think Lego could have incorporated some of this technology into ambient sounds from around a layout,ie farmyard,city sirens,all aboard at the station.etc.Its too bad they chose not to expand ontech stuff they were already using.
I wonder if the new hand held train controller could somehow make the duplo train run.A little modification maybe it could be successful.

Thanks for all the info on the website it looks great.maybe you could post to eurobricks or legofan for some european input,someone there might be able to help you out with the additional smart bricks

Take care and good luck with your site--Andrew

[jaem]

Cool site - I never knew those sets were so sophisticated.

btw - you probably need one of these for your IR detector - it strips off the standard 38kHz square wave and gives you just the data. I don't know if you can buy them around here - you could try RP Electronics in Burnaby. Otherwise, just find a junker VCR and take it out of there.

hope this helps

EDIT: looking at the disassembled engine, that's exactly what TLC used in their receiver - so it should work...