Answers.Body: <p><a href="https://buwizz.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">BuWizz</a> has announced the <a href="https://buwizz.com/buwizz-3-0-pro/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">BuWizz 3.0 Pro</a> which has Powered Up compatible ports.</p>
  <p>The <a href="https://buwizz.com/shop/buwizz-3-0-pro/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">product page</a> says:</p>
  <blockquote>
  <p>Expected Delivery: End of March 2021</p>
  </blockquote>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2021-04-25T01:29:36.213Z
Answers.Text: saw that, timely answer here tnx
Answers.UserDisplayName: some bits flipped
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2021-04-24T00:27:48.770Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2021-04-24T00:27:48.770Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: David Lechner
Answers.Body: <p>Raspberry Pi produce the &quot;<a href="https://www.raspberrypi.com/products/build-hat/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Build HAT</a>&quot; which is an interface board for the Raspberry Pi and it works with Powered Up sensors and motors.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2023-07-07T18:47:49.483Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2023-07-09T13:02:39.817Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2023-07-09T13:02:39.817Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Peter Green
Body: <p>I bought the Mindstorms v4 / advanced hub (in set 51515). It's a good set, and the Hub has some great features - notably a rechargeable battery, the ability to run &quot;live&quot; off of USB power, and a full 6 ports (the minimum, IMHO; covers most working equipment such as fully-motorized excavators, etc.)</p>
  <p>However, the battery lacks capacity, and the drive voltage of the motors is underwhelming. USB-C PD is also lacking, and would be a huge feature as it would allow 9v power from cheap COTS battery packs.</p>
  <p>I went searching for a BuWizz/sBrick/etc. type replacement; I can't find anything except for a current Kickstarter (no link, as I backed it and and don't want any perceived advertising here - but it does look interesting, supports Arduino, check it out :) )</p>
  <p>Are there any aftermarket hubs in the works you're aware of? Any supporting info such as ETA or experience of the creators, etc., would be helpful.</p>
  <p>I'm starting to think I may need to DIY; the PUP connectors themselves are available only from China (are there any patent concerns?), but are cheap enough. It looks like the specs and i2c protocol bits are all reasonably well documented. IMHO, an ideal setup would:</p>
  <ul>
  <li>support a higher drive voltage for the motors.
  <ul>
  <li>the onboard <a href="https://www.onsemi.com/pub/Collateral/LB1836M-D.PDF" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.onsemi.com/pub/Collateral/LB1836M-D.PDF</a> supports 10.5 abs max.</li>
  <li>even a consistent 9V would be a HUGE improvement; a 3s1p lithium ion pack, plus a 90%+ efficient buck converter board to ~9V seems feasible?</li>
  <li>side benefit of 9V is it could also be driven from a USB-C PD board set to 9V (although muxing this with the battery isn't trivial or supported by any of the cheap boards I can find from Aliexpress or US hobby sites.</li>
  </ul>
  </li>
  <li>support lots of channels; 8 or more? Most microcontrollers or SBCs should be able to drive at least this many channels of motor controllers.</li>
  </ul>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2020-11-13T08:43:02.973Z
Comments.Text: I guess the use of proprietary PUP connectors is limiting factor for someone to create a solution you are looking for. While connectors have now appeared for sale in China there still could be a patent covering such design. In the end, there is a reason TLG used unique connector instead of using something already available in the market.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Alex
Tags: <mindstorms><moc><powered-up><3rd-party><battery>
Title: Are there any existing (or upcoming) aftermarket PoweredUp hubs?
UserDisplayName: some bits flipped
ThreadText: # Are there any existing (or upcoming) aftermarket PoweredUp hubs?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2020-11-12)
  
  I bought the Mindstorms v4 / advanced hub (in set 51515). It's a good set, and the Hub has some great features - notably a rechargeable battery, the ability to run "live" off of USB power, and a full 6 ports (the minimum, IMHO; covers most working equipment such as fully-motorized excavators, etc.)
  
  However, the battery lacks capacity, and the drive voltage of the motors is underwhelming. USB-C PD is also lacking, and would be a huge feature as it would allow 9v power from cheap COTS battery packs.
  
  I went searching for a BuWizz/sBrick/etc. type replacement; I can't find anything except for a current Kickstarter (no link, as I backed it and and don't want any perceived advertising here - but it does look interesting, supports Arduino, check it out :) )
  
  Are there any aftermarket hubs in the works you're aware of? Any supporting info such as ETA or experience of the creators, etc., would be helpful.
  
  I'm starting to think I may need to DIY; the PUP connectors themselves are available only from China (are there any patent concerns?), but are cheap enough. It looks like the specs and i2c protocol bits are all reasonably well documented. IMHO, an ideal setup would:
  
  * support a higher drive voltage for the motors.
    + the onboard <https://www.onsemi.com/pub/Collateral/LB1836M-D.PDF> supports 10.5 abs max.
    + even a consistent 9V would be a HUGE improvement; a 3s1p lithium ion pack, plus a 90%+ efficient buck converter board to ~9V seems feasible?
    + side benefit of 9V is it could also be driven from a USB-C PD board set to 9V (although muxing this with the battery isn't trivial or supported by any of the cheap boards I can find from Aliexpress or US hobby sites.
  * support lots of channels; 8 or more? Most microcontrollers or SBCs should be able to drive at least this many channels of motor controllers.
  
  **Tags:** mindstorms, moc, powered-up, 3rd-party, battery
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: I guess the use of proprietary PUP connectors is limiting factor for someone to create a solution you are looking for. While connectors have now appeared for sale in China there still could be a patent covering such design. In the end, there is a reason TLG used unique connector instead of using something already available in the market.  
  
  ---
  
  ## 2 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_2 on 2021-04-24. Score: 3 | Accepted answer
  
  [BuWizz](https://buwizz.com/) has announced the [BuWizz 3.0 Pro](https://buwizz.com/buwizz-3-0-pro/) which has Powered Up compatible ports.
  
  The [product page](https://buwizz.com/shop/buwizz-3-0-pro/) says:
  
  > Expected Delivery: End of March 2021
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_0**: saw that, timely answer here tnx  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_3 on 2023-07-07. Score: 2
  
  Raspberry Pi produce the "[Build HAT](https://www.raspberrypi.com/products/build-hat/)" which is an interface board for the Raspberry Pi and it works with Powered Up sensors and motors.
  
  
  ---
  
  