Bricks by the Bay, 2022

 

Date:  June 23 through June 26

Location: Santa Clara Convention Center

Website: Bricks By The Bay

Social Media: @bricksbythebay, @bricksbythebay_official #bricksbythebay

The last in person Bricks by the Bay Convention was in 2019, so it has been three years with two virtual conventions in between.  So what are we at MyMakerTools going to do.

• Brick Power.  We have a limited number of our USB based power converters for Lego Motors (Power Functions)
• Brick Controller.  We have a limited number of the our USB/Bluetooth controllers with 4 motor channels and 4 LED channels.
• LED Lighting.  New LED lights that fit on a 1x1 or 1x2 plate/tile.
• LED Power Distribution.  Simple device that takes USB power and provides punch down type connections.
• LED Lighting Controller.  Expands the number of LED channels to 15 for those MOCs that need multiple LED controls.
• Brick Shirts and Softwear.  New brick shirt designs for young and old.  Plus other softwear that we are famous for.
• Minifigs.  Assorted Minifigs that were acquired over the years.
  

Brick Power and Brick Controller

 

My biggest problem has been the current chip shortage.  Finding electronic parts has become an all day task.  Most are available in Asia at the "brokers", but it is not uncommon to see anywhere from 10 to 100 times cost increase over normal MSRP.  As an example, an item that sells for $60 cannot afford to pay $55 for a part that was $1.24.   I still have inventory of these two items and they will be aggressively priced for the convention.

LED Lighting

 

I have always wanted a simple and consistent way to mount LEDs both in my MOCs and for my HO train layout.  These two products get me closer to the goal.  One is the size of a 1x2 plate/tile and the other is the size of a 1x1 plate/tile.  You can glue these onto a plate for mounting on a ceiling or a tile when you want up lighting.  Right now the product only comes with white LEDs, either a simple single Dome type LED or a larger flood light type.  Custom colors will be available, with a small charge.  I have not priced these yet, but they will be well under $5 each, depending on the size and LED.  The website will have a list of vendors where you can buy wire.  Each board provides a rather large pad to solder the wires onto.  We will not be providing wire on the standard product.  We don't know what you need.  The Website list a few places where you can get wire and what the difficulty level is with each.  Look here for more information.

LED Power Distribution

 

When you don't need the fancy lighting effects and all you need is for the lights to be on, this is the best answer.  This device takes in USB power and then distributes to either punch down connectors or small connectors that are popular with other 3rd party LED vendors.  What I do is solder a piece of solid 24-26 gauge wire to the ends of the small wires from the LEDs and then place these stiff wires in the punch down connector.  Depending on the USB power source, you can power over 25 LEDs easily with this.

LED Lighting Controller

 

At a minimum, I hope to demonstrate this at the convention.  There is still a lot of work to do on this, so it is iffy right now.  This is 48 x 64mm or the size of a 6x8 plate.

Brick Shirts and Softwear

We will have a new selection of of shirts and other softwear items.  Watch for more information as we get closer to show time.

Minifigs

We have been downsizing everything.  Long story, so the younger ones have decided to divest some of there childhood collections.  These Minifigs are the ones they are willing to part with.  There will be some good deals.