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What's inside the non-Bluetooth Powered Up Hub (85825)?

Hub Render

In particular, what sort of electronic components are present?

1 Answer 1

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We can begin to explore this part by carefully removing the top cover to reveal the PCB:

Top with cover removed

On the left, we can see a current-limiting thermistor (MF-MSMF075). On the right, we have a pair of Powered Up connectors. In between the connectors, there is a surface mount LED labelled D1 that is used as a power indicator.

Let's remove the PCB:

Top with PCB removed

Under the PCB, there are a couple of metal springs. These provide the physical resistance and locking capabilities for the switch but perform no electrical function.

Top with spring removed

That's the main housing without the springs present.

Let's look at the bottom of the PCB:

PCB bottom with switch contacts

This clearly shows how the electrical side of the switches are implemented. The two components on the right are usually in contact with the board and are allowed to slide to make or break contact with the contacts shown on the board. A quick examination of the traces shows that the contacts are used as DPDT switches that are wired as crossovers to allow polarity reversal.

Overall, this is a very basic basic battery box much like those for older systems such as Power Functions, with the exception that this box allows two motors to be controlled independently.

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    "On the left, we can see what I believe is a current-limiting thermistor." Looks like a Bourns MF-MSMF Series - PTC Resettable Fuse. The same is used in other Powered Up hubs. Dec 20, 2022 at 16:49
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    Is D1 a power indication light? Dec 20, 2022 at 16:51
  • @DavidLechner D1 is the power LED. Thanks for the note about the fuse. I've added a link to the datasheet in the answer.
    – jncraton
    Dec 20, 2022 at 20:23

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