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Adventures In Radio Control


PenrithBeacon
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I'm not aware of any books but then I have not been looking for them.

 

However I suspect that it is more likely you will find advice on the internet, including on YouTube. These days you can learn most things on YouTube.

 

You may also like to look at a website called Freerails that has a large section on radio control.

 

...R

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Thanks for the advice

 

I've been looking at the web and the following look useful but I'm still in the exploring stage, I haven't yet bought anything.

https://www.deadrailsociety.com/how-to-articles/

https://rctrains.co.uk/index.htm

https://www.protocab.com/welcome

http://www.clag.org.uk/battery-radio.html

 

Thanks for everything, but I think I might be coming back for more advice!

 

Cheers

Railway Modeller Del Tang article 3-2015.pdf

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The main producer of radio control electronics for rail modelling is here:

http://www.deltang.co.uk/index.htm

 

This has details of the equipment available but they do not sell it from the website.

 

There are a number of suppliers of which the best for radio control in model railways in my opinion is Micron:

http://www.micronradiocontrol.co.uk/

 

There are other suppliers of the equipment on general but Micron has an inderstanding of applying it to model railways.

 

(Usual disclaimer, no connection other than a satisfied customer.)

 

Frank

 

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Thank you for that, I took a look at the Micron Radio Control site last night and I hope to create a shopping list from it. As a newby I did find it difficult to work through the alphabet soup but I think I've got it. Once the shopping list is complete the plot is to send it to Micron and ask them if it will work for a small shunter. There seems to be compatability issues between some components, but perhaps that is just my inexperience.

 

Cheers

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  • 3 weeks later...
1 hour ago, PenrithBeacon said:

After a fair amount of research I've pretty well finalised my shopping list to convert a Bachmann Jinty to RC, but last night at the club a point of concern was raised. Does the RX deal with TV suppression issues or is another mechanism required?

 

Cheers

I have no problems with TV suppression issues. I think the reason it was a problem was you had a very long aerial, the rails, to broadcast the errant signals. With radio control you only have the leads from the receiver to the motor. I remove the capacitors.

 

Actually my RC locos can cause interference on my transistor radio AM/FM but only if the radio is less than 18 inches from the loco. Modern TV's are almost exclusively digital and people tell me this is much more resilient than the old analogue signal.

 

Also, apparently anti suppression circuitry is not fitted in some other countries.

 

Prepare for a long contradictory 'discussion' !

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Model locos have suppression components fitted to stop TV interference, although modern TVs are much less prone to this than old ones.

 

However when fitting radio control you take these components off as they may impair the control by the RC system which uses fast pulses to drive the motor.  The same is true of DCC.

 

We had a club layout with an interference problem: the old high current locos caused big sparks on the track which interfered with the servos controlling the points.  My radio control locos had no effect on the servos, which was a pity as I had used them to test the servo system and so completely missed the inferference problem!

 

Of course with radio control there are no sparks on the track as the track/wheel contact does not carry any current.

 

Frank

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This is the shopping list, just sent off to Micron. Andy at Micron has been very helpful with compiling this list but I'm not sure whether I've left something out, we'll see. 

 

Tx22v2 DSM2 Controller
Battery(9V PP3)

Rx63 DSM2/DSMX 8.4V 4 Channel Receiver with Bi-Directional ESC

Ares 50mAh LiPo 

40mAh LiPo Cell with BMS and Wires

'UM' Battery Charge / Receiver Power Lead

Micron Single Cell LiPo USB Charger

6V 1.0A Plug PSU

Inline Fuse with Leads

Micro Slide Switch

 

Cheers
 

 

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Ares 50mAh LiPo 

40mAh LiPo Cell with BMS and Wires

 

Interesting, different capacity batteries . I have never seen this combination

 

I presume you are going to use the 2 batteries in series giving 8.4V when fully charged and 6V when depleted. Will the smaller battery with the BMS protection circuit shut down first?

 

How are you going to charge the batteries? 

 

What loco are you going to fit this in? Maybe a good idea put it all in a trailing open wagon for testing before butchering the loco.

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The two batteries were a mistake! Intended to order two of the 50mAh. :angry:

I'm well on the way to butchering a loco. The weights in the side tanks need to be removed to provide room for the batteries. There is plenty of weight in the Bachmann Jinty without them.

 

Thanks for the comments.

Cheers

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5 hours ago, PenrithBeacon said:

The two batteries were a mistake! Intended to order two of the 50mAh. :angry:

I'm well on the way to butchering a loco. The weights in the side tanks need to be removed to provide room for the batteries. There is plenty of weight in the Bachmann Jinty without them.

 

Thanks for the comments.

Cheers

Ah, makes sense now. the Rx63 LVC function should handle any low battery issues

 

 

It will be interesting to see how the conversion turns out. I have a Hornby Railroad Jinty converted but the mechanism is a bit crude.

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I've changed the thread title to reflect how it has moved on.

 

The shopping list has been delivered and very good it looks too.

 

I've taken a piercing saw to the weights in the Jinties side tanks to make room for batteries and that's ok. They fit ok. But then a problem. It dawned on me that there's nowhere to fit a switch where it can be reached from the outside. But recharging the batteries will be another issue.

 

The problem is that the chassis is not designed for this sort of stuff. Perhaps an etched chassis will be better with lots of sq mm to mount ancillaries. Wizard are exhibiting at Peterborough at the weekend, I'll see if AH has the Comet chassis kit in stock.

 

Edit: Wizard no longer do the Comet Jinty chassis. Thinking cap on

EDIT: The comment above about Wizard no longer doing the Jinty chassis isn't true. It seems there might be an IT issue with the website, but Wizard still do the Jinty chassis.

Edited by PenrithBeacon
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1 hour ago, PenrithBeacon said:

there's nowhere to fit a switch where it can be reached from the outside. But recharging the batteries will be another issue.

 

When I converted an N Gauge loco to BPRC I made a very small switch with brass tube - one piece that can fit inside the other. Cut the large piece in two and connect one side to the battery and one side to everything else. The switch is "made" when you insert the inner tube (or rod, if you prefer) through the two parts.

 

As well as the small size it requires no force to switch on or of.

 

...R

Edited by Robin2
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Do you really need a switch? I have been flying single lipo RC models for years and have never used a switch. Plug in the lipo and fly. If the current draw of the DT receiver is low when not operating I don’t think you will need a switch.

 

For charging I would never charge a lipo battery in a model. Though I have never seen, nor experienced a charging problem with 1S batteries in many years I still do not think it is worth the risk. My preference is always battery out of the model and preferably  charge outdoors.

 

Best regards

idd

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Sometimes you do need a switch because swapping the battery out to charge it is just too difficult. It should be OK with a tender loco as the battery is in the tender and you modify it so the tender top is easy to remove.

 

I think the Deltang Rx use about 15mA when not supplying power to the motor or 20mA with a Pololu regulator added.

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There are some extremely small SPST switches available,  and failing that one can always use a reed switch - either latching or non-latching- although I prefer a conventional switch where possible. 

I build my batteries into the model, and although they will have to come out for replacement some time, charging in situ is a must for me!

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I use very small switches and charging sockets.  For the switches I use these:

 

https://cpc.farnell.com/eao/09-03290-01/slide-switch-spdt-vert/dp/SW03106?st=Spdt%20slide%20switch

 

although other similar ones are available.

 

For charging I use the UM connectors that the batteries use.

 

I usually fit them behind the cab steps, one on either side. If you paint them black they are hard to see.

 

 

Frank

 

 

 

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  • RMweb Gold

Here's some cruel close-ups revealing how much of my E2 I need to repaint, but also the switch and charging socket installation.

 

I darkened the charging socket with a felt tip pen.

 

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_d045.jpg.7968b43702976207623009c1b731abfa.jpgUNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_d046.jpg.0d623278742cbde14931d51e245da258.jpg

 

The switch is further forward, usually I switch on/off with a thinglonger like some tweezers or a screwdriver

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_d044.jpg.c11aefe0f8c4621ccffde988b17ce66b.jpg

 

They are all fixed in with Araldite.

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modern rc is so much easier now compared to the old days. I spent a lot of years in rc car racing when i was young, but the difference in battery life now is massive, with better motors and electronics it's a completly different hobby. Be carefull with charging the batteries if a LIPO fails you will not get the model back in a recognisable state.

It's an amazing sight to watch an rc controlled loco wander around the layout, as smooth as silk with no pointwork problems and running perfectly at very low speeds. I converted a Lima Western to rc, looking back it must have been around 30 - 40 years ago, but it drove so well i would never again use track power. 

Have a look at this system, it's very similar to my DCC AIR i'm developing. http://bluerailtrains.com/2016/04/30/bluerail-trains-dead-rail-system/.

All the benefits of dcc with zero track power.

Edited by rdr
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