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Adventures In Radio Control


PenrithBeacon
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I'd be surprised if reducing the weight a little has much effect, particularly for a small shunting layout. Some three years ago, this engine was tested out on the NLG's test track and it pulled an enormous train that stretched halfway round the circle! I think it'll be OK.

 

Cheers

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1 hour ago, PenrithBeacon said:

I've had a look at the model a few moments ago and I noticed that I have scuffed the aerial off the Rx. I'll have to solder a short length of wire on and try to remember in future that it might need to be reinforced with a bit of insulating tape.

 

Had the same issue with an Rx63-22, but I found that it still worked fine even at 30 feet from the Tx22. But I did solder on a similar length of fine wire later, just in case, and after adding feeds for lights and battery control use a piece of clear heatshrink. This can always be later sliced off down the side if "adjustment" is needed. 

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Ok so today I attempted to bind the Rx to the Tx. Without any apparent success.

Turned the Rx on and got a regular slow flashing light. Turned the Tx on pressed the Bind button and got a fast flashing light for 10 seconds or so and then it went back to the slow flashing light. Thought this meant that Rx was bound to Tx Selecta channel 1. Turned the throttle Fwd and Rev but nothing happened.

Help please!

Cheers

IMG_20200219_160618.jpg

 

The added replacement aerial loop can be seen in the photo

Edited by PenrithBeacon
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The aerial should be of the correct length and basically straight or gently curved.

 

You did switch the Tx on whilst holding down the bind button?

 

Try switching off anything nearby that might interfere like modern light bulbs etc

 

Try binding with the Rx further away. I found in some cases the Tx and Rx had to be at least 6 feet apart

 

If the bind is successful the Rx LED will be on continuously.

 

Is the Rx set up for Selecta use?

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2 hours ago, wasdavetheroad said:

 

 

You did switch the Tx on whilst holding down the bind button?

 

 

 

 

This. It sounds like you pressed the bind button with the Tx turned on. You need to start with it Off, hold down the bind button, then turn the Tx On with the bind button held down.

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Two points.  

 

First, turn on the receiver and wait until the slow flash turns to a more rapid one.   It sounds like you did not wait long enough.

 

Then, hold down the Bind button and turn on the transmitter (in that order, as has been said).  Wait for all the flashing to stop (about 10 secs)  and both Rx and Tx should then have the LED on all the time, no flashing on either.

 

If  this does not work, it may be that you have a strong WiFi signal nearby.   I have difficulties sometimes binding with my PC switched on next to the loco.  If you have something like this, turn it off and try again.

 

I have heard it said that you may have difficulty if the transmitter is too close to the receiver, in which case move the transmitter a bit further away.  I have not had this problem, but worth a try if you still have difficulties.

 

Frank

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I seem to be using up a good many brownie points here, sorry.

 

I can only get the model to work in one direction that being forwards but the throttle control is in reverse. I have checked the polarity of the Rx and motor and they are correct, ie positive to positive. I'm beginning to think that the Direction Switch has the key to this but I don't understand the jargon. What is 'low off' and 'centre off' motor control and which, if either, applies to the N-Drive motor?

 

Sorry to be a nuisance.

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1 hour ago, PenrithBeacon said:

I seem to be using up a good many brownie points here, sorry.

 

I can only get the model to work in one direction that being forwards but the throttle control is in reverse. I have checked the polarity of the Rx and motor and they are correct, ie positive to positive. I'm beginning to think that the Direction Switch has the key to this but I don't understand the jargon. What is 'low off' and 'centre off' motor control and which, if either, applies to the N-Drive motor?

 

Sorry to be a nuisance.

A Rx63 yes?

 

It normally comes with the direction control set to 'centre off' Your Tx22 throttle knob has an 'indent' at the 12 o'clock position. Turn the knob to the left and the loco goes in reverse. Turn it to the right and it goes forwards. The other direction change method is setting the Rx to 'low off', with this setting the loco is 'off' when the throttle knob is turned all the way left and the throttle is at 100% when the knob is turned all the way right.

 

You can simply change this setting by using 'paperclip change'. this from the Deltang site

 

1. Connect P2 and P3 together.
2. Switch the receiver on.
3. Remove the connection.


The led on the receiver will come on solid and flicker:
* once a second for 'center off' motor control.
* twice in 1.5s for 'low off' motor control.
This feature is available from v610-11.

 

Or you might have accidently done this, again from the Deltang site

 

Another way of reversing the motor direction is to place the throttle at max before the Rx is switched on. The motor's direction will toggle each time you do this. Both techniques have the same result. Changing the motor direction with this approach also affects the Directional Light feature. 

 

good luck!

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Well yes sort of! Actually the loco goes forward when the controller is  in reverse. And the loco won't go backwards no matter what.

 

I'm down at the club right now and I'm going to study the manual. Hopefully I'll understand it.

 

EDIT: when the controller is on the centre detent the loco still goes forward. To stop it turn the throttle clockwise a little. Then it stops ok. What I think I want is for the loco not to move when the controller is centred and to move forward or reverse as per the throttle markings ie centre control. :wub:

 

Looking at the manual I'm by no means sure of the current status of the controller.

 

Cheers

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It was the 'centre off throttle with detent'.

 

I'm reluctant to employ the 'paperclip' method of resetting the Rx until I really understand the problems here. It might just be a simple case of either the Tx or Rx not working as they should ie one or both are faulty. It might also be the case that the motor isn't working as it should although it will turn by finger pressure in both directions quite freely. I might disconnect the Rx from the motor tomorrow and test it with 12v DC. That will prove either way that motor/gearbox is ok or not, but we do have builders in tomorrow and the grandchildren or visiting later so perhaps it'll have to wait until next week. :huh:

 

Many thanks to all for they're help.

 

Cheers

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7 hours ago, PenrithBeacon said:

I seem to be using up a good many brownie points here, sorry.

 

I can only get the model to work in one direction that being forwards but the throttle control is in reverse. I have checked the polarity of the Rx and motor and they are correct, ie positive to positive. I'm beginning to think that the Direction Switch has the key to this but I don't understand the jargon. What is 'low off' and 'centre off' motor control and which, if either, applies to the N-Drive motor?

 

Sorry to be a nuisance.

Maybe the Tx22 needs recalibration. this is from the Deltang site

 

CALIBRATION:
The motor control pot (Ch1) has a 'click' at the center position. When Throttle is used 'center off' it needs to center accurately so that the 'click' on the Tx matches the 'off' position in DelTang receivers. The 12-way Selecta switch (Ch2) can also be calibrated so it associates the same value for each position as other units. Calibration is done using the Bind button while Tx22 is on. After pressing the Bind button for ~20s Ch1 is calibrated and after another 5s Ch2 is calibrated.
1. Switch Tx22 on. The led will come on.
2. Rotate the Inertia button fully anti-clockwise (left) so it has no effect on Throttle.
3. Center the Motor pot.
4. Put the 12-way Selecta switch in the 6 o'clock position (assuming position '1' is at 1 o'clock).
5. Press and hold the Bind button for ~20s until the led goes off. Ch1 should now be calibrated.
6. Release the Bind button if only Ch1 needs calibrating. Continue holding to calibrate Ch2.
7. The led will come on for 3s then the led will go off again. Ch2 should now be calibrated.
8. Release the Bind button. The led will come back on.

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I agree with David (PenrithBacon) - messing with two things (transmitter and receiver) when its not clear which isn't behaving won't help.    Tests need to be logical. 

 

It would help if there was a second Rx (or second Tx) which could be used as a reference point, and then determine which item wasn't behaving as anticipated. 

 

- Nigel

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Yes there are too many things in play here.

I know the RC aspect of the Rx works because it wouldn't have bound the Tx if not. But could the directional issue be due to the ESC not working properly? Don't know. It could just as easily be an issue with the motor/gearbox and that possibility needs to be eliminated.

I suppose there is always the possibility of sending the loco and Tx to Micron for investigation, but I'd prefer to do it myself with advice from Rmwebbers because it adds to my experience levels.

Cheers

David

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How do you enter program mode with a transmitter such as that? With a stick TX, if you turn the RX on with the sticks pointing towards each other, you go into a programming mode where you can enter simple 'yes' / 'no' commands by moving the right stick up/down to cycle through all the different settings. It sounds like its programmed 1, 1, 2 and you need to change it to 1, 1, 1 for the 'centre off' throttle type. The programming list is here: http://www.deltang.co.uk/rx63a-v610-p.htm

Edited by Pikey
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43 minutes ago, Pikey said:

How do you enter program mode with a transmitter such as that? With a stick TX, if you turn the RX on with the sticks pointing towards each other, you go into a programming mode where you can enter simple 'yes' / 'no' commands by moving the right stick up/down to cycle through all the different settings. It sounds like its programmed 1, 1, 2 and you need to change it to 1, 1, 1 for the 'centre off' throttle type. The programming list is here: http://www.deltang.co.uk/rx63a-v610-p.htm

http://www.micronradiocontrol.co.uk/tx_rail.html#tx22v2

 

I gather that you use the toggle switch.

 

I'm looking into it further, I'll add to this post as and when so to speak.

 

Cheers

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30 minutes ago, Corbs said:

Have you also asked Micron what might be the issue? They are usually good at getting back quickly.

I think I'm going to have to. I think Pikey is right in his post above about the 1,1,1 but I'm not at all clear about how to manipulate the toggle switch to achieve this.

The builders have left but the kids have arrived and I have a distraught cat so I think I'll leave it until Monday when things might be a little bit settled!

Thanks for the post

Cheers

David

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This may be really simple, but have you tried re-binding the tx and rx, but ensuring that the throttle is centred?

 

Using rc  gear I have before turned on transmitters and had the control knobs and in the wrong place,

 

it made control very tricky.

 

might be worth trying, as it’s quick and easy to do

 

dan

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On 21/02/2020 at 13:26, PenrithBeacon said:

I think I'm going to have to. I think Pikey is right in his post above about the 1,1,1 but I'm not at all clear about how to manipulate the toggle switch to achieve this.

The builders have left but the kids have arrived and I have a distraught cat so I think I'll leave it until Monday when things might be a little bit settled!

Thanks for the post

Cheers

David

After the kids had gone to bed on Friday night I composed an email to Andy Rutter asking for advice expecting a reply Monday at the earliest. I was astonished to get a reply pretty well immediately and after some to-ing and fro-ing he advised that the controller might need re-calibrating and sent the instructions on how to do that. As it was about midnight by this time (!) I put the task to one side.

I've just done it but the outcome is not entirely successful. Bearing in mind this is his weekend too I think I'll refrain from telling him until tomorrow, there is such a thing as imposing on somebody's good nature.

I'll keep everyone posted on the eventual outcome.

Cheers

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On 20/02/2020 at 23:01, wasdavetheroad said:

Maybe the Tx22 needs recalibration. this is from the Deltang site

 

CALIBRATION:
The motor control pot (Ch1) has a 'click' at the center position. When Throttle is used 'center off' it needs to center accurately so that the 'click' on the Tx matches the 'off' position in DelTang receivers. The 12-way Selecta switch (Ch2) can also be calibrated so it associates the same value for each position as other units. Calibration is done using the Bind button while Tx22 is on. After pressing the Bind button for ~20s Ch1 is calibrated and after another 5s Ch2 is calibrated.
1. Switch Tx22 on. The led will come on.
2. Rotate the Inertia button fully anti-clockwise (left) so it has no effect on Throttle.
3. Center the Motor pot.
4. Put the 12-way Selecta switch in the 6 o'clock position (assuming position '1' is at 1 o'clock).
5. Press and hold the Bind button for ~20s until the led goes off. Ch1 should now be calibrated.
6. Release the Bind button if only Ch1 needs calibrating. Continue holding to calibrate Ch2.
7. The led will come on for 3s then the led will go off again. Ch2 should now be calibrated.
8. Release the Bind button. The led will come back on.

Taking a cue from this post, I wondered if the residual issue was that Selecta Channel 1 wasn't calibrated; it was.

The symptom was that the led on the Rx was intermittently flashing when I expected it to be in a steady state so showing that it's bound to that channel. Now I have re-calibrated  the channel the problem has disappeared, the model runs in both directions as it should. Brill!

There is still an issue though. It runs very slowly even when the throttle is at max. I put this down to the combination of a 1S battery and a 12v motor. I think I'll have to replace the battery with a 2S,  there should be room provided I choose carefully.

Thanks to all for their advice.

Cheers

Edited by PenrithBeacon
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There you go, all sorted, well almost. 

 

A 1S battery will only deliver a maximum of 4.2V to your 12 volt motor. Sometimes this is useful such as in shunting locos where you don't want to go faster than about 15mph.

 

Two ways of getting more volts to the motor:

 

Use a 2S battery wired in series that will give you a max of 8.4V, actually you can use a 3S as well, they will need some form of balance charging though

or

use a voltage booster with your 1S battery. I use the small Pololu ones to boost a 1S battery to 9V, 5V and 12V are also available. You get about 85% efficiency in the voltage conversion but this depends on how many milliamps the loco needs

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