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RC Conversion - Video/Tutorial


Corbs
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  • RMweb Gold

Hi all, this is probably old hat to many regulars on this part of the forum but hopefully it helps anyone who is thinking of dipping a toe into RC!

 

On thing that's not in the video (because it had already been done) is cut the pickup wires and remove them if possible - don't have any connection from the wheels to the motor or battery.

 

 

 

Edited by Corbs
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  • RMweb Gold
2 hours ago, Regularity said:

What size battery did you use, and how long a run time do you get from it?

 

I'll do a proper test and get back to you on that - the running time was naff-all from the 3rd battery in the video because I had to pop the 12v converter in at the end stage - I'd not run the chassis on DC and hadn't realised it was in need of a good run. The 3.7v could barely turn the wheels at first.

I've modified a 200mah battery and going to try it on an endurance test but need to get the chassis turning properly first. 

 

EDIT - actually it looks like the issue was related to the pickups exerting a lot of pressure on the wheels, I've bent them away and it seems fine now. Will charge it and do a run

 

Edited by Corbs
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I have in my hand a 14mm x 50mm LiPo battery with a claimed capacity of 2400mAh.  I also have 16mm x 34mm 2800 mAh and 18mm x 65mm 4000mAh rechargeable batteries plus lots of smaller capacity rechargeable batteries.  Just search on the internet.  Thanks to our vaping smokers and those who need wobbly toys, rechargeable batteries are developing at a great rate - as are small electric motors for said toys . . . 

 

Stan

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  • RMweb Gold
5 minutes ago, Stanley Melrose said:

I have in my hand a 14mm x 50mm LiPo battery with a claimed capacity of 2400mAh.  I also have 16mm x 34mm 2800 mAh and 18mm x 65mm 4000mAh rechargeable batteries plus lots of smaller capacity rechargeable batteries.  Just search on the internet.  Thanks to our vaping smokers and those who need wobbly toys, rechargeable batteries are developing at a great rate - as are small electric motors for said toys . . . 

 

Stan

That's tiny for such a massive capacity!

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  • RMweb Gold
2 hours ago, Stanley Melrose said:

I have in my hand a 14mm x 50mm LiPo battery with a claimed capacity of 2400mAh.  I also have 16mm x 34mm 2800 mAh and 18mm x 65mm 4000mAh rechargeable batteries plus lots of smaller capacity rechargeable batteries.  Just search on the internet.  Thanks to our vaping smokers and those who need wobbly toys, rechargeable batteries are developing at a great rate - as are small electric motors for said toys . . . 

 

Stan

I have some of those, just wondered what performance Corbs  was getting from his battery, with and without the step-up regulator, and what the capacity was.

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  • RMweb Gold

The test went better than I expected in one way, and worse in another because I couldn't go to bed until it finished!

 

Once I'd bent the pickups away from the wheels and the chassis could move properly, it was able to work without the step-up and so there was room inside for the 200mah battery as shown. You can see I removed the plastic casing around the plug to make it slimmer.

21E75873-3EE8-4C9E-84B7-F4E63F2B1AF7_1_105_c.jpeg.b494a937274bdda466a43e238df448ed.jpeg

 

Total run time at full throttle on 3.7v was 2h 31m

 

957ADB84-CD13-4372-9810-8A5E33DADCA2_1_105_c.jpeg.966f81d673f3b633da7ac15dbb9463c0.jpeg

 

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After watching your helpful vid last night it certainly prompted more interest to use this system. I am currently constructing in 7mm and I am left wondering how well the above components would fair in a brass built loco / RTR loco ? 

 

I will await further on your findings with great interest.

 

G

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The Deltang electronics is very flexible and there are receivers that will work up to 16mm scale garden rail models as well as down to 009 ones.  The same transmitters will work with the different receivers.  

 

The question is the batteries, and/or the option of a voltage converter.  What  voltage does your loco need and what current does it take?   Voltage = speed and so there may be a trade off with the speed you want the loco to run at.  Current and run-time relate to the capacity of the batteries and so the size.

 

If you are building a loco then you can make sure you have a modern efficient motor which will require less current than an older design and lower voltage to start it.    This will make a big difference.

 

Frank

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  • RMweb Gold
1 minute ago, fallen said:

If you are building a loco then you can make sure you have a modern efficient motor which will require less current than an older design and lower voltage to start it.    This will make a big difference.

 

Frank

 

A HUGE difference! I found that the old motor in the Dapol/Hornby Pug was very power hungry and had a short run-time. This modern Bachmann motor is very efficient.

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  • RMweb Gold
28 minutes ago, bgman said:

After watching your helpful vid last night it certainly prompted more interest to use this system. I am currently constructing in 7mm and I am left wondering how well the above components would fair in a brass built loco / RTR loco ? 

 

I will await further on your findings with great interest.

 

G

Thanks BGMan - As Frank says the power/speed and run time you want will make a difference. You will probably want to run on higher voltages than 3.7v (unless you use a 3-6v motor in your loco) and as such may find that a voltage step-up with a 3.7v battery works, or using a 2-cell 7.4v battery might be better? In both cases you may find the higher voltages more suited to the Rx6x series of receivers rather than the Rx41 I have used in the video.

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That battery/loco test you ran suggests the loco was drawing about 80mA per hour, pretty efficient. You could try another test with say a 100mAh battery and the loco pulling its normal load at service speed.

 

I found that with a up to 3 hour operating session and about 12 to 15 locos the locos were only actually moving for about 15 to 20 minutes on average. the rest of the time they are sitting 'idling' and drawing about 12-15 mA. This suggests with a 100mAh battery your loco could move for 30 minutes and sit idle for 2.5 hours.

 

I prefer charging the batteries outside the loco and use 'UM' types of various capacities.

 

Interesting to see the removeable smoke box door, how did you do it? Also is there room to fit the decoder etc in the side tanks?

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  • RMweb Gold
3 hours ago, wasdavetheroad said:

I prefer charging the batteries outside the loco and use 'UM' types of various capacities.

 

Interesting to see the removeable smoke box door, how did you do it? Also is there room to fit the decoder etc in the side tanks?

 

Yes I have standardised on UM connectors too. I was pondering using a 7.4v 2-cell system in the tender locos to allow for more speed without using a step-up and making more use of the available space but undecided yet.

 

The smokebox door is held on with a couple of neodymium cube magnets glued in with cyanoacrylate although araldite might be a better sticky thing.

 

 

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B82DA515-5607-45CF-8BA0-6DFF20D836D2_1_105_c.jpeg

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  • RMweb Gold

Sorry forgot - yes the side tanks could actually hold a battery in one side and the receiver in the other.

 

I might upgrade this install with having the on/off switch mounted somewhere on the body, charging port in the smokebox door, and fix the battery inside the loco.

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  • RMweb Gold
8 hours ago, Corbs said:

Sorry forgot - yes the side tanks could actually hold a battery in one side and the receiver in the other.

Interesting contortions to get the battery out for recharging...

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  • RMweb Gold
3 minutes ago, Regularity said:

Interesting contortions to get the battery out for recharging...

Quite! Would only really work if the battery was semi-permanently mounted and the smokebox door plug was used for charging as with my Bachmann 'Skarloey'

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  • RMweb Gold
20 minutes ago, Regularity said:

Have you any experience of fitting RC into metal bodied locos?

 

Kind of only in the sense that 'Skarloey' is mostly metal bodied.

 

The receiver is just poking out of the bunker here, with the cables going off to the battery visible. Might fashion a wooden door for this side to obscure it.

14454DEC-D25A-47DC-AE53-A9683780BD47_1_105_c.jpeg.c33325bb3f163369c13b339b357fb98c.jpeg

 

On/off switch nestles under here where I cut away the die cast section.

 

C401142D-14C2-4ECF-BC63-323794E9F735_1_105_c.jpeg.b5c1217fa57410ffcce2e19209730a01.jpeg

 

Charging plug behind the smokebox door.

 

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I have a couple of etched brass diesel outline locos , one 009 and one 3mm scale, that I have fitted with RC.  In both cases the receiver is in the body but not totally enclosed, it is in the cab which is not open but has widows.  There is no obvious loss of signal compared with other locos with plastic bodies.  The radio waves are quite small at this frequency and seem to get through gaps like windows reasonably well.

 

I usually put the receivers in the cabs as it is good to be able to see the LED on them.  They are usually tucked away near the floor or up under the cab roof, so the LED can be seen if you look but is not obvious.

 

Frank

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