SimonME46 Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 I'd like to have a hands off setup for my o gauge RC locos. I've had a bit of a search but haven't pulled up anything concrete on a circuit to allow charging from the track. The setup (in order) I am contemplating included; Slaters Mashima 1833 with 30:1 gearbox Deltang RX62-22 (& TX24) polulu step up to 12v bridge rectifier (diodes) for track power single cell Li-po with integrated protection circuit I'm thinking I'll have 12v dc available at watering points and loco cassettes. I've seen comments about batteries being charged through the track if the circuit sees more than x volts-in this case I'm guessing with a single cell, it would be somewhere around 5v. I'm looking at single cells and step up to avoid worrying about balancing. I'm not too worried about run times as it's an end to end layout, and especially if recharging from the track happens. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davetheroad Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Does the battery have overprotection built in to stop it being charged above 4.2V? If so is it just applying 4 V or so at certain sections of the track? Try freerails forum, they might have more info. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonME46 Posted January 10, 2015 Author Share Posted January 10, 2015 I haven't bought the battery yet, just order the tx and RX from DaveT. And yes, I was planning to buy batteries with protection included, but wasn't sure what the recharge voltage would be. Have had a look at free rails, but didn't get far with specifics. People seem to be fairly set against any form of track current over there, which is understandable. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theakerr Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Try doing a search on RC racing cars. Somewhere in the not too distant past I came across a reference/video showing a non contact inductive charging system rather like these charging pads used for cell phones. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fallen Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 If you really want to go for track charging, and have 12v or so available on the track, my suggestion would be to put a small Lipo charger into the loco. Something like this maybe: http://www.hobbytronics.co.uk/batteries/lipo-charger-barrel It only takes 6v so would need some sort of regulator but is small, cheap, and provides proper management of the lipo which is very important. I use these (but not fitted in the loco)for charging and they work fine. For small scales the additional space required would probably be a problem but for O gauge it may be OK. Frank Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davetheroad Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 If you really want to go for track charging, and have 12v or so available on the track, my suggestion would be to put a small Lipo charger into the loco. Something like this maybe: http://www.hobbytronics.co.uk/batteries/lipo-charger-barrel It only takes 6v so would need some sort of regulator but is small, cheap, and provides proper management of the lipo which is very important. I use these (but not fitted in the loco)for charging and they work fine. For small scales the additional space required would probably be a problem but for O gauge it may be OK. Frank Thay looks interesting, i guess if you provided 5 volts from the track and a rectifier on the loco that would be all that is required. the size is an issue but the dimensions in the datasheet appear to be for the chip itself. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonME46 Posted January 11, 2015 Author Share Posted January 11, 2015 Interesting, and not expensive. There is also this board http://www.hobbytronics.co.uk/lipo-battery-chargerwhich has a 'sys out' so that you can leave the load connected(?) so have a 5v/500ma track supply and pickups connected to the USB/jack. Some protection from reversed polarity is provided on the board, but I'm thinking a bridge rectifier would be a good idea still. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fallen Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Thay looks interesting, i guess if you provided 5 volts from the track and a rectifier on the loco that would be all that is required. the size is an issue but the dimensions in the datasheet appear to be for the chip itself.The board (not the chip) is 25 mm x 22 mm. Frank Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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