handheld from a Hornby R965

[sir douglas]

the new idea to replace my AMR was to rebuild a Hornby controller into a handheld, i want to replace it even through ive heard good things about AMR's, mine has some dead spots in it, 

 

the controller taken apart, i wonder what the large box is for in the casing as there's nothing in it

controller (1) by Sam, on Flickr

controller (2) by Sam, on Flickr

 

The AC terminals and the power plug were cut off, the output wires replaced with half an old video player cable and the plug replaced with the other half, the AC terminals were re used as a cable clamp. the power wires were soldered into points that connected to the plug in the circuit board, labelled A & B, the length and width of the circuit board was cut down a bit through the now redundant AC circuits, there were some scribbles and sketches on paper to make sure the wires went where they were supposed to 

controller (6) by Sam, on Flickr

controller (7) by Sam, on Flickr

 

the input power is fine because i was already using the R964 tranformer plug with the AMR

 

video of it working on my layout, the very slow running isnt the controller but the loco

 

the box is 2mm styrene joined with finger joints and ordinary cement

controller (12) by Sam, on Flickr

 

the lid is fixed on with nuts and bolts through the corners

controller (15) by Sam, on Flickr

 

there is still some vents i'd like to cut to make sure there wont be any over heating during long running sessions

[sir douglas]

i dont understand any of it

[Pete the Elaner]

It gets a good review. The spiky nature of the waveform means it may be unsuitable for some motors like coreless types.

 

I can't see a good reason for the large case. It should not get too hot otherwise there would be a heat sink in there, so it looks ideal for your conversion.

[kevinlms]

 

 

the controller taken apart, i wonder what the large box is for in the casing as there's nothing in it

 

Is the large box lid removable by clips? I'm wondering if the same controller for a different market used batteries?

[sir douglas]

no its all a single moulding connected to the base by brass rivets in each corner

[RAF96]

Possibly evolved from a battery model or maybe the original had a big old transformer in there now it is solid state switching.

Rob

[John ks]

Possibly evolved from a battery model or maybe the original had a big old transformer in there now it is solid state switching.

Rob

 

You are basically correct it evolved from R921 (see Cat#39 Pge40) which contains a transformer.

In the 40th Edition it is shown as a new product R956 & has the transformer as a separate plug pack

 

Three possible reasons for the change, first being a safety consideration. Get the 240V as far away from the controller as practicable

Second is economic, Probably cheaper to make with a plug pack than with internal transformer  

Thirdly. Easier to export, just change the plug pack to suit the local requirements. (Plug type &/or local voltage)

 

John

[DCB]

Looks good, very neat. Respect.  I use OnTrack / Morley hand helds which use just one three core lead and so I wonder if a single 4 core would work better than the pair of 2 cores. 

I have a connector between my home made hand held and the wires for when I stand on the wire, but its easier with 3 wire as I use a 3.5 stereo jack plug.  I guess you  need 2 amp wires rather than 1/2 amp   The Morley hand held just does the job of the controller know so it only takes a few milliamps

[sir douglas]

i used what ive got, thats all, why buy some 4 core when ive already got some twin core