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The 3mm society has just released a simple and cheap chassis jig system in two versions, 12mm and 14.2 mm. They have a booklet to go with these which explains how to build a simple 0-6-0 inside cylinder chassis with these jigs. Worth a look. (The booklet is on the 3mm society website but I don't seem to be able to download it on my elderly iPad. A problem I often have.) Frank

When I started in radio control I used a two pole two way switch to change from RC to normal DC track control. One pole switched the battery positive between the receiver and the charging connector. The other switched one of the motor wires from the receiver output to the pickup. This worked fine. You only need to switch one of the motor connections, the other can stay connected to both the receiver and the pickup. Similarly the battery negative can stay connected to the receiver and the charging connector. I did this so I could use the loco as a normal DC loco when the battery ran down. I soon found the batteries lasted quite a long time and I did not need this. So I stopped doing it and went to just radio control with battery power. Frank

There is a good range of figures from 3mmSMR: https://www.3smr.co.uk/figures.html Stock of some may come and go but the stock position looks good at present. Frank

I have a similar transmitter, the Tx22 which is an earlier version. I have a railcar which has red "tail lights" at each end, connected to the receiver P outputs. You can switch these with the switch on the Tx, centre is off, switch the switch one way and they come on at one end, switch it the other and the ones at the other end come on. They stay on whether the railcar is moving or not, so they do not go off when it comes to a stand in the station. You could do the same with white running lights at the front. Frank

That looks good Corbs, and very impressive performance as well! Frank

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

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

Hi Simon, Yes, if you want to control an battery powered loco then you need a speed control for the motor. You can use a receiver with a servo output such as intended for model aircraft, and buy a separate speed controller, but the Rx6 series of Deltang receivers have the speed controller on board so you don't need to buy a separate one. The Rx65 would be OK, you need to specify which transmitter you will be using it with to get it set up correctly, the Tx 22 is the obvious one to go for. Frank

I model mostly in 009 but I have a OO Bachmann Ivatt 2-6-2 T that I converted to radio control and it works fine. It uses a Deltang receiver and runs off two 150 mAh LiPo batteries in series giving 7.4 v nominal which gives it a realistic speed. It will run for a couple of hours continuous running although the top speed does drop a little towards the end of that period. The batteries are in the side tanks, one each side. I had to cut away a block of the solid metal chassis to make space but this was not a problem. The chassis is not the current one, it it the older split chassis one and I had to do a bit of grinding where the chassis contacted the motor connections to isolate the chassis from the motor. Overall though it was not a difficult job to do. The "issues" were modelling ones not electronics. I have had to replace motors to get radio control to give reasonable speed but this is generally with old, and often worn, motors. Newer/modern ones seem much less of a problem. Most motors are nominally 12v but how often do you run the loco flat out? And if you do, does it look realistic? Frank

Also, a basic question, what voltage does the Tam Valley equipment need? Micron Is a good supplier in the UK and has a range of batteries that is pretty representative of what is available. Their single cell range is here: http://www.micronradiocontrol.co.uk/lipo_1s.html You can get multiple cell packs for higher voltages. Do you know what current the batteries will have to supply? Or what sort of loco have you in mind? Frank

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

I have a couple of etched brass locos, one 009 and one 3mm scale, both with Deltang receivers in the cabs which are enclosed apart from the windows. No problems with reception. Frank

Looks to be coming along well. I would not worry about removing some of the weight, in my experience weight is normally needed to ensure electrical contact for good slow running, and with an on board bettery this is not important. Frank

Perhaps something like this, if you can power them from the DCC on the track: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RGB-RGBW-3528-5050-LED-Strip-Light-Tape-Light-IR-RF-Remote-Controller-Kit/192333291961?hash=item2cc7f521b9:m:ms1xbx2JHlzJimNINNOC7Mw Similar items have been used for simple loco control, so they must be fairly adaptable. A radio contol system would be rather more expensive unless you built your own. Frank

Thanks Simon, That looks a very useful development. Frank

There are a few radio control systems that people use, mostly but not entirely 2.4GHz systems. Deltang is probably the best known in the UK. These are very small so ideal for smaller scales, but this is not an issue for you. However few if any interface with DCC type sound cards. Garden railway modellers use other systems and there are sound cards that can be fitted to work with these. They work from the DC motor control output so do not require a DCC signal, but do not have as many facilities as DCC sound cards have. They are also quite large but again this may not be an issue for you. This may be your best option. There are also US systems that do interface with DCC sound cards. However care is needed as some operate on frequencies that are OK in the US but not allowed in Europe due to regulatory differences. There is also a Bluetooth based system just being introduced that may do what you want, some units have been introduced but it is really still being developed I think. Points are less well catered for although the Deltang system does have some receivers aimed at accessory control. Frank

As an alternative to crimping them yourself, you can buy them with the wires already attached, which makes connecting up a lot easier. Frank

I have a loco with an N20 motor and crown wheel drive. I have noticed a little inertia just from the motor, no flywheel. The loco does not stop dead when the throttle is closed, it runs on a little bit. I have not got enough track (it's 3 mm scale, 14.2 mm gauge) to test the battery run-time yet. Frank

How are you getting the drive to the axle? With the reduction in the gearbox mounted on the motor, you do not really need a worm drive and it's possible to use a crown wheel which is much more efficient. Frank

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

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

Protocab was originally intended to be "DCC over radio" so would have the capability to drive sound cards etc. Because of this, though, it is also quite expensive. However, development has been slow. They are not there yet with DCC capability, and the part that goes in the loco whilst fairly easy to connect up and configure is relatively large, certainly compared to the Deltang equipment that Corbs uses, as I do. The DelTang equipment is also noticeably less expensive than Protocab. As Corbs says, it's not an all-or-nothing descision, a single radio control loco will happily work alongside a DC or DCC fleet if you want just to try it out. A good place to start would be a shunter, this would make the most of RC's low speed control and reliable starting. Frank

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

Geoff does kits, for a two axle power bogie and also just the gear train for other locos, this has the gears and a plate to mount them on that fits between the frames. The gears themselves are from a supplier on ebay but Geoff modifies the crown wheel by fitting a brass collar with a grub screw, which he makes himself. This is what makes it easy to use. The normal crown wheel gear has a plastic hub moulded on to the outside of the gears which makes them too big to fit between the frames. The bush Geoff makes fits on the inside. He also makes the brass fittings for mounting the gear train on the plate. I'll PM you his email. Frank

Thanks Nigel, There is an article coming in MT on the loco. Frank