{"id":944,"date":"2014-09-22T18:14:11","date_gmt":"2014-09-22T22:14:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/?p=944"},"modified":"2019-01-13T17:05:42","modified_gmt":"2019-01-13T22:05:42","slug":"battery-and-wireless-control-for-ho-scale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/battery-and-wireless-control-for-ho-scale\/","title":{"rendered":"Battery and Wireless Control for HO Scale"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the prior article,\u00a0Deadrail for Free-mo<\/a>, I\u00a0gave a short preview of a battery locomotive\u00a0setup that I would test at the upcoming Free-mo event at the National Train Show (NTS) in Cleveland OH. In this article we will examine the components and methods used to build and control the locomotives in the video.<\/p>\n

Since that video was made, I have used this locomotive setup at two separate Free-mo events, the NTS in Cleveland and an\u00a0NMRA Michiana Education & Technical Conference\u00a0in Middlebury Indiana. At each event, I was able to run the locomotives for up to three hours before having to swap out the batteries. With a charge time of about an hour, I was able to keep running while charging another and I kept a third ready and available. This allowed me to do quick battery changes and have very little down time.<\/p>\n

\"Dual<\/a>
Dual unit setup comprised of GP30 drive unit and GP35 dummy locomotive with battery pack<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NOTE: For simplicity and ease of setup, I elected to use a two unit setup. One powered and one dummy for the battery. If I had a cab unit (with full-width carbody), I would have tried to fit everything in one locomotive. Even so, the use of two locomotives looked\u00a0very prototypical.<\/p>\n

Some may ask, “Why go to batteries at all?” I recommend trying a battery locomotive to see how smooth the locomotive will run. I have found that 90% of the issues with running ability of a given locomotive disappear as soon as track pickup is eliminated. Bad runners smooth right out and run flawlessly. The setup presented here, after conversion, was able to run in speed step\u00a01 with a train of 10+ cars and just creep along. Try that with any rail pickup system. The battery pack I used was only 7.4 volts. I have found that with batteries, you do not need 12 volts. 7.4 volts ran the locomotive at a smooth prototypical speed.<\/p>\n

Drive Locomotive<\/h1>\n
\"Life-Like<\/a>
Life-Like Proto 2000 GP30 drive unit<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The drive locomotive is a Life-Like Proto 2000 GP30. The motor and drive line are stock with the exception of axle gear replacement (a known problem on these locomotives). The stock electrical board has been replaced with a Tsunami\u00a0TSU-1000 Digital Sound Decoder<\/a>. A portion of the rear weight was removed to make room for a DS1425-8 Speaker<\/a>. The lamps have been replaced with LEDS.<\/p>\n

\"Overview<\/a>
Overview of Tsunami installation in the GP30<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Closeup<\/a>
Close-up view of the plug for the pigtail to connect the unit to the dummy battery unit. The extra plug is to make the change\u00a0back to rail power simple.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The only addition to prepare the locomotive specifically for the battery and wireless setup was the addition of a pigtail to connect the unit to the dummy unit that would hold the battery pack and receiver. I also\u00a0added a second plug to the old track pickup wires.\u00a0In this way the locomotive can easily be changed over\u00a0to rail power.<\/p>\n

\"View<\/a>
View showing the pigtail exiting the chassis. Note how some of the front area has been cut away to make room for the plug<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dummy\/Battery Locomotive<\/h1>\n

For the Dummy\/Battery locomotive, I used an old blue box Athearn GP35 dummy locomotive. I purchased it very cheap from E-bay just for this setup. The locomotive had clearly seen better days, but for a test it worked just fine. The prior owner had added a lot of weight to the interior of the locomotive. I stripped all weight from the locomotive except the weight in the fuel tank.<\/p>\n

\"Inexpensive<\/a>
Inexpensive Athearn dummy locomotive used for carrying the battery pack.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This provided a very generous area for an off the shelf RC battery pack, DRS1 receiver and an alarm to tell me when the battery was low.<\/p>\n

\"Battery<\/a>
Battery locomotive components from left to right: Battery, Low Battery Alarm, DRS1 receiver<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The battery I used was an 860mha 7.4V 35C battery purchased at a local RC hobby shop. The battery came with standard connectors for connection to an RC vehicle and charging. Although these connectors were large, retaining them made charging simple.<\/p>\n

\"7.4V<\/a>
7.4V battery pack used for this setup shown connected to the charger between usage.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For the wireless receiver, I used a Tam Valley Depot DRS1 system<\/a>. The unit receives the DCC signal, marries it to the power source (battery) and then passes it through a connector to the GP30 Drive Locomotive.<\/p>\n

\"All<\/a>
All components placed in the shell. I used double sided tape to hold the receiver in place.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To make sure I did not run the batteries too low, I used an alarm circuit board that is commonly used in RC helicopters. This device will sound an audible alarm when the battery has reached a preset low voltage. I opted for this over a traditional board (which would just shut down) so I could identify issues vs low batteries.<\/p>\n

\"Another<\/a>
Another view of the interior of the dummy locomotive<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once the batteries are in place and the unit re-assembled, it was just a matter of connecting the pigtails from each locomotive and placing them on the track.<\/p>\n

\"View<\/a>
View showing the pigtail which will connect to the drive unit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Transmitter and Radio Control<\/h1>\n
\"Diagram<\/a>
Diagram courtesy of Tam Valley Depot<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Transmitter is the second part of the\u00a0Tam Valley Depot DRS1 system<\/a>. The transmitter is a simple board that connects to the DCC command station\u00a0(no booster). It transmits the DCC signal directly to the receiver in the dummy locomotive. It will also connect to ANY DCC command station\/system. To make my system simple and transportable, I used the system described in my prior article\u00a0Low Cost\/Low Effort DCC for the Small Layout<\/a>. Since\u00a0the signal is handled by the transmitter and the battery provides the power, boosters and network (Loconet) are NOT required.<\/p>\n

\"Tam<\/a>
Tam Valley DRS1 Transmitter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Batteries<\/h1>\n

The full topic of batteries is WAY beyond the scope of this article. Even so some basics need to be covered. I strongly suggest a trip to the local RC hobby shop (more of those than train shops these days). When I tell them I am trying to RC trains, they always say “COOL” and provide all kinds of help. For more detailed information you might want to try\u00a0Battery University’s web site<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Supply List<\/h1>\n

Drive Locomotive = LifeLike P2K (gears replaced)
\nDummy Loco = Old Athearn GP35
\nDeadrail System = Tam Valley (http:\/\/www.tamvalleydepot.com\/<\/a>)
\nDecoder = Tsunami (http:\/\/www.soundtraxx.com\/dsd\/tsunami\/1000.php<\/a>)
\nBattery = 860mha 7.4V 35C (local RC hobby shop)
\nProtection = Venom Low Voltage Monitor (http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Venom-Voltage-Monitor-LiPO-Batteries\/dp\/B0064SHG0Y<\/a>)<\/p>\n

What are LiPo batteries?<\/h1>\n

LiPo batteries (short for Lithium Polymer) are a type of rechargeable battery that has taken the electric RC world by storm, especially for planes and helicopters.<\/p>\n

\"LiPos
LiPo battery packs come in many shapes and sizes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

RC LiPo batteries have three main things going for them that make them the perfect battery choice for RC over conventional rechargeable battery types such as NiCad, or NiMH.<\/p>\n