I just installed a Bluerail board in a Chattanooga, putting all the parts in the tender.
The Bluerail board is somewhat limited in the amp draw, but it works fine in a big hauler.  Pulling the tender and 4 passenger cars, on a 5' diameter circle, on the flat, I measured .36 amps at 1/2 speed, and .5 amps at WOT, which is well below the bluerail max amps.  This is using a 1300 mah 3 cell LIPO.  Have yet to try on an incline nor the bluetooth range.

For low voltage cutoff I made a small board which utilizes a relay which cuts out if the voltage drops below 9.6 volts.  I also put in a 2 amp fuse although the Bluerail board has overdraw protection up to a limit.

For sound I put a small Bluetooth speaker in the tender along with the LVC board, Bluerail board, and battery.  I found where some folks have robbed the BT receiver part out of a cheap BT speaker so as to use the existing tender speaker and also replaced the BT speaker battery with a voltage regulator so it is powered off the main battery.  The bluerail app includes a way to sync the chuffing sound, which with some fiddling works fairly well. 

If anyone is interested in how to make the LVC protection, I can send a schematic of the circuit although it is dirt simple.   I use a momentary "start"  button to initially trigger the relay, and then it is held with the battery power going through an appropriately sized resister such that when the input voltage drops below 9.6 (or whatever is desired for a cut off) the voltage drop from the resister puts the voltage below the minimum hold voltage for the relay being used.  I also power the "drop" circuit through the relay contacts so when it reaches LVC the hold circuit is also disabled.  Hence there is no draw at all if accidentally leaving a connected battery in the train.

I charge outside of the train.

I'm not pushing this compared to the RC solutions - just wanted to experiment with the Bluerail board and other than a potential range issue, it looks like a nice solution.

Any ideas on adjustments etc. to eliminate grinding noise with a united traction trolley?
While converting to DCC I didn't see anything wrong with the gears and they are well lubed.
Thanks, Bob

Anyone know where I can find a Low Voltage Cutoff device (LVC) for a 3S LIPO?

I want to use a LIPO for a battery conversion but want to make sure I have an LVC included.  I'll probably just use a fuse for overdraw and will be taking the battery out for charging.

I was told elsewhere to look for a PCM or PCB but the descriptions of these just talk about overdraw and overcharge protection.

BTW, I have found some LVCs but they are meant to go between a receiver and speed controller, like in electric model airplanes that don't have the LVC built into the ESC.  I will have a receiver and speed controller (considering the Bluerail unit) but the receiver and speed controller are all in one.

Thanks, Bob

Any one converted a United Traction open Streetcar to DCC?
Thanks,  Bob

I have an auto reversing unit that works fine but because it is the type utilizing diodes across a track gap, the trolley comes to an abrupt stop.  Anyone know of a system that allows the trolley to slow to a stop?

Thanks, Bob

I haven't run my trains for about 5 years and forgot which ones I converted to DCC.
Is there an easy way to tell without taking them apart?

Thanks, Bob

Any one know the number of turns in the Big Hauler motors? 

Have some brushed speed controllers I might be able to use but they have limits on the number of turns.

Thanks, Bob

My wife informed me a few days ago she thought she heard a mouse or rat in our living room when she got up in the night.   I checked for droppings near any food source in the house and didn't find any.  The next day she said she heard a noise again, this time around the train layout we have in the living room for the holidays.  Again I checked and no tell-tale droppings. 

Well, today when I was about to clean some track, I noticed holes in the mountain portion of our layout.  I didn't make the connection for a minute until I realized the entire mountain is made of paper mache using FLOUR and water.  Given we live close to the water and rats are a common problem, we're careful about storing food yet here I have pounds of flour just for the taking.  Talk about a "duh" moment.

More ironic is we haven't had critter problems ever since we got a Terrier a few years ago.  But, I also put the train board up off the floor so the dog can't get to it.  Well, duh, the dog can't get to the critters either.

Next time I'll use foam instead of paper mache.

I have a 2 year old lightly used Shay that jerks rhythmically at slow speeds.  Doesn't appear to make a difference whether it is on straight or curved track.  All track is flat.  It is DCC converted.  Track is clean and other locos with the same make/model decoder operate smoothly.

Ideas and/or diagnostic things to try?

Thanks, Bob

I asked Evolution RC these questions but haven't received a response.  The questions apply to the ESCs where you can use existing an existing TX/RX.

1.  How does reversing work?  Does a TX need a switch or can one of the sticks be used?

2.  Do they have LVC (low voltage cutoff) that can be set for various batteries?

3.  Do they include a BEC and if so what voltage and amperage rating?

Thanks, Bob

My Bachmann Christmas Trolley produces a grinding noise - since new 2 years ago.  I didn't know if it was normal until hearing another one run.   The noise is the same on straight and curved track.

The gears have been properly lubed and I can't see any obvious problem.  The gears look OK and the lash appears to be about the same on either side of the motor.

Any suggestions on what to try?

Thanks, Bob

My 2 truck coal Shay came with a hose with some affair on one end.  Where is this supposed to go?

Thanks, Bob

Does anyone know a source for an AMP meter for a DCC system?   I'm assuming it would need to be an AC meter.   At the local electronics store all I could find are analog meters with such a big range I wouldn't be able to observe what I'd like to.  A digital that reads tenths of an amp would be nice, or an analog with at most a 10 AMP range, preferably only 5.
   
The NCE Powercab has a meter built in, but they left it out on the higher amperage boosters.

Thanks, Bob

I posted a problem earlier concerning drag on a curve.  After checking my track width in various places I'm wondering if this isn't the problem. 

On straight sections I'm averaging about 1.787.  However, on the curve I'm having the problem on I only measure 1.740.  Most of my curves are measuring less than the straight sections.   The cars that are dragging have plenty of slop sideways but I noticed when I positioned a Shay on the curve in question I can't move the trucks sideways hardly at all.

My track is all USA.  I was pretty careful when laying it out not to torque the curves - in fact I laid out complete circles first and made sure the diameter was the same at various points before establishing various portions of circles.

Is 1.740 unacceptable?

Thanks, Bob

I'm trying to determine why I'm experiencing a fair amount of drag with one train on a layout with 5' diameter curves.  It appears the bachmann couplers are so stiff they torque the wheels against rails.  Another train with the same number of cars but with hook and loop couplers draws considerable less current on the same curves.   The cars having the problem are plastic wheels whereas the ones with the hook and loop are metal.

Is there a suggested modification to make the knuckle couplers move sideways better rather than twisting the truck or is hook and loop the better solution?  I've also noticed fewer problems backing up around tight S curves with hook and loop.

Thanks, Bob

Any ideas about the best way to convert Hartland couplers to Bachmann?

What I've currently done is put Bachmann trucks on the Hartland car but it isn't wonderful because I had to shim the truck away from the body to avoid the wheels hitting the underside which in turn required another washer so the screw wouldn't tighten down on the truck.  It works but the car rocks too much being the post isn't the right size for the hole in the Bachmann truck.

Is doing some sort of mod. to make a bachmann coupler fit the Hartland truck a better way to go?

Thanks, Bob

Any suggestions for getting power off the wheels of a Bachmann side dump ore car?

For 0-4-0 locos to avoid hic-ups over switches etc. I've been adding an LGB wheel set on the first car back but the ore cars I just got have smaller wheels.

A local hobby shops sells the special copper wire for fabricating a pickup - is there an easier solution than this?

TIA, Bob

Any comments about the RIGI DUO Cableway (120V version) - like whether the scale is close to 1:20 and does it function well?  I was about to figure out how to motorize a cable car for next year's holiday layout when I discovered these.

Thanks, Bob