Battery power RC with Zimo or ESU chips?

Just throwing this in. I’ve converted DCC locos with Zimo chips to battery using AirWire. I say I’ve done it but actually, I had an expert do it as I’m a electrical numty. Also I’m the USofA so I understand AirWire is verboten in the UK.
 
I have been using 14.4 li ion batteries with zimo decoders for some time now. They work great both with their large and small decoders. I got one of the airwire convertrs and it worked. I now am using (for a whole day) the new revo and am liking it a lot. Game changer for me when I want to use my equipment at freinds layout.. I am the only one in my group using DCC.
 
palmerston said:
Discussed before:

Soundcard To Be Used With Pwm Input - G Scale Central
Click to expand...
Yes thanks but as it wasn't the ESU or Zimo ones I was looking for practical experience with those as I don't want to cook his decoder ;)
Still not quite clear what I need to smooth the output as I'm very much electrical rather than electronic minded. I like nice simple off the shelf solutions especially when it's not even for me. ;)
I've looked at similar and was leaning towards the mylocosound for battery operation but it's not really practical financially when there's a sound decoder already fitted.
It's already looking like £140ish for handset, receiver, batteries and charger so I don't want to add another £50 or have to squeeze two sound units into the loco. :cool:
 
PaulRhB said:
Yes thanks but as it wasn't the ESU or Zimo ones I was looking for practical experience with those as I don't want to cook his decoder ;)
Still not quite clear what I need to smooth the output as I'm very much electrical rather than electronic minded. I like nice simple off the shelf solutions especially when it's not even for me. ;)
I've looked at similar and was leaning towards the mylocosound for battery operation but it's not really practical financially when there's a sound decoder already fitted.
It's already looking like £140ish for handset, receiver, batteries and charger so I don't want to add another £50 or have to squeeze two sound units into the loco. :cool:
Click to expand...

But you can sell-on the decoder, to off-set the cost of an alternative sound card, if you wish..

Really depends if the owner really likes the sound(s) in the decoder, or not..
 
Yes he does and wants to be able to run it on dcc still so the idea is just to provide an alternative power source.
The sound is rather good as the accucraft empty boiler makes a good sound tube. Fitting in batteries though with it would mean getting into the tanks. The idea is to add a socket and a switch so you can flip between track or battery power.
 
PaulRhB said:
Yes he does and wants to be able to run it on dcc still so the idea is just to provide an alternative power source.
The sound is rather good as the accucraft empty boiler makes a good sound tube. Fitting in batteries though with it would mean getting into the tanks. The idea is to add a socket and a switch so you can flip between track or battery power.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I did with the Tam Valley/Stanton Cab combo..... going to do some tests with the new Revo DCC system as well, because that should get over the one problem with the Tam/Stanton system, which is its relatively short range.

Multi-Power Loco Mark II.... this time it's steam..... - G Scale Central

Jon.
 
If you are driving a DCC decoder in "DC Mode" from an ESC that outputs PWM, then you probably need to filter that PWM so as not to have the DCC decoder interpret the PWM as a DCC signal... that is the basic issue.

The one people often used was this: (you can see the caps and inductor used for "filtering" the pulses to a more "smoothed out" voltage.

57091_rev1.jpg


The AirWire Convrtr outputs DCC to the decoder, i.e. you are running the DCC decoder in DCC mode, so it connects directly:
aw_convrtr_series.jpg


And the new Aristo DCC system does the same, in that they supply a receiver and a DCC booster on the same board:

dcc_rx_2.jpg
 
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Greg Elmassian said:
And the new Aristo DCC system does the same, in that they supply a receiver and a DCC booster on the same board:

dcc_rx_2.jpg
Click to expand...

I dont like the buttons on the Revolution handheld for setting the speed as a dial is much more suited!
 
Just a quickie... - As I haven't found it..

Is there a way to NOT have the Tx 'bleep' every time you press a key? - Guessing there is, and I have just missed it??
 
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