Budget radio control (very cheap)

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Portsladepete

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Has anyone tried using the radio control kit from cheap r/c cars? I had some success with an led dimmer set up on my elderly kit built tram, but this won’t control my latest kit (ip engineering Feanor).
It seems to more powerful motor is too much for the led dimmer for some reason, I don’t want anything fancy, just a less physical means of starting and stopping. This is a more valid reason than my normal cheapskatery, as stopping the loco requires Gordon Banks type agility at times. Had thoughts about using a mini relay so that’s all the led dimmer would have to cope with, not sure what type to get though.
 
There's been some articles about this in the 16mm Association magazine, check their website. I think it was Phil who warned me that the speed control might a bit stop or very fast though
 
Portsladepete said:
Has anyone tried using the radio control kit from cheap r/c cars? I had some success with an led dimmer set up on my elderly kit built tram, but this won’t control my latest kit (ip engineering Feanor).
It seems to more powerful motor is too much for the led dimmer for some reason, I don’t want anything fancy, just a less physical means of starting and stopping. This is a more valid reason than my normal cheapskatery, as stopping the loco requires Gordon Banks type agility at times. Had thoughts about using a mini relay so that’s all the led dimmer would have to cope with, not sure what type to get though.
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What led dimmer have you used, I could do with some sort of speed control for my 3V motor
 
Paul M said:
What led dimmer have you used, I could do with some sort of speed control for my 3V motor
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I had a post about it on here, I purchased another one for the unsuccessful ip engineering install, cost was £4 from eBay, my post was #863, if you buy from Ebay,just be aware that if the seller is based overseas they will charge you VAT,even if item is supplied from UK
 
Portsladepete said:
I had a post about it on here, I purchased another one for the unsuccessful ip engineering install, cost was £4 from eBay, my post was #863, if you buy from Ebay,just be aware that if the seller is based overseas they will charge you VAT,even if item is supplied from UK
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In which thread was your post 863?
 
Portsladepete said:
I had a post about it on here, I purchased another one for the unsuccessful ip engineering install, cost was £4 from eBay, my post was #863, if you buy from Ebay,just be aware that if the seller is based overseas they will charge you VAT,even if item is supplied from UK
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All VAT registered sellers have always charged VAT on eBay, just shown separately now.
 
JimmyB said:
If you are not VAT registered you cannot charge VAT, as the money goes to the HMRC through your account.
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Ebay charge it, not the non VAT registered Chinese seller, that is how they are interpreting the new rules after Brexit, I know because it happened to me, after a fruitless discussion with an EBay representative, I luckily managed to cancel the sale. I am not a VAT expert, if you want to try it, be my guest
 
Portsladepete said:
Has anyone tried using the radio control kit from cheap r/c cars? I had some success with an led dimmer set up on my elderly kit built tram, but this won’t control my latest kit (ip engineering Feanor).
It seems to more powerful motor is too much for the led dimmer for some reason, I don’t want anything fancy, just a less physical means of starting and stopping. This is a more valid reason than my normal cheapskatery, as stopping the loco requires Gordon Banks type agility at times. Had thoughts about using a mini relay so that’s all the led dimmer would have to cope with, not sure what type to get though.
Click to expand...

I was able to use the playmobil 3670 (27 MHz) RC car system for playmobil and scientific trains(the controller sort of works with a Bachmann Big Hauler too). But I guess it's not the cheapest.
3670_thumb.jpg


This shows how I re-wired the receiver/ESC with different batteries for a playmobil electric non-RC motorblock:


rc.png
Because I don't use the RC car steering control for the train, I'm able to use that part of the controller for a 2nd train simultaneously:
my_photo-451.png
The fine tuning sliders are used for hands-free control, while the joysticks require constant attention if used. I had to open the controller to re-calibrate some screws for a fuller range of speed on the fine tuning sliders by moving zero from the middle of the slider to the bottom; it takes some experimentation to get it right.
 
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-bbbb said:
I was able to use the playmobil 3670 (27 MHz) RC car system for playmobil and scientific trains(the controller sort of works with a Bachmann Big Hauler too). But I guess it's not the cheapest.
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Get a old 27mc communication divice? for more channels?

-bbbb said:
The fine tuning sliders are used for hands-free control, while the joysticks require constant attention if used. I had to open the controller to re-calibrate some screws for a fuller range of speed on the fine tuning sliders by moving zero from the middle of the slider to the bottom; it takes some experimentation to get it right.
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Why not measure the resistance of the sliders and replace them for potential meters?

my two cents
 
justme igor said:
Get a old 27mc communication divice? for more channels?


Why not measure the resistance of the sliders and replace them for potential meters?

my two cents
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The extra channel being useful was merely coincidental. The channel for the RC car drive-motor is good for making a non-RC playmobil motorblock RC via the RC car receiver/ESC module. The RC car steering channel happens to already match the channel for standard playmobil 27MHz RC trains drive motor. So if you don't have the RC car receiver, you can still use the steering channel from that controller to control a stock playmobil 27 mhz RC train.

The sliders work perfectly fine once they are re-calibrated. And it's very simple and easy to re-calibrate with a couple of screwdrivers.
There's a video of how it works starting about 1:34 into this video where it's used on a scientific train, and the multi train control is later in the video:
I've also used this system to convert a couple of playmobil Steaming Mary's to RC.
 
-bbbb said:
The sliders work perfectly fine once they are re-calibrated. And it's very simple and easy to re-calibrate with a couple of screwdrivers.
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Ahhhh, did not notice that the "sliders" are at the side of the "other one".
I suspected (and see) a spring operation of the "other one" that is why i mentioned a potential meter.
Now it makes sence.
How does it preform outside? I assume its just like the Lego's rc stuff, a skinny 2 meters/6 yards?

Nicely done btw

JimmyB said:
And there's me binning my Playmobil 27 mHz for a 2.4 mHz system.
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Depends if you drive inside or outside, i suspect outside wound do so much?
And depends also on the number of locomotives you have.
I was looking for a system that could control up to 16 loco's with one remote, with more than 4 loco's that one is cheaper.
I thought a English company?
Forgot the name sorry, as the Brexit is a fact i don't think i can order it easy anymore or for the price they sold it for.

Thanks
 
justme igor said:
How does it preform outside? I assume its just like the Lego's rc stuff, a skinny 2 meters/6 yards?
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Initially I thought it performed slightly better than the standard 27 MHz playmobil train controller, but I later realized that the battery strength has an effect on performance, so I've discovered that it seems to operate with the exact same performance as the standard 27 MHz playmobil train controllers (inside or outside). I imagine that any 27 MHz system will have similar control distances. Of course it is better in that you can control 2 trains with one controller, but that is only if you use the RC car receiver for one of the trains. The RC car receiver has a wire antenna, and one needs to be mindful that it's positioned well enough to receive the signal. on the scientific train I think I soldered the rc car receiver antenna to the original scientific train antenna, and in the Steaming Mary's I just positioned the wire antenna in a circle around the edges of the inside of the tender.

They seem to respond well enough for the track lengths I typically have used outside, but if the controller batteries are low the performance will suffer. A low battery can cut the control distance in half. You may get an idea of the track lengths I've used outside in the following videos. All of the trains except the yellow 5258 are 27 MHz, and on full controller batteries I don't lose control when I'm positioned at a far end of the track:

Obviously JimmyB's 2.4 GHz modification would be preferred if one has the parts or money for it. I picked up one of these playmobil 3670 27 MHz car controllers with receiver/ESC for about $13, and the other was given to me by my sister, so I didn't put in much of an investment. They are more often listed for much more expensive prices though.
 
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