KylePearce
Registered
Recently came into possession of one of these reliable and smooth machines. As everything I run is battery powered, I immediately planned to convert to onboard battery with radio control. Here's how that went:
First of all, finding an electronic speed control was difficult. I needed something that could run 12V DC at bare minimum, while being small enough to fit inside the motor box on the bottom. Can't have ugly green circuit boards dotted about where innocent eyes might see them. Decided on one for radio controlled cars, which fit wonderfully. For reference, this is a Castle Sidewinder Nano, whose programmability would come in very handy. Connected its output to the track pickup pins. No modifying the LGB circuits necessary.
Getting my preferred receiver to fit was no problem, as it is barely postage-stamp sized. The channels for the track pickups were convenient for routing wires for an on/off switch so the battery needn't be unplugged when not in use, and a battery plug. Closed up this compartment, and then the debacle switched to the battery. The largest on hand that would fit was a .9Ah boxy one, which necessitated removing one of the couplers. I tried running with this arrangement, which was fantastic. The runtime however was not, bit under an hour total, a third of what the other two trams get. This was attempt 1 aka 'just stick it to the bottom':
I searched around for a battery, but eventually decided I'd really need two, both for symmetry and for runtime. Eventually found a pair of 2Ah long thin 12v packs, which fit perfectly along the frame on the bottom. If you use your imagination, they might be air tanks.
This pair of batteries are wired in parallel, they're essentially one big battery now. The good old plug-in-and-sniff test confirmed I'd wired everything correct. The charge leads run down the side to a connector hidden behind one of the steps. And I could reinstall the couplers. There's always limits to how well you can hide electronics, but I'd say this is ok.
I've got the speed controller dialed in nicely for realistic slow speeds, and this thing is very smooth running. Overall, probably my favorite bit of rolling stock. Here
it is pulling into Foundry Street Station.
First of all, finding an electronic speed control was difficult. I needed something that could run 12V DC at bare minimum, while being small enough to fit inside the motor box on the bottom. Can't have ugly green circuit boards dotted about where innocent eyes might see them. Decided on one for radio controlled cars, which fit wonderfully. For reference, this is a Castle Sidewinder Nano, whose programmability would come in very handy. Connected its output to the track pickup pins. No modifying the LGB circuits necessary.
Getting my preferred receiver to fit was no problem, as it is barely postage-stamp sized. The channels for the track pickups were convenient for routing wires for an on/off switch so the battery needn't be unplugged when not in use, and a battery plug. Closed up this compartment, and then the debacle switched to the battery. The largest on hand that would fit was a .9Ah boxy one, which necessitated removing one of the couplers. I tried running with this arrangement, which was fantastic. The runtime however was not, bit under an hour total, a third of what the other two trams get. This was attempt 1 aka 'just stick it to the bottom':
I searched around for a battery, but eventually decided I'd really need two, both for symmetry and for runtime. Eventually found a pair of 2Ah long thin 12v packs, which fit perfectly along the frame on the bottom. If you use your imagination, they might be air tanks.
This pair of batteries are wired in parallel, they're essentially one big battery now. The good old plug-in-and-sniff test confirmed I'd wired everything correct. The charge leads run down the side to a connector hidden behind one of the steps. And I could reinstall the couplers. There's always limits to how well you can hide electronics, but I'd say this is ok.
I've got the speed controller dialed in nicely for realistic slow speeds, and this thing is very smooth running. Overall, probably my favorite bit of rolling stock. Here
it is pulling into Foundry Street Station.
