RC control for idiot!

StephH

StephH

7/8ths and 1/12th modeling in Railways and Birdwat
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Hi all,
i have always used my steam loco's as manual control, but after running my 7/8ths Edrig conversion at the AGM yesterday I decided RC is the way to go. Now for this loco I really want a single servo on the reverser in order to keep the very open cab as neat as possible. So control bits go in the side tank I think. So what do I need to start.... obviously a transmitter and receiver... but for an idiots guide what batteries, servos, fiddly bits etc would I need.... If this works then its on to the next loco which will probablyhave 2 servos on the regulator and reverser as its full cabbed etc....

ATB
Steph'
 
I currently have the Edrig/Caradoc hybrid I bolted together back here on holiday, if no-one gets back to you in the meantime I'll take a few photos tomorrow for you.

The set that Steve linked to looks a good place to start, other than replacing the battery box with some smaller cells.
 
My Edrig/Owain has a micro servo bolted to the cab floor with a thin brass rod reaching up to the regulator arm.
The servo had been glued to the floor by the previous owner, but it worked.
The reverser servo is in the side tank
Pic taken a couple of years ago...
71971e078f4041e9b66cf24ac1f8093f.jpg
 
Hi Steph
There are some photos of the R/C set up in my Ragleth halfway down the page here:
https://sites.google.com/a/gardenrailwayclub.com/club/locos/accucraft-ragleth < Link To https://sites.google.com/...ocos/accucraft-ragleth
The single channel on the reverser works fine - that is all I have on my Wrekin and it is very controllable.
I use the cheap Radio Link kit from Giant Cod:
http://www.giantcod.co.uk/giantcod-24ghz-4channel-mode2-transmitter-p-403779.html < Link To http://www.giantcod.co.uk...nsmitter-p-403779.html
Then a 4xAA battery box and switch from ebay and a micro servo from Giant Cod. Make sure you get an analogue servo, not digital and they buzzzz. Metal geared servos are supposed to be best but I have never had any problems with plastic ones and they are only a few pounds.
And of course if you fit a certain device, you can drive by sound when it disappears at the end of your beautiful railway :)
Cheers
Chris
Cheers
Chris
 
Ahh, cheers Ross- that covers most of it!
A Futaba S3003 is the servo you need ('tho there are many similar), and some looooooong bolts.
I'll get some photos of the set- up on the Caradrig shortly.
 
Chris Bird said:
Hi Steph
There are some photos of the R/C set up in my Ragleth halfway down the page here:
https://sites.google.com/a/gardenrailwayclub.com/club/locos/accucraft-ragleth < Link To https://sites.google.com/...ocos/accucraft-ragleth
The single channel on the reverser works fine - that is all I have on my Wrekin and it is very controllable.
I use the cheap Radio Link kit from Giant Cod:
http://www.giantcod.co.uk/giantcod-24ghz-4channel-mode2-transmitter-p-403779.html < Link To http://www.giantcod.co.uk...nsmitter-p-403779.html
Then a 4xAA battery box and switch from ebay and a micro servo from Giant Cod. Make sure you get an analogue servo, not digital and they buzzzz. Metal geared servos are supposed to be best but I have never had any problems with plastic ones and they are only a few pounds.
And of course if you fit a certain device, you can drive by sound when it disappears at the end of your beautiful railway :)
Cheers
Chris
Cheers
Chris
Click to expand...
Already has one of those devices... people kept saying just how noisy it was at the 16mm do when it was running;)
Mind you I'll need another for my lawley conversion.....
Steph'
 
ROSS said:
Thought it would:rolf::laugh :
Like a lot of my customers...no one does a lot of research these days on forums.::laugh:
But must admit..some forums are a bit obscure in their content.;)
Click to expand...
Tee hee Hands up! I always forget the search function!

It really wasn't the installing that I needed info on it was what to buy first!! But in all this I managed to work up a list!! Thanks!!!
Thanks to all for their help!

ATB

Steph'
 
Does she have a hole in the reversing lever Steph? I believe early ones didn't but I might be wrong. If she does I should be able to supply a linkage that you'll just need to trim the rod to size to fit once you've got a servo- I'll have a rummage tonight when I take those photos that I promised to take last night and didn't...
 
Ta- da. Only a couple of days late; that counts as quick for me...

I'd forgotten that this engine uses a different servo to the "standard" one as it was going to be a saddle tank and I wanted it to take up less room- the linkage is the same, but the servo horn is slightly smaller- I had to cut one down to use with the full size servo on my Lawley. There's a lot less room on a Lawley so the linkage is different on that one.

I can't remember what the link arms are called but they were "off the shelf" in my local model shop (for r/c cars and 'planes), as was the threaded bar.

IMG_0632.jpg


IMG_0635.jpg


The end thing is a "stopper" and NHN kindly gave me that one (along with several other Very Useful bits and bobs- enough to do the Lawley as well!). A screw to clamp the rod in to the stopper, which is then bolted (in such a way that it can still rotate, hence the two nuts) to the reversing lever.

IMG_0636.jpg


IMG_0633.jpg
 
Ooh thanks Matt.... very useful! I will be popping down to the nearest RC shop for a browse soon! Silly question but where did you run your wiring from the servo to the receiver? Under the boiler?

Oh yes and I just checked my Edrig "Evelyn" and she has the ready drilled hole in the reverser, so that's one job I don't have to worry about;)

By the way, I love this loco's paint job, the wasp stripes etc but I've only seen a couple of photo's, any chance of seeing a few shots of it in action Matt?

Thanks very muchly!

atb

Steph'
 
Clevis- wonderful, thanks Ross. It's been bugging me for days!

That's an M2 on there, M2.5 on Lawley- M2 is neater but my local shop only had 2.5 rod!

She's not mine any more Steph (but I'll be painting the Lawley to match), I shall try and get some photos at some point though! There is a small hole in the footplate under the boiler immediately under the pressure gauge in photo 2, that leads to the box under the cab with the hinged access- one each side in fact. I have the charge lead coming out of the one on the other side- when you buy an on/off switch get one with a charging lead as it saves unplugging things to charge the battery. I assume you've noticed that there is a square hole & two smaller holes in the frames just ahead of the cab steps for a switch & it's mounting screws? Again, a standard "off the shelf" part.

I'll have a looksie tonight and give you the specs of the batteries I have. No idea if they are "right"- I just bought a pack that seemed about the right size and it seems to work!
 
I had a look at the loco this pm and noted the appropriate holes... ;) Funny enough I picked up two servos this evening free! They were in a box at my late mother-in-laws house along with loads of goodies for RC aircraft... sadly no ground RC stuff though or clevis, rods etc..... they are small ones so I'll have to make up the brackets to fit (or use a ready made one). Hope the plugs fit universally :D:D then I've saved a bit of cash.

Sorry to hear you don't own that loco anymore Matt! But looking forward to the Lawley then!

ATB

Steph'
 
If they are "Futaba" plugs (three squares side by side, with a lug on one end to stop you putting them in upside down) then that's the standard for most of the easily availiable stuff.

I thought I had a load of clevis' (clevii?) and some spare stoppers so I could make up a linkage for you- but I'm afraid I don't have any of either!

I sold the loco to my boss' girlfriend when I needed a reliable car for work, so it hasn't gone far and I manage to borrow it occasionally- hence how I managed to take the photos!

Some photos on today's GRC page by the way, I'll do a thread on here when it's finished- I've been "blogging" for a change.
 
brianthesnail96 said:
If they are "Futaba" plugs (three squares side by side, with a lug on one end to stop you putting them in upside down) then that's the standard for most of the easily availiable stuff.

I thought I had a load of clevis' (clevii?) and some spare stoppers so I could make up a linkage for you- but I'm afraid I don't have any of either!

I sold the loco to my boss' girlfriend when I needed a reliable car for work, so it hasn't gone far and I manage to borrow it occasionally- hence how I managed to take the photos!

Some photos on today's GRC page by the way, I'll do a thread on here when it's finished- I've been "blogging" for a change.
Click to expand...

Cool Matt, no probs about the linkage, you've been more than helpful! Thanks!

ATB

Steph'
 
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