Roundhouse battery loco, pre-purchase questionnaire

Mobi said:
I have placed an order for Deltang Rx65b-2-S + Tx21

Let's see if I am successful at fitting it. :nerd:

Can the receiver be hidden inside the hood? Does it require to be "visible" to transmitter/controller? I guess radio frequency can travel thru obstructions.
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If it isn't too late I would ask DT to add the coaxial antenna lead. Then you can place the RX/ESC anywhere you like as long as the last 20 mm of the antenna is clear of any all encompassing metal bodywork.
 
Mobi said:
I have placed an order for Deltang Rx65b-2-S + Tx21

Let's see if I am successful at fitting it. :nerd:

Can the receiver be hidden inside the hood? Does it require to be "visible" to transmitter/controller? I guess radio frequency can travel thru obstructions.
Click to expand...

I have 2 Deltang fitted items. On my railbus the receiver is fitted inside the bodywork beneath the internal seating. On my Bachmann Lyn, it's fitted beneath the boiler. On plastic bodied diesel loco fitting beneath the hood shouldn't be an issue. On metal bodied then the extended Aerial option should be a consideration.
 
I contacted David @ Deltang. However, he has recently moved house and thus could not provide me any timeline when my order can be fulfilled. So issued me a refund.

I am now back to squre one :oops:

Is there any other option which is readily available?
 
Mobi said:
I contacted David @ Deltang. However, he has recently moved house and thus could not provide me any timeline when my order can be fulfilled. So issued me a refund.

I am now back to squre one :oops:

Is there any other option which is readily available?
Click to expand...

Quite a few folks on here have used Cliff Barker's kit. Also very good.

http://www.cliffbarker.talktalk.net/SpeedController.html

Also Chuffed2Bits do their own R\C. Colin (Shropshire Lad on the forum) has used this. Also very good.

http://www.chuffed2bits.com/page16.html

Pete Spoerer also does his own R\C too (bottom of the page Tx20 and Tx21)

www.peterspoerermodelengineers.com/90275/info.php?p=2
 
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This website claims that they have Deltang in stock.

http://www.micronradiocontrol.co.uk/rx_dt_land_r6.html#dt_rx65-1-n

But I am bit confused about their options.

Am I correct with following selection:

Variation: 2: train with Tx21
Antenna: wire aerial
Power/motor/connectors: 4 way screw terminal
daughter board: what to select?
heatsink cover: what to select?

I think if I select anything except bareboard, then it would increase thickness of the board (= difficult to fit). Is it so?
 
Guess what? I have finally converted it :)

The Deltang Rx65 + Tx21 arrived from Micron Radio Control. They had already done the binding - so I didn't have to do it.

I simply connected 2 wires from motor and 2 wires from battery (10x AA NiMH) and that's it! I could just switch on transmitter and control speed via knob. Direction is changed by the switch.

I still didn't run it on track as bits are loose but on my desk it ran fine in both forward & reverse.

The receiver is very small. I am trying to figure out whether it is better to keep it hidden inside the hood or in the cab (as shown in picture).

I don't have any switch in the loco. The batteries are connected with deltang board via PP3 snap. I am using the snap as switch (they are around 20p each so don't care if I had to replace it often).

A good thing about Kof diesel loco is that its cab roof can be easily removed (by taking 4 screws out). So, I am using it as detachable lid. I can just remove the lid and take battery pack out. I have screwed the cab back with chassis. The hood is still loose but if I decide to keep receiver in cab then I may screw it as well (need to remove wheels to screw the hood).

I have lost the lights though. Next project is how to get lighting. Also, it could have been better if I could power the DCC board from deltang rather than powering the motor directly. In that case, I'd have lights as usual.

The shop supplied two thin plastic jackets as heatshrink! Do I just slip the deltang receiver inside this?

In the first image you an see green/yellow wires from motor are connected to deltang board along with red/black wires from battery pack. All other wires are existing DCC circuits. The Tx21 transmitter can be seen at the bottom.

In the second image (bit blurred) you can see green LED light in the cab window while wheels are rotating.




 
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Well done!
Please insulate things well, and install a fuse between the battery and everything else!
 
How do I insulate? Is pushing the circuit board inside the plastic sleeve (or whatever it is called) is same as insulation?

How do I install a fuse? What fuse is needed?

I think LGB motor draws max 1 A. The deltang circuit is rated for 3 A max. Is there a chance that motor can draw more current than its limit?
 
Mobi said:
How do I insulate? Is pushing the circuit board inside the plastic sleeve (or whatever it is called) is same as insulation?

How do I install a fuse? What fuse is needed?

I think LGB motor draws max 1 A. The deltang circuit is rated for 3 A max. Is there a chance that motor can draw more current than its limit?
Click to expand...

Yes, slip the circuit board into the plastic sleeve..

The fuse connects in one of the battery leads, before it connects to anything else..
A 2Amp fuse will be more than adequate. - If a wire comes detached, and the battery is shorted out, it can supply a lot of current for a short-time.. This can be enough to burn-out your electronics, or in an extreme case, start a fire. Very unlikely, but a fuse is a lot cheaper than new electronics and battery pack.
 
Yes, slip the circuit board into the plastic sleeve..
Click to expand...
That is done. :)

Now I have to look for a fuse with screw terminal :think:

I have tested the loco on my track with 4 wagons. Runs fine. Speed is good. It used to have faster top speed when run using track power. But I think that was due to 22 V rather than my 12-15 V battery pack. Anyway, I am happy with the speed :cool:

Kof diesel loco is good for conversion. There is plenty of space inside cab and under the hood. Since the weights are below the chassis, it leaves lot of room inside. If I were an expert, could have used a rechargeable battery pack inside the hood with in-situ charger. Possibly a project for future :nod:

Conversion was easy - it was the gathering the courage to open up the loco where I hesitated longest.
 
Mobi.
Do not connect the ESC output to the DCC decoder. The PWM may "confuse" the DCC decoder.
Do not use more than 15 volts nominal of batteries.
Do place a (max 2 amp) fuse on both the battery pack and the motor drive circuit.
 
Do not connect the ESC output to the DCC decoder. The PWM may "confuse" the DCC decoder.
Click to expand...

Is the output from Deltang circuit PWM DC or smooth Analog DC? How do people then put RC equipment in trailing wagon and connect via rear socket of loco?

Do not use more than 15 volts nominal of batteries.
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Not using :) 10x NiMH AA = 1.5 x 10 = 15 V. I think NiMH batteries actually produce only 1.2 V - isn't it?

Do place a (max 2 amp) fuse on both the battery pack and the motor drive circuit.
Click to expand...

Why do I need two??
 
1. They should not if the loco has a DCC decoder on board.
2. If the loco is too slow users may be tempted to do so. Do not do so. 18 real volts is the absolute limit = 15 volts nominal.
3. For protection of the output circuit. There is no output overload protection with the Rx65b.
 
Did I get the circuit diagram right (please see attached image)?
 

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That's fine Mobi..
The idea is to get the fuses as close to the 'thing' you are protecting as possible. There is then less before the fuse, to cause a problem, which is not protected.
 
How to get the lighting now?

If I take out the lighting sockets from DCC board, where/how do I plug in to Deltang board?
 
Mobi said:
How to get the lighting now?

If I take out the lighting sockets from DCC board, where/how do I plug in to Deltang board?
Click to expand...

In all honesty I really wouldn't risk trying to connect anything from the DCC board to the Deltang board.

You will in all likely-hood need soldering skills to connect the lighting (there isn't a screw terminal for lighting on the Rx65), and I think that there is also some re-programming of buttons/functions on the Tx required to enable directional lighting once connected. The man to contact is ge_rik of this fine forum. He's done directional lighting, sound and all sorts of clever stuff with the Deltang RX65's
 
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