# Radio Control of Bachmann 10 Wheeler



## rmcintir (Apr 24, 2009)

I've built my own radio control system. Here is a video showing low speed through the full throttle of a Bachmann 10 Wheeler. Back EMF is used to keep the wheels moving at slow speeds.


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## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

Very nice! What's the range?


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## rmcintir (Apr 24, 2009)

I've tested it at 100 yards. Had to have someone relay to me that it was working, couldn't hear the sound or hardly see it at that distance. I adapted the radio from another product I made that required 100-150 yard range so Cab Command inherited the benefits.


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## noelw (Jan 2, 2008)

Boy that's nice work... 
Wish we had a couple of them here for our group runs..... 

Question.. I see it looks like you are using track power..If you happen to have a glitch of track contact like jumping a frog or something, Does it mess up the setting or shut down do to not load for a min?? Like dirty track or something like that.??? 

Looks like a great unit.. I 've done something like that in my Ho layout but then the distance is only 50 foot at most. I've sq wave the track voltage and gating the final transistor with caps & resis. I've injected A/c for start up at 460 Hz.Gen. for the first 2 volts. then it drop out.. but that for ho with 3 or more muted Eng. for start up a creep with long trains. 
Again ...Nice work..


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## rmcintir (Apr 24, 2009)

Noelw, I looked at the pictures of your layout, I wish I were closer to check it out in person! 

Actually, the locomotive in the video is battery powered, I just have it up on rollers. The locomotives I initially installed into were track power only. After meeting up with a local "battery only" guy I made all of them operate either way. Since then my battery friend has decided to convert over to my system so now there are a few battery only installs. 

The electronics are pretty good about dirty track dropouts. Like many others my receiver has an optional capacitor that can be added to better handle the dirty sections. When you are running at very slow speeds there really is no way around needing a capacitor to get you through. The motors simply don't have enough momentum. I purposely do not clean my track well so I can test. I have found that a 3300 uF cap on the motor power side gets me through all but the worst track conditions for the average locomotive. I have even gotten by well with that single cap in a four motor diesel. 

If a locomotive completely stops due to loss of power the transmitter will start it up again, assuming it finds some clean track. All 32 locomotives are updated periodically. The one that is actively being controlled is updated more frequently of course. A complete update cycle takes a maximum of 30 seconds for all 32 locomotives. If you are busy controlling a locomotive the updates to all locomotives will be much less than 30 seconds. If you notice one has stopped because of power problems and it now has power it will restart with the last throttle and direction settings sent to it.


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## noelw (Jan 2, 2008)

Not sure where you live and ya..Did wish you were closer to us to play with new ideas.. 

I have been using 22oo uf on most of my Engs. It dose help some. But can slow down the operation of the Aristo TM's R/C's on track power. It will feed back so i had to set the delay time on the TM's to counter act with it. Makes more of delays but that ok for the new guys running on our group runs. Keeps them on there toes. I suggested they do the cap's to on all of there short wheel base eng. It helps over some of the frogs on slow speeds. 

The only problem we are using block sys. and even shutting down a block sometimes they may run over it being they got to close to next block and will take off again. 
Some of the guys don't watch the signals before a block is shut manual down. 
Batt. power guys here if not watching the signals and by pass one when our swing bridge is open .. that can be a problem. two days with a hair dryer & contact cleaner. Then lub the heck out of it.. ..hahahaha I did that with a NW-2 with sound in it. 

Anyway like what you have there.. Very interesting.. & tk's for the come back.


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