# new Railboss install



## tom h (Jan 2, 2008)

I was looking for a inexpensive system for my 6 year old son, I have RCS in my locos and love there system, but for my son I did not want the more expensive items because he tends to break them







, when we went to the Midwest Train show in Springfield, IL in Sept I got him a USA 20 ton Mighty Moe engine. At that time as I was scanning MLS as usaul, Del Tapparo from G-Scale graphics came out with a new battery powered system that was more in my price range, since I have dealt with Del in the past for his decals and have recieved nothing but quality from him, I was confident enough that he would have the same quality in his battery powered system. 

I just finished the install today, but first I also want to deal with cost, Dels Railboss system was $79, after I got the necessary hardware it added around $12, Del recommends this $49 Futaba controller, I got it at a local hobby shop after they agreed to buy back the servo motors that I dont need, the controller was $28, the batteries I got from a guy that Don Sweet recommended to me, his name is Rick Isard at http://www.cordlessrenovations.com/ / Rick is a fantastic guy to deal with, I highly recommend that you check out his site, great service also. I got a 16.8 volt 2300 mah battery pack for around $38 if I recall, so total price for everything was around $158, very affordable.

Here are pics of install, everything including the kitchen sink came out










The reciever went in the cab by the engineer, that way he can adjust things if needed, very simple, only 4 wires go to the railboss from the reciever










put the antenna around the roof of cab, just used silicone to keep it up there










These are the attachments that kept the weight in the car(see first pic) took a dremel and cut then off at the bottom to fit the battery, also did that to the underside of the hood, sorry about blurriness, no you dont have to get your glasses


















I measured the space I needed, and Rick sent me a battery pack that fit perfect, if you notice I took the front board out also and siliconed it to the front of battery pack, the smoke unit was taken out and the board for that, the wires from the motor and switch and charging jack before I tied everything together










I siliconed the Railboss to the front posts, all the wires were tied together to stay away from the thing thats going to get hot(my electronic genius showing through again







) the 4 wires on this side came from the battery + and - , I tied the lights to it so it goes on with the switch, and charging jack wire. Look at the cheap advertising

















another view, notice the hood light, I cut the wires to short







was a pain to keep the hood close while I was doing the install, at one time I ripped a wire off of board, then I got annoyed and snipped the wires to make it easier, just made more work for me later

















closer view, verything fit very well, could not believe I got it all in










under side where I put the on off switch and charging jack










back view, if you look at next pic with the steps and air hoses, the back is the same, because I put the switch and charging jack I could not put all the air hoses on, but I could put everything else plus the outside air hose to hide it better, you really dont notice it, forgot to take a pic of the back with everything on



















all done and ready to go









of course we had to take it out and test it!!! My son loved it, the remote has a handle on it, big enough that he wont lose it(hopefully) he still has to get the functions down yet










3 days ago my layout was under 5 in of ice! Global warming hit us(thanks Al Gore







" src="http://www.mylargescale.com/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/wink.gif" align="absMiddle" border="0" /> friday and Sat it got to 60 degrees and rained all day to get rid of the ice. Sunday was perfect 32 degrees to try it out

















The boxcar behind the engine was the one he won at the Midwest train show, he HAD to put that behind the engine


















After its all done, very easy install, great help from Del at G-scale graphics, I have installed RCS system in both of my engines, it is a different system, I am not comparing them, but for price and easy install it fit for what I needed for my sons engine, I would recommed this for both beginner and veteran large scalers, I would like to thank Del and Rick for all there help!!!

tom h


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## Del Tapparo (Jan 4, 2008)

Very nice installation Tom! I am always amazed when I see my customer's installation photos. They almost always do a better and more professional looking job than I do!


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## c nelson (Dec 18, 2008)

Tom, That Looks Good! 

Isn't it great to see the kids face when you give them *total* "Control"!

Recently I visited the EVO website found some Deeply Discounted throttles and ordered a few, I think I'm gonna take back my RCS Elites/Basics and convert the kids to 2 stick for now! The cost and the rang avail with this type of system (2 stick) is unbeatable, esp for someone looking to dip their toe into Battery Control!


I wonder if they make a rubber duck for those lower end radios?....eye hazards with two boys! 


I too have done biz with Del, and he is a true stand-up guy....which reminds me I need some paint mask! 


Happy New Year!

cale


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## Del Tapparo (Jan 4, 2008)

Posted By c nelson on 12/29/2008 7:14 AM


I wonder if they make a rubber duck for those lower end radios?....eye hazards with two boys! 






I did some checking they do! Some are pretty pricey, but this one isn't too bad for $25. Power Duck Antenna It looks like a replacement telescoping antenna would cost you about $15 anyway.

And I also ran onto this, which I thought was amusing at first, but is really a good tip. How to collapse a telescoping antenna (no kidding)


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## c nelson (Dec 18, 2008)

looks like a Scanner Antenna with a BNC type Screw in connector...thanks Del!!! 


cale


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## tom h (Jan 2, 2008)

Cale, later after I was typing, my son did not want to let go off the transmitter, sure enough, bent the antenna, we got it straightened enough, boys wll be boys! Yes I have to call my dealer because he said he had a few of those also, if I have extra, that means I must buy some engines to put the in









tom h


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## c nelson (Dec 18, 2008)

A little bump here...while looking for some radios for my EVO's I stumbled across the Ebay Auction that would be ideal for someone looking at the RailBoss. 

Futaba 75Mhz Radios $10/ea. 

Ebay ID: 220343699865 

Cale


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## Del Tapparo (Jan 4, 2008)

Posted By c nelson on 01/13/2009 2:51 PM
A little bump here...while looking for some radios for my EVO's I stumbled across the Ebay Auction that would be ideal for someone looking at the RailBoss. 

Futaba 75Mhz Radios $10/ea. 

Ebay ID: 220343699865 

Cale

That is exactly the Futaba transmitter I use. They don't state the exact 75MHZ channel of the xmitters, so be sure to check before you buy. This guy is selling the xmitter only, so you will still need a receiver with the matching frequency crystal. If you will have to buy a matching receiver to go with this purchase, it really isn't much of a deal. But thanks for the info Cale.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Dell, does your RailBoss work with basically any digital proportional control? Being a newbie to this, I'd like to know if there is anything I should ask when using a radio, or are all current systems standardized on voltage and signal. 

Also a unrelated question: on your railbot, if it is heading straight at another train, can it reverse in time not to collide? I was thinking that would be plenty quick. 

Regards, Greg


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## Del Tapparo (Jan 4, 2008)

You can use any 2-stick hobby radio using the surface frequencies of 27 MHZ or 75 MHZ, AM or FM. They all have "Digital Proportional Outputs" to drive standardized servos. So you can even use a 2.4GHZ Spektrum radio if you like, although this kind of defeats the purpose of low cost if you don't already own it. The AM radios work just fine, as the "glitching" they are famous for is filtered out by the RailBoss and won't be seen by the locomotive. Worst case if a "glitch" got through, the result would be an very small change in speed. The same glitch going directly into a servo may result in full down elevator on an airplane, or eratic behavour of a live steamer. The Futaba Attack and Hi-Tec Ranger II are very low cost AM radios; 40-50 bucks for the xmitter, receiver, and 2 servos (which you don't need).

The Rail-Bot (not related to the RailBoss) is a whimsical EggLiner that runs under autonomous control using distance sensors. It runs only in the forward direction, changing speeds as required to escape from a train approaching from the rear, or to keep from running into the one ahead.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Thanks Del... 40-50 bucks does make it affordable, and less expensive than a TE system. 

Regards, Greg


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## Dan Pierce (Jan 2, 2008)

Black-Kat antennas for 75 MHZ are approx. 3 inches in length and can be attached in small places. I have used these on receivers, but they should be able to be used on our low powered transmitters. 

Any one done this?


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## tom h (Jan 2, 2008)

Greg, like I said before, you do not need the servos that come with the transmitter, my local hobby shop gave me a better deal because I did not want them, I got them down to $28 for reciever and transmitter, my local hobby shop hardly has any trains, he is a huge R/C race car inventory, and helicopters and planes. I mention that because some people dont have a train hobby shop close, but maybe someone is into R/C cars you can find them there if you look and use them on trains.

tom h


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## Del Tapparo (Jan 4, 2008)

Posted By Dan Pierce on 01/15/2009 5:22 AM
Black-Kat antennas for 75 MHZ are approx. 3 inches in length and can be attached in small places. I have used these on receivers, but they should be able to be used on our low powered transmitters. 

Any one done this? 


Dan - These shorty "Rubber Ducky" style antenna are available. I haven't tried them yet, but will. My old Aristo TE xmitter had one on it that worked fine.
Short Antenna for 75MHZ Xmitters


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## KVBarkley (Jan 9, 2009)

Is there any reason why the RailBoss can't be used with (ack!) track power? Other than the whole If-You-Put-The-Train-On-Backwards-It-Fries-The-PCB thing? A Full Wave Bridge will take care of that...


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## Del Tapparo (Jan 4, 2008)

I have not tested it on track power, but your are right. Use a full-wave bridge to power it up from constant track voltage and it should work fine. Maybe add a nice fat cap across the output of the bridge to filter some of the track noise out too (say 1000 uf).


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## KVBarkley (Jan 9, 2009)

Are there any transmitters with the capability of switching crystals on-the-fly? It would be nice to be able to talk to more than one train with a single transmitter!


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## c nelson (Dec 18, 2008)

Posted By KVBarkley on 02/02/2009 11:24 AM
Are there any transmitters with the capability of switching crystals on-the-fly? It would be nice to be able to talk to more than one train with a single transmitter!

I am not aware of that with either of the two low cost options mentioned here in this thread. Though I bet it could be done, but not very effectively!


There are other, more costly, and feature rich controllers that can do what you asked. To prevent stepping on toes, that may be a good question to ask in another topic here in Battery and RC.


cale


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