# K-27 + RCS + Battery + Phoenix Sound new take



## TonyWalsham (Jan 2, 2008)

I have previously published a couple of ways to go about installing the above equipment in the excellent Bachmann K-27. 
Having now installed battery R/C and sound in 5 or 6 locos I settled on the following method. 
I have discovered that, whilst the range with a simple antenna wire strung around the edge of the coal load is pretty good, a big improvement was made to the overall range by removing all the wiring and track pick ups from the tender. 
This is to reduce the amount of radiated Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) that is transmitted from the motor down into the rails and thence up into the tender. 
For this install I can recommend the following components. 
1 x RCS # TX-24 24 function transmitter handpiece, 
1 x RCS # PnP-3 MOTOR DRIVER (includes 1 x RX-8). 
1 x RCS # BIK-U3 to access batteries for charging. 
1 x RCS # Y-CABLE to place batteries in series. 
RCS also assumes you already have a method of charging the batteries via the # BIK-U3. The # BIK-U3 uses a 2.5mm DC jack as the interface. 
Positive (+) to the pin. 
We fitted Phoenix P5 + P5T for 6 x sound triggers. 
To access these functions you will also need: 
1 x RCS # PLUS-3 
1 x RCS # MOD-CABLE. 
The first step is to remove the tender shell to access the working area. 









Asexplained above we removed all the track pick ups and wiring. 








The clean tender chassis ready for installation. 








The next step is mount the batteries in the rear of the tender shell a bit below the top. We used regular tilae and gutter silicone adhesive. Then suitably placed holes were drilled for the BIK-U3 (5/16" hole) & charging jack (1/4" hole) on the LH side and a 1/4" hole for the Phoenix volume control and a 5/16" hole for the Phoenix programming jack on the RH side. 








The various components were siliconed to the tender floor. 








After the previous step I decided to lower the Bachmann socket pcb to improve airflow around the controller cooling fins. 








The various wires were hooked up. They are mostly plug in or screw terminal but a couple require splicing. 
The Orange chuff trigger wire on the PnP-3 was connected to the Orange trigger # 2 wire on the Phoenix P5. The trigger functions in the P5 + P5T need to be reassigned to enable easy interface with the RCS triggers. 
The next pic shows the wiring complete and ready to button up. 








We have found the best place to mount the RCS RX-8 receiver component is in the middle of the plastic coal load. The antenna wire is then strung around the edge of the coal load and tacked in place with dabs of silicone adhesive. 








We mounted a small black screw in the coal load to assist removal of the load so that the loco can be switched ON-OFF with the BIK-U3. 
Other sound systems can be used. We suggest you read the full RCS PnP-3 instructions as well as the above. 
http://www.rcs-rc.com/PDF/Battery_RC/RCS/Instructions/PnP_3_TX_24.pdf 
Range is pretty good. At least 100' on our favourite test layout.


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## jimtyp (Jan 2, 2008)

Nice clean looking install. Detail pics are what I like to see  Thanks!


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## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

I missed something, can you repeat that ?????


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## Rich Muth (Jan 2, 2008)

Tony: With the setup you indicate, what kind of run times and train sizes are you experiencing?


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## TonyWalsham (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Rich Muth on 06/01/2008 12:33 PM
Tony: With the setup you indicate, what kind of run times and train sizes are you experiencing?




Rich. 
I have achieved at least 2 hours running a short rake of 4 AMS brass passenger cars on a flat elevated oval of track. I would expect 3 or more hours. 

Dave Goodson has been able to run a K-27 extensively on grades with a decent train of freight cars. 

It is possble to obtain SubC cells with much greater capacity, and therefore a longer run time, but not here in Australia.


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## pimanjc (Jan 2, 2008)

Tony, 
Thanks for posting a very well written and illustrated installation thread. 
JimC.


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