Battery Power Cars - 40 Foot Boxcar | Show Menu |
by Paul Norton
INTRODUCTION
Aristo-Craft, Plug and Play locomotives have MU plugs on each end, and a switch to change between track power and battery power. This article details how to build a 40 foot, power boxcar to take advantage of those plugs. A power car is simply a battery car with a receiver added for on-board radio control.
This power car utilizes only one, Aristo-Craft, lithium-ion battery pack and is designed to power and control one small locomotive like a Pacific or GP-40.
As this is an enclosed car, the battery pack will be charged on-board using a plug. A Double Pole Double Throw (DPDT) switch will be used to toggle the battery pack between the charging plug and the receiver. The plug sets and switch are both available from All Electronics under catalog numbers CON-240 and MTS-12 respectively.
An Aristo-Craft, 27 MHz, Train Engineer (TE) set will be used to provide the radio control. If your TE transmitter came with a short rubber antenna, call Aristo-Craft and request a replacement telescoping antenna. The chrome telescoping antenna will dramatically increase radio range.
In order to further improve radio range, the long wire antenna on the receiver will be replaced with a micro-lite antenna. With the telescoping antenna on the transmitter and the micro-lite antenna on the receiver, reliable and responsive radio range of greater than 100 feet is expected. The M-27-L antenna is available from E Cubed R/C.
A boxcar is needed to provide the necessary height for the antenna to function properly. In areas where extreme heat could be a problem, a stock car could be used instead.
REMOVING THE CAR BODY
Remove the 6 long chrome screws indicated with yellow from the bottom of the car. Open the doors and remove the small screw from the bottom of each door frame.
Lift the car body from the frame. If it sticks at the corners, use two, small flat screwdrivers to gently separate the car body from the frame at one end. Fasten the screws back in the frame and car body, so they do not get lost. Set the car body aside for now.
POWER CAR SWITCH
Drill a 1/4 inch hole in the frame at the spot marked with the yellow X for the Double Pole Double Throw (DPDT) switch.
Install the power car switch so it toggles toward the front and back of the car. Stick a CHARGE label on the front side of the switch and a RUN on the other as shown.
Check to ensure the switch is in the center off position.
BATTERY PACK CHARGING PLUG
CAUTION: The 2-pin plug sets sold by All Electronics are not always colour coded the same as Aristo-Craft plug sets. If the colour coding is not the same as on the lithium-ion battery pack and charger, just click on the following link to see how to change the AE Plug Set Wiring so that proper polarity is maintained.
The female half of an All Electronic plug set has the same connector as the Aristo-Craft, lithium-ion battery pack. Trim the wings off an AE female connector.
Drill a 1/8th inch hole in the frame at the spot marked with the red X for the battery pack charging plug. Pass the wires of the plug through the hole, and hot glue the connector to the bottom of the frame.
Flip the frame over and hot glue around the wires. Cut the plug wires to a length that will easily reach the power car switch. Slip a small length of shrink wrap over each of the wires, and solder them to the switch as shown in the following diagram. Slip the shrink wrap down and warm to seal the solder joints.
That completes the installation and wiring of the lithium-ion battery pack charging plug.
LITHIUM-ION BATTERY PACK
Drill two, 3/16th inch holes in the frame as shown in the following picture. Pass a long cable tie through the holes taking car not to damage the frame details.
Use a Velcro dot to fasten the lithium-ion battery pack to the car floor between the two holes as shown. Secure the battery pack using the cable tie.
The male half of an All Electronics plug set has the same connector as the Aristo-Craft, lithium-ion battery charger. Solder the wires of the male half of an AE plug set to the center tabs of the power car switch as shown in the following diagram.
CAUTION: Check to ensure the colour coding of the wires on the AE connector and battery pack connector are matched before connecting the two of them.
That completes the installation and wiring of the lithium-ion battery pack.
27 MHZ TE RECEIVER
Turn the case of the TE receiver over and remove the four screws at the corners. Open the case and remove the circuit board. If it sticks, remove the fuse. As this is a light power car, it would be a good idea to replace the 10 amp fuse with a 5 amp fuse. Put the case back together, install the four screws, and put it back in the box it came in.
Place the circuit board or template in the front end of the frame as shown. Drill 3/32nd inch holes in the floor of the car using the holes in the corners of the receiver or template as a guide. Tap the holes with a 4-40 screw.
Under the receiver, glue 1/4 inch long spacers around the holes at each corner. The nylon spacers are available from All Electronics under catalog # SP-42.
Unsolder the long wire antenna from the circuit board, and replace it with an M-27-L micro-lite antenna.
Fasten the receiver to the floor of the car with 1/2 inch 4-40 screws. Shape the antenna so it will follow the roof line on the inside of the boxcar.
Cut the heavy red and black power input wires of the receiver to a length that will easily reach the power car switch. Slip a small length of shrink wrap over the end of each wire. Solder the wires to the switch as shown in the following diagram. Slip the shrink wrap down and warm to seal the solder joints.
Check to see that all the red wires on the power car switch are soldered to one side and all the black wires to the other.
That completes the wiring of the power car switch.
CHARGING THE LITHIUM-ION BATTERY PACK
If the lithium-ion battery pack has not been charged, with the power car switch in the center off position, plug in the battery charger. Plug the charger into a wall outlet and toggle the switch toward the front of the car. The charger will take about four hours to charge the battery pack completely. When complete, toggle the switch to the center off position and remove the charger.
PROGRAMMING THE 27 MHZ RECEIVER
The receiver has a small power switch next to the fuse. Turn it on by sliding it toward the heat sink. Slide the small switch on the back of the circuit board toward the red LED, its linear power position. If this switch is left in the PWC position, the momentum and soft reverse features will not work.
Programming momentum prevents sudden starts or stops which could damage the gears in a locomotive, especially if it is hauling a long train. The soft reverse feature can be used when switching cars. When the reverse button is pushed the locomotive will slow to a stop, pause while a car is coupled or uncoupled, change directions, and gradually resume speed in the other direction.
Toggle the power car switch on the bottom of the frame toward the back of the car to turn the receiver on. The red LED on the back of the circuit board should light up and stay on. If the red LED goes on and then fades out, return the lithium-ion battery pack to Aristo-Craft for a replacement.
Link and program the transmitter and receiver as detailed in the Aristo-Craft manual that came with them. If the transmitter is used with other receivers, using the first two digits of the car number to program the frequency and channel numbers is an easy way to remember them.
After programming the TE, leave the small TE power switch on but return the power car switch on the bottom of the frame to the center off position. The red LED on the back of the circuit board should go out.
POWER CAR PLUG
Drill a 1/8th inch hole in the center of the A end of the car body between the first two bottom ribs. Slip the wires through the hole in the end of the car body.
About 2 inches inside from the car wall, hold the plug wires together and place a glob of hot glue on them. This will act as stress relief should the power car and locomotive become uncoupled during operation. Two inches of slack in the plug wires however, does make it easier to connect the plug before the power car and locomotive are coupled together. The excess wire can be pushed back into the power car after coupling.
Some owners also remove the locking tab from the connectors on their locomotives. If the power car and locomotive become uncoupled during operation, the connectors will slip apart and the locomotive will stop. Alternatively, the ridge on the power car connector could be filed flat and the locomotive connectors left untouched.
The wires should be long enough to pass under the receiver and reach the output screws on the receiver when the car body is set beside the frame. Strip 3/16ths of an inch of insulation off the end of the wires. Solder or crimp a number 6 loop terminal on each. The loop terminals are available from All Electronics under catalog number 8106.
Set the car body beside the frame. Slip the power car plug wires under the circuit board and fasten their loop terminals under the output screws on the receiver. This is the one time that polarity does not matter as it will change with each change of direction.
That completes the wiring of the power car.
REASSEMBLING THE CAR
Remove the two small screws from the frame and six long screws from the car body. Tuck any excess power plug wiring under the receiver. Place the car body back on the frame. Do not insert the screws yet.
CAUTION: Always ensure the power car switch is in its CENTER OFF position before connecting or unplugging a locomotive. It is not unusual for a locomotive to jump slightly when the switch is toggled to power the receiver.
Connect the power car to a Plug and Play locomotive. Toggle the power car switch toward the rear of the car, and test the power car for function and range.
If you have a transmitter that has a dedicated button for each direction, you may find the arrows on the buttons and the direction of the train are mismatched. If so, just reverse the positions of the power car plug wires under the output screws of the receiver.
If everything functions properly, toggle the power car switch to the center off position, unplug the locomotive, and fasten the car body to the frame with the eight screws.
CONGRATULATIONS! You now have a power car that can let you enjoy all the benefits of battery power and radio control.
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Last Modified 8/29/08 4:40 PM