Powered - Aristo-Craft GP-40 |
by Paul Norton
INTRODUCTION
This article details the conversion of a GP-40 diesel from track power to on-board, battery power and radio control using an Aristo-Craft, lithium-ion battery pack and 2.4 GHz Revolution radio receiver.
It is recommended that you test the locomotive and both of its MU plugs to ensure everything is functioning properly before starting this project. Read the article slowly and completely, making note of the components that are required.
Nothing in this conversion prevents the locomotive from being returned to its original condition for re-sale at a later date.
REMOVING THE SHELL
Remove the cover (dynamic brake blister) for the switches from the top of the locomotive.
Remove the handrails from the sides and ends of the locomotive.
Place the locomotive upside down on a soft engine cradle taking care not to damage the horns.
Remove the ten screws outlined in yellow that hold the shell to the frame.
- Two are at the very front behind the short hood pilot. Do not remove the screw in the center.
- Two are near the edge of the frame in front of the rear wheels of the front truck.
- Two are under the rear of the front truck.
- Two are just in front of the rear truck.
- Two are at the very rear behind the long hood pilot. Do not remove the screw in the center.
Turn the locomotive over and lift the shell from the frame from the back to the front. The long hood, cab and short hood will all come off as one piece. Set the shell on the engine cradle beside the frame taking care not to damage the horns.
Remove the white tie from the wiring.
Unplug the 3 and 6-pin connectors from printed circuit board (PCB04) on the frame under the long hood. The 3-pin plug is for the rear lights.
Unplug the 3-pin connector for the front lights from printed circuit board (PCB05) on the frame near the cab.
Unplug the 3-pin connector outlined in yellow from the Plug and Play printed circuit board (PCB01) next to the rear 10-pin socket. This connector is for the voltage regulator and is marked REG.
Fasten the ten screws back in the shell so they do not get lost, and set the shell aside for now.
DISCONNECTING THE TRACK POWER PICK-UPS
It is imperative that the track power pick-ups be disconnected so the locomotive can not pick up track power or feed battery power into the tracks. The result could be electronically catastrophic.
Unplug the 4-pin connectors from printed circuit boards PCB04 and PCB05 on the frame. Remove the two black wires from each connector by pressing down on the small metal tabs and gently pulling on the wires.
Shrink wrap the terminals on each of the four black wires, and tape them to the frame out of the way.
INSTALLING THE BATTERY PACK SWITCH AND CHARGING PLUG
As the battery pack will be charged on-board, a double-pole double-throw (DPDT) switch is needed to toggle the battery pack between its 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.
OVGRS members can purchase the plug sets and switch by contacting Paul Norton. See the Items For Sale Section for details.
CAUTION: The wiring on the 2-pin plug sets sold by All Electronics is not always colour coded the same as the wiring on Aristo-Craft plug sets. If the colour coding of the wiring 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 switch and charging plug will be installed in place of the smoke unit. This will allow them to be accessed easily by removing the switch cover (dynamic brake blister) from the top of the long hood. Replacing the cover hides the components and protects them from the elements.
Turn the shell over and remove the white, 2-pin connector from the front of the smoke unit. Undo the two small screws and remove the smoke unit. Fasten the two screws back in the shell so they do not get lost. Place the smoke unit in a Ziploc bag. Label the bag with the locomotive model number, road name and number.
NOTE: To make the switch cover easier to remove and replace, the metal tabs that hold it to the hood can be removed. This will also prevent anyone from trying to pick up the locomotive by the dynamic brake blister, and having it fall when the metal tabs let go. Fasten the four small screws back in the cover so they do not get lost. Place the metal tabs in the Ziploc bag with the smoke unit.
Cut a plate to hold the switch and battery charging plug from 1/8th inch thick styrene sheet, or two pieces of 1/16th inch thick styrene sheet.
The two, 1/4 inch holes in the top corners of the plate are pocketed 1/16th inch deep with a 1/4 inch Forstner drill bit to fit over the nubs on the shell. The centers are then drilled out with an 7/64ths inch bit to let the mounting screws pass.
A 1/4 inch hole is drilled in the switch plate for the toggle switch and a 5/16ths inch hole for the battery pack charging plug as shown in the diagram.
NOTE: If you intend to install a Phoenix sound board and use the jack for the programming accessory, the plate will have to include a second 5/16ths inch hole for the programming jack.
Mount the switch so it toggles from side to side.
The female half (connector) of an EA plug set will be used as the charging plug. It has the same connector as an Aristo-Craft lithium-ion battery pack.
Drop the wires of the AE connector through the 5/16ths inch hole in the switch plate. Spread the wings of the connector out and wiggle the base through the hole. The base is held with a spade terminal which is secured with hot glue to the bottom of the switch plate as shown in the following photo.
WIRING THE BATTERY SWITCH
Cut the wires of the battery charging plug to a proper length, and solder and shrink wrap them to the terminals on the end of the switch as shown in the diagram.
The male half (connector) of an EA plug set will be used to connect the battery pack to the switch. It has the same connector as an Aristo-Craft battery pack charger.
Solder and shrink wrap the wires of the AE connector to the center terminals of the switch as shown in the diagram.
As the receiver will be mounted in the Plug and Play socket, it can not be wired directly to the switch. To provide the receiver with battery power, the locomotive's redundant MU plugs will be unsoldered and replaced with an AE plug set.
The female half (connector) of an EA plug set has the same connector as an Aristo-Craft lithium-ion battery pack. Solder its wires to the to the terminals on the end of the switch as shown in the diagram.
Install the switch plate using the two small screws from the smoke unit.
Mark the top of the switch plate with on and charge labels as shown.
REMOVING THE MU PLUGS
One of the wires of each MU plug is marked with white paint. Mark the solder pad on each Printed Circuit Board (PCB) to which it is attached. Unsolder both MU plug wires from each of the Printed Circuit Boards PCB04 and PCB05.
Remove the hot glue holding the MU plugs to the frame and remove them. Place the plugs in the Ziploc bag with the smoke unit and switch cover metal tabs.
In the previous section, an AE plug set was soldered to the terminals on the end of the switch. Solder the red wire of the male half (connector) of that plug set to the previously marked soldering pad on the PCB04 by the rear motor. Solder the black wire to the other soldering pad.
INSTALLING THE BATTERY PACK
There is a tab at each end of the fuel tank that holds it to the frame. Push the tabs toward the center of the tank and pull gently to remove the tank.
Undo the nut and bolt that holds the rear weight to the frame and remove them. The battery back will be mounted in its place. Place the weight, bolt, washer and nut in a separate Ziploc bag. Label the bag with the locomotive model number, road name and number.
Remove the hot glue from inside the rear of the fuel tank (between the air tanks) so the battery pack can sit flat. Place Velcro dots on the bottom of the battery pack and fasten it to the bottom of the fuel tank.
Remove the wings from the sides and two small nubs from the bottom of the connector on the battery pack.
Enlarge the hole in frame left by the screw that held the rear weight with a 5/16ths inch drill bit.
Ensure the battery switch is toggled to the charging position. Pass the battery pack connector through the hole in the frame and remove any slack in the wiring. Plug the battery pack connector and into the connector soldered to the center terminals of the switch.
Install the fuel tank.
INSTALLING THE RECEIVER
Place the shell next to the frame. The 3-pin connector outlined in yellow in the Plug and Play must be installed in the printed circuit board (PCB01) next to the rear 10-pin socket before the receiver is installed. This connector is for the voltage regulator and is marked REG.
Remove the 12-pin dummy plug outlined in yellow from the front of the Plug and Play socket.
Install the 2.4 GHz receiver, ensuring the pins on both ends of the receiver are properly lined up with the socket. Straighten the antenna.
Program the receiver in accordance with the instructions provided in the Installation and Operation Manual for the 2.4 GHz TE. The manual is available on the Aristo-Craft web site as an Adobe pdf file. To read or download the manual, click on the link.
There is also an article on Installing and Programming the 2.4 GHz TE Receiver in the Battery Power and Radio Control Section of this web site.
INSTALLING THE SHELL
Replace the shell using the "Removing The Shell" instructions as a guide. Be careful not to pinch any of the wiring between the frame and the shell.
CONGRATULATIONS! You have successfully converted an Aristo-Craft GP-40 to on-board, battery power and radio control.
ENJOY!
Comments:
From Paul Norton, OVGRS [76.69.42.13] - 4/15/09 11:42 PM
From Bill Nesbitt [66.32.146.229] - 4/7/09 4:19 PM
Paul,
Paul, I left my smoke unit in and mounted my DPDT center OFF switch in between the 2 slots for the metal clips and my LINK button right behind that. Where did you mount your link button? I used a center off switch so I could turn off (isolate) the battery frm all circuits. Problem with this was the handle on the switch was too long and I couldn't mount the dynamic brake moulding all the way. I cut about 1/8" off the switch handle and this allowed for the dynamic brake cover to fit flush
Comment on this Page
Last Modified 10/28/09 9:30 AM
Hi Bill! I am glad you were able to retain the smoke unit. Thanks for posting your information, as others will probably make good use of it. Although my article doesn’t mention it, a center-off switch was used as I had a couple on hand. Luckily mounting it under the exhaust stack allowed the toggle to clear.
As I have never had to re-link an on-board receiver after installing it, the remote linking switch was not installed. I may have to change my way of thinking if software upgrades to the TE force me to re-link. If so, a reed switch will replace the remote linking switch and be mounted under the area that you used for your power switch. A magnet will be used to activate the reed switch for linking purposes. I really should test this before closing up this locomotive.
Right now it is open to bench test and install a Phoenix 2K2 sound board. I am making another plate to mount the battery switch, battery charging plug, and the jack for the Phoenix sound board programming plug. So far I have been able to trigger the horn, bell and increase and decrease the sound board volume with the TE transmitter. The programming package however, allows so many other features of the board to be used.