Anton's Live Diesel

Anton, the only reason I am using the Electronize ESC is that it is about the only useful component from a previous abortive ebay purchase. (lesson : dont buy anything complex on Ebay)

However it does seem happy with the power and voltages that could be generated by my 11? pole motor rated at 12-24v so I think it is emminently suitable for my project. Tests have shown that my 900 series DC will adequately generate power to the traction motors.

I have decided to build my live diesel as a three stage project. Stage 1 which is nearly complete will be battery powered and will test the feasibilty of the electrical systems like relays, fusing, ESC and receiver. If this works satisfactorily I will insert the ic power generation module using a cheap 2 stroke ic engine. If this works OK I maybe will splash out on a 4 stroke capable of idling at about 2k rpm.

If everything goes pear shaped after stage 1 I will still have a loco capable of hauling heavy trains up the 1 in 40 to the stock shed.

Are these speed controllers just standard 2 channel devices....as i have a few that i am already currently using and i am wondering if they would work...

the first one is a: m3 sonik marine ESC





And the second one is in the Hymek at the moment and it is a: NO LIMIT RCline ESC





Could anyone advise me on these items and if you think they would work?

This is a new video i have quickly made using the new DC 700 motor that David very kindly gave me....

At this point there are still no electronics controlling the speed of the locomotive, therefore filming was very difficult as Shunt kept speeding off and derailing. once the speed controller is fitted, i will make another few videos.

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Well done and thanks for the video.

Did the DC 700 have enough umph to start the nitro or did you use an alternative method.
What is the nitro model and size on your Shunt loco.

Thank you very much David....

For some reason, it will start the Keyosho GX12 engine but will not start the force 15 , so i do not know what is going on there, perhaps as the force 15 has fuel running through it, it creates compression and resistance and the 700 just cant cope with that but is it a far more officiant motor then the MFA in my opinion.

The Engine is a Force 15

Do you know anything about my previous post? regarding my Speed Controllers?

And i hope to make a few more vidoes of this loco but ill have to wait until the ESC is fitted as it is just running away from me at the moment with no control

Anton, I do not have any experience at all regarding ESCs apart from the my post earlier about Electronize and Mac5.

In fact I do not even understand the benefits /disads between a budget ESC and an expensive ESC (£30-50) like Electronize or Mac5 except I know a Mac5 will operate lights and sound intelligently.

Sorry I cant help but hopefully someone on CGT will be more familiar with your photos than I.

Great video Anton. It goes, it works it's succesful. It just needs refining!

It's interesting that thesmaller motor turns the smaller engine but not the larger.

I have a Kyosho .12 that I'm going to try and turn over with a 650 motor.
The compression is noticeably much less than a .15 or .18.

I wouldn't get too crazy about this speed control stuff. For primitive control try putting something juicy between the motor generator output and the traction motor to lower the voltage/current and make it go slowly. Maybe another motor, lamps, smoke generator ?

String some heavy duty fixed diodes across it and that will lower the voltage by .7 each time.

Those ESCs in the picture should work ok although I would make sure they are protected with a fuse.

Carl thank you very much...yes it is interesting that it wont start the 15 but will start the twelve, after all a 15 size engine is just a bored out 12.

ahh ok thank you for that, i will try out one of these speed controllers very soon....

what kind of fuse would you recommend?

I simple diode? Well im sure Mapplins could supply me with with the necessaries..is there any particular diode or are they all the same? Im not very familiar with electrical circuits.

I would use a 2 amp fuse to start with but see if there are any current limitations on the ESC and go by that.

You could try Maplins 3A silicon rectifier diodes QL81C @ 29p each.

They do make a 6A but I think 3A should be okay....

You will need to be careful of the polarity or reverse connect them in pairs.

Each diode in series drops the voltage by .7

To answer your question about ESCs, AFAIK they are pretty generic devices, with a few variations, namely:
Brushed or brushless motor
Voltage rating
Amperage rating
With or without reverse.

As long as the ESC you have "fits" your application, it should work.

Hi Bill

Thank you very much for that...i cant actually find any information about the Speed controllers i have so i think ill have to buy a couple of diodes to ensure my ESC do not blow up as well as incorporating a fuse...

Funny as the makes of both of them are pretty popular yet i cant find anything on them.

A fuse is an excellent idea; shorted circuits can be nasty. I use a polyswitch - it's sort of a self-resetting breaker. Looks a bit like a capacitor. I think they are used a lot in audio applications.

Diodes would also be a good idea if there's a chance of reverse polarity.

David, have you tested your ESC that you are using on your diesel yet? As i just hooked mine up today and it worked for about 10 seconds and then stopped and im guessing ive blown it. I really need a 24v ESC to cope with all the power...

Let me know please

I have just found this...im wondering whether it would work okay, as it states that it could handle the voltage and amperage etc

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/12V-24V-36V-10A-DC-Motor-Speed-PWM-Control-Controller-/150595913234?pt=UK_BOI_Metalworking_Milling_Welding_Metalworking_Supplies_ET&hash=item2310374612

Anton, I have tested my electronize ESC and it works fine.

I would be inclined to go for something substantial like my FR15 though I have no knowledge of other alternatives. The standard ESCs on the GVC are Mac5s and Electronize.

http://www.electronize.co.uk/


As you can see they are 15 to 40 amp rated ie pretty resilient and at around £30-45 it may be false economy to try cheaper options.

I should add that I followed Carl's recommendations with plenty of fuses and diodes and started with low values ones and worked upwards.

Sorry but I am limited to V=IR when it comes to electronics.

Thank you very much David...I have decided to go for this which is a manual controller but i hope it will be able to withstand all the power.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390302126889&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_931wt_698

I will definitely be using an ESc like yours on the hymek diesel.

Yes i think im going to have to get to grips with volts, amps, watts and resistance as it would prove very beneficial for me to do so.

I don't know what happened to the ESC that blew up. Some can be very sensitive to short circuits and reverse polarity rather than a small low current overload. Electronize models are boldly marked as such.

The current drain shouldn't be too high. Many motors used for 'G' scale draw less than 1 amp with a light load.

The manual PWM controllers you posted on e bay are IMO are of limited use. I thought the whole point of a speed controller was to be able to control the speed remotely using a radio control receiver output.

For manual control of a small current motor there are cheap simple diode/transistor devices available.

The big issue is what ever device you use you should have some sort of protection.

I am starting to learn about power and all the issues involved, and what procedures i need to take to make sure that my electronic components are safe. I have decided to make SHUNT have the manual control and the HYMEK will have radio control gear in. Would anyone be able to give me a simple diagram of where to put the diodes/transistors and how to wire them up when i add the ESC into the circuit as i cant afford for my other one to blow up as well.

You don't really need a diagram although I could do one if absolutely necessary.

A fuse will help protect against overload (up to the fuse rating) and short circuit.

The usual practice is to put the fuse as near as possible to the device you want to protect, in series on the positive side.

A diode (electronic one-way valve) will help 'protect' against reverse polarity but not against overload or short-circuit.
Put the diode in series with the positive feed to the ESC.
The positive feed connects to the anode of the diode and the output (cathode) goes to the positive input of the ESC

You will need a chunky 1 amp minimum, better 5 amps. If you can't source any (ex. Maplins) I will send you some.

I have fallen in love with the Dimension Engineering range of speed controllers. I use them on my Gauge '3' locos. I get them from Technobots.



They are more expensive -due to import duties -but I think the are worth the money as they are far more flexible in operation than the Electronize and Mach 5 ESCs.

regards

ralph

They look very impressive but for me a bit too much, with 25 amps output I could power all my locomotives at the same time!

I also favour the RCS range.
They are very knowledgeable and helpful by e mail and although in Australia they post quite cheaply.

Carl Hibbs wrote:

They look very impressive but for me a bit too much, with 25 amps output I could power all my locomotives at the same time!

I also favour the RCS range.
They are very knowledgeable and helpful by e mail and although in Australia they post quite cheaply.

I just took a look at their website- Dimension Engineering also make a 10 amp version 1 - only $50.

I know its completely off topic but if anyone has or knows anyone selling a meths burning live steam 0 gauge loco like the Mamod SL1 or anything similar price range..please let me know

I watched James May's programme about getting an 00/H0 train to run the ten miles from Bideford to Barnstaple:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0120z75

(not sure if it's acessible outside UK).

The relevance to this thread is that the task (at which May failed in 2009) was run this year as a competition with the operators of Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg (Britain vs Germany - geddit - is there no cliche to which the BBC will not stoop?). As well as track powered models, the German team came up with two "secret weapon" trains, and one was clearly powered by a model aircraft engine coupled to a generator. Obviously, this being a TV programme, no useful details were provided. It was the most spectacularly unsuccessful of the non-conventional entries - the engine exploded after a few hundred metres. The reasons for this were not analysed. A battery powered train suffered gearbox failure on the H0 locomotive; a British entry was said to be powered by a hydrogen fuel cell - once again, no useful detail provided; it did make the distance.

fery interstink - but not so funny !

The BBC can stoop as low as it wants in my opinion - it is still the best television broadcast company in creation itself. I have often said that I would wiilingly pay the licence fee for just one special episode of Dr Who. They still have British in the company name too, a rarity these days in itself.

I was surprised to see that it is still being screened, this new "sequel" sounds interesting too was that an addendum to the series ? and can it be seen again. (Doh, a touch of RTFM ) Yes it is. Skybox set in readiness. Thanks for the info.

The James May progs are all on Youtube or at least they were and well worth a look.

Congrats on the new job BTW.

The highlight for me was seeing his childhood 'Flying Scotsman' (with realistic chuffing sound) make it all the way!

mikey