MTH on batterys ?

[Anonymous]

I was just wundering out loud here . Someday in the future if and when I switch to battery power can batteries be used to power MTH locomotives . Has anyone done it ? It runs on 18 volts track power now using the 2.0 sound and control system .

[Curmudgeon]

Tony Walsham has done several.
It is a royal pain in the posterior.
The designers got real "cute", and it's easier if you cut and throw EVERYthing and start over, but he's done it.
He'll be here shortly to tell you about it.
TOC

[Anonymous]

Why do it, why reinvent the wheel?

Ian

[Curmudgeon]

I give up.
Are you really that thick or do you just come across that way?

[Marty Cozad]

I'd like to see all companies have at less a switch that seperates track power from a battery power. Then you could adapt their own.
Why bother, mainly to give folks the option.
The tenders of these engines have lots of room for almost any thing.

[TonyWalsham]

Hi Blue aster.
Dave is being generous.
I have actually only done one. A Challenger.
That I had to do it three or four times to get it to work I guess qualifies it as being several.

Anyway.
As long as you understand that running on any form of DC control (and that is what batteries are) you will not have a Whistle/Horn or Bell.
They are only accessible with AC or the MTH DCS control.

The other really big problem is the MTH DCS feedback that sends reverse data back via the track pick ups to the TIU. That feedback creates a lot of Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) which reduces the range to virtually zero.
The only way I could do it was to completely separate the on board MTH electronics and the motors.
I powered just the motors from the RCS Motor Driver. They only need 12 volts to get a decent speed.
I ran the MTH electronics with a separate battery pack that used relays to switch between idle and run using an opto sensor to detect when the motors were off or running.
Doing it that way I get over 100' range with the stock RCS 3 amp ELITE-3 and an Azarr M-27-Lite base loaded antenna.
The next Challenger I convert will have another sound system and speaker just for the whistle and Bell.

Ian.
The whole point of anyone contemplating battery R/C is so that they DO NOT HAVE TRACK POWER.
That does require re-inventing the wheel to make the MTH locos do what we were assured by MTH they would do when they were first announced.

[Anonymous]

Yeah , it was just thrown out there for the sake of conversation . That would be one conversion that I would take a pass on anyhow . I like it just the way it is .

[grandpopswalt]

Tony,

Is the sound generated remotely and sent to the loco's receiver via the rails? If so, isn't there a system that produces the sound on-board?, doesn't sound as though it would be too hard to do that.

Walt

[TonyWalsham]

Hi Walt.

Thanks for the input.
The Challenger is a superb 1:32 scale loco that runs really well.
It has a truly impressive sound system generated on board by the MTH Proto Sound 2®.
The system is designed to work with DCC, DCS, AC and regular DC.
Very clever.
Except that in DC mode the operator cannot blow the whistle or ring the bell.

If you were contemplating to R/C a Challenger I would wait until the next runs that are being delivered without any sound or control.
There will be a moulding in the tender that takes a speaker.
Then fit a sound system compatible to your choice of R/C and batteries. There is plenty of room in the tender.

If only a manufacturer had an agreement to install QSI® technology uprated for LS locos. I am impressed by what they are doing in H0 and 0n2½ locos by BLI, Lionel and Lifelike.
Dreams my friends, dreams.

Best wishes,

Tony Walsham (RCS).

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Curmudgeon

I give up.
Are you really that thick or do you just come across that way?

Come now .I can sometimes see Ian's point of view.How many times have you seen someone post a comment on garden railwaying when they don't even have one.Then there are the people that talk about modifying everything without ever having the intention of doing so.I don't see how you can take offence after some of your sarcastic past posts.
Troy

[Anonymous]

Troybetts its all for fun .We need people like Ian to add a little edge to our conversations .I will eventually have a few battery operated locomotives in my fleet but not all . I first saw this engine when a friend of mine brought his over to run it on my railroad.The thing that impressed me with this engine was when the passenger train sat at the station at night all the lights on my train were at full briteness. Thats cuz of the constant 18 volts on the rails. Even though you could probably use batteries to light the coaches it would be a royal pain .The little kids get a kick speaking through the microphone on the hand controller and hearing it on the train.

[Curmudgeon]

Hey, blue aster......check to see whose response I put mine after.
Wasn't yours.
IF you had your e-mail enabled in your profile, I'd have e-mailed you.
Wasn't yu I was referring to.
It was the thick one.
TOC

[Anonymous]

no problem , later.