Has anyone tried to use those mini R/C cars that one can pick up for about three bucks for their setup? If so does it work well? And how?
You are talking to a who bairly understands olny simple circuts, so no big words, PLEASE. Thanks.
Guess not, eh?
I havent used RC but I have tried using the little AA battery powered "Stomper" knock offs that show up from time to time at my local Big Lots,
The first experiment resulted in a nice little inspection car.
The second one came from a different maker and I had a more difficult time mounting the wheels, before I just drilled them out to the new axle diameter, the new ones are smaller so I have to add a shim, big PITA! No further work on #2 so far.
Have fun with your trains
I read with great interest the piece on 'mice' by Peter Jones in the most recent Garden Railways mag. He always enthrals me with his writing style and the varied topics he writes about. His book 'Practical Garden Railways' is a must! He mentions using inexpensive battery r/c cars as a base from which to make 'mice'.
I have a 32mm gauge track which means I always check the space between the drive axle before I consider buying. If I can't get a pair of railway wheels on with the flanges at 28mm then I don't buy.
The other consideration is reduction gearing. These cars are usually designed to hare along at break-neck speed, unless it is a much younger child's toy car. That means reducing the RPM of the drive axle with either reduction gears or a worm gear. I have sucessfully used the r/c and motor from a cheap toy car and made my own drive unit ( well worm gear and drive gear). Sorry no pics as I no longer use it.
I have found that the Tamiya gearbox/motor units are ideal as a ready-made drive unit. One can find reduction ratios anywhere from 1:16 down to 1:600. I try to get 1:40 which gives a scale 20/30mph speed. Some will suit 32mm gauge track, some won't.
Regards, Matthew Foster.
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