Hey folks,
I'm installing an ElectricRR Cruise Commander (along with Sound Commander) in my Hogwarts Express. Took it all apart this morning and realized the shell on the loco is too narrow. It just wont fit. Well, no problem there, I thought I'd just install it all in the tender. Well, it turns out the tender has a plastic chassis (not just shell, but the chassis too). That was surptising. Sometimes assumptions will get you, no?
Anyway, I'm wondering if the heatsink/mount needs to be installed on a metal chassis for better heat reduction purposes, or if it will cool just fine mounted on plastic. In other words, does the heatsink just double as a mount, or is the chassis actually utilized as a necessary part of the cooling process?
I've spent the morning searching online, but cannot find an answer. Anyone with experience in these upgrade know?
I don't have a real answer. I'd contact them direct. They do offer a Cruise Commander Lite. It's rated at 4 amps and should be fine. Looks like it will work in tighter confines and simply mounts with doublesided tape. No bracket. I know years ago I added a Digital Dynamics setup with sound to a Williams brass steamer that was a tight fiit. All the boards ended up residing in the tender shell including the driver board and heat sink bracket. Secured everything with doublesided tape and had no issues. It's still best to contact them.
Thanks for the response. I went ahead and emailed them this morning. Haven't gotten a reply yet, so I thought I'd see what folks around here thought. I think that even the Lite might be too big. The e-unit inside is long and narrow because it was such a tight space. It's a funny locomotive (big, but narrow), but my experience is somewhat limited. I'll post back when they reply to me.
If you have a metal shell and the heat sink is directly attached to it, it will conduct head away from the unit. If you use the foam tape on a metal or plastic shell the foam will also block the heat transfer. Unless the unit gets really hot from a component failure this shouldn't be an issue.
chuck If you have a metal shell and the heat sink is directly attached to it, it will conduct head away from the unit. If you use the foam tape on a metal or plastic shell the foam will also block the heat transfer. Unless the unit gets really hot from a component failure this shouldn't be an issue.
I have installed Crusie Commander Combos [TMCC, Sound and Cruise] in cheap plastic shells using the tape. Never had a problem.
God bless TCA 05-58541 Benefactor Member of the NRA, Member of the American Legion, Retired Boss Hog of Roseyville , KC&D Qualified
And you won't until a device like a high current component on a motor driver board fails. The only real problem with the tape (especially on metal framed cars) is when it starts to decompose. A lot of the original Sound of Steam analog boards were fine up until the foam mounting/insulating tape disintegrated and the pins on the bottom of the board shorted out on the tender frame.
I've used the sticky foam tape in the past but have started to make my own board brackets from heavy gauge styrene that I have screwed down to the frame with machine screws. Board's don't move and there is no tape to disintegrate.
Chuck .... ouch ! Are they the only ones mounted that way or should I pull all mine apart and check them ? K-line and williams engines ... ??
Plastic will not matter. Plastic does not conduct. BTW: I use black W/S sealing rope btweeen mine and the plastic/metal. Also, hole in heat sink will hold a bolt and can be bolted down.
Some plastic does conduct electricity, like the stuff I'm using to extend my bascule bridges. (I just checked it.)
I think the concern that was expressed had to do with melting the tender if the circuit assembly failed, not so much with normal operation.
Bob Nelson
Not an expert on this, so take my suggestion as just a thought. They sell heat sincs for electrical components, or you could find some in some older units. The ones I have are made of aluminum and have fins on one side and flat on the other. These are also only about 1" wide, 1"thick, and 2" long. I would attach the board to the flat side and use some stick compound or epoxy to mount the bottom of the sinc to the tender.
dennis
TCA#09-63805
Dennis's idea is a good one. Haven't melted one yet but anything is possible. BTW: Bob, don't think toy train plastic conducts. You have a special one.
I've never seen a failure where a plastic tender frame has melted but I have seen two instances where the relatively narrow shell on a hooded diesel (e.g. GP-7) were melted down like a blow torch had hit them. The electronic boards had suffered catastrophic failure (they were literally smoked) and the heat load was high enough to melt the abs shell. These were units with metal frames and the heat sinks were directly attached to the frames. The heat build up was fast enough to cause damage.
Foam tape will degrade over time. The newer 3M white stuff lasts much longer than the older gray open cell material used with the SOS boards. I just pulled off the tender shell from my RK Hudson that I installed a UCUB in about 9 years ago. The tape is no longer white and it is starting to harden/collapse. It's no where near a catastrophic failure but it also doesn't secure the board assembly the way it used to. I will try to post pictures of this assembly and the frame for a RailKing Diesel that I also converted with a UCUB. The original foam tape install on the diesel has been replaced by a pair of sheet styrene bracket assembly that consists of "L" brackets that are secured to the frame by machine screws and a fabricated slot that the board assembly slides into. The heat sinks for the board don't touch anything but the PC board they are mounted on. There is a gap below the board to prevent the component pins from shorting out on the frame. This may sound complicated but it was actually an easier install than most of my other attempts and it allows me to yank the board without any problems.
Well, I haven't heard back from electricrr yet, so in my impatience I just went ahead. Was able to get all the components in the tender (no easy feat!) and I think I'm OK. I lashed it up and tested and BINGO, it worked! Now I'm left trying to put the shells back on and make it all look pretty. I have 8 wires now to run to from the loco to the tender.
2x front lamp
2x program switch
1x hot center rail pickup
1x smoke unit
2x engine brushes
Is there any easy way to do this?
I went today to my local (30 min. away) cable and connector store and they didn't have much that wasn't big nylon connectors. Another option was an eight wire ribbon wire and connectors, but even that looked unsightly. I thought I might just hardwire it all (without a connector between the loco and tender) but now I'm not so sure about that either. I was going to use heat shrink wire wrap to keep it neat but that looks like it will make one fat inflexible cable. What is standard practice with this?
go to an electronics supply and get some electronics flexible hookup wire is small sized and will flex very well for this application. I used to have one close by but they moved 30 miles away so not as convienient as it used to be a mile away.
You mean a tether? Scroll down to accessories:
http://www.digitdynam.com/pricelist.html
"You mean a tether? Scroll down to accessories:
http://www.digitdynam.com/pricelist.html"
YES! That's exactly what I mean! I guess I just began to doubt when I didn't see one at the electricrr site or at my local electronics supplier. I'll order it tomorrow. Wohoo!
Be careful when wiring it up. The hardest part is remembering to keep the wire's alligned properly. If you aren't carefull you can get one side wired in reverse order relative to the other side (don't ask how I know about this). If the components are numbered it's a little easier. If not, always check to make sure you are looking at the pinouts on both sides from the same perspective. Good Luck!
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