Sorry if this topic has been covered before, but who needs to research when there are knowledgeable guys on line with nothing better to do than offer advice? 
My current (ha, ha) installation, which I got from G Scale Graphics, uses a 14.2 volt LI battery and works just fine, I guess. But I was wondering if the loco would perform better, especially when hauling a heavier load, with an 18-volt battery? Whatcha think/opine?
Joe,
It depends on whether you want speed or power. Adding voltage will add speed, but not necessarily power. Adding a higher amperage battery will add power but not necessarily speed. Higher amperage will usually boost run times as well. That said, obviously higher voltage and higher amperage will result in both higher speeds and more pulling power (longer trains/run times).
Any time that you can increase Watts (Volts times Amps,) you get better performance. It doesn’t matter for “grunt power,” which you increase.
Bob is right, though, volts is speed and amps is run time. Watts will give you the power necessary to get that long string of hoppers started up a grade from standing.
Just another point. If the loco is a lightweight, then adding some weight to it will increase its pulling power (tractive effort). But it will also increase its power consumption, the amps that it draws.
My first Question is will decoder take a higher voltage most of mine can not take more then 18 volts. My batterys are 14.8 li and they charge close to 17 volts full charge. Most of my locs. have weight added.
What I would ask is “is there a problem”?
Are you not getting enough run time? Pulling power? performance on grades, performance on the flat?
Is your speed too low?
A little information on the problem you are trying to solve would help. If you don’t have a problem, I’d leave it alone.
Greg
I would think that a 18 volt battery would be better as a 14 volt battery is just the input voltage to the controller, the motor will never see full battery voltage.
So, think technology, the newert control systems will have electronics that have a smaller voltage drop thus somewhat more voltage to a motor.
If a transistor is used then the voltage loss is far greater than the mosfets now used.
I know the following is not battery but the latest Zimo decoder is 6 amps without a heat sink as the mosfets have a smaller voltage drop, thus less heat. This also results in smaller units to install in the engines. I would hope the newer Battery controls are doing the same.
Dan you are correct about modern electronics.
The Deltang made Rx65b combined RX/ESC is rated at 3 amps and does not need any heatsinking.
They are brilliant up to about 14.8 volts nominal. Plenty enough voltage for all LS locos except the bigger Diesels and K36 type locos.
Hi Joe, after reading Greg comments I realized we need to know what Loco you have converted. What model loco are you are talking about? Now you will see a lot more specific answers based on actual use.
Don
Joe… What loco and what do you want to improve?
Greg Elmassian said:
If you don’t have a problem, I’d leave it alone.
Greg
This is just great advice in general, one that I have struggled with a bit over the years. Sometimes I just need to NOT mess with stuff and NOT screw it up! And sometimes I did mess with something and just screwed it up… I’m sure that the OP doesn’t have any issues like this in this specific instance, I’m just pointing out that this is good general life advice.
%#$^* !!! This is the third time I have written about my stuff, with each post getting lost in the electronic abyss. Dang!!
OK, I have two Bachmann 10 wheelers with Barry drives. Both have Aristo R/C which uses/used Train Engineer. One loco has the aforementioned Larry G Scale battery conversion kit and uses a 14 volt battery. I don’t know why I need more volts. The loco that is currently track powered has the Aristo module that allows you to trigger the whistle and bell with your remote. This is the loco I will convert to battery power. The other loco, which has battery power has auto start/stop whistle and bell, plus cylinder blowoff, but no operator actuated whistle or bell sounds. I don’t know why I need more power. Spoiler alert: as slick as all these new DCC systems and sound gear sound, I’m not buying any new stuff at this time, as I have too many other interests to siphon off my spending cash.
BTW, this is the current battery conversion. Because the tender shell wouldn’t seat fully, I recently moved the charging jack from beneath the water hatch into the underside of the tool box at the front of the tender deck, because there was interference with the R/C receiver. As you can see, there’s plenty of room for a bigger battery.
So you will use the original 27 MHz TE trackside receivers out of their shells.
One is already converted, and you will convert a second one.
You have sound systems apparently, but you did not specify which.
If you are happy with the first one, why not use the same setup for the second?
You still have not answered if they run fast enough or pull enough.
Is that a good synopsis?
(Oh you don’t want to spend a lot of extra money)
Greg
Joe.
Why do you say you need more cells?
If it runs just fine with a 14-volt battery, live and let live. I’ve got a few BBT-chassis-powered locos, and they all run great and pull like Mack trucks on 14 volts, so while I don’t know the specifics of your locos, I can’t think of a thing that adding a higher-voltage battery would do for your performance.
If anything, you could add a higher capacity pack (4400 - 5200mAh instead of the 2200 - 2600mAh pack that appears to be installed in the photos you show. That will effectively double your run time from somewhere in the 2 - 4 hour range to the 4 - 8 hour range depending on how much current your loco draws. On locos where I cannot remove the battery pack, I usually try to use the higher-capacity packs.
Later,
K
Gents, thanks for being so patient and informative in spite of my coming unglued. Greg, both systems are 1998 era Phoenix. One is stock, the other (the one that is still track powered) was reprogrammed by Phoenix so that the whistle and bell could be operator triggered. The only downside: the whistle no longer has that trailing sound that it did when it blew the automated crossing signal. Tony, because the battery-powered loco would no longer play the automated crossing signal (–o-), which I swear was triggered when you slowed down from faster running, I thought that maybe if I made the loco go faster, the crossing whistle would blow. Of course, this is silly, given that I intend to actuate the whistle manually.
Given the number of suggestions I’ve had from y’all to just stick with the status quo (If it ain’t broke…), I will go with 14 volts, which works fine in the first loco. As for being a cheapskate, I’m not, but I have to answer to the exchequer when it’s time to spend money. I have trains, photography, and my vintage car, all of which can suck up money.
One thought I’ve had: to duplicate the installation on loco 2, I’ll need that supplementary Aristo controller, the one that does individual functions (I’ll have to look up the part number). I wonder if they’re still around? Would the new, Revo equivalent work?
Tony: if I were to modernize, RCS would be my choice. I have always been impressed by your stuff and you have been with us through and through.
Joe, if the issue is the Phoenix boards’ performance, I’d suggest finding someone locally with the Phoenix programmer and buying them a beer of their choosing in exchange for an evening of reconfiguring your boards. Worst case scenario, you re-load the sound file and start from scratch. Loading the sounds doesn’t take but 15 minutes or so.
Later,
K
Kevin - He said he had 1998 vintage boards - not the newer programmable models.
Kevin, Phoenix will reprogram those old boards for like, $25, but in my last communication with their Jim Calahan, I was told there’s only so much they can do, which is probably OK since I’m not a demanding guy and don’t need much more than the basic sounds. Well, alright, I am, but not this time. Anyway, it’s a pity because there is a lot of stuff (sounds) in them chips. For example, with the Doppler effect, you could maybe replicate drifting or something.
BTW, I did unearth all of my original Phoenix literature and it says (quote), “as the engine reaches medium to high speed the crossing whistle blows. If you want to blow the whistle again, slow the engine speed slightly and pick it up again and the crossing whistle will blow again.”
This is the function I mentioned in my post. For the life of me I can’t get it to work, which is why I went down the “more battery equals more speed” route. Maybe it’s about track voltage, because those old Phoenix units don’t seem to come to life fully until they reach a certain voltage, which is why, maybe, the system came with an auxiliary 6-volt battery, which kept the power up until there was enough juice coming from the track. I’m talkin’ out my okole here, but it sounds right, don’t it? Of course, the crossing whistle, bell and doppler effect can be triggered by a magnet, which I have done in the past, but what’s the fun in that?
I tried to learn what the Aristo part numbers are for the various receivers and all I could find is that the main one is a 5490. And as luck would have it, I threw away my old Aristo catalog, so I don’t know what the auxiliary receiver’s part number is–the one that triggers the whistle, bell, etc. Anyway, I’m thinkin’ if Vince Morgan is still in business, I’ll check with him and see if he still has one of those as he seems to have saved everything he ever had in his inventory.
Or maybe I’ll call Phoenix tomorrow, 'cause I have other questions.
The 5490 is a 2.5 amp on board 27mhz receiver by Aristo. can run a 2 motor LGB engine, but not enough for many other 2 motor engines nor the 4 motor Aristo units.