Large Scale Central

Adding RC to an Accucraft Forney

Electronics Live Steam
#1

Hello all,

Has anyone out there put RC Control on an Accucraft Forney Live Steamer?

Interested in seeing your installation if you have. Might save me some head scratching.

Thanks in Advance,

Bill in Cypress, Texas

#2

Bill - don’t overlook the AccuCraft spares pages, where you can find the correct AccuCraft throttle/direction adjusting levers - made for r/c - at $6 a piece. They are direct replacements for the black knobs and look good, too.

tac

#3

Thanks for that tac! I may be getting a Live Steam Forney also, in the next few days and will try to add an R/C helicopter receiver and servos.

#4

As far as R/C for a Forney is concerned, think simple and effective - my vote is for Tony Walsham’s RCS system. It’s now in the totally glitch-free 2.4GHz frequency and has a range of many hundreds of feet under normal conditions.

See his site for details of dealers in the US/CN.

tac

PS - Welcome to the frumo!!! I was so busy answering your question that I plumb fergot to say hello!

#5

Hello all!
I was just thinking about putting RC in my AccuCraft Forney and I found this POST.

My question is are they difficult to install and first is can I afford it?
I don’t know bout me , sometimes I’m brilliant, then my brain goes numb and I can’t do anything right.
So I would like something that’s not to difficult to install.
I got my Forney to stay on the track now. It’s going to be a real runner.
But with my track being @ ground level it’s a little challenge to control it the way I would like.
RC for the fuel and speed would be a plus.
David

#6

David - usually the common controls for a gas-fired live-steamer are limited to the throttle and direction, not the gas control, which is usually VERY sensitive. Some folks have a whistle, but this is usually a pretty expensive item in our scales. Larry Bangham and Bob Hytrek make them, but they cost around 75% the price of your Forney.

tac

#7

Tac;
Even just the throttle would be great , the direction would be icing on the cake so to speak.
I would be more than happy with that.
David

tac said:
David - usually the common controls for a gas-fired live-steamer are limited to the throttle and direction, not the gas control, which is usually VERY sensitive. Some folks have a whistle, but this is usually a pretty expensive item in our scales. Larry Bangham and Bob Hytrek make them, but they cost around 75% the price of your Forney.

tac

#8

David - over on the [ahem] other site, there are three pages, so far, with details on doing what you want to do - just follow the thread ‘how do I fit r/c to my Ruby?’. AFAICT, there seem to be many versions of the Ruby, and the varying lengths of the throttle operating spindle seems to be the main culprit in fitting difficulty. However, be aware, as I noted before, that AccuCraft makes an after-market operating lever for both the throttle and reversing block - I call it that as you dispense with the Johnson bar when fitting r/c. Cliff Luscher over there in union City is a gem - depending on where you are calling him is best, as he has the facts readily to paw. They are priced at $6 each plus shipping - you can find them on the AccuCraft site’s ‘spares’ pages.

‘Ruby’/Forney is not very popular over here, sadly, as the prices, even with ‘Ruby’ as a kit, compare VERY badly with UK AccuCraft’s RTR models, so I can’t really be much use to you with nuts and bolts advice.

tac

#9
tac said:
Bill - don't overlook the AccuCraft spares pages, where you can find the correct AccuCraft throttle/direction adjusting levers - made for r/c - at $6 a piece. They are direct replacements for the black knobs and look good, too.

tac


That’s great info - I never knew they were available. Thanks!

#10

David & Bill -

I don’t know how different the Forney is from the Shay - it sounds like they are both cousins of the Ruby. I wrote up an article on installing a single servo RC in my Accucraft Shay here on LSC: http://www.largescalecentral.com/articles/view.php?id=97 Be sure to wade through the preliminary testing stuff to see the final installation details. I control only the Johnson bar. It works for both speed and direction with the throttle cracked about 1/4-1/2 open.

#11

Jon - that’s exactly how I drive my Maerklin S3/6 Pacific - it works a treat, too.

Best

tac

#12

I don’t want to seem like a dummy, but where are the spare pages?
I couldn’t find them.
Maybe a link to them might help.

#13

Hey I have a deal for you! We trade, I have levers on my Ruby and I would like the little black knobs. Email me and we can see if that will work for us both.

Paul Austin

#14
Bill Smith said:
Hello all,

Has anyone out there put RC Control on an Accucraft Forney Live Steamer?

Interested in seeing your installation if you have. Might save me some head scratching.

Thanks in Advance,

Bill in Cypress, Texas


Bill,
I had fun putting r/c in an FWRR loco, which is basically a Ruby with a larger cab - much like your Forney I suspect. I have the .PDF of my article that ran in Steam in the Garden covering most of the install. Let me know (email) if you want a copy

#15

David - the spares/parts section IS there along the tool bar at the top page.

Try - http://www.accucraftestore.com/index.php?categoryID=93

tac