What is the purpose of the circuit board in the Bachman Connie?
It appears to have a diode bridge and several regulator circuits, but I can’t imagine what the transistors and resistors are doing. Is that the firebox flicker?
I’d like to power it from the PWC output of an Aristo TE. I know that the circuits are interfering with the PWC from what I’ve read and what I observe when running it on PWC. I’d also like to keep the lighting.
Ideas? Diagrams? Guesses???
Thanks -
JR
I answered some of my questions by finding this post over on MLS…
http://www.mylargescale.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=31809
Thie circuit board that I was looking for is hidden on the motor. The post also included TOC’s step-by-step disassembly instructions.
I’d still love to know what all that other stuff is doing, but I have my PWC question answered.
JR
I just rip out most of the boards and simple wire the durn thing. Seeing as I’m not doing smoke or fancy lighting circuits; rewiring or just simple wiring of the headlight is easy. The back up light on the tender is wired directly to the onboard throttle, which is in the tender on my locos. Be sure to remove the board from the end of the motor or you will burn the thing up.
If in doubt about any of this; just pick up the telephone and call Dave Goodson…he is very approachable on such matters.
Thanks Fred, When I convert this one to full on-board RC I will follow your advice, but for now I’m just trying to get it to wok properly on PWC track power. It looks like that crazy PCB is mostly a regulator and lighting effects. Probably could have been done with 1/3 the parts 
Using Dave’s instructions I was able to open it up, remove the PC Board from the motor and get it back together with minimal trouble. My only screw up was a mix up between the sound trigger and the power source when replacing the plug on the ash pan PCB. Fortunately only 4 screws to access that board. I was going to implement my Annie On/Off switch mod…
But found that the motors are connected to one side of the DPDT switch, and the lighting to the other side. Just cutting the cross over wire isn’t good enough. I’ll have to go back in and move the lighting to the same side as the motors. Will finish that this AM. Preliminary test shows that removing that PCB does make it run smoothly on PWC. JR
Frogs.
Rumour has it that the UE at the insistence of one manufacturer who seemed to want the Continent to itself demanded noise suppression on motors.
So the French watching Brit sit-coms with their rabbit-ears on top of the set don’t get any raster.
All it does is cut radiated noise.
Back-emf decoders, it has been reported, either blow the board up or they board blows the decoder up.
One guy (on these forums, no less) had a T/E runnng his on rollers.
Since the load wan’t enough to blow anything, by the time the smoke got let out of the stack the entire plastic end of the motor was melted out.
The big black things on the edge are electrolytics, set up as bi-polar.
I had the board (identical) in my Centennial 2-6-0 with one installed backwards.
Dang thing wouldn’t back up…shorting out the motor input.
Remove and pitch.
The wires coming in connect back to the motor terminals closest to where they were on the board.
There are 2 electrolytics, 2 small inductors, and…other stuff I can’t recall without digging one out of the junkbox.
A Connie in the Junk box? When you get it out, set it aside and toss into my next order-thanks 
cale
I think he’s talking about the circuit board being in the junk 
Yup. I pulled the noise board off the motor and it runs much better on PWC. No jackrabbit starts or funky throttle control. Nice and smooth now and slow enough for switching.
I understood the noise board OK. It’s that big funky board in the boiler that seems a bit of over kill.
Thanks Dave -
JR
The board in the smokebox does several functions.
It IS the driver for the flicker lights in firebox and ashpan.
For that reason alone, I leave it alone.
It also has a voltage regulator for the smoke unit, and it polarity drives front and rear headlights.
Thanks Dave.
The polarity drivers for directional lighting on this unit and the 45 tonners leave a little to be desired. The opposite LED always glows, although dimly. This could be another PWC phenomenon - I haven’t tried switching to linear.
JR
Yes, since LED’s will sense the downleg on PWC as a “normal” voltage when off.
Mine don’t do it on pure DC, but who knows…
I replace ALL of my LED headlights with 14V GOW bulbs.
Color is spot on for incandescent (funny how that works), and since I’m running 14.4v…
With 16.8, I add 4 diodes in one line of each bulb.
I gotta ask , Dave said …
With 16.8, I add 4 diodes in one line of each bulb
I guess I do not understand , 4 diodes , why ?
And this is for my education , NOT , doubting Daves reasons .
Dennis Paulson said:
I gotta ask , Dave said .... With 16.8, I add 4 diodes in one line of each bulbI guess I do not understand , 4 diodes , why ?
And this is for my education , NOT , doubting Daves reasons .