Large Scale Central

Birddoggin'

Electronics Power and Sound
#1

OK Shay No9 came out for her first run of the season and went flat … at first I thought perhaps it was faulty batteries, so I swapped 'em out…no luck. No9 is a 4 truck Shay, with the front three trucks powered and a Sierra Sound system. Power is provided by 12 NiMH 2800 mah cells. Control is viathe Action RC EVO system. When at rest and turned on , the locomotive lights and sound comes on and everything is normal, then when the locomotive moves, things start happening. Operation is jerky and the sound begins glitching exactly like when the batteries are going flat.

Do I have a short? Wheres the most likely place? Anything else I should check out?

#2

Swap or charge those batteries, what it sounds like is a low battery. Good connections to every battery?

#3

Did that first…totally changed the batteries out…coonections look good…definately a voltage problem I think…be from whence…

#4

Bart,
Measure the battery voltage under load.
If it is lower than it should be under load I suspect that is the problem.

#5

On the power input terminals at the throttle.

Under load.

Not at the battery pack. This will show what is really there.

What version of EVO?

Reason I ask, if if it’s a 2 you’re overloading it.

I know, for a fact, on a hot day with 3 motors in a Shay, sound and lights, hauling 20 loaded log cars up 4%, it draws MORE than 3 amps, but LESS than 4 amps.

TOC

#6

i beielieve its an EVO 4 correct me if I’m wrong, Tony was onboard when building this beast, so it has a larger beefier EVO…has ran fine for a couple of years, justthis spring is it not wanting to behave. I need to open up the trucks for lube anyways, I’m wondering if perhaps its a mechanical problem rather than electrical…

#7

Hi Bart.
The EVO-4 used a solid state motor driver that requires a minimum of 12 volts to work.

It will become very erratic when the volts drop to below 11 volts.

#8

I’m still not 100% convinced on the batteries, Going to try a different configuation to see if there is any difference. as well as a mechanical inspection to see if there is a bind or broken gear somewhere…stay tuned…

#9

Sometimes its the simplest things…one bad NiMH cell out of 12 and now everything is just peachy! sorted through them all with a multimeter to find the dud…replaced him and its off to the races!

#10

So, the moral of the story is: When they guys who know the gear suggest that the problem is batteries, it probably is !

I spent 15 years in computer tech support. A good 45% of problems reported was because something wasn’t plugged in, or a battery was dead. Funny how electronics refuses to work without the proper flow of electrons :slight_smile:

JR

#11

I get concerned when I hear of any potential problems with RCS equipment.
Best to discuss what it could be before panicking.

Apart from the TX handpiece and the metal cased receiver part, I make everything myself.

I take pride in that and make them to the best of my ability and try and get them as reliable as possible.
I don’t want them coming back.

I have found over the years promptly answering any enquiry or query as to why something doesn’t work, pays off in the long run with good word of mouth publicity.
Being a one man band I can’t afford high priced advertising campaign. So word of mouth it has to be. That means doing it right.

Sure I have had some spectacular failures over the years but they have been few and far between. Faulty stuff gets repaired post haste or simply replaced.

For that I am grateful to my American dealers.