Great information Michael. Thanks.
Unless I missed it, I don’t think any of that info on battery life is in the manual. Next time I put some heavy use on mine I’ll look for the red indication.
So, based on what Michael just posted, using the HC to load sounds / configure a loco module should never be a problem so long as you start with a good charge.
What you don’t want to happen is for the controller to shut down in the middle of a file load. That could potentially leave the loco module and/or the controller in an unrecoverable state. The HC has a reset button, but I don’t think the LMs do.
Jon,
Must have missed it, how is the HC charged?
Thanks
Rick
Rick Marty said:
Jon,
Must have missed it, how is the HC charged?
Thanks
Rick
Included in the package is a wall wart and a USB cable. Ring says to only charge using the provided wall wart, never via a USB connection to a PC.
EDIT to add: The USB cable is also used to copy files from the PC to the HC using the Assistant software.
Bruce Chandler said:
If battery life IS an issue with the hand controller, I’ll probably just use one of my external battery packs. (They work well for phones and tablets)
I have a similar unit and thought the same thing, but so far have never had to use it. That’s another reason, I think the meter indicating a low battery is not very accurate. Extreme experimentation continues. Your results may vary.
Another duplicate post deleted.
Those are handy, but I don’t think it will help. When connected to the power source the HC goes into it’s battery charging mode and can’t be used as a controller. Not sure if it would work as a charger either.
Does railpro play well with track power?
For track power, the PWR-56 DC power supply/radio repeater that Ring offers was primarily designed for HO scale locomotives and has enough power to drive 15 or more HO scale locos. It can also be used to power one or two G scale locos with an LM-3S-G Module installed. The PWR-56 has 56 Watts of power, about 20% less voltage than a typical G scale power supply, so the train’s top speed will likely be about 20% slower.
PWR-56 Specifications:
Output Current: 4 Amps
with Auto Recovery Short Circuit Protection
Output Voltage: 14.2 volts regulated DC
Input Voltage: 100-240VAC, 50/60Hz
No word if Ring is working on a beefier power supply with higher current to drive multiple G scale locomotives.
Jon Radder said:
Those are handy, but I don’t think it will help. When connected to the power source the HC goes into it’s battery charging mode and can’t be used as a controller. Not sure if it would work as a charger either.
REALLY? Well, I never tried it, but thought about it as a backup. Good to know. Once again. I’ve had it look like it was going to quit, according to the battery meter on the controller, but never had it go “belly up” and be “outlawed” on the job.
Duplicate post.
Ric Golding said:
REALLY? Well, I never tried it, but thought about it as a backup. Good to know. Once again. I’ve had it look like it was going to quit, according to the battery meter on the controller, but never had it go “belly up” and be “outlawed” on the job.
Referring to Michael’s post on page 1: If you have never seen the battery indicator turn red, you have never been within a half-hour of running out. You still have two minutes when it starts flashing red.
Jon Radder said:
Ric Golding said:
REALLY? Well, I never tried it, but thought about it as a backup. Good to know. Once again. I’ve had it look like it was going to quit, according to the battery meter on the controller, but never had it go “belly up” and be “outlawed” on the job.
Referring to Michael’s post on page 1: If you have never seen the battery indicator turn red, you have never been within a half-hour of running out. You still have two minutes when it starts flashing red.
That’s good to know. I noticed on Sat when I fired up the Big Hauler to use during the Ops session, that the indicator was reading about half charge, but Ric was using it to run the passenger train and it looked the same when I put it away.