battery powering a Gandy Dancer

Piccys please Ross.
 
Yo
ROSS said:
I am in the process of building a speeder (more modern version of a Gandy).

I hope to use a 12v/1800mA (from Ebay) ..Lith Ion 65mm long x 35 x 20mm, fitted with safety pcb and on/off switch.

The RC will be initially FORWARD only (as the operating unit is only made for a one way job (not RC !)
I am hoping to strip out the pcb to make the unit quite a flat small unit and later buy another unit and see if it can be connected up "in reverse" so to speak so that the speeder can then go forward and reverse..(These units come as a pair (key fob and receiver) and available on different frequencies..so a couple (on a different freq to each other).. could be used .

Think the total cost of the gubbins will be less than £15.
Two "RC" units @ £3.00= £6.00 on different freqs
1 battery @ £6.50

Think



I will mount the lot on some Binney skip chassis as a speeder MOW consist.

Well...that's the plan anyway. Should keep me occupied a while.
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You could always wire in a DPDT before the Motor. Ok would not be self revercing but would be able to go backwards if you wanted it to under RC after you changed direction.
JonD
 
Those little motors are just great, aren't they, Ross ? I've used them in quite a few of my animations. And they're very affordable.
 
ROSS said:
Just tested the RC Led dimmer from China (£2.00 odd) post free ex Ebay. Works ok with the small motor pictured above. Forward only - -(or if you reverse the wires to the motor......reverse only(!!). If you want reverse then add a DPDT switch as mentioned above. I have seen these in the UK advertised at £14 !!!

View attachment 206083​

Goes zero to full chat in smooth steps and can operate at a crawl by blipping the control "down" to just before full stop. Used a Lith Ion 12v/6800mA battery to test. NO! it does not operate on 6v or 9v..it operates as the box says on 12-24 volts (and by the way...there are some of these out there for 12v ONLY so make sure you get what you want.
The receiver box is overly large as the PCB inside MY box is only 60mm long by 20mm wide with a very small board on top of it at right angles making the total height 20mm (and that only in the middle of the board)
NOTE: Some of these have been seen with a much larger PCB board in them.​
Seems its pot luck on what you get......Furthermore..these units are matched to a frequency and I understand there are a few different frequencies available so if ordering more than one, specify to the dealer you want different frequencies for each .......

The PCB can easily be unsoldered from the connectors either end of the box and the PCB is marked with input and output for easy soldering of wires........

The PCB has a curly pigtail wire aerial attached to it..don't mess about with it as regards length!

So far..so good.
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M'mm - I had one for my rail motor (Sierra coach bash) - it worked reasonably well until I stretched the aerial wire. Could have done with this advice a couple of years ago!!!

Reo Bash (133).JPG
 
The Boss talks to Dai whilst Abner prepares for more back breaking toil.image.jpeg The CFR "Gandy Dancer" has been very busy today. It operated from 9am to 3pm and covered an actual 8 miles on one charge. Operation was only curtailed due to debris falling from the trees onto the track.
 
I know this is a very old thread but I thought I would pictures of a bachmann Grandy Dancer I converted to battery power with a lipo 11.1 v battery. I get over 2 hours of run time between charges. Added an micro toggle switch and at 11v it runs at about the right speed. I printed a box to hide the batter in.
David
 

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Good idea. My recollection of trying to run one on track power was that it was very erratic due to its short wheelbase.

Rik
 
Nutntooit said:
I ran the wires through the bottom of the battery box and painted them gray so they don't stand out so much.
David
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Since this thread has been updated, I'll ask about replacing the gears on one of these. The gears on mine, both axle drive and animation, are cracked and slip on the axle. I bought replacement gears from Bachmann which will require grinding a flat on the axles. Anyone done this?

I've bought a cheap, $5.98, RC 3-12VDC reversing speed controller, .5A controller on the unmentionable auction site to install with a PP3 battery, but the gears come first.
 
HobbitFertang said:
Here's my one. It uses an 8-cell AAA pack. I'm afraid the wiring is not very neat. It also seems to lose charge quite quickly . . . haven't yet figured why!


View attachment 354160
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Does it have a manual speed controller on it?

Many of these, despite having a switch on the speed control pot. do not actually switch off the power into the device, do the electronics is always drawing a little current.

A switch in one wire from the battery, will cure this.

PhilP.
 
I don't have any type of speed control on mine but a 11.1v 450 mah battery runs mine for 2 hours plus. And the speed is just about right for a hand car.
Charging at 1amp takes 30 minutes.
David
 
I've got some steep gradients on my layout and find the speed controller is useful but not essential. However, it does take up quite a bit of space.
 
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