Convert LGB Mallet to battery power

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Trainbrain

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I have a Uintah Mallet 2-6-6-2 that is missing a sound circuit board, power switch and a traction tire rubber. The wires were snipped in almost every direction.

I tested both motor blocks (hooked up the yellow and green wires directly to the power pack) and to my surprise, it runs! I highly doubted it was operable since it looked like it’s been heavily modified.

I have no interest in getting it to work on track power as some of the wheels are rusted. With the condition it’s in right now, I wanted to confirm it's possible to convert this to battery power and operate on a knob switch? For now, I don’t need light or smoke, my son would be happy with just seeing it run on the club's unpowered track. Can I hook up the light at a later time? I have very limited knowledge with electronics but if I have the correct parts, I can solder and assemble things together.

I did a bit of research and found the Simple Critter Control (Simple Critter Control). If I use this controller, what other parts will I need…a battery, charger, DPDT switch, power switch…? What is the cheapest battery that would allow 1-3 hours of run time? I can install the controller in the top cab hood and the battery pack can be placed in a trailing car of some sort. Is the Simple Critter Control the easiest route?

Thanks in advance!
 

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I would suggest that you look at model aircraft or model car radio control retailers.

A rechargeable 7.2V battery or two might be the way to go. I'm not familiar with the Simple Critter Control you mention, but I guess it could work.

You can connect up the light to the battery. It won't drain it as much as the motors.

Another person who might be able to give you advice in the US, is LGB 333 who is also on this forum....
 
You may not be bothered, but if you can avoid drilling holes in the body where they will be obvious, and detract from the model if the item is removed, I would recommend it.

You don't appear to have the original switch, so may as well remove the old main board from the loco. - This would give you more room, so you could probably put the batteries in the loco, if you wish?

Del Tapparro is quite approachable, and I am sure he can give you advice on your first conversion.

You don't have to go to 24V of battery.. You may well find 12 or 14.4V (10 or 12 NiMH cells) or a '3S' Lithium battery, will give you adequate top-speed.
DO make sure you have good advice about batteries and chargers. - Preferably, buy both at the same time, from the same supplier, so they match.
Especially with Lithium batteries, DO NOT modify anything, if you are not 109% sure of what you are doing.

Enjoy!
PhilP.
 
I did a Unita for battery operation for a friend, wrote it up in here but cant find it. I had the batteries and control in a van that was attached just 2 wires to supply motor power. Think batteries were around 14v NiMh. Had a crest sound RC system to control it.
 
My budget is around $100-150 total so I thought the Simple Critter Control would be a more economical option and rather simple to put together? I don't want to spend much since I'm not 100% sure what I'm doing and if the locomotive is going to run as intended. I want to go the cheapest and easiest route, it's mainly for my 7-year old son to play with. It's been sitting on my son's shelf for a couple months and that's all I thought it would be good for.
 
I had an extra PWM controller that I use for my micro N scale model layouts. The power source required for the controller is 6V/12V/24V/28V so I used a 12V wall wart and tested it out and it powers the motors like a charm! The speed seems plenty fast when cranked way up to 12V so I think I'm content with a 12V battery pack. I also lucked out that the headlight and cab light works, is it electrically safe to wire up the lights directly in the Motor +/- terminals on the PWM controller? Or does it need some sort of resistor?

Now I just have to figure out the battery/charger and what trailing car to use, which is the fun part! My son wants me to use a flatcar so I will most likely need to make a wooden box to encase all the battery/electronics so it looks like the car is carrying a load of some sort.
 

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Examine the lamps. - They may have been replaced by LEDs?

If not, they will probably be wire-ended plug-in bulbs. - If so, and the end of the bulb is 'flat' (not rounded) they are 5V bulbs.

You can swap them for the 18V version (rounded ends) and they should give enough light on 12V. - The 5V bulbs will not last long at 12V!

PhilP
 
These are the two bulbs that are currently there, it looks like it's the 5V bulbs. Can you enlighten me on how to swap it with the 18V ones, is it just plugging a new bulb in or needs some retrofitting?
 

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Pull out the old, push in the new..

Difficult to see how they are connected, from your photos. - If they are plugged into the original board, then that should regulate down to 5V and you won't need to change them.

PhilP
 
This is what the socket looks like for both. Is there a part number for this 18V bulb? All circuit boards will be removed and the motor wires will run directly to the PWM. Thank you!
 

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LGB - 68513
They list as 24V and will give you a 'soft' yellow glow.

You can wire these across the motor, and you can fit a diode in series, so they only light in the direction of travel.
Lights across the motor will, obviously, only be lit whilst the loco is moving.

PhilP
 
Will there be any ill-effects if I wire the lights and motors together and have it all come to one JST plug (using 22 awg wire)? I'm planning to have one plug coming out of the cab and the trailing car will have the PWM, battery, switches.

Do I need to take out the power pickups from the motor blocks? The wires are already cut away from the circuit board and the circuit boards are removed, would that be enough so that if it's accidentally placed on a powered track it doesn't cause havoc?

Thanks again.
 

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If they are still fitted:
The skates, and carbon 'brushes' (which pickup from the backs of the wheels) will cause a little drag..
Track-power would only get as far as the two pins atop the motor-block.

So as long as your wiring in this area is neat, then track-power should not get any further.

Your connectors should be adequate for the job.

PhilP
 
I am in San Diego and have done many sound/battery/control installations including at least one on an LGB 21881 (Uintah Mallet). Attached is primer I wrote for anyone interested in DIY installs. The primer is mostly about remote control but the section on batteries and chargers may be helpful. I have not used or installed the Critter Controls, but the online manuals seem to be straight forward they should work. Let me know if I can be of help.

Steve Seidensticker
 

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I always take out the skates and plungers as these cause drag which will ultimately loose some battery run time, not that much but always worthwhile making things as efficient as they can be with a batterification job. Oh yes, put the bits removed in a labeled container so if you reverce engineer back to track power you can find the buts.
 
Trainbrain said:
I have a Uintah Mallet 2-6-6-2 that is missing a sound circuit board, power switch and a traction tire rubber. The wires were snipped in almost every direction.

I tested both motor blocks (hooked up the yellow and green wires directly to the power pack) and to my surprise, it runs! I highly doubted it was operable since it looked like it’s been heavily modified.

I have no interest in getting it to work on track power as some of the wheels are rusted. With the condition it’s in right now, I wanted to confirm it's possible to convert this to battery power and operate on a knob switch? For now, I don’t need light or smoke, my son would be happy with just seeing it run on the club's unpowered track. Can I hook up the light at a later time? I have very limited knowledge with electronics but if I have the correct parts, I can solder and assemble things together.

I did a bit of research and found the Simple Critter Control (Simple Critter Control). If I use this controller, what other parts will I need…a battery, charger, DPDT switch, power switch…? What is the cheapest battery that would allow 1-3 hours of run time? I can install the controller in the top cab hood and the battery pack can be placed in a trailing car of some sort. Is the Simple Critter Control the easiest route?

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
My suggestion is the PIKO 35040 R/C which can be had for $100 US or less from retailers or . It is small and can be installed very easily in the loco with a battery trailing car. For lights it has a front, rear and cab outputs also it has two function switches that will enable you to activate a horn and bell if you eventually go the sound card route. Buy a 14.8 Lipo battery from Amazon with charger to keep the costs down. No need for a charger port as the battery will be in a trailing car and easily accessible. Unplug and plug back in. JST connectors are the way to go and maybe a simple on/off switch will be needed. Please don't drill into the roof you will regret it in the future. Lots of good information in the replies above. Good luck!
 
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