Getting a Playmobil shuttle unit to work

[playmofire]

Hello James, I’ve just acquired a playmobil shuttle unit. Unfortunately there seems to be a couple of components that have been removed from the circuit board, is there any chance you would be able to photograph both sides of your board please.
I’ve been scouring the internet for weeks trying to find info on these units.
Cheers

Hi Andrew (I guess it's you, Gordon here), James left the forum some time ago now, although it may still be that he keeps an eye on threads was involved with. Meanwhile, I've had a look at my Playmobil shuttle unit and the buffer with the elctrics in has a black plastic base over the innards which I am loath to try and remove. I had another version, where the innards were just covered with a piece of card, but that packed up years ago and eventually I ditched the innards but kept the buffer.

The Playmobil unit is very simple, for example, you cannot alter the time delay, and was, apparently a simplified version of an LGB one, which may explain why there appear to be parts missing on yours.

If you can post a photo in this thread of your version, I can then compare the electrics with the LGB version. If that doesn't help, then there are other Playmobil users on the forum who may know the answer.

 

[landymad]

Hi Andrew (I guess it's you, Gordon here), James left the forum some time ago now, although it may still be that he keeps an eye on threads was involved with. Meanwhile, I've had a look at my Playmobil shuttle unit and the buffer with the elctrics in has a black plastic base over the innards which I am loath to try and remove. I had another version, where the innards were just covered with a piece of card, but that packed up years ago and eventually I ditched the innards but kept the buffer.

The Playmobil unit is very simple, for example, you cannot alter the time delay, and was, apparently a simplified version of an LGB one, which may explain why there appear to be parts missing on yours.

If you can post a photo in this thread of your version, I can then compare the electrics with the LGB version. If that doesn't help, then there are other Playmobil users on the forum who may know the answer.

Hello Gordon, yes it’s Adam that messaged you through YouTube yesterday.
My shuttle unit is the one covered by a piece of card.
I believe that there are a couple of components missing as there are signs of solder over empty holes on the board.
I will get a picture of the reverse tonight but here is the top side

 

[landymad]

Hello Gordon, yes it’s Adam that messaged you through YouTube yesterday.
My shuttle unit is the one covered by a piece of card.
I believe that there are a couple of components missing as there are signs of solder over empty holes on the board.
I will get a picture of the reverse tonight but here is the top side View attachment 322018

You can see 2 empty holes at the bottom and 4 up near the date stamp

 

[landymad]

Hi Adam, apologies for the name confusion, although I did get the right area of the alphabet, which is good for me! Look forward to seeing the other side. Have you tried operating it, btw?

Hi Adam, apologies for the name confusion, although I did get the right area of the alphabet, which is good for me! Look forward to seeing the other side. Have you tried operating it, btw?

Haha near enough!
This is the other side.
You can see the evidence of solder.
I have tried sending power straight through it to the tracks but nothing happens.
It was an ex shop display then acquired by someone that used the train on a straight piece of track for their children, I assume the kids would’ve wanted to control it themselves so someone may have removed a couple of components to bypass the relay.
Not sure why they didn’t just wire controller straight to the tracks.
That’s my guess
The circuit board was loose in a box and the buffer with cardboard in another so I just put 2 and 2 together.
I’d just love to be able to find out what’s missing to get an old bit of kit working again.

 

[playmofire]

Yes, these were only produced for shop display purposes. At least you have two pairs of wires to work with. One pair should go to a transformer/controller, max voltage 16, and the other to the track. The colour is usual, red +ve and blue -ve, but it doesn't matter how you wire them as it only affects direction of travel. The question is - which pair should go to the controller and which to the track?

I know a couple of other members who may be able to help, so I'll draw their attention to this thread.

 

[landymad]

Yes, these were only produced for shop display purposes. At least you have two pairs of wires to work with. One pair should go to a transformer/controller, max voltage 16, and the other to the track. The colour is usual, red +ve and blue -ve, but it doesn't matter how you wire them as it only affects direction of travel. The question is - which pair should go to the controller and which to the track?

I know a couple of other members who may be able to help, so I'll draw their attention to this thread.

Thankyou Gordon.
I believe it’s possibly just trial and error but both ways have been tried with no luck. If only someone had a photo of their circuit board.

 

[landymad]

Thankyou Gordon.
I believe it’s possibly just trial and error but both ways have been tried with no luck. If only someone had a photo of their circuit board.

I have managed to get hold of these pictures from someone on Facebook. I’ve cross referenced the component side and there doesn’t seem to be anything missing from mine.

 

[playmofire]

It may be a dry joint in the solder where the flux isn't properly adhered or maybe dust/dirt has affected conductivity and the problem then is which one. Good joints should be bright and shiny and a dry one looks dull and crusty according to the internet. A wipe over with a damp cloth, maybe if it's dust/dirt or maybe a bit of WD40 or similar? I'm no expert here. Resoldering the problem joint (if it can be found) should certainly work.

 

[Gizzy]

It's difficult to identify the relay that is on that PCB (and missing from yours), due to the QC sticker....

 

[PhilP]

It's difficult to identify the relay that is on that PCB (and missing from yours), due to the QC sticker....

?

I see a relay on both boards, Gizzy?

PhilP

 

[Gizzy]

?

I see a relay on both boards, Gizzy?

PhilP

Ah yes, sorry. I thought that the OP mentioned a possible missing relay next to the large one.

However, looking at the later photo, the holes where this 'might have been' are aligned differently, so i doubt there should be one there.

My apologies for the confusion....

 

[-bbbb]

I'm totally unfamiliar with these, but maybe you are just connecting it to the layout wrong? Can you show / demonstrate how your layout is connected with it? Maybe someone will notice a problem if they can better see what's going on (i.e. what kind of train you are using, what kind of track, how everything is connected, etc.).

 

[landymad]

Sorry chaps only just realised my thread had been moved.
So I took the board and playmobil controller to work today and got it tested.
The board was happily passing through the 12v we were sending through from the controller.
Came home twiddled wires together again and this time put the output to the track and got nothing.

I don’t have a layout at the moment, just a length of track that I test the trains on after stripping them down and cleaning as they are all recent eBay purchases.
The plan is to have everything cleaned and working properly before a layout is built

 

[landymad]

Sorry chaps only just realised my thread had been moved.
So I took the board and playmobil controller to work today and got it tested.
The board was happily passing through the 12v we were sending through from the controller.
Came home twiddled wires together again and this time put the output to the track and got nothing.

I don’t have a layout at the moment, just a length of track that I test the trains on after stripping them down and cleaning as they are all recent eBay purchases.
The plan is to have everything cleaned and working properly before a layout is built

Just to note I don’t have any diodes soldered across gaps in the track at the moment but understood these were only needed to get the train to shuttle. I’m just wanting to get the train running on the track through the circuit board before any shuttling.
To clear up any confusion the wires from the board are being tested on the same piece of track that the train is sitting on and yes the train works.
Thanks, Adam

 

[-bbbb]

Sorry chaps only just realised my thread had been moved.
So I took the board and playmobil controller to work today and got it tested.
The board was happily passing through the 12v we were sending through from the controller.
Came home twiddled wires together again and this time put the output to the track and got nothing.

I don’t have a layout at the moment, just a length of track that I test the trains on after stripping them down and cleaning as they are all recent eBay purchases.
The plan is to have everything cleaned and working properly before a layout is built

If it worked in one location and then didn't work at the other, maybe the wire is broken inside the wire insulation and only conducts when the wire is bent a certain way which allows contact at the wire break? Try a different wire? Or maybe the track itself has bad connectivity?

 

[landymad]

If it worked in one location and then didn't work at the other, maybe the wire is broken inside the wire insulation and only conducts when the wire is bent a certain way which allows contact at the wire break? Try a different wire? Or maybe the track itself has bad connectivity?

I’ll check the wires as I know the track is good (basically brand new, I’ve even tried attaching straight to the train itself

 

[-bbbb]

You might also need to check the power outlet. Sometimes the power outlet won't work if it's connected to a switch on the wall which is left in an open position. I have learned this by experience a few times.

 

[landymad]

You might also need to check the power outlet. Sometimes the power outlet won't work if it's connected to a switch on the wall which is left in an open position. I have learned this by experience a few times.

Power outlet is fine, I’ve got it switched on and can touch the wires the the track for the train to move, as soon as I touch the same two wires to the circuit board nothing happens

 

[-bbbb]

It's hard to understand what's going on without seeing it.

 

[PhilP]

I assume you have the instructions, so know how to wire it up to the track?

PhilP