How do I go from from twin stick to small hand held TX control ?

[maxi-model]

I have one or two live steam locos (and one battery) that are all controlled by those cumbersome and over spec'ed "twin stick" model aircraft style transmitters (TX). My recent program of converting my electric track powered locos to Battery/RC/Sound operation has taught me that there are much more compact and handy forms of TX control out there. I have so far used Fosworks, RCS (not longer available) and now RC Trains products to operate my converted electric locos' functions. All the makes use TX's of the compact hand held type with only the minimal function controls needed. Some will even allow multiple locos to be bound to and individually controlled from one TX.

Question - If possible how do I go about employing a similar style of simple compact hand held TX with my existing live steam roster. I only want just one (or 2) TX and not to have to stand the cost of replacing all the RX gubbins and servos on the locos ? I.E. What one might describe as a "bind & play" to existing installed RX's solution.

Current live steam "twin stick" TX retinue to replace - Spectrum DX6i, Planet T5, E Sky (Roundhouse supplied), Futuba T6EX, Saturn XR4 & Exminster EX7. I have "binding plugs" where supplied.

I also have 3 battery locos that were supplied with those infernal ABSIMA (Abysma) CR2S.V2 RC car thumbwheel type TX's. I would love to ditch these for a similar hand held TX solution. They just need proportional Forward/Reverse & Sound on/off

Your thoughts and advice please Max

If there is any doubt, my nemesis below !



The sort of thing I am aiming for

 

[PhilP]

Just going out the door...
Will edit/answer later.

I is back:

Right, history:
Long, long ago... When 27mHz was the norm, there was greater commonality between different makes of radio control.

When the move to 2.4gHz came about, the manufacturers realised if they made the protocols between Tx and Rx proprietary, they could lock the customer into their equipment, and so with some exceptions, it is today..

Deltang, Micron (so RC Trains) use DSM2/DSMX, so Spektrum, or equipment using DSMn, will work together. - With caveats.

A Micron / RC Trains transmitter should bind with a Spektrum/ DSM receiver. The one thing that will not work, is Selecta (loco selection from the transmitter) - this is proprietary to the programming of the Deltang/Micron equipment.

So if you bind a Spektrum receiver to a Micron / RC Trains Tx22 (a transmitter with loco selection) the Spektrum receiver will respond to commands from all 12 selection settings. - This doesn't matter, if you run 'one loco in steam'.

So, if you have a live-steam loco with a Spektrum/DSM receiver, you will be able to control it from a small transmitter.
For other 'flavours' of radio, you will need to swap the receiver, but can bind as many receivers as you wish to your transmitter, or loco selection positions, on the likes of a Tx22.

PhilP.

 

[palmerston]

My story:

I have owned several G-scale and 16mm livesteam locomotives over the past 25 years. In the beginning, these were still equipped with 27 or 40 MHz control, which was very susceptible to interference. As soon as Spektrum came onto the market with the interference-free 2.4Ghz system, I quickly bought a Tx with multiple receivers. Fortunately, the DX7 was suitable for programming 10 models, so I only had the need for 1 transmitter. I no longer needed the old stuff and it was still very popular at the time and still brought in a lot of money, so in the end the switch to a trouble-free system did not cost much!

I also inherited from my late uncle a number of model boats with old analogue controls and fitted them with a Spektrum receiver and sold the analogue Tx's and Rx's for which the proceeds had paid for the Spektrum receivers (new or 2nd hand). I have now sold a number of locomotives and include a 2nd hand Tx with each locomotive for about €50, usually a DX6i, so that the new owner receives a fully functioning system.

My battery locomotives are also converted to Spektrum in collaboration with the Deltang system (now Micron) which receivers/ESC work with the Spektrum transmitters.

So I control my live steam locomotives with a stick type transmitter, Spektrum Dx6i and my battery locomotives with the steering wheel type Tx Spektrum DX3C.

Both transmitters are equipped with a display and a menu for all kinds of settings and the model memory is for 10 models or more, so each locomotive can have its own settings and recognizable name. With live steam it is important that you can set the servo movements, so a programmable transmitter is a must. "Programming" is not difficult and there is an overview table for each locomotive, just a sheet of paper for future reference.

My Regner RhB G4/5 had 7 servos!, and my still to rebuild NGG16 needs a minimum of 4 which two of them have to be MIXed with differerent servo movements, so simple handhelds dont work for me.

 

[dunnyrail]

I have my 3 RC Roundhouse locomotives all with Fosworks Tx and Rx, the existing Servos have been used. Unfortunately the last time I checked Selecta was not available from Fosworks for live steam but I am not sure if that is still the case. In any event the current binding process with Fosworks is now so simple the one Tx could works many different locomotives if you were happy to rebind between using each one.

 

[David Price]

I use Fosworks Tx 2.0 units for live steam (only need 2 servo controls) and CVP Airwire with Loksound 5XL decoders for battery power - CVP became my first RC system after research and the one controller allows as many addresses DCC decoders allow (and sound). Anyone familiar with DCC and NCE Powercabs or similar will find the Airwire to be the RC equivalent.

The Fosworks units are quick to bind but I have two of to date so I can have two locos in steam with separate control - if starting again I may have gone down the Fosworks path for battery power but the CVP system works very well.

 

[David Price]

CVP throttle on the left - to change locomotives all it takes is two button presses plus loco number (press enter - select decoder address - press enter again):



Fosworks throttle on the right - bind to receiver of each locomotive.

This is an install currently in progress for a Bachmann Fn3 Consolidation - Airwire receiver on the left, ESU 5XL on the right:




The switch and charging socket will be mounted under the tender water filler, black two-pin plug is for the LiIon battery pack (still to be delivered!) and the small white plug is for the rear headlight.

Other wires go the locomotive for motor, headlight and firebox/ashpan LEDs - motherboard has been completely removed as has track power connections (means I can run it on the live steam or track-powered tracks at my local club).

I may even install an ESU smoke unit in the smokebox for this one if I can get my local supplier organised!

 

[maxi-model]

So, I have done a bit of research (oh dear me !) after reading PhilP's , of RC Trains, post. I looked at original product reviews of the old twin stick TX products I have listed. It seems most, but not all, are supplied "pre-bound" to dedicated RX's. However, it would appear the Spektrum made products are usually supplied bound with separate supplier installed RX's. This feature offers the possibility of migrating to a newer compact TX without the need to replace the installed RX as well. Clue - there is a menu listing that shows you can bind multiple separate models (e.g. locos !) to a single Spektrum Dx6i (and others' of their)TX's.

If the change in TX it can't be done without replacing the RX then I will live with what I have got. I will have a little chat with PhilP at RC Trains, Steve at Fosworks, and Roundhouse (who are now offering a Fosworks option, at build point not retro) to get further clarifications.

The most likely route at the moment is with RC Trains and their TX 22, that they have supplied to me recently (handy !) That TX can link to the DSM2/DSMX type RX's that will have been in all probability used with the Spektrum installs I have. These include 4 locos that are presdntly bound to 2 x Spektrum Dx6i - Accucraft C-19, Lyn, Lyd and a GRS battery power Exe. Wish me luck

Thanks for your replies and suggestions. Lots of information I can use, if not directly right now. Max.