I am almost giving up. I am having a hard time getting my train to run outside so considering battery power.

Good news. The engine is working. I knocked a switch accidently on the back panel trying to push it on the track. But the red and white wires is not the ones to get the engine going. ?????? If I put power to the wheels it goes but not to those wires
 
dunnyrail said:
Battery sounds like the way to go for you with dogs, dirt and general issues that you are having with track power. There are many suppliers in US and UK of Radio Controlled systems, some supply suitable battery packs with wiring looms to fit it all together - no soldering. But you may have issues of cost with cross border tariffs to worry about also. Look at Fosworks UK. There are others as well.
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Can you please tell me how to wire my f unit so it can run on battery power. I tried and it is not working. It would be a shame if I destroyed the engine. Thanks
 
TTaannggss said:
Can you please tell me how to wire my f unit so it can run on battery power.
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(Google is your friend.)

George Schreyer produced many pages of "Large Scale Tips" on his website. The FA page describes the older version,
Aristo FA-1 Tips
with this wiring diagram.

fa_schematic.gif


He includes information about installing an old Aristocraft receiver. I'm not sure that you are looking for radio control? If not, use a small PWM speed control for manual control - they are $5-10 on eBay.

You will need to identify the power pickup wires and the motor feed. Start at the motor on/off switch on the end of the loco and trace back from that, per the above diagram.
You will need to disconnect the pickups from the trucks and/or inside the body, and insert your battery and speed control instead of the track pickups.

Here's a complete article on wiring an FA for battery and r/c using the newer plug-and-play board.
Aristo-Craft FA1 – Ottawa Valley Garden Railway Society
 
Ok I was hoping it would be much simpler seeing as I can get the engine moving by just putting the battery wires to the wheels. ???
 
Ok read the info and thanks. I tried and nope. I should be able to hook up the battery tomorrow. And disconnect the power pack now. You can't have both.
 
TTaannggss said:
Ok I was hoping it would be much simpler seeing as I can get the engine moving by just putting the battery wires to the wheels. ???
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What I suggested was connecting the battery instead of the wheels. What could be simpler? But you do have to find the wires from the track pickups. Do you know how to do that?
 
Yes I thought it was red and white. But nope. So I took off the bottom truck plate. It is green and red. White might be a ground??? So I connected red to red from the battery and black to green. Both sets of trucks are going forward. So connected and taped the fine wires in back truck and front. Ready to go tomorrow ... As well the power pack will have to go tomorrow.
 
Yes for now. It is only 9 volt so it won't be too much of a jolt. I will get a higher voltage battery and regulator.
 
TTaannggss said:
Yes I thought it was red and white. But nope. So I took off the bottom truck plate. It is green and red. White might be a ground??? So I connected red to red from the battery and black to green. Both sets of trucks are going forward. So connected and taped the fine wires in back truck and front. Ready to go tomorrow ... As well the power pack will have to go tomorrow.
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Ok so by a simple process of deduction you have figured that out. Noting your past picture where I could see a couple of wires twisted together there are 4 wires dissapearing into a hole by the bogie. It would appear that the Green and Red wires are the ones that go to the motor, the other 2 are from track pickup. You really could do with using Terminal Connectors for connecting a battery to the motor wires. These if you do not know are plastic with screws that go into a metal like tube that can trap the wires. Thus 2 from one side (4 screws) are the motor and the other side are the battery. Get this tested first with you loco on some blocks of wood. When all working you really need a speed control and either an on/off switch or preferably a DPDT switch. The DPDT will allow you to reverce the loco should you need to. For this you really need to master the art of soldering to get things connected. Without that art you will be dead in the water as you will have no control of your loco.
 
dunnyrail said:
For this you really need to master the art of soldering to get things connected. Without that art you will be dead in the water as you will have no control of your loco.
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If you cannot (or will not) solder, I do think you are going to have issues with connectivity however you try to power (track or battery) your loco. you need good reliable connections from your power supply, and you need good connections in your loco.
 
Ok and thanks for the info. With all this circuitry I have no idea what I am doing. The engine can only take so much abuse. I will do a test walk in the morning.
 
dunnyrail said:
Ok so by a simple process of deduction you have figured that out. Noting your past picture where I could see a couple of wires twisted together there are 4 wires dissapearing into a hole by the bogie. It would appear that the Green and Red wires are the ones that go to the motor, the other 2 are from track pickup. You really could do with using Terminal Connectors for connecting a battery to the motor wires. These if you do not know are plastic with screws that go into a metal like tube that can trap the wires. Thus 2 from one side (4 screws) are the motor and the other side are the battery. Get this tested first with you loco on some blocks of wood. When all working you really need a speed control and either an on/off switch or preferably a DPDT switch. The DPDT will allow you to reverce the loco should you need to. For this you really need to master the art of soldering to get things connected. Without that art you will be dead in the water as you will have no control of your loco.
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Ya maybe reverse in the future. I am not interested in switching. I like to see trains run. I find it to be addictive and relaxing. For dpdt on e bay most are toggles. I want to use a dimmer with the 22 volt rechargable battery I already have. Would this work? covvy mini DC motor PWM speed controller. They sell them on Amazon.
 
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Did a trial 8:30am run with just the frame and battery. It went ok... Could of gone faster so maybe 12 volt and I did have a few derails ...morning dew made the tracks slippery and tracks can use adjustment. All in all I am happy. The engine is sooo quiet. Off to the hardware store soon to get wiring and maybe a small toggle switch.
 
This is here it says DC and low voltages. ...the engine came with all metal wheels. I recharged the 9 volt and makes it go at a reasonable speed for all the twists and turns that I have. No derails after a few track adjustments. I am going to see if I can leave this battery in the engine. Try and get some soldering tomorrow. I am a lot happier now thanks.
 

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Yes, that unit will work for you..

They do not turn off (even though there is a switch on the control potentiometer..) so you need an off/on switch between the battery and the controller.

If you then decide to run in reverse, you will need a DPDT switch after the controller. - It will only work with the correct polarity.

PhilP
 
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