LGB factory sound with PWM R/C control?

[andyspencer]

Evening guys,

Just wondering if anyone can confirm weather or not an LGB sound card will work correctly when hooked up to an R/C set which uses Pulsed Width Modulation? And if it doesn't, is there any way of getting round it?

 

[Gizzy]

LGB decoder chips will fry on PWM, but I'm not sure about the sound module?

I wouldn't take a chance on it. Can the RC set do linear?

 

[andyspencer]

Nope, the set I want to use can't be changed And I've already got it in stock as it matches 2 of my other locos.
Do any other sound card manufactures make a unit that would suit an LGB 2095 type loco?

 

[mike]

pwm will fry the sound modules

 

[andyspencer]

I thought this would be the case Thanks for confirming this. Next thing, are the LGB units worth much in second hand value?

 

[stockers]

It depends who wants it and how bad. Sound cards have largely left the box behind. You could try here but ebay is probably a better bet.

 

[andyspencer]

I must admit, I don't like selling on here to much as I want to use the forum as a friendly/social/helpful area which it does. Added to that, from my experience, silly people seem to want to buy some of my items at top or silly prices!!

 

[mike]

never a wiser word spoken!!

 

[chris m01]

I thought this would be the case Thanks for confirming this. Next thing, are the LGB units worth much in second hand value?

Or you could buy the full version Train Engineer which can be set to linear. I think this will be ok with chips.

 

[Zerogee]

I thought this would be the case Thanks for confirming this. Next thing, are the LGB units worth much in second hand value?

Or you could buy the full version Train Engineer which can be set to linear. I think this will be ok with chips.

....but only with plenty of salt and vinegar!

 

[Tony Walsham]

For LGB steam only.
If you power the motor(s) direct from the ESC, you can use pwm.
Assuming you do that you can power the LGB sound part straight from the traction batteries by hooking a fused battery supply to what were the disconnected track pick ups.
That allows the sound to work but the voltage controlled effects will be missing.
They can be activated by using a pair of lighting direction controlled relays wired to automatically change the polarity according to direction set.
I do it all the time.
I can't advise you about the dismals though. They need variable voltage to ramp up and down.

 

[Moonraker]

Or if you can't make the existing soundcard work then you could consider my low cost soundcards at http://www.mylocosound.com < Link To www.mylocosound.com. Full operation with PWM is no problem.

Peter

 

[andyspencer]

After doing some homework on google, has anybody ever come across a PWM to DC converter? Would appear such things exist, but would this sort of thing work with an RCS control system and an LGB card? Also, what extra sounds would I get on the card and how can I trigger them?

 

[Tony Walsham]

I know of no PWM to DC converters that can handle the sorts of currents required to run an LGB on board motor control / sound system.
There are circuits available but they get awfully hot. Heat means energy is being wasted.
I did design and build a linear DC output track side R/C that took the 5 volt PWM output from the IC, converted it to linear DC, then multiplied the voltage up to a max of 20 volts and amplified the current up to whatever was needed.
It worked, It got hot (as linear transistors do) and it was expensive.
There is no easy solution to the problem you face.
Perhaps the method outlined 3 posts above above is the only way to get around it.