Piko 35040 R/C Pocket Remote Upgrade to Piko 38501 GE 25T 'Clean Machine'

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beavercreek said:
Hi Gizzy
I have the Piko battery 'Clean Machine' and am wanting to 'RC' it with the Piko 34050 kit.
If you take out the weight plates from the sides that will give plenty of room for extra batteries.
The plates could be redistributed around the chassis. Or pieces of lead could be used (I have some lead flashing that I use for cutting out shaped pieces)
Click to expand...
Have a look at my conversion where I stuffed 10 aaa’s in for a Fosworks setup. Admitedly I removed all the existing board and lights but could probably put lights in if I could be bothered.

www.gscalecentral.net

Modifying a Piko 25 Tonner to Battery Power.

Now I imagine that some on here will be wondering why he is doing that when there exists a Battery Powered one already? Well the answer is that I have no need for a Track Cleaning Loco, I want one that is controllable (the Track Cleaner to the best of my knowledge can only be made to go...
www.gscalecentral.net www.gscalecentral.net
 
dunnyrail said:
Have a look at my conversion where I stuffed 10 aaa’s in for a Fosworks setup. Admitedly I removed all the existing board and lights but could probably put lights in if I could be bothered.

www.gscalecentral.net

Modifying a Piko 25 Tonner to Battery Power.

Now I imagine that some on here will be wondering why he is doing that when there exists a Battery Powered one already? Well the answer is that I have no need for a Track Cleaning Loco, I want one that is controllable (the Track Cleaner to the best of my knowledge can only be made to go...
www.gscalecentral.net www.gscalecentral.net
Click to expand...

????​

 
Well I seem to have found the problem!

More by luck than design?

I charged up the Strikalite pack, which, as I mentioned, is not a tight fit in the battery space. (Oo-er Missus!)

I found that if I held the loco with the back of the cab facing down, the weight of the battery pack made better contact on the spring connectors, and the loco ran reliably. As soon as I put the loco on the flat, the loco would run intermittantly.

This seems to confirm my suspicion of a high current draw, due to the poor contact.

So the next step will be to fit the Piko battery holder, which fits snugly, once I get the replacement batteries delivered this week.

If necessary, I might fit a PP3 connector in place of the spring contacts, so that the battery holders click into place for a better contact!

Next job, is to advise Sandy at SGR....
 
Glad you got it sorted Gizzy..I will go ahead with the RC conversion knowing that it works!
 
Gizzy said:
Well I seem to have found the problem!

More by luck than design?

I charged up the Strikalite pack, which, as I mentioned, is not a tight fit in the battery space. (Oo-er Missus!)

I found that if I held the loco with the back of the cab facing down, the weight of the battery pack made better contact on the spring connectors, and the loco ran reliably. As soon as I put the loco on the flat, the loco would run intermittantly.

This seems to confirm my suspicion of a high current draw, due to the poor contact.

So the next step will be to fit the Piko battery holder, which fits snugly, once I get the replacement batteries delivered this week.

If necessary, I might fit a PP3 connector in place of the spring contacts, so that the battery holders click into place for a better contact!

Next job, is to advise Sandy at SGR....
Click to expand...
Just out of interest, are the positive terminal caps shorter than a normal AA. The reason I ask is that I have encountered intermittent connectivity with certain makes of battery cells, which under examination were found to have short terminal caps and the 'shoulder of the battery was holding them just off the connection in the battery box. The negative battery box terminal were the spring type, so were fine, but the positive ones being a fixed plate were not adjustable. A small dob of solder sorted out the issue. (Worst offenders were IKEA AA & AAA rechargeables.)
Regards,
Paul.
 
Paul, my problem is not with the AAA cells per se but the battery holder/pack that the cells are fitted to.

They are fitted with a PP3 connector, but this connector butts upto spring connectors and these are where my problem is, especially with the Strikalite pack on the left....

thumbnail_20210124_144225.jpg
 
Gizzy,
Chop the end off a washing up sponge, and stick that behind your Strikalite pack, before popping the grill back onto the loco.
OR,
Stick a thick piece of plastic /wood under the pack.. Long enough to use the original clip.

PhilP
 
PhilP said:
Gizzy,
Chop the end off a washing up sponge, and stick that behind your Strikalite pack, before popping the grill back onto the loco.
OR,
Stick a thick piece of plastic /wood under the pack.. Long enough to use the original clip.

PhilP
Click to expand...
Good idea Phil!

Funnily enough, I've just cut up some hi density foam for another task, and I have a couple of off-cuts left over....
 
Yeah, I was going to suggest beefing up the spring contacts one way or another.
 
dunnyrail said:
Oh er he has found some foam, did not have any the other day!
Click to expand...
High density foam, which we use at work for tool trays JD.

Not like the water absorbent sponge you meant....
 
Update on this.

I now have a second Piko battery holder, so I can charge a set of AAA batteries using my Strikalite Charger within it, whilst using t'other for the loco during running.

Much easier to swap the holder loaded with rechargeables one the batteries run flat....

thumbnail_20210405_134656.jpg
 
Fantastic thread, thank you Gizzy. I’m going to order and fit the Piko RC set into my relatively new Piko track cleaner.
 
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