Another crazy electronics project

[Ray Marinaccio]

I just got a crazy idea. Put the RC unit from one of those matchbox size RC cars in a small 3V powered switcher. Either battery powered with a charger powered by track voltage of another loco your running or just track powered for DCC users. Use the direction control to operate a momentom circut with a preset top speed. Then hook the steering solinoid to the couplers for uncoupling. Any thoughts on that?

 

[trainmasta13601]

way ahead of u i been testin with RC units mainly on HO though the cupler thing might work but holy cow that is ganna be SMALL stuff and u would proly have to take the waight out for room i will test more and try to make a coupler wonder if a HO couple with cuople to a N gauge hmmmm

 

[jon-monon]

One day, DCC will probably offer such gizmos as uncoupling, but you guys are the pioneers!

 

[Paul Davis]

I've heard of people making DCC uncouplers before. They used mussle wire, which contracts when a current is passed through it, to pull the knuckle. They just hooked up the mussle wire to one of the function outputs on the decoder.

 

[Eric Norris]

Actually,

A DCC-activated coupler called the Digital Direct Coupler (DDC) has already been developed and marketed.
See the following link.

http://www.ttx-dcc.com/tonystips/2003/020403.htm

 

[Ray Marinaccio]

That's neat. I was thinking of a way for us DCC challenged ( insert financial woes here) to enjoy this feature. After my son breaks the RC car this project won't cost much. Someday I'll have DCC.

 

[jon-monon]

Thanks for posting the link and welcome to the-gauge, Eric!

 

[Paul Davis]

I just noticed that I have that site with the DCC uncoupler bookmarked so here it is: http://www.rr-cirkits.com/uncoupler.html

 

[Ray Marinaccio]

Wow! That is a neat way of doing it. It doesn't take much room either. Got to get some of that muscle wire.

 

[TinGoat]

There's a guy in Texas...

There's a guy in Texas who is running almost all of his On30 motive power with Radio Control and Batteries.

He's been taking Radio Shack Remote control "zip-zaps" race cars and using the receivers and controllers with great success.

Even in the B-mann On30 Shay!

He stuns and amazes onlookers as the shay runs in circles on a table top without any track at all...

If he can fit everything into tiny On30 Critters, it shouldn't be a problem to fit into larger HO locomotives.

The "zip-zaps" have forward and reverse control as well as speed control.

I don't think that he has used the steering controls for anything yet...