Since extending the railway, I have found it difficult controlling railcar number 3. The manual speed control and reversing switch were mounted on one side of the underframe, and difficult to access in station areas, where buildings or another train would get in the way. The solution was to fit radio control.
I purchased a 3 channel 2.4 GHz transmitter with two receivers at a bargain price earlier in the year, one of the receivers was earmarked for this project, the other will probably be used in railcar No.2 'The Unit'. All I needed therefore was a speed controller. I ordered the Mtronics Viper from Chuffed 2 Bits. As the controller was going to be a direct replacement for the manual one, I just needed to splice it into the existing wiring set up. I thought I ordered the basic controller, but for a few extra quid, C2B offer a ready wired version with switch and charge socket, I must have suffered from the old twitchy finger when ordering on t'net as I received the fully wired version.
The first job was to remove the wiring harness from the Viper, and put this in my bits box; it will come in handy one day. In addition to the motor and controller wiring, the railcar is equipped with working headlights and interior lighting controlled by toggle switches mounted on the underframe. The resulting rat's nest of wiring would have taken some deciphering, but luckily I found my original wiring diagram, which showed me what was what (always produce a wiring diagram and put it somewhere safe for future reference).
The manual control pot and reversing switch were removed and the Viper controller was connected to the motor wires and the positive and negative feeds from the on/off switch. The Viper controller is a mini marvel and it was discreetly mounted on its side, with a smear of silicone adhesive, inside the underframe. The radio receiver was mounted behind the radiator at the opposite end of the railcar from the motor and the aerial was fed back under the floor. The sides of the receiver were wrapped in black insulating tape in order to hide the ghostly green glow (to show that all is OK) that emanates from the LED within.
The set up LEDs did not appear to work on this particular controller, but I managed to set it up with a bit of luck and guesswork. Extensive track testing has proved the system to be very satisfactory. I have not fitted suppressors to the motor but despite this I have experienced no RF interference; I can sit in the brick built workshop and send the railcar round the entire layout with no problems at all.
I purchased a 3 channel 2.4 GHz transmitter with two receivers at a bargain price earlier in the year, one of the receivers was earmarked for this project, the other will probably be used in railcar No.2 'The Unit'. All I needed therefore was a speed controller. I ordered the Mtronics Viper from Chuffed 2 Bits. As the controller was going to be a direct replacement for the manual one, I just needed to splice it into the existing wiring set up. I thought I ordered the basic controller, but for a few extra quid, C2B offer a ready wired version with switch and charge socket, I must have suffered from the old twitchy finger when ordering on t'net as I received the fully wired version.
The first job was to remove the wiring harness from the Viper, and put this in my bits box; it will come in handy one day. In addition to the motor and controller wiring, the railcar is equipped with working headlights and interior lighting controlled by toggle switches mounted on the underframe. The resulting rat's nest of wiring would have taken some deciphering, but luckily I found my original wiring diagram, which showed me what was what (always produce a wiring diagram and put it somewhere safe for future reference).
The manual control pot and reversing switch were removed and the Viper controller was connected to the motor wires and the positive and negative feeds from the on/off switch. The Viper controller is a mini marvel and it was discreetly mounted on its side, with a smear of silicone adhesive, inside the underframe. The radio receiver was mounted behind the radiator at the opposite end of the railcar from the motor and the aerial was fed back under the floor. The sides of the receiver were wrapped in black insulating tape in order to hide the ghostly green glow (to show that all is OK) that emanates from the LED within.
The set up LEDs did not appear to work on this particular controller, but I managed to set it up with a bit of luck and guesswork. Extensive track testing has proved the system to be very satisfactory. I have not fitted suppressors to the motor but despite this I have experienced no RF interference; I can sit in the brick built workshop and send the railcar round the entire layout with no problems at all.
 Manual controls still in place. Receiver and speed controller in foreground. |  Manual controller and reversing switch removed. Radio receiver and speed controller installed. |
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