TLDR: videos at the end of the post

I've seen a few examples of upgrading the 9v train speed controller with a more powerful adjustable voltage regulator and wanted to try it out for myself.  Like many GBC builders out there I like to use them to power my projects.  I know there are many better and more efficient power sources out there, but this one is the most fun to me.  I've seen them modified for use with trains, but I would think you'd need 3-5 9v train motors to justify the upgrade.  I made two versions, one that is passively cooled like the original version for use with PF servo motors (short bursts of power) and an actively cooled version (sustained loads).  I tried to go further than I'd seen from others, testing loads / temperatures and comparing to an unmodified regulator.  The DACTA Control Lab certainly came in handy for plotting the temps on a graph.  For my use cases I'm very happy with the two versions and will use them often.  I wanted to share this info for anyone who likes a good electronics project and / or has a use case for an upgraded regulator.

While I wouldn't recommend this as a first electronics project, it is a very simple modification.

LM317 Voltage regulator replaced with LM350
Rectifier diodes replaced with 1n5406 (the leads are much bigger presenting a challenge when installing)
Capacitor replaced with larger one (I'm probably going to replace mine with a 25v since the voltage after DC conversion is a bit over 16 volts)
 

 

 

These pictures are of my "final" version of the passively cooled unit.  The onboard RCX reads the temperature of the LM350 regulator (mounted externally on a heatsink) and turns on a 12v fan (running at 9v) to cool the regulator.  At first the fan was powered from the DC side of the rectifier diodes (~16 volts) but was far too loud.  Running the fan from the RCX at 9 volts is nice and quite, most likely drowned out by whatever device it is powering.

 

This video details my testing / comparison of the units

This (long) video shows the actual upgrade process along with a brief explanation of how the 9v train regulator works.

ITS ALIVE! ALIVE!

Looks great & its made from all lego parts witch is even nicer.

Well I'm at it again...

In addition to my normal modification (upgrade bridge diodes and voltage regulator), this mod replaced a few of the resistors to allow the train regulator to provide more voltage .  Providing ~9.6v and ~12v at the two highest settings.  As pointed out to me by Tom Atkinson (not to be confused with Bill Atkinson like I did in the video) this is a 77% increase in power (remember power = wattage not voltage).  So far I've been using the 9.6v setting for more power hungry pneumatic pumps and it works a lot better than the stock 9v.  I'm also happy to have the 12v option if I ever need it.  I've often heard that TLG used 12v cores for its PF motors but I've never seen this actually confirmed.  I do know the BuWizz motors will be fine at 12v so that is an option as well.  I am always open to constructive criticism or pointing out inaccuracies (I can't even get people's names right so I'm sure there are a few).

Another topic in the video is the two different internal revisions of the train speed regulator, I'd be curious if anyone has identified more than that.

 

 

On 11/7/2022 at 8:53 PM, BatteryPoweredBricks said:

TLDR: videos at the end of the post

I've seen a few examples of upgrading the 9v train speed controller with a more powerful adjustable voltage regulator and wanted to try it out for myself.  Like many GBC builders out there I like to use them to power my projects.  I know there are many better and more efficient power sources out there, but this one is the most fun to me.  I've seen them modified for use with trains, but I would think you'd need 3-5 9v train motors to justify the upgrade.  I made two versions, one that is passively cooled like the original version for use with PF servo motors (short bursts of power) and an actively cooled version (sustained loads).  I tried to go further than I'd seen from others, testing loads / temperatures and comparing to an unmodified regulator.  The DACTA Control Lab certainly came in handy for plotting the temps on a graph.  For my use cases I'm very happy with the two versions and will use them often.  I wanted to share this info for anyone who likes a good electronics project and / or has a use case for an upgraded regulator.

While I wouldn't recommend this as a first electronics project, it is a very simple modification.

LM317 Voltage regulator replaced with LM350
Rectifier diodes replaced with 1n5406 (the leads are much bigger presenting a challenge when installing)
Capacitor replaced with larger one (I'm probably going to replace mine with a 25v since the voltage after DC conversion is a bit over 16 volts)
 

 

 

These pictures are of my "final" version of the passively cooled unit.  The onboard RCX reads the temperature of the LM350 regulator (mounted externally on a heatsink) and turns on a 12v fan (running at 9v) to cool the regulator.  At first the fan was powered from the DC side of the rectifier diodes (~16 volts) but was far too loud.  Running the fan from the RCX at 9 volts is nice and quite, most likely drowned out by whatever device it is powering.

 

This video details my testing / comparison of the units

This (long) video shows the actual upgrade process along with a brief explanation of how the 9v train regulator works.

Were you able to test the transformer with the red plug to see what its capabilities are?  I'm interested in using these to run more than a few GBC using 1 transformer.  GREAT video as always.

1 hour ago, Fyredog said:

Were you able to test the transformer with the red plug to see what its capabilities are?  I'm interested in using these to run more than a few GBC using 1 transformer.  GREAT video as always.

Even when at the same load the upgraded regulator will heat up quicker than stock without upgrading the cooling.  If you have the need for sourcing more than the 1.5 amps provided by the stock regulator I would probably recommend an active cooling solution.  I use the one without modified cooling for things like PF servo motors which use a fair bit of current but only for a short duration.  For any prolonged load I like to run active cooling like the one with the blue connector (I also upgraded one and used a black connector and changed the resistors to increase the output voltage to 12v).

I've seen lots of discussion about things like "how many modules can I run from a single regulator?" but there are just way too many variables for napkin math IMO.  Types of motors, the load etc.  I use temperature sensors to keep an eye on my regulators but I wouldn't expect everyone to do that.  But I really couldn't give any recommendations for others given how each situation is different.

I may do more testing soon, I have plenty of 9v train motors to do some experimenting there since I've had some questions about it.  I'll post my GBC control Center video below if you haven't seen it, it has some info on the regulators and how I used them with GBC.
 

 

OH - DAMNED!!!

I missed this one - guess too much vintage I am doing.

Super-nice instructions of how to power-up the 9V train regulator!!!

You certainly know that @Haddock51 has done something similar - but as far as I remember there was not much information available on how it actually was done.

I totally agree: Forced cooling - in this case by air flow - really makes a difference.

Very nice, I enjoy(ed) everything you did - from making the thing(s) to presenting them!

All the best,
Thorsten

P.S.: It is so clean, all so clean. Yes, I know, for the photo-shooting, but. Nice. I love the heat shrinking tubes. Makes me blush - my stuff always looks like a total mess. It works, but it is a mess. How much nicer seeing your solutions. Much in line with LEGO!!! I love it.

Edited August 24, 20231 yr by Toastie