Power Functions in old 9V trains

[kyphur]

The PF controller (assume you mean IR receiver) as a 4x4 footprint.

My mistake, you're right. I was thinking of the roof opening for it...

Edited June 2, 2011 by kyphur

[Piranha]

well I managed to buy 10133, and I can't wait to build it.

I am now thinking about how to convert it to PF, I have an idea, can the battery box fit right here? Then connect the wires to the cabin where the IR receiver could be? then attach the motor to it?

[kyphur]

Nope, the batter box is several bricks tall.

[Piranha]

Nope, the batter box is several bricks tall.

Laid on its side too?

[kyphur]

Laid on its side too?

It is 4 studs wide and has smooth sides.

[Piranha]

It is 4 studs wide and has smooth sides.

Drat I guess the battery box is going in a container in the next car like the EN has it in the coal tender.

But I will need to wait for the red battery box so it will look like one of these containers here

Then maybe a custom TTX sticker and it will look good.

[kyphur]

If you're going that route just put all the PF on a cargo car.

[Tearloch33]

Drat I guess the battery box is going in a container in the next car like the EN has it in the coal tender.

But I will need to wait for the red battery box so it will look like one of these containers here

Then maybe a custom TTX sticker and it will look good.

As much as I love the EN, I really hate the wires between cars.

I am still waiting to see if this new cargo train will actually have a red molded plastic battery box, or if they simply put red stickers on the side of the standard grey battery box. I really think it will be stickers, but who really knows.

My preference has been to find a way to put the PF onto the train. The BNSF train is really the only one with significant challenges, since the body is the same width as the PF equipment. The picture I posted earlier on this tread (may have been under my other account "Tearloch") shows my 95% solution. Once I get the decal colors worked out, I think it will look just fine using decals to cover up the PF equipment, and the engine will be not be ever tied to a car.

well I managed to buy 10133, and I can't wait to build it.

I am now thinking about how to convert it to PF, I have an idea, can the battery box fit right here? Then connect the wires to the cabin where the IR receiver could be? then attach the motor to it?

I'll repost my modification to the BNSF train using PF. It was the only way I could see to do this with severely altering the entire design of the engine. Here are some of my findings:

1. Placing the battery box as low and as far to the back as possible, you limit it being top heavy (prone to roll overs in high speed turns), you allow for fairly easy charging (remove back panel and the couple of bricks that attach it), you maintain maximum room for wires inside the body, and you can make a very simply mod to make an on/off switch out of the last fan blade.

2. Placing the IR receiver partially inside the cab and placed as high as possible, you can run wires under its base to allow for connections, the connections are all hidden inside the cab, and the IR receiver "window" is hidden as best as possible (directly behind the cab).

3. The arrangement actually has enough room left over inside for a LEGO polarity switch (to allow 2 motors to be used), and all the wires for 2 PF motors, and the IR receiver.

4. The only difficulty is making the decals to cover up the gray PF parts. I am working on that process now, and I am also exploring a guy in the Netherlands that makes custom LEGO stickers using commercial printing (they seem identical in quality to what comes with LEGO sets currently). I hope to be able to work it out on my own. I will keep you updated with my results.

[Piranha]

Great mod, I also would highly prefer to have all the equipment in the engine and not attached to any car. The only other solution would be to have a 9V setup and all I have is 15 curved, 2 straight, the power module and that is it, and 9v is expensive as well, and I already gathered alot of RC track. I also could gather the extra parts and make it exactly like the Maersk engine, but that is going to far off from the original, I like to keep it stock. I hope one day TLG releases a 2x2x2 LiPo battery, if phones can have very small and powerful batteries, I would pay extra to get the battery box much smaller maybe even $100 or so. Actually one day I hope they figure out how to have the IR, power source all included in the motor. so all we need to do is attach the motor and turn it on and then have a plug and play RC train, that would be the true replacement for 9V.

But getting back to your mod I look forward to seeing the finished product, the only thing is the decals to cover up the battery box.

[legoboy3998]

I don't really understand the point of that. Doesn't that completely defeat the purpose of the PF system? You still have to have the 9V tracks. You still have to apply power to the 9V track from an AC wall outlet. You still have to deal with track polarity issues at cross-overs and swithches. Granted, you can use the remote control instead of the 9V controller (which is still required to energize the tracks). So to me it makes more sense just to stick with the 9V setup completely, instead of buying an IR receiver, the remote control, and essentially destroying the PF motor. Just buy a 9V motor and be done with it. Please explain how this is a useful solution?

The true utility of the PF system is that you do not need an AC wall outlet, meaning you could set up your track anywhere, if you so choose.

You do not need to buy 9V tracks on the resale market, which are expensive and hard to come by, at times.

You do not need to worry about complex wiring to deal with track polarity if your setup is anything other than a single loop.

If you have a big enough set up, you could run multiple trains on the same track at different speed settings (say a long train and a short one) such that the actual speed of the two trains are matched.

With ME-models making metal track it made me wonder if you could combine both worlds.

The setup will work like this:

PF motor with pickups (Brass strips) toucing the track,

PF wire cut and soldered to the pickups connected to the "input" side of the IR reciever (the wire off the IR reciever that you connect to the battery),

"output" side of the IR reciever connected to the PF motor.

All the positivs of PF with the unlimited power of 9V. The track would need full 9Vs at all times so you could just buy 9V plugs and solder the wires to the track, there is no need to change the speed.

There should be no polarity issues, just like in 9V you can have switches and everything with no problem. Even Crossovers, as long as connected correctly should not have polarity issues. The only time you would is for Wys or reversing loops, which would short circuit the track. As long as you dont have the track short circuited, the only issue you may have, is when you want to go foreward, the train goes back, flip the switch on the IR remote, problem solved. Also, the short PF extension wire (the one with the 9V plug) has a built in bridge rectifier, whitch makes it so the DC pulses are always going the "right" way so if you run the power from the pickups through that, and a 9V wire, you would also eliminate the polarity issue, if there was one.

Yes, this setup is best suited for the large Clubs and individuals who already have large 9V layouts. But again, with the ME-models metal rails, it will make 9V tracks easier and cheaper to get. I mostly wanted to see, if I decided to invest in Me-Models Metal rails, could I eliminate the Batterybox from my 6 wide NA style diesels. This would give me room inside to add things like a sound module for horn, bell and prime mover.

Sal

WFB, WI

[The_Primo_Z]

I may be a bit late to the party :P I've designed a Santa Fe engine based off of the BNSF engine 10133, I hope to install power functions if all goes accordingly. (the gaping hole in the back is for the battery box, might put the IR receiver in the cab or something)

http://prntscr.com/4uchtd

[snowvictim]

I will be investing in the full plastic tracks :)

Wyrzucasz pieniądze w błoto. Lepiej kupować tory 9V. Plastikowe tory dostaniesz z nowymi pociągami, a zaletą torów 9V jest to, że mogą na nich śmigać i pociągi z systemu 9V i z systemu PF.