Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Testing the Loco Remote

 

LocoRemote

Steam tram control will be via a Loco Remote unit. The cheapest version was selected as I don't need sound or lights on this model. Power will be from some cheapo LiPo batteries picked up on ebay. 

Assembling the wiring is simple as long as you pay attention to the instructions. Make sure the battery is plugged in the right way around, and it's hard to go wrong really. 

Once plugged in, a blue LED flashes to say all is well, th device sets up a WiFi hotspot. Log on to this using a suitable device (I'll be using an old smartphone) and then go to the web page mentioned in the instructions. Up pops the controls and away you go. 

This testing has shown everything works, I just need to figure out where to install it. Initial thoughts involve the water tanks I need to scratchbuild. There should be plenty of room in there, and access should be easy to arrange with removable tops. 

In the meantime, I'm just enjoying playing with my new toy. At some point I need to get it on some track to test the duration the little battery offers.

3 comments:

Mark said...

Did you add a fuse to the setup? Asking a) because I can't see one, and b) as I'd be interested in knowing what you used. I opted for a traditional glass fuse that are easy to examine and replace, but they are quite bulky. I was wondering about switching to re-settable polyfuse but wasn't sure exactly how to choose the right part.

Phil Parker said...

No fuse yet. Possibly risky, I may well just take the risk as the current won't be massive in this application and there isn't much space to play with.

I'm open to suggestions though, from those horrified by my cavalier attitude!

Mark said...

I guess my worry wasn't about damaging the loco remote with a short (although easy to do I'm sure) but rather a short causing the battery to catch fire, and the hope the fuse would blow first. So far with the lipo batteries I've been super careful about protecting all the electrical parts to avoid any chance of a short, but have kept the fuse just for safety, but the glass fuses (when in a holder) are huge, hence the interest in finding a re-settable polyfuse I can trust.