I just did a command upgrade (TMCC) on the Weaver RS3, and I suspect you may be disappointed. The current draw of the horizontal motor drive with all the mechanics can easily exceed two amps at times. I was going to use the Cruise Commander Lite on it until I measured the motor current on the bench and discovered how much it draws!
I've been running the single-tower Weaver RS3 with the BlueRail board (AND with all the mechanics, whatever that means John ) for a while now, haven't measured the current draw of the Pittman motor either. The tests I ran were with the engine pulling 5 boxcars and a caboose. All of my trains are 12 cars, mostly under (5-6) so I can't speak of anything other than that.
All I can say is spend the $100+ and see if it'll work. The board has a cutoff safety feature built-in, so about the worst that can happen is it shuts off.
If it shuts off, pull it out and put it in one of your HO engines.
Or wait until BlueRail offers a board made for O-scale trains. Trains with 2 motors are going to have to have a board with more amperage.
It's an fairly inexpensive way to operate BPRC if you already have an Iphone or Ipad, PLUS it's leading/cutting edge technology. you'll need a battery, charger, on/off switch, charging jack, and throw in some LEDs for lighting...oh, and some soldering skills (unless you use wire nuts!).
It's been reported they have sold over 200 boards in 2 months, so far I would say that is a success.
Folks that have shelf queens should start looking into this. If/when they offer a higher amp board I can see shelf queens becoming a thing of the past. Good thing is they can run along side of the present command control or conventional engines.
Currently have five motive units running with BlueRail. Am planning sixth and will use the ditch light option on this one. This system is as smooth as silk.
If I can get my current projects out of the way I want to get a board for my Williams E7, it's been idle for a couple of years now and should be a great candidate for BPRC as there's plenty of room inside for the board and battery.
Blue Rail is interesting, but I'm not trying it until they have onboard sounds with equal sound quality to MTH and Lionel. Motor control only doesn't impress me. We've been able to do that with RC gear for 30 years.
Are these multi unit compatible?
willygee posted:Are these multi unit compatible?
Don't know as I run only 1 engine at a time. You can email Dave Rees here:
Put another BlueRail board in an old Williams E7 (dual motor) today. So far it's running fine, I pulled 2 K-Line heavyweights, an All-Nation Observation, and 3 aluminum OK Engines cars with no problems.
Here's a short, crappy video, I'll try making a better, longer video later:
Taken on my Ipad while running the BlueRail App at the same time!!!
Found another useful thing about this technology...you can lift the engine off the track, turn it over and lube it or inspect it without having to shut anything down. Can't do that with DCS or TMCC!
Bob That would answer the two motor question, and your right batteries make maintenance a lot easer. cTr...( Choose the Right )
Stephen, I was unsure, but Bob Walker said he had done it and it worked great so i thought, why not?
My Williams E7 had been sitting unpowered for a couple of years and for $100 plus parts (on/off switch, charging jack, battery, LEDs) I had laying around I figured it was a worth a try.
The top light on this SAL E7 (#3039) had a red lens Mars Light, so I colored the clear lens with a red Sharpie and used a regular LED. Looking at the video it still appears as clear so maybe I'll try a bit of paint or fingernail polish.
I was thinking about getting a Mars Light module from Ngineering but David Rees of BlueRail Trains said they were working on some firmware that would incorporate things like the Mars light. In the interim setting the controls to make the "Mars" light blink (it can be turned off by tapping on the screen) was what I chose to do.
OK. Here's a 5 minute video of my Williams Seaboard Air Line # 3039 E7 with BlueRail board installed.
Excuse some of the rookie mistakes of filming, seems I can't do 2 things at the same time
Most of the video is waiting for the train to make it around the loop, but I think it shows what can be done with the BlueRail board and battery tecnology.
The E7 is pulling 2 Weaver "American flyer" cars. Both have been modified from the original. The coach had 3 windows on one end turned around and the combine had the same windows turned plus the baggage end built. Plus the seats had to be relocated.
I'm kinda proud of these 2 cars, it took some gumption to cut into those 2 beauties but I managed to do it without destroying them (thanks again Mike G for the super deal!)
So, on with the show:
The battery used was a 9.6v 2000Mah NiMh pack from All-Battery. The on/off switch and the charging jack are mounted on the rear door of the E7. Painted you can hardly notice them. With a diaphragm I don't think you could see them (but may be hard to get to to turn on/off). I installed polyfuses at the battery and the motor for overload protection.
Nice clip Bob the E7 runs nicely. Im excited Bluerail has passed emissions testing so coming to Aussi land soon. cTr...( Choose the Right )
Thanks Stephen, the part where I put it in reverse could have gone a little better. I forgot to bring the throttle down all the way to 0 before trying to tap the Fwd/Rev button. Then I got all excited and cranked the throttle up too fast.
There's quite a few Australians (and NZ) into "DeadRail" from what I'm seeing on the other forums, plus some oddball (to me) scales as well. If you haven't been to the Freerails forum they seem to camp out there, Bob Comerford is one who visits here occasionally.