ERR Cruise Commander M - install problem - won't move

BOB WALKER posted:

The bluetooth circuit I posted is complete and has been tested. Universal motors are called that because they will work powered by AC or DC. DC output from the decoder board flows through the field. The bridge circuit reverses the relationship of current flow between the field and the armature depending on the polarity and this controls the motor rotation. One extra payoff is that universal motors seem to run better on DC.

Bob, how many amps are your bluetooth boards rated for ?   The highest current BlueRail boards are rated at 2A. That is what the ERR MiniCommander boards are rated for.   The Pullmor motor I used is in a Lionel 18000 PRR  B6  O-6-O  loco. It pulls more than that on blocks wired according to the diagram for running universal motors on DC I posted above. The only load was the gear train and the drivers.  A twin motored pullmor diesel such as a 2343 would fry a BlueRail board.   In addition to my Lionel I have a Flyer collection and think BlueRail might be the way to go for S scale. In O,  even a two can DC motored loco with any serious load say starting 10 scale passenger cars and your above the 2A. I contacted BlueRail a year or so back and encouraged them to come out with a high current board 6- 8A or there about.  That would certainly get me on board.    j

For the past two years I have provided technical support for BlueRail Trains for OGauge AC track power and battery power applications. During this period I converted 10 conventional locos to bluetooth control using the BlueRail board as follows: 

2 Steam     1 can motor

2 Diesel      1 can motor

5 Diesel      2 can motors

1 Diesel      1 AC motor

(Three are battery powered)

All of these ran quite well with no board current issues detected.  The APP is well designed and provides a lot of finetuning features.  I have a dual AC motor diesel, but I agree that it would most likely overpower the BlueRail board.

JohnActon posted:

Newt posted:

Wow, I knew you all would help, but this is way more info/ideas/suggestions than I could of imagined. Thank you very much for your help and schooling!!! I have to admit, my electrical skills are rather basic and a lot of this was over my head. I'm very intrigued about the Bridge Rectifier and the DC Motor Conversion ideas. The Bridge Rectifiers I've seen put out 12V DC. Is this the correct amount of voltage? The maximum input and output rating is 1A. Is that enough? Can anyone recommend a specific Bridge Rectifier? Any installation tips would be appreciated. Thanks again guys!!

Newt, I am using a 10A bridge it has a 1000v peak inverse voltage rating but anything with more than 50piv will do fine. here is a link to it $3.30 for ten of them.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/5-10P...p2057872.m2749.l2649

Your question set off a discussion that has needed to happen for some time.  Thanks for the question.   j

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How does this get wired?

This is good graphical representation of the bridge rectifier based universal AC motor direction reversing circuit. Hope it helps.

Newt posted

 

How does this get wired

Newt, I should have put AC on my sketch where the horizontal S'es are.  That symbol is a sine waive and indicates AC current. I am sending a link to the Wikipedia page on electronic symbols.   You will find the main difference in my drawing and Bob's is that his drawing shows the motor field / frame  grounded with one end of the field coil connected to the field laminations thus to ground.  Lionel's pullmor motors as far as I have ever seen are all wired that way. This is not always the practice when using universal motors for model trains.

  Some manufacturers use the S symbol on their bridge rectifiers  and some mark them  AC.  They mean the same thing.   j

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_symbol