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MTH DCS remote commander hack project !!

J JoatOGR Forum Member
First off newb here.
Recently got back into trains, now for my 3yr old son, got hime the MTH **** set proto 3,he loves it, but the whole point of me getting it was so that he can play with it,but he being 3, the remote commander controller is a it hard for him to use, so I am gonna hack one and put it in a large project box with big buttons-almost everything ordered just gotta find a large yellow n/o switch-
So I was wondering and thinking of adding more ir emitters and maybe a few sensors ,so that he has a easier time and wont need to be so accurate with the pointing the larger tranmitter I am gonna make.
Does anyone first think the controller and receiver can handle extra emiiters and sensors? next what type would I need to use to do this?
T.I.A
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J JoatOGR Forum Member
quote:
Originally posted by HOSO&NZ:
Just a thought, if he does not need to carry the remote around why not put the remote commander in the box with the control. Inside point the emitter at the receiver and you will never need to worry about alignment.

Al

His play area is power on one side and he plays on the other/middle,plus there would be a cord for him to trip over.
He kinda gets there in the alignment but his hands are small you he tends to cover the ir emitter with his hands alot, thus the new " remote" will be 6"x4"and it will be setup with the long side top and bottom.
S stan2004OGR Forum Member
Suggest leaving receiver as-is but mount higher and against wall so red lens gets broader view to remote.

Too bad hand blocks emitter. Was going to suggest de-focusing with plastic lens to widen beam. Wouldn’t operate from as far but directionality would improve.

As quick-and-dirty hack adding a couple LEDs wired across existing 5mm LED should work. Due to how commodity battery-powered IR remotes are designed 2 or 3 dispersed LEDs simply connected together won’t double or triple range but will demote directionality problem.

Tip: use 940nm IR LEDs (vs. 850nm). For example, searching “5mm IR LED” on eBay gets equal hits on each so choose wisely. Look for wide beam angle.

Tip: a digital camera can “see” an IR LED

Please post a photo when you're done.

And kudos for your imagination Smile
J JoatOGR Forum Member
quote:
Originally posted by stan2004:
Suggest leaving receiver as-is but mount higher and against wall so red lens gets broader view to remote.

Too bad hand blocks emitter. Was going to suggest de-focusing with plastic lens to widen beam. Wouldn’t operate from as far but directionality would improve.

As quick-and-dirty hack adding a couple LEDs wired across existing 5mm LED should work. Due to how commodity battery-powered IR remotes are designed 2 or 3 dispersed LEDs simply connected together won’t double or triple range but will demote directionality problem.

Tip: use 940nm IR LEDs (vs. 850nm). For example, searching “5mm IR LED” on eBay gets equal hits on each so choose wisely. Look for wide beam angle.

Tip: a digital camera can “see” an IR LED

Please post a photo when you're done.

And kudos for your imagination Smile

Thanks for the tips, sorry but wired across you mean parallel?
Is a 60 degree, wide angle?
I am trying to match the color of the new buttons with the original remotes ones, since he knows those already , having a hard time finding a N/O yellow push button large switch Frown
S stan2004OGR Forum Member
Yes, parallel. Flat-side to flat-side, round-side to round-side.

Yes, 60 deg is wide.



I assume you know about n/o momentary switches for which you choose round or square snap-on keycaps in your choice of colors – example shown for another MTH controller. So how about just buying a yellow keycap and epoxying it over your switch. I don’t know if this is the keycap MTH uses but it looks like a good color match.

Yellow keycap only - 29 cents
J JoatOGR Forum Member
Thanks, just wanted to make sure you meant parallel,I never seen the key caps, but went with semi recessed round buttons, easier for me to mount,found yellow, they listed it wrong on flea bay,I didnt want buttons to stick out as I am sure he's gonna drop this more then a few times,and expossed buttons would end up breaking off.
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