Bluerail Delivering New Boards.

Stephen, I've got the emails, but I'm still on the fence with this 2amp board.

I measured the current draw on my steamers back before I converted them to BPRC and most were around .75amps and it might be a good candidate for my Weaver RS3 with Pittman motor.

I still have my HO engines and was thinking about putting one of the boards in one to see how it works, but I don't run them anymore.

They keep talking about a board with higher current capacity and that is what's made me unsure if I want to spend the $$$ now or wait for the boards for O scale.

I would like to see the Weaver RS3 running though.

I have received one of the boards, but haven't installed it yet. As it turns out, during trial fitting, I have discovered the board was larger than I thought (or, more correctly, my locos were smaller than I thought!), because it will not physically fit in any of my HO locos without some serious grinding and cutting. I had mistakenly thought it should fit in my Genesis F unit, but unfortunately, the side window castings (which also serve as body mounting clips) take up too much space to allow for the width of the board, though it might fit inside an Athearn blue-box F unit which uses a different mounting system. It's too long to fit my Spectrum 2-10-0 tender, which was a major disappointment, although oddly enough, I might be able to get it into my P2K 0-6-0 or 0-8-0, but I will need to grind off the old die-cast circuit board mounts and rewire it with a JST connector to fit the board. Not the "plug & play" I was hoping for.

Maybe if I had larger brass locos, conversion would be easier, but it still wouldn't be plug & play. I may also look at On30 or even S gauge locos, but I don't get to run these scales often enough to justify the cost and effort involved. So, I am awaiting the release of future boards, both smaller for HO and larger, higher amperage for O scale.

Bill in FtL

For O scale I tested some of the motors I have around, and most of them stall at around 3 amps, but run unloaded around .700-.800 amps and with the loco stationary and wheels slipping thy didn't reach 2 amps. It would be rare for a loco to totaly lock up. The answer may be a fast blow fuse to protect the board set at say around 2 amps. I havent been able to test a loco pulling a normal train on my layout in regular operation yet. If they run at about 1-1.2 amps you should be okay or say 1.25 for a short duration on say a grade. The motors I tested were all can motors. I did test a large, old KTM motor, its modified a little with lighter springs on the brushes and rare earth magnets and it stalls at 3.5 amps but it runs under normal conditions much the same as the can motors. A higher AMP board would give more confidence in O scale

Bill maybe the best bet for HO would be to scuttle a Bachmann GP35 and sell the loco, or one of the other Bachmann offerings. It would be nice to have specs on the boards fitted to the Bachmann units.

cTr...( Choose the Right )

Bluerail needs to publish a list of engines the board will physically fit in to.

I filled out the request data to get a board and a 9-pin wiring harness, but so far nothing back on when/how to place the order.  I figure I'll give it a try in one of my O scale engines and see what happens.  With some protection incorporated in the board hopefully it will shut down before/if any damage occurs.

Hi Stephan,

I bought both an RS3 and an F-3 back in December 2015 when the Bachmann E-Z App locos first became available,  and I quickly became sold on the BlueTooth Control concept. Back in 1993, when I first got into DCC, the boards were much larger than they are today, so I'm hoping the BlueTooth boards will also be getting smaller too, though it might take a while.

Bill n FtL

Bob D. BlueRail has been sending out weekly updates to their email list with information on how to place an order. There is also a link on their site that describes the process.  A direct link to the online store is not on the website now so that orders can be fulfilled to list members (before opening it up to the public).

3RaylFan posted:

Bob D. BlueRail has been sending out weekly updates to their email list with information on how to place an order. There is also a link on their site that describes the process.  A direct link to the online store is not on the website now so that orders can be fulfilled to list members (before opening it up to the public).

I just got the email to order, should have this new board soon

From what they said, each person who has told them they're interested is getting an email to a personal link so they can order (tells you NOT to share your link with anyone else).

I have 2 steamers that need to be powered (PBRC), but I may try this in the Weaver RS3 1st.

With the BlueTooth board I'll be using a 9.6v 2000Mah NiMh battery pack I got from ALL-BATTERY and an on/off/charging jack module from RCS Australia, should be plenty of juice to run O scale engines.

Looks like I might end up with 2-3 BPRC systems by the time I'm thru.  Good thing is they can all run at the same time!!!

On another forum we've been talking about "inductive charging" of the batteries, much like those battery powered toothbrushes that sit in a cradle to recharge.  If someone from BlueRail is reading these posts I hope they give that some consideration.

The good news for me is they only need 20 more interested parties to go ahead with certification in Australia. Bob Ill be interested to see how you get on with the new boards. The specs say they cut out within just one or two seconds at 3 amps to protect the board.      cTr...( Choose the Right )

Stephen, it shouldn't take long to determine once I get it installed.  I think I'll install the board and battery without the on/off/charging jack module for a quick test.  If it works then the module gets installed.  Not installing it keeps me from having to drill any holes until I need to.

IT WORKS!!!  I got the board yesterday, hooked the board up temporarily and plugged in the battery. All I have connected right now is the motor.

I saw the light blink on the receiver, selected the steam engine in the setup, and pressed the start button.

I have the leads reversed so that's to be fixed, but the engine (Williams By Bachmann 4-6-2, a small Pacific) started off at a nice slow speed. Increasing the throttle got the speed up to a pretty good clip, the sound coming from the Ipad is alright, but next step is to use the 1" wifi cube speaker I have mounted to the engine itself.

Not sure what the stall current is on the motor in this engine, but I didn't have any issues with it stopping or shutting down. Once I hook up the headlight and backup light I'll test again.  I only ran it twice around the layout so it wasn't an exhaustive test.

I like the tactile movement of a knob, so working with the Ipad is definitely something to get accustomed to.

Once I test all the components of the engine, I'll add cars to make a train and see if the 2amp capacity of the board can handle the load.

I removed the board and battery from the 4-6-2 and placed them in my Weaver RS3, with the Pittman 8514 motor.

Also ran fine.  I hooked up 7 tank cars and a caboose and let it run for maybe 5 minutes, I would have gone longer but I've got a cold that's dragging me down.

There's 3 different screen "skins" to choose from and a number of different buttons to control sound and how the engine runs.

So far, I'm pleased, I may go with BlueRail in all my diesels and keep my steam engines using the RCS Australia BPRC system I'm currently using.

Next big test is to try the board in an engine with 2 motors.

Since last October, I have been working with BlueRail Trains in a technical advisory capacity with special emphasis on OGauge. At a December meet at their facility, we ran some OGauge locos with encouraging results. I have just completed an extensive round of tests on the new board with several different sized OGauge locos. These tests included battery and DC 3rd rail track power modes. In both modes, performance of the board was extremely good. The IOS based apps, both the Bachmann E-Z app and the BlueRail app work similarly, are easy to understand and fun to use. The iPhone/iPad approach may not be for everyone, but for those who like new ideas, BlueRail could be the next great innovation in model railroad technology.

Bob, thanks for your expertise on this, tell them I think they have a winner!  I also sent you an email.

This is encouraging news thanks Bob &  Bob I look forward to avaliability in Australia.    cTr...( Choose the Right)

Using the sliding throttle on the I-Pad screen is not as bad as I thought it would be, it's actually very nice.  I get a nice, slow movement with the Weaver RS3, great for switching.

I'm sold on this system, easy to wire in and easy to use.  I need to see if the components will fit in my MTH NW2, that's the smallest diesel I have.  If I can get the battery pack I'm using inside the rest should be a piece-o-cake.  The hardest thing is finding a good spot to hide the on/off switch and charging jack, I put them on opposite sides of the fuel tank and painted them so they would blend in.

You can also tap your finger anywhere above or below the throttle graphic to move up or down one speed step. That way you don't really have to look at your device that much.

They've added a CHUFF calibration screen to the App:

http://bluerailtrains.com/2016...-calibration-screen/

I haven't tried it yet but it sounds promising.  From what I can tell, it looks like you calibrate an engine and it keeps the setting for that engine until you change it.  The chuffs change as the engine speeds up/down (I think).

The App also has 4 settings for types of "speed": Switcher, Freight, Passenger, Full Power.

I found I can run my RS3 on the "Freight" setting and when I pull into a siding I can stop the train, change it to Switcher, and the engine will run at a slower speed than it does when in the "Freight" setting.

I also found you don't want to change the setting while the engine is running round the layout.  I had it on Full Power and changed it to Switcher and just about jerked the trucks off the thing, coming to a full stop in the process.

Bob Im listing, and following you with interest, and anticipation. How about a video.     ctr...( Choose theRight )

good bug spotting Bob D.  I sent an email reporting the bug.

Stephen, I'll try to do a video in the next few days.  My videos aren't much better than my photos, so don't expect much

3RAYLFAN, I've been sending them emails too on things I find.  1 thing I saw was that tapping the screen to change speed caused the lights to blink, I believe they've fixed that within the last few days cause I didn't see that occurring last night.

The sudden deceleration when changing from one speed mode to another might not be a bug so much as maybe a note to folks not to do it while the engine is moving, especially when you go from the top speed on Full Power down to top speed on Switcher.

Here ya go Stephen.  Like I said, not the best videos in the world, but you get the idea:

Also, here's some photos:

I currently have the BlueRail board positioned on the side by the battery instead of on top held on with tape.  I also cut off the 8-pin connector board (shown in the 4th photo) and hard-wired the wiring to the components.  The last 2 photos show the on/off switch (the small black min-switch I had questions about on the DCS forum) and the charging jack locations.

I have 2 LEDs in the dual headlight castings I got from PSC.  I emailed BlueRail about them both being on and David Rees told me that was from feedback/input he had gotten from HO folks.  He stated he had gotten emails from other scale users so he might change the programming so one light is off and the other is on.

The chain drive is a bit noisy, maybe some lube might help.  Don't really notice it except when going real slow.

Can it pull more than a caboose?

John, I did use it to spot those 7 tankcars in the siding in one of the videos, lightest car weighs 8.6 ounces.

I haven't tried a string of passenger cars yet or a long train of boxcars.  The Weaver RS3 isn't all that heavy to start with.  I had to remove the lead weights so I could put in the battery pack, but it weighs about the same as the lead did.

I am not a fan of the truck mounting method on this engine though.  It's basically a screw thru the plastic floor with a nut, sooner or later the hole thru the floor has got to suffer.  maybe a brass grommet or something to keep the wear down.

I've got one of those 1" bluetooth cube speakers (the sound you heard was coming from the I-pad) that I want to try opening up and putting the guts inside the engine.  All that's in the cube is a speaker, circuit board, battery, control buttons and charging jack.  I think I can eliminate the cube battery and connect it to the BlueRail board (need to check with David Rees 1st) and maybe the control buttons, so all I need to use are the speaker and the circuit board.  It should fit between the motor and the tower drive.

I find the Weaver horizontal drive motor sucks a lot of power as a rule, that's why I was curious as to how it performs.

This is the first time I've actually had it running, other than a test using a DC transformer hooked up to just the motor.  That Pittman 8514 motor is one of the power hogs from what Bob2 says, but so far it hasn't failed (the 2 amp BlueRail board that is).  The Pittman motor in my Lionel Southern Mountain is twice the diameter.

Using the Ipad proved better than I had thought, even better when I remove the protective cover I have on it (my fingers slide better w/o the cover).  Don't really look at the Ipad that much while the engine is moving or increasing speed.

Still, can't wait until they offer a 4-6 amp board.  Should be able to use smoke once that happens (for those that want it).  I would think it's a must for engines (most diesels) with 2 motors.

Well, I think I found the limitations of this board for O scale.

I pulled 6 boxcars (16 ounces each) and a caboose and within about 30 minutes the board shutdown, I could feel heat on the outside of the RS3 plastic shell.  I let it cool down for maybe 10 minutes, removed the boxcars, and ran it again and all is well.

So...no more purchases from me until they come out with a heavier amp board.  I'll continue to use this board  in the RS3 for light switching duties but that's all.

Being my Williams brass N&W J weighs 14+ lbs, a more hefty board is a must.

Disclaimer...This board WAS NOT made for O-scale use so I/we shouldn't be surprised.

I may give it a go in one of my HO engines later, maybe good for a Christmas display!

Bob, you have identified why I'm sitting this one out for now.  I suspected that the small board would not really be up to hauling any reasonable sized load.  I can wait...

John, I agree.

I will say this, it is a great concept.  The installation went smoothly, of course I only had the motor, headlight LEDs, and rear headlight LEDs wired in, it was a single diesel, no tender as on a steam engine (no tether), and no smoke unit or sound module (sounds came from Ipad).

Their ability to upload software and firmware changes to your device worked very well and the screens are easy to navigate/use.

I think it would be less cumbersome to use an Iphone vice the Ipad, but that's all I have.

They do offer different versions so the user can use batteries or track power (I chose battery).

The only downside to all this is you have to have an engine you are willing to convert, means taking out the old electronics and any other parts (I took out all the 3-rail components like center rollers).  As most/all of our O-scale engines come with some sort of electronics built in, it can be viewed as a waste of $$$.  But, there's still a number of engines out there with only a DC motor or reversing unit that may benefit from the upgrade, especially if you already own a Ipad or Iphone.

I would expect an O-scale version of the BlueRail board to cost a bit more (say $100?), then if you went to battery operation you'd need a battery, charger, wiring, and connectors, along with LEDs (I can't see why anyone would use anything else in this day and age).  So say $200 to convert the 1st engine.  Follow on engines would probably be closer to $100-125 per engine.

Using the Ipad to run the engine is easy, and there's only a few pages worth of owner's manual to look thru.  Wiring took some time to think it thru, but if I can do it anyone should be able to.  Even if you wire up the dc motor backwards you can go in the setup and change it so it goes forward when you want it to.

Oh, if nothing else, if/when they come out with an O-scale board I would think any "shelf-queen" would make a good candidate for this conversion.  I mean, what have you got to lose???

My one concern with BT is the overall range.  I was running up at the NJ-HR the other day, and my LC+ locomotive would occasionally run out of range of the remote and start beeping in some tunnel.  I'd have to run around waving the remote until they found each other again and the action started.

I'd like to have one of these just to tinker with and find out what range issues there are.

Their website says 100+ feet, don't know if it was tested with tunnels or other systems running.  I know it works fine with my BPRC system (RCS Australia) which is 2.4Ghz, at least I didn't see any issues while running both, but I only have a 12x12 layout with extension down one side.  I guess from the end of the extension to the farthest corner is not more than 30 feet.

I wonder if someone could "hijack" your engine with their Ipad/Iphone while you were running at a show or club layout?

An interesting thought, I don't know how their "pairing" process works, that would determine how safe you are from hijack.  The 100 feet could be an issue at a place like the NJ-HR.

I emailed Dave Rees to let him know what I have observed so far.  He did say they were working on a board for O and G-scales so that's encouraging.  He's also reading these posts so if you have questions post them.

I'm going to do some more testing just to see what this 2amp board can withstand.  It's got an overload protection circuit to keep the board safe.

I ran a test last night.

Using my Weaver O-scale RS3 (traction tires on one axle only) I pulled 5 Atlas boxcars and a MTH caboose (total weight 8.7 pounds) for 2 hours 45 minutes at 75% throttle setting.

The board held up fine, the battery ran low and that's what caused the test to stop.  Ipad was down to about 70% battery left.

Not quite sure what to make of this compared to the run that stopped the other day (maybe the battery wasn't fully charged and not that the board shutdown). I plan on running another test tonight at 100% throttle and see what happens.

I calculated the "system" (board, motor, 4 LEDs) drew less than 750Mah (using 2000Mah battery pack) for it to run this long.

My operating sessions usually don't last 2 hours so if this is what to expect I'm all set. It may even allow me to use a smaller capacity battery which will give me more room inside an engine to see if I can gut one of the bluetooth cube speakers and put the components inside the engine.

I need to look at larger wifi speakers to see if one has a 50mm speaker that would give more volume for O scale and will fit inside an engine.

Thanks Bob for posting your video's its been very informative. Iv'e been away in Melbourne the last few day with no internet, so it was a good read when I got home.     cTr...( Choose the Right )

Stephen, glad I'm of some help

I ran another test, this time at 100% throttle, same cars and engine.

The train ran for 2h-38m, 7 minutes shorter than the 75% test.  But I got a speed of 32.7mph, 5mph faster than at 75%.

The App says for a Freight setting the max speed is 60mph, don't know if the lower speed I'm seeing is because of the 9.6v battery (vice 12v?), gearing differences in the RS3, or if the 60mph came about due to scale (HO/N vice O).

The 32.7 mph is fine with me.  I think it would have gone faster if I had run it at the Full Speed setting on the app.

The heat I was feeling on the outside of the engine IMO is normal.  It's really not much, not enough to melt anything and no hotter than I've felt on a number of other engines.  The RS3 has very little mileage on it so maybe things will improve a bit as it gets "broken in".

I think I'll run another test next week at Full Throttle and see what happens!

Hi...i am new here. I am a hardware design engineer by profession I measured the current draw on my steamers back before I converted them to BPRC and most were around .75amps and it might be a good candidate for my Weaver RS3 with Pittman motor.I still have my HO engines and was thinking about putting one of the boards in one to see how it works, but I don't run them anymore.

assembly pcb