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I have an RCM2 out of a TMCC speeder and just need the coupler and light function off the board not the motor PWM.  I am fresh out of LCRX boards and plan to use the RCM2 board instead of an LCRX. In this particular use should I put a dummy load on the output transistors ?   First thought is to use a 10 ohm 10w resistor for the dummy load and also use a 550 ohm reed relay parallel with  the 10 ohm resistor for switching a DPDT signal relay for rule 17 lighting .  Just thinking the 550 ohm relay would not be a low enough resistance to be a reasonable load for the PWM driver.           j

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Do I need a dummy load on the motor output ?    Seems like the 550 ohm load from the reed relay is too high to present a proper load. If I do need a load on the motor output should a 10ohm 10w resistor be OK ? I may have to play with that value to make sure the reed relay has enough power to close at the crack of the throttle.  I  have .01uf caps on the lighting outputs.  My reed relays are bipolar. I use a diode if I want them polar. I love the RCM2 board it's way handy. Now all we need is a 16A slave PWM driver for four motor AAs that uses the RCM2s motor output  as a F/R signal. I have seen some 20A H bridge  arduino boards on eBay for just a couple $ that may be hackable to our purposes. I have been using TAS boards and installing 16A triacs for driving AAs with four motors. However I think that an RCM2 and the arduino H bridge may be quite a bit smaller and I'm running low on TAS boards. Only one EOB  left and a couple SAWs. On the topic of 4 motored AAs have you driven such with one ProtoSound 2 or 3 board ? That may be the solution to my AA problem. I've already decided that PS is the solution for my steam upgrades. I thought seriously about Legacy upgrades but handling the Tach sensor is so much more difficult. Bruk's diagram for Legacy boards makes it so tempting.     Speaking of Bruk I haven't seen a post by him in quite some time.  Hope he's OK.                                                    Thanks John.          j

The motor drive is FET based, it doesn't need any load.  Truthfully, even if you decided to put a load in, 10 ohms is way too stiff, consider something more along the lines of 50 to 100 ohms.

Actually, handling the tach sensor for Legacy isn't that bad, and the rewards are plenty.

4 motored units don't play with PS/2 or PS/3, I've never tried it, nor heard of anyone trying it.  I suspect that's pushing them too hard.

Bruk isn't here anymore, but he's fine.

John do you happen to have the feature's code numbers for the RCM2 ? I notice on the wiring diagram that coupler outputs can be used for lamps and a smoke unit and I can only sumise that in order to prolong the coupler pulse for lamp or smoke units there must be a way to tell the unit to turn on these connections till you turn them off. Lionel.          Thanks           j

I was confusing Feature set with the Soft Set feature. I had to reread the manual.  A couple of years ago, about the time the original ERR went under,I was looking at the Mini Commander and trying to figure out how to control a RS-1&2  Bell/Whistle with it. Perhaps in conjunction with a DPDT relay.  When I finish this project I think I will try again.                            j

Last edited by JohnActon

I have plenty of space for a switch. I was under the impression that the soft set allowed you to control the length of the coupler pulse up to 2 seconds or simply on/off.   Which I think may work on railsounds 1 and 2 to trigger bell /whistle. Regardless I am a big fan of this little board.          j

I have actually considered reviving the ERR Sound Converter functionality as the board schematic and code is readily available.  Just too many projects, too little time.

Running out of projects is harmful to your health. So Don't. My last order to the original ERR which never got filled was for a bunch of Mini Commanders and four Sound Converters.  I bet you could sell a bunch. I have several Railsounds 1 and 2 boards and have wanted to put them in my  post war locos but only have one Sound Converter. Looks like my trains are going to sit a couple of weeks. County zoning board changed the definition of the side of a house and decided to say my house was on a corner lot, Is not , it is a bend in the road!  I can no longer store my sailboats in my driveway after living here since 1985 So I guess I have to fix some things and sell the boats. Ultimately more $ for trains but time away from my trains. I stopped sailing five years ago so I guess the zoning change came at a good time. Should have sold the boats five years ago and they should be grandfathered. It's time to sell them regardless.         j

Last edited by JohnActon
@JohnActon posted:

Running out of projects is harmful to your health. So Don't. My last order to the original ERR which never got filled was for a bunch of Mini Commanders and four Sound Converters.  I bet you could sell a bunch. I have several Railsounds 1 and 2 boards and have wanted to put them in my  post war locos but only have one Sound Converter.

I could probably sell a few, but in order to do a production run, I'd have to do several hundred boards.  Paying up front for all of those is a risk that I'm not willing to take.  I've done several projects that I thought were a sure thing, one being my universal sound board and another being the remote control system.  Once they were available, all the "interest" that was seemingly generated evaporated and I have boxes of boards.

If I'm not married to the whistle/bell buttons I can make it do things it is not designed for, If I can make the AUX 1 and 2 buttons pulse last for 2 seconds, and the soft set instructions say I can. With a diode and a spdt relay I can blow the whistle and with a second relay can ring the bell. At the moment I don't have anything better to do with the M.C.ACCs Perhaps I can't make it work. The M.C.ACC instructions mentions contacts on the board for controlling RailSounds but does not elaborate on how to do so. This board is so versatile but the instructions are not always clear how to accomplish what they claim it can do. The instructions mention controlling RailSounds but don't show how. Below is a PDF of the manual for anyone interested.   I have nothing to loose but tinker time        j

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George this is what it looks like. I have several Railsounds 1&2 boards and it will give them full TMCC sound function.  I have one but am speculating that I can use a Mini Commander ACC. with some hacking to preform the same functions. I have two of the MC ACC    3Rd Rail is out and not likely going to get more. So neither the Sound Converter or the Mini Commander ACC boards are currently available sadly .            j



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Last edited by JohnActon
@JohnActon posted:

George this is what it looks like. I have several Railsounds 1&2 boards and it will give them full TMCC sound function.  I have one but am speculating that I can use a Mini Commander ACC. with some hacking to preform the same functions. I have two of the MC ACC    3Rd Rail is out and not likely going to get more. So neither the Sound Converter or the Mini Commander ACC boards are currently available sadly .
      

If you're willing to activate the horn with things like the couplers, you could use an R2LC board, perhaps with one of my Dummy Locomotive Boards.  There are still R2LC boards floating around, and you could even use some of the less popular R2LC-C07 boards for this task.

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