Track power DC

[F.B.]

I would like to install the Aristo Craft Train engineer in to my            Bachman K-27 's using track power. Has anyone attempted this ?  Or does Bachman have a remote control system. I am totally new onto RC . My layout is getting to large to operate from a permanent station.
Thanks;

Frank B. 

[altterrain]

Which TE is that? The old 27mHz model with the remote to control track power? That would work fine just be sure to use the Linear power setting and not PWM. I use one of these in a boxcar with batteries for RC/battery power.
Kevin Strong recently installed the new Revo TE in his K (see posting below) and had issues with the light when trying to use the plug-n-play socket. He removed the socket and direct wired it. Issue resolved. The Revo works with track or batter power.
Bachmann has no RC but does have DCC systems.

-Brian

[F.B.]

Thanks for the info Brian, I am looking at the TE Revolution G. It has the capability to convert to Battery power at a later date if I so desire. How do I get info on Kevin Strong's conversion procedure. Also thanks for the heads up on the light issue.
Frank B.

[altterrain]

Hi Frank,

The Revo comes either as PnP to plug directly into an existing socket or you can get an accessory board with screw terminals for locos without a socket so you can directly attach all the appropriate wires. There was a thread on mylargescale about this with links to K27 wiring diagrams - http://www.mylargescale.com/Community/Forums/tabid/56/aff/23/aft/112972/afv/topic/Default.aspx
Kevin wound up ripping out the socket board and directly attaching the wires which are all there.
Also look into the extra capacitor board (6 caps, I think) for running on track power. Hope that helps.

-Brian

[F.B.]

Brian,

Thanks for the help,  I surely appreciate it.

Frank B.

[Kevin Strong]

Try just plugging the Revolution into the socket and seeing if the lights work for you. I'm not convinced I don't have a squirrelly decoder issue. Alas, I had no readily available second decoder to check things out. If the headlights do what they're supposed to when you plug the decoder into the K's tender, then you're golden. (And if it does, please let me know.) It should work by all logical reasoning, and the motor control works just fine. In fact, you get much better control with the Revolution than you get with Aristo's regular track controller.

Because I had issues with the headlight control, I just ended up gutting the socket and wiring everything direct to the Aristo  board. The socket board is well labeled as to what--exactly--each of the 13 wires between the loco and tender go to, so all you need to do is label them, unsolder them from the stock socket board, and re-connect them to the Aristo board.

On my install, I actually ended up doing things a bit different than "normal." The back-up light is connected to the directional headlight control on the Aristo board, but the front headlight and markers (class lights) are controlled via two of the 6 auxiliary function controls on the Revolution. All you need to do is connect whichever wire from the Revolution to the appropriate wire going to the locomotive, and you can push the button on the transmitter to control those lights. It's a nice feature to be able to play with.

Later,

K

[F.B.]

Kevin, thanks for the valuable info.
Frank B.