• By Brian Podmore

I knew nothing about the technology in respect of radio control except that model planes and boats were using it to communicate with servos to help them fly and sail. The control console usually consisted of a large box with switches and a couple of joysticks and the option to use different channels. So, what about communicating with a loco and controlling that? This is how I approached it.

Not being interested in the finer art of electronics, I looked for a plug-and-play system; and one that could cope with the DCC sound on my railway. I came across a variety of systems but some have limitations in what they can do, how they perform, the control aspect and the quality of the sound produced. My advice is to check whether any of them meet with your specifications first. Most of all, I didn’t want a joystick console, and plug and play was important to keep things as simple as possible. After contacting various RC ‘experts’, I came across the Fosworks system. It ticked all the boxes for me and it all fell into place from then on.

My final query was how to offer a power supply to the loco. Taking it from the tracks really did not give me the independence I needed for the loco, so on-board rechargeable batteries were the answer to making it truly ndependent. If you are going to use this kind of system for all your locos then this has implications for track wiring as well (but I will not be covering that here).

Space is important and not all locos can support everything needed. The first criterion was that a loco with a tender was necessary. The alternative is to have a wagon or similar permanently attached to the rear of the loco to carry the majority of the kit. I was in the process of building a 43xx Mogul, that would be the guinea pig for this project. The tender is a 3500 gallon one, part of a Warren Shepard kit.

My overarching idea was one of creating one loco that could function regardless of whatever the state of the railway. It would be an emergency vehicle used as a rescue or replacement loco should another one fail or the power to the line be down etc.

First I sent to Fosworks a description of what I wanted a system to fit in, to determine if it was possible. I was asked for the dimensions of the tender and as it is essentially a metal box, whether any part could be made from plastic card, if there were any gaps in this box and of course the dimensions of available space. I supplied photos of the tender built. The reply came back that yes it was possible. So what was prescribed to convert my Mogul to RC? The Fosworks kit of parts used for this project.The tender which will house the receiving components.

• The batteries and related switches, sockets and cables:
• 12 cell AAA battery pack with fuse and JST lead - £26.40
• No.1 Loom with on/off switch and charging socket £8
• OMNI Rx4 DCC receiver with interface £47 The charger and charge checker:
• OMNI Tx4.0 DCC Transmitter £70
• CHG-100 for £21
• Cell charger checker CGH-400 £6.50
• The cable to connect the motor and decoder:
• PNP-510 wiring interface for 8 pin NEMvc652 DCC Decoder with speaker terminals £7.70

Here (above) the component parts are connected prior to fitting and the blue tape hides the wires that will connect to the motor. The batteries were a tight sliding fit in the tender. A bracket arrangement was used to secure an on/off switch and a charging socket. The standard aerial was part of the receiver. The tender had open slits underneath its body. The top was cut open to make a switch bracket and then covered with a bowed coal load stuck on to a Plastikard hollow shape.Upper view of tender coal space.Coal space built-up to give shape.Coal space with coal load supports in place.

Between them that would be enough non-metal for the radio waves to reach the receiver. Also, the cover is easily removed when the batteries need recharging or to give access to the on/off switch.

Running times were given as about four hours between charges. The hand controller was precise and has three buttons giving up to nine options for sound effects and a regulator knob to control movement, (no joystick nonsense). It has a range of 800 metres. Fosworks supply a range of controllers depending on your needs. I am controlling only one loco so mine is a TX-4.0.

The setup or binding of a connection between the decoder in the loco, the control system in the tender and the handheld controller was so easy to do and once done is permanent. I merely had to follow the instructions.

As an extra, I also bought their battery checker which plugs in between the charger and the charging socket. It gives a readout of the state of charge of the batteries.

Decoders come with most of their CVs set up. As usual CV1 was set to the default 3, but as the decoder is independent of the tracks it does not need to be changed. Using this system all locos setup this way could have the same CV value. At the time of writing ESU are releasing their latestLoksound decoder version 5. It promises to have HD sound and is a completely redesigned board.

One cable runs from the tender to the loco body which houses the 8-pin connector securing the decoder and loudspeaker and the two wires soldered to the motor terminals. All the other R/C components are fitted in the tender.

That’s it. After charging the battery pack, switch on and use the controller to work the loco. What could be simpler and more straightforward? A short video of the Mogul as a radio controlled loco is available at: youtu.be/OicyEjDzZz0 Components fitted in the tender.Everything neatly hidden by the coal load.