rc train compatibility

[nunney]

this is a newb question but hopefully someone with experience can give me some insights. is it possible to make muliple rc engines run off of a single controller? what, for instance, would one need to do in order to bring one of the older sets like the 4010 into compatibility with the newest playmobil shunter?


thanks in advance!

[zugpferdchen]

this is a newb question but hopefully someone with experience can give me some insights. is it possible to make muliple rc engines run off of a single controller? what, for instance, would one need to do in order to bring one of the older sets like the 4010 into compatibility with the newest playmobil shunter?

1. If you want to control more than one loco with one RC controller, you need a receiver quartz for the motor block in the same color [LOOK HERE!], e.g. if your controller has a RED quartz, all receivers quartzes (which are controlled by this controller) have to be RED.

If you want 2 locos, which go independent, you need 2 RC controllers. Each controller-receiver pair must have the same color, e.g. 1st loco/controller: blue-blue, 2nd loco/controller: red-red, 3rd loco/controller: green-green etc.


2. The 2nd question is more difficult to answer:
To bring older transformer locos (e.g. 4050, 4051,...) into RC (1st technology: 27 MHz, not the newest shunter with GHz technique!!), you need to buy a RC motor block and put it instead of the transformer motor block into the loco (4052/4029: 2 motor blocks!). The RC motor block is a little bit larger than the transformer motor block and you need a hole for the accumulator.

The motor block of the newest shunter (set 5258) has completely different measures (it's very long!!) and you have to change many things to put it in an older loco (IF it is possible at all), because there is not enough space for the new longer motor block. But why do you want to change it?
Locos of both technologies (RC-MHz technique and the new RC-GHz technique) can be used at the same time.

[nunney]

1. If you want to control more than one loco with one RC controller, you need a receiver quartz for the motor block in the same color [LOOK HERE!], e.g. if your controller has a RED quartz, all receivers quartzes (which are controlled by this controller) have to be RED.

If you want 2 locos, which go independent, you need 2 RC controllers. Each controller-receiver pair must have the same color, e.g. 1st loco/controller: blue-blue, 2nd loco/controller: red-red, 3rd loco/controller: green-green etc.


2. The 2nd question is more difficult to answer:
To bring older transformer locos (e.g. 4050, 4051,...) into RC (1st technology: 27 MHz, not the newest shunter with GHz technique!!), you need to buy a RC motor block and put it instead of the transformer motor block into the loco (4052/4029: 2 motor blocks!). The RC motor block is a little bit larger than the transformer motor block and you need a hole for the accumulator.

The motor block of the newest shunter (set 5258) has completely different measures (it's very long!!) and you have to change many things to put it in an older loco (IF it is possible at all), because there is not enough space for the new longer motor block. But why do you want to change it?
Locos of both technologies (RC-MHz technique and the new RC-GHz technique) can be used at the same time.

hi zugpferdchen,
thanks for the quick reply. this is very helpful info. i don't believe u.s. playmobil offers the quartz but i recall seeing quartz pairs on offer from a local hobby shop awhile back.

your second point is well taken! i hadn't given much thought to the size differences but, as you point out, they are dramatic indeed. i should post a pic of my old 4024 diesel side by side with the new 5258 to illustrate your point.

in the long run, some part of me would prefer to one day be able to reverse engineer an rc loco to run on old electric track but my suspicion is that i might run into trouble there. for the time being, our household is better served by the simple yet very dependable rc track anyway.

thanks!

[Tiermann]

I think it may be easier to go farther backwards with the newest and convert it to transformer control rather than to change the RC type. In any case the new type actually increases your options since you can have two different controllers for RC plus a transformer driven engine all on the same track without having to do complicated electrical blocking.

[nunney]

I think it may be easier to go farther backwards with the newest and convert it to transformer control rather than to change the RC type. In any case the new type actually increases your options since you can have two different controllers for RC plus a transformer driven engine all on the same track without having to do complicated electrical blocking.

thank you, tim. i may have to pick your brain some on all of this one of these days.