Tomytec battery-powered controller

[okiemax]

 

 

 

 

Hobbysearch lists a Tomytec battery-powered controller (item code 217763). It’s described as requiring 4 AA batteries and  suitable only for powering one vehicle from the Tomytec Railway Collection. If anyone has experience wth this controller, I would appreciate your letting me know what you think of it

 

 

 

 

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[katoftw]

http://www.jnsforum.com/community/topic/9187-tomix-wireless-controller/?hl=%2Btomix+%2Bwireless

 

http://www.jnsforum.com/community/topic/9802-tomix-controllers/page-3

 

there was also another big discussion about them before nsxale's discussion.  but i cannot find it now.

Edited April 28, 2016 by katoftw

[bill937ca]

 

The controller okiemax is referrring to is small tram style controller that can power one Tomytec or similar small unit.  Its not wireless and requires the use of a built-in 5534 style DC feed. So it is limited to Tomix FineTrack rail. I don't think it can be adapted to Tomix Wide Tram track without a piece of non-paved track. It puzzles me why this was never updated.  I find its limited capacity limiting, but there are cases were it might be useful like a small, independent module. Available in turquoise or cream and I have seen these color controllers on Japanese rail cars.

[ToniBabelony]

I have altered mine to cut the connection wires and soldered an adapter piece on for different feeder cables. This way I can connect to standard Fine Track, Wide Tram Track and so on. It's very convenient when going out to a meeting or a drink, as I've also modded a Rokuhan 6.5mm gauge track to have a Tomix DC feeder cable plug.

[kvp]

It's essentially a 6V (4x1.5V) controller, so you can use it to control N and Z scale trains that have a current draw of less than 250 mA and have realistic speeds in the 0-6V range. It's possible to retrofit a power socket into it and to connect a 6V wall adapter. (with a 3 pole switching plug, it's even possible to leave the batteries in and switch to wall mode just by plugging in the adapter) Toni's idea of removing the plug and adding a standard extension socket is good as it allows it to be used as any other Tomix controller.

[katoftw]

Rokukan have a couple of battery controllers also.  As an additional feature, they also support constant lighting.

 

https://www.youtube.com/user/Rokuhan65/videos

 

They also have 100-240V adaptors.

[okiemax]

I want to thank the forum members for their comments on the Tomytec battery powered controller. I think I will order one. 

[NXCALE]

 

Hobbysearch lists a Tomytec battery-powered controller (item code 217763). It’s described as requiring 4 AA batteries and  suitable only for powering one vehicle from the Tomytec Railway Collection. If anyone has experience wth this controller, I would appreciate your letting me know what you think of it

 

:

 

 

Hi okiemax.

 

A little late but I just found your topic.

 

I have this controller and I agreed with other people's comments about its power characteristics (Amps. and Volts).

Without any mods, this controller works well just with small units. Also, bear in mind that if you use rechargeable batteries, you will get 4.8V (1.2V / AA battery).

 

Making changes to the controller is good way to make it more versatile. I haven't mod mine but it is my to-do list.

 

Here below some picture of the controller opened so people can have an idea of how much room there is for a internal mod.

 

 

 

I have altered mine to cut the connection wires and soldered an adapter piece on for different feeder cables. This way I can connect to standard Fine Track, Wide Tram Track and so on. It's very convenient when going out to a meeting or a drink, as I've also modded a Rokuhan 6.5mm gauge track to have a Tomix DC feeder cable plug.

 

It is a great idea having a meeting with drinks, side dishes and your portable layout... nice...

 

Cheers,

 

Edited May 21, 2016 by nxcale

[kvp]

Some remarks:

-it's alwas 0.7V less than the input as the protection diode seem to be in series, so for 1.2Vx4, it's only 4.1V

-if you add an external 3 wire jack with switchover functionality, you can use higher external voltages like 12V, just add a larger resistor to the led (and be careful with the amp rating as that won't change)

-i would say that the output cable should get a tomix style feeder socket, that way it's possible to add any feeder and it's one of the smaller sized sockets available

 

The circuit is:

-an on-off contactor

-a protection diode

-a led with a resistor

-a rheostat (variable resistor)

-a polarity switch

 

Pretty much similar to what you had in an old directly switched tram, but this also means that at slow speeds, the rest of the power is burned on the variable resistor, so it's best practice to go to full throttle as fast as possible and keep it there. If you increase the voltage with an external source, this full throttle asap rule still stands and i would even go as far as to add a series solid state current limiter to avoid burning the controller in case of a short.

[Welshbloke]

Just a thought, but would one of the PWM controller modules available on ebay fit in place of the original PCB?

 

I used one for a homebrew controller able to run from a 12v supply, the result was smooth, reliable control of pretty much everything I tested with it. Including a twin motor Tomix Shinkansen, which I left running for a couple of hours with no sign of the controller overheating. It's not suitable for DCC fitted locos though as PWM tends to fry decoders, but for a simple Tomytec it's brilliant.

 

AFAIK the board I used can run on anything between 6v-24v DC. My only complaint with the controller I built is that it doesn't look anything like as good as the Tomytec controller, it's a simple black plastic box with a toggle switch and knob on one end, and a 12v input socket and Kato track connecting cable on the other.

Edited May 21, 2016 by Welshbloke

[kvp]

The controller has a few specially aligned parts for the power off functionality, but it would be possible to make a pwm board for it. Or just mod the original, deadbug style.

 

PWM is safe for most decoders if it's around 50 to 120Hz and has proper freewheeling diodes to prevent voltage spikes. Actually frequency wise all decoders should tolerate any pwm signal up to around 38-40 kHz.

[Welshbloke]

The obvious solution would be to desolder the variable resistor from the PWM board and use flying leads to connect the original one in the Tomytec controller. However, as I doubt the resistance values are the same you'd probably be better off replacing it.

 

Does the Tomytec controller have notches like the real thing? If it does, then a really neat trick would be to arrange the wiring so that each notch up switched another battery into the circuit (giving between 1.5v and 6v). No need for resistors or problems with heat!

[kvp]

The tomytec controller has only two notches, on and off and a continous resistence ramp from there. The potmeter can be replaced but the board should be kept for the on-off contactor and handle mounting arrangement.

 

So imho a pwm mod would involve:

-potmeter change

-board trace cut and rewire

-external power connector and feed socket

(the led, the on-off contactor and the direction switch can be left as they are)