I finished converting my GP-40 to on-board, battery power and radio control.
A lithium-ion battery pack replaced one of the weights in the fuel tank.
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A double-pole double-throw switch and charging plug replaced the smoke unit.
I took Greg’s suggestion and used a toggle switch instead of a slide switch. I didn’t think it would fit but it does. The switch toggles the battery pack between its charging plug and the 2.4 GHz receiver.
As the receiver is mounted in the Plug and Play socket, it can not be wired directly to the switch. To provide the receiver with battery power, the locomotive's redundant MU plugs were unsoldered and removed. The rear MU plug was replaced with a 2-pin plug set which was soldered to the switch.
This was an easy conversion because of the Plug and Play features. No hacking of the locomotive was required, and nothing prevents it from being restored to its original condition for re-sale at a later date.
Thanks to Tom Ruby for suggesting the metal spring tabs that hold the switch cover (dynamic brake blister) to the hood be removed. Not only does it allow easier access to the battery switch and charging plug, it prevents anyone from trying to pick up the locomotive by the dynamic brake blister, and having it fall when the metal spring tabs let go.
Now if it would only stop raining so I can go out and test it on our club railway.
If you would like to view the article on this GP-40 power conversion on our club web site, just click on the link.
A lithium-ion battery pack replaced one of the weights in the fuel tank.
A double-pole double-throw switch and charging plug replaced the smoke unit.
I took Greg’s suggestion and used a toggle switch instead of a slide switch. I didn’t think it would fit but it does. The switch toggles the battery pack between its charging plug and the 2.4 GHz receiver.
As the receiver is mounted in the Plug and Play socket, it can not be wired directly to the switch. To provide the receiver with battery power, the locomotive's redundant MU plugs were unsoldered and removed. The rear MU plug was replaced with a 2-pin plug set which was soldered to the switch.This was an easy conversion because of the Plug and Play features. No hacking of the locomotive was required, and nothing prevents it from being restored to its original condition for re-sale at a later date.
Thanks to Tom Ruby for suggesting the metal spring tabs that hold the switch cover (dynamic brake blister) to the hood be removed. Not only does it allow easier access to the battery switch and charging plug, it prevents anyone from trying to pick up the locomotive by the dynamic brake blister, and having it fall when the metal spring tabs let go.
Now if it would only stop raining so I can go out and test it on our club railway.
If you would like to view the article on this GP-40 power conversion on our club web site, just click on the link.
