Something to consider: Lighter batteries are a counter-productive
expense for a locomotive, since the weight aids traction. Perhaps
older, heavier and thus cheaper battery technology is better suited
for a locomotive than a plane. And that, dear readers, pretty much
exhausts my knowledge of RC! Interesting subject, however, Remember
the series in RMC (1975, I think) where Don Fiehmann (sp?) built an
HO scale radio-controlled lashup? I wonder how such a project would
evolve today, with 33 years' worth of technology advancements, and
rendered in S scale where there would be more room in the loco?
Best regards,
Stan Maddox
www.burlingtongulf.com
On Aug 26, 2008, at 9:51 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>
> Random Thoughts
> Posted by: "Bill Fraley" [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Tue Aug 26, 2008 9:01 am (PDT)
> >Last month at our LVSG meeting at John Foley's, John gave a talk
> on all the new Radio Controlled Model railroads that are fast
> approaching us because of the great batteries now available and
> what is coming in our future. Wouldn't it be neat to lay out your
> non-electrified track, run your battery controlled trains anywhere
> on your layout! Wow! But what will that do to the DCC modelers, as
> well as us DC modelers?
>
> Bill,
> For the larger gauge operators, battery powered layouts are
> certainly more feasible and an interesting approach. Just the
> wiring alone is a great advantage to say nothing of rail
> maintenance. Having been in the radio controlled model airplane
> hobby for over 30 years, I've seen a more recent transition to
> battery powered flight. I think it's in the future for model
> railroading, but not without a price. The latest and greatest used
> in battery power is Lithium Polymer. These batteries are much
> lighter and smaller in size compared with NI-CADs and NI-MH
> batteries. Furthermore, they have a higher capacity for a given
> size. However, one needs to take extra safety precautions while
> handling and charging these batteries. In addition, you will get
> sticker shock when you price them out. A typical aerobatic RC
> aircraft might need over $1000 in Li-Poly batteries. After a 10-15
> minute flight, they may need upwards of an hour to recharge,
> depending on a number of factors. The question remains for model
> railroad of O gauge and smaller; can we get sufficient run time
> with the space available for batteries and the number/cost of
> batteries? It will come one day as battery technology improves, but
> for now, I'll stick with DCC!
>
> Gary Chudzinski
>
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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