TVD Battery Radio Loco Demo.wmv

[GunMetalJeep]

With the advancements in battery power I feel that in the next few years it will be the new hit thing. Just think you will have a battery gauge that can be reflective of a locomotives fuel level: when it gets low...head to the fueling racks and recharge on a powered section of track now that is a cool idea! Shorts, stalls, jitters, and sparks will all be relieved and no need for confusing wiring diagrams! I honestly think that this will be spectacular!

[jonnyspeed]

I have been waiting for this for a few years now. I fly RC planes too and cheap high density batteries have changed the game in RC. I second the idea to add a charging circuit so the battery is charged by the power on the rail. Maybe only power the tracks by the engine facility so you have to come back for "fuel" :) too cool. TVD is awesome and I am sure this product will be fantastic. Looking forward to it!

[James]

No more track cleaning or dead spots!!! Seriously this could be the greatest thing for model railroading since DCC!

[midlandwanderer]

Excellent. Now the next step that I would suggest is that a recharging circuit is built in to the onboard battery circuitry so that the battery can be constantly recharged from the track as the loco moves along. This would allow a smaller battery to be used.

[ianharrington]

I have 12 engines just waiting for this!!! I am so ready to see this come over from rc planes and cars. I'll be trying to find your web page and look at your inventory. Santa, here's where you need to shop for me!

[MonsterRailroad]

..track the batteries will still put out the needed 3v or so of power to keep the processor powered and will not stall or the sound will not reset on us anymore. Now all it takes is to have rechargeable lithium batteries wired into the decoder and they will always recharge while the track is powered! NOW THAT IS THE REAL ANSWER TO DIRTY TRACK! I am excited about the results so far! Yours is great for Steam to put a battery in the Tender but mine is for Diesel and Steam taking up little room

[sjanninck]

Hands down, Awesome guys! Bring it on!

[mgoodman]

I'm interested - and not just for the reasons stated in the video and in the comments below. I like that it doesn't throw a good existing technology into the bin. I can convert (or not) to battery at my pace. I'll be watching to see how much space the setup will ultimately take, and am curious if metal tender shells will interfere with the radio.

[holry]

Awesome, Awesome, Awesome Duncan!!!

All sort of questions: Sound, charging systems, charge time, run time, programming, broadcast transceiver, frequency, number of locos possible, interferance issues, etc. But still very cool!

I have an roster of countless loc's I'd be willing to let you prototype this system with :)

Oh and damn Craig, you're short. ;P

[BrionBoyles]

I have been promoting this idea since the advent of DCC. As for batteries: batteries in the shape/size of smokestacks, fuel tanks, ari tanks, coal load, steam or sand dome, dynamic brake blister or some such solution (maybe a removeable cab roof with battery lead clip for coin-type battery) will go a LOOONG way towards finding room on/in these tiny locos. Additionally, a parallel recharging circuit/plug at the tender water hatch or diesel battery hatch at foot of the cab ...?

[cabword]

This is a great idea now to make it user friendly make the track (DCC) charge the battery, the power is there. Maybe park them in a charging yard?

[tamvalleyrr]

It should work fine if you have the room. A couple of me Dead Rail Society friends have used the charging circuit and it works fine. I always recharge my batteries outside the locomotive inside a coffee cup (dry).

[punkgoob]

@midlandwanderer I second that - especially for n scale. With conductant-friendly weathered rail, this would work great together for several n scale issues!

[iruntrains]

With the recent LiPo battery enhancements, I LOVE that this is finally becoming a reality. Now it's probably time for the big dogs (LGB, Bachmann, Lionel, etc) to wake up and smell the coffee. There is a hungry market for RTR high quality battery powered trains. Especially in the larger/outdoor sizes.

p.s. If you have an iPad/iPhone/Mac, please check out our model train simulator. :-)

[jonnyspeed]

My plan is to use the power supply and charging cicuit from the NWSL system and power the TVD Receiver. I just placed the orders so we'll see how it goes.

[MonsterRailroad]

Well I have also been toying with a resolution to dirty track but my idea is a little bit different. Here is my idea. I am going to add two SMALL Lithium batteries that are about a Quarter in size. I have wired them in the DCC decoder where the power from the track comes in and gets converted to DC. Th the decoder the two Lithium batteries are wired in. So before the power from the track goes to the DCC Decoder processor it goes thru the Lithium batteries. So when going over dirty track..

[MonsterRailroad]

So what do you think about my concept?

[metalmicky]

Great for O gauge, more room in a box car for a decent sized battery, have a couple charging up while you play !

[jonnyspeed]

@monsterrailroad you need to be very careful with your proposed setup. Those batteries will absorb the max amount of current available to them. You will need a charging circuit in there. Good idea though.

[rgsron]

Terrific demo. Will this system fit in my Sn3 Locos?