| Electronics > Projects, Designs, and Technical Stuff |
| steam train charge/lighting system conversion to solid state. |
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| m3vuv:
hi all ive been asked to look at converting some railway carriages from a electro mechanical charge/lighting system to solid state,any ideas?,find attached info.,thanks in advance m3 vuv. |
| Cyberdragon:
Why? Don't fix what ain't broke. The whole trend of "modernising" stuff is often causes more trouble for little to no benefit. The system is very simple, and if properly maintained is quite reliable. There are plenty of old steam trains running with original electrics (save for some new wiring). I suggest consulting some steam experts on how to maintain it properly. |
| dmills:
I would be thinking that an off the shelf 24V lorry charge regulator would probably get it done, why reinvent the wheel? But yea, the original if cleaned and lubricated correctly (NOT WD40!) is probably quite satisfactory. Regards, Dan. |
| m3vuv:
its not for me to ask why they dont fix the original regulators,they run a fleet of 1950's steam trains,and as far as i know want to modernise the electrics on the carriages,ive just been asked to do it.most charge controllers ive seen for lorrys are for alternators. |
| floobydust:
The design looks like something Lucas used in the 1950's :-\ It's using a 70A or 125A 24V dynamo for lighting? What size batteries? I wonder how many hours the lights are designed to stay on when the train is stopped - if you could downsize things. LED lights would use much less energy. You could put in an electronic regulator, instead of the 5 relay antique technology. I haven't seen any schematics with low voltage cutout and that are reasonably efficient at charging at low speeds. If the dynamo is something you can maintain, I would say keep it. Alternators need much higher shaft speeds so the pulleys would have to get changed. |
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