7898 green loco questions

[ignacj]

I apologize if these were already discussed previously, I'm fairly new to LEGO trains (sensing addiction in making) and have new 7898 set on the way.

My questions are:

1. Can 7898 green locomotive be controlled with a new PF remote (8879)?

2. Can the same loco be upgraded to use new rechargeable battery box (8878)? I guess will the battery fit without getting new base plate?

3. Having a long experience with Radio Control hobby, has anyone successfully wired on of PF trains with regular Lipo 2-cell packs?

For price of about $80 you can get a fairly large capacity LiPo 2-cell pack with capacities in excess of 5000mAh. The only tricky part

would be to rig up some sort of LiPo saver that would prevent battery from over-discharging (<3v per cell) and therefore damaging the pack (I suspect this is integrated into LEGO rechargeable battery pack, therefor one of the reasons for higher price). Naturally this type of arrangement would not be kid-friendly.

Thanks

ig

[broomhandle]

I apologize if these were already discussed previously, I'm fairly new to LEGO trains (sensing addiction in making) and have new 7898 set on the way.

My questions are:

1. Can 7898 green locomotive be controlled with a new PF remote (8879)?

2. Can the same loco be upgraded to use new rechargeable battery box (8878)? I guess will the battery fit without getting new base plate?

3. Having a long experience with Radio Control hobby, has anyone successfully wired on of PF trains with regular Lipo 2-cell packs?

For price of about $80 you can get a fairly large capacity LiPo 2-cell pack with capacities in excess of 5000mAh. The only tricky part

would be to rig up some sort of LiPo saver that would prevent battery from over-discharging (<3v per cell) and therefore damaging the pack (I suspect this is integrated into LEGO rechargeable battery pack, therefor one of the reasons for higher price). Naturally this type of arrangement would not be kid-friendly.

Thanks

ig

i have 3 RC engines. they are great. a lot of people give them bad reviews. but i think they are just as good as the new PF system. the pro from a PF is you can build steam. i have the green 7898. and i just use it as RC. they use the same track, and they can run at the same time as PF.

keep it RC and save your money and time!

[hoeij]

I apologize if these were already discussed previously, I'm fairly new to LEGO trains (sensing addiction in making) and have new 7898 set on the way.

My questions are:

1. Can 7898 green locomotive be controlled with a new PF remote (8879)?

2. Can the same loco be upgraded to use new rechargeable battery box (8878)? I guess will the battery fit without getting new base plate?

The answers to 1 and 2 is no (unless you make some drastic changes to it).

Why not simply put 6 rechargeable batteries in the 7898 train? It runs pretty long on that.

[peterab]

1. Can 7898 green locomotive be controlled with a new PF remote (8879)?

2. Can the same loco be upgraded to use new rechargeable battery box (8878)? I guess will the battery fit without getting new base plate?

A little more detail;

1. No the remotes/recievers for the RC and PF trains are incompatable. PF uses IR while 7898 is RC.

2. Since the train base, battery box, and receiver are all one piece, if you replace all three you can use the PF battery box. You could use this with a RC motor, unfortunately it is the least powerful train motor (it has higer speed, lower torque), and the plug sits a bit high and will probably interfere with turning on a normal train base, so you probably also want to use a PF motor anyway. It's probably not worth it.

[ignacj]

The answers to 1 and 2 is no (unless you make some drastic changes to it).

Why not simply put 6 rechargeable batteries in the 7898 train? It runs pretty long on that.

Multitude of reasons to stay away from NiMh batteries, one of which is that they typically lose some charge overnight unless you leave them on a charger until very moment you would use them. Their real capacity also rarely reaches the advertised capacity. I've been using these type of batteries in other RC and photo applications for years, and LiPo alternatives are always far more desirable in all mentioned respects.

I guess my question about generic Lipos would make more sense if related to a generic locomotive (home-built) that might not be able to accommodate the new PF battery box or the PF rechargeable battery pack.

I have quite a few PF bits and pieces on order, so I plan on experimenting and hopefully have something to report back soon.

Thanks for your reply!

ig

Edited July 14, 2010 by ignacj

[jonwil]

A little more detail;

1. No the remotes/recievers for the RC and PF trains are incompatable. PF uses IR while 7898 is RC.

2. Since the train base, battery box, and receiver are all one piece, if you replace all three you can use the PF battery box. You could use this with a RC motor, unfortunately it is the least powerful train motor (it has higer speed, lower torque), and the plug sits a bit high and will probably interfere with turning on a normal train base, so you probably also want to use a PF motor anyway. It's probably not worth it.

7898 is also IR, not RC. Its just an incompatible form of IR.