Fitting Radio Control to a Mamod Boulton

Fitting Radio Control to a Mamod Boulton

How To Fit Radio Control To A Mamod Boulton using FlySky Equipment I assume that you already have a Mamod Boulton and have fitted rechargeable AA batteries instead of normal AA batteries. You will need the following tools and be competent in their use: Low wattage soldering iron and soft solder suitable for use with electronics, wire cutters, wire stripper, narrow-nosed pliers, a few short (10cm) lengths of black and red wire, double sided tape and scissors. In order to fit radio control the main items you will need to purchase are: A suitable radio transmitter and receiver designed for controlling models. I use a FlySky FS-i4 transmitter which can be purchased, complete with a FS-A6 receiver, from Amazon. You may prefer the almost identical TGY-i4X from HobbyKing. A suitable ESC (Electronic Speed Controller). I use a Viper Loco10, from Mtroniks in the UK. Alternatively you can find Chinese made equivalents on ebay. 3 WAGO 221 2-wire connectors and 1 WAGO 221 3-wire connectors, or equivalents. You are going to retain the existing On/Off switch and change the use of the other switch from Forward/Reverse to powering on the ESC. Rotating the dummy exhaust will no longer act as a speed controller and will become totally cosmetic. The first thing to do, after you have removed the Boulton cab and taken the batteries out of the battery holder, is to use your soldering iron and unsolder the blue, grey and white wires from where they are soldered to the Boulton s speed adjuster under the body. Put the cab to one side. You then need to remove the existing Boulton speed controller, which is encased in black shrink wrap and has various wires going in to it. Unsolder the red wire from the speed controller to where it attaches the Boulton s On/ Off switch and then unsolder all three of the black wires where they attach to the On/ Off switch. Finally unsolder the orange and white wires where they attach to the Boulton s Backwards/ Forwards switch. Put the old speed controller to one side as you won t need it again. Then, using your soldering iron, unsolder all the other wires attached to the Boulton s Backwards/ Forwards switch. Discard the two short cross-over wires, keeping just the two white wires that go to the motor. 2

Now you need to make a few changes to the Mtronics ESC. These are: Cut the two thin black wires where they are attached to the small switch. This switch turns the ESC on and off and you are going to use the Boulton s Backwards/ Forwards switch for this purpose as it is no longer needed to control the Boulton s direction of travel. Solder one of the two thin black wires to one of the centre pins of the Boulton s Backwards/Forwards switch and solder the other thin black wire to the pin above it. The Boulton s Backwards/Forwards switch can now be used to power the ESC on and off. Identify the two pairs black and two red wires coming from the ESC. These are the ones marked BAT+ and BAT-, MOT+ and MOT-. Using your wire cutters cut off the existing connectors leaving as much wire as possible and then strip the insulation back from the ends some 3-4mm. Carefully tin the exposed cable ends using your soldering iron and electrical solder. You now need a 10cm length of fresh red insulated wire. Strip the insulation back some 3-4mm on either end of this wire and carefully tin the exposed ends. Solder one end to the On/Off switch where you previously unsoldered the red wire from the old speed controller. Take up a 2-wire WAGO 221 connector and use it to join the other end of the fresh red wire with the red wire marked BAT+ from the ESC. (The reason you re using the WAGO connector is because the ESC s wires are slightly too thick to solder directly onto things.) Using the 3-wire WAGO 221, connect together the black wire from the recharging socket, the black wire from the battery box and the black BAT wire from the ESC. Now I recommend sticking the two 221s together bottom to bottom, using double-sided tape. Look at the inner black and two red wires where they leave the ESC, marked MOT+ and MOT-. You need to join these to the white wires going to the motor. It doesn t matter which of the white wires is attached to MOT+ and which to MOT-. You ll use the two stuck-together 2-wire WAGO 221s to do this. Connect the red MOT+ wire to one of the white wires from the motor, using one of the WAGO 221s and connect the black MOT wire and the remaining white wire, using the other WAGO 221 The ribbon cable both provides the FS-A6 with power and sends control signals to the ESC. So, finally, plug the 3-wire ribbon cable from the ESC into channel 3 of the FS-A6 receiver, with the brown wire nearest the edge. Now the left-hand up/down joystick of the receiver will control the loco s speed. Choose another channel if you want to use the other joystick. 3

You have now installed radio control into the Boulton, so its time to calibrate and test everything. The Boulton should be on a couple of blocks so its wheels are off the ground and can turn freely. Then: 1. Make sure the Boulton s On/Off switch is Off and replace the batteries into the battery holder. 2. I m assuming your FS-A6 receiver is already bound to your transmitter. If not, turn to Appendix 1 on page 5 of this document. 3. Move the Boulton s On/Off switch to On. Nothing should happen. 4. Move the other switch, which used to be the Forward/Reverse switch, to On. The red LED on the ESC should light as will the LED on the FS-A6. 5. You have confirmed your wiring is OK, so turn both switches off. 6. Make sure your transmitter has a battery installed and then turn it on with the speed control joystick centred. 7. Now turn on the Boulton s On/Off switch and then the other switch to power up the ESC. The red and green LEDs should flash (ignore the LED on the FS-A6). 8. Within 2 seconds, while the LEDs are still flashing red and green, press the button on the ESC. 9. The green LED should stop flashing and remain on. You have now set the neutral position. 10. Push the speed control joystick, on the transmitter, fully up and then back to the middle position. The red LED on the ESC should come on. The maximum speed in one direction is set. 11. Then push the speed control joystick fully down and then back to the middle position. The maximum speed in the other direction is now also set. 12. Calibration is complete so turn the ESC off and then on again. Turn the transmitter s speed controller fully up and down to check. Then turn everything off. You may find that the Boulton s wheels are turning in the wrong direction, i.e. going backwards when you turn the speed controller clockwise. So turn the transmitter and both Boulton switches off and then swap which of the white motor wires is connected to the red MOT+ wire and which is connected to the black MOT wire. This is another good reason for the WAGO connectors. When you are satisfied everything is set up properly, turn both of the Boulton s switches off and turn off the transmitter as well. Now all you have to do is to install the ESC, receiver, battery holder, etc onto the Boulton s chassis in such a way that the cab and body can be correctly fitted. Cut strips of the double sided tape to make sure everything is held in place. Alternatively you can use sticky-backed Velcro like I ve done. To make it easier to remove the battery holder without resorting to a soldering iron, I used another pair of WAGO 221 2-wire connectors here, beneath the fuse box. You don t need to do the same. Mine is a early loco. Later ones have this switch and the charger socket in different positions. Later locos also have a proper catch to simplify removing the cab. My loco just uses a nut and bolt. 4

Appendix 1 How to bind a FlySky FS-A6 receiver to its FS-i4 transmitter. 5.Look at the FS-A6. Its LED should be flashing. 6. Hold down the FS-i4 transmitter s bind button. 1. Put the bind plug across the pins of the Channel marked BAT of the FS-A6 2. If you ve not already done so, plug the ribbon cable from the ESC onto channel 2 of the FS-A6, with the brown wire nearest the edge receiver 3. Move the Boulton s On/Off switch to On. Nothing should happen. 4. Move the other switch, which used to be the Forward/Reverse switch, to On. Ignore the LED on the ESC. 7. At the same time, switch the transmitter on. 8. The FS-A6 s s LED should stay on, confirming the bind has been successful. You don t normally have to repeat this unless you replace the transmitter with another one. 9. When the bind is successful turn the transmitter off and the Boulton s power switch to off. 10. Remove the bind plug and keep it somewhere safe in case you ever need it in the future. 11. Now return to the main instructions. 5

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