Hercules

   
PRODUCT INDEX

Electrics

  • The wires from the control board to the batteries must be of at least 6mm˛. Anything less will cause overheating and possibly cause a fire. If you intend to run the loco excesively hard then it may be worth investing in 10mm˛ wire for the battery leads. If you have purchased the RoR Control Board Kit from us or 4QD you will have enough 6mm2 wire to do the whole engine. You will though need battery connectors and loops if you indend to use a battery isolator switch.

  • On the motor leads pair up the black wire from one motor with the orange wire from the other then the orange from the first to the black of the second motor.

  • Which ever style connector you use make sure no bare wire is exposed which could come in to contact with the chassis / bogie. Wires should be tied back to keep them away from any moving parts. We have used large connector blocks which can be bolted or tied to the bogie end frame. This is one of the reasons why we supply the RoR log cut into one end of the bogie.

6mm wire is not designed for 120amp but can cope with it for short duration's. The wire should be left in exposed locations to allow for cooling. Do not tape wires together or run then in conduits or they may overheat. Please read and follow recommendations made in the control board installation instructions. - 4qd website has copies of instructions - www.4qd.co.uk - and gives full guidance on electrical systems.
       
The control board is mounted on the deck as shown below with the motor wires passing through the deck at either end of the control board. It is recommended to use cable glands or plastic condiut fittings to protect the wires as they pass through the deck.

Note the battery isolator is spaced off of the control plate via nuts on a 45mm bolt. This is so the key clears the bodywork and is why the hole in the plate is not big enough to slide the switch all the way in. (had to say that as I have been told dozens of times that the hole is not big enough). I was also lazy in not extending the battery condition meter wires (green & white ones)
  Mounting the plate as per the picture to the left, lines the battery isolator switch up with the windows of the Hercules cab. It is tricky to turn it on and off but it does remove the need to take the body off every time you need to turn it on/off.

The brown on the battery was where I dropped a tub of creosote in the railway tunnel. It stunk for months.

 

 

Speed Restrictor / Govenor

After a little incident with one of the neighbours children driving we have had a little re think about our engines. The incident involved a Bulldog on greasy track which was allowed to wheel spin at full throttle for several seconds. The result of this was a large flash and a loud bang - then end of a 70amp controller.
Again shutting the gate after the horse has bolted (deadmans switch after a run away train), we have fitted a 10K potentiometer in series to the hand held controller potentiometer.

By simply turning the pot on the engine you can restrict the top speed from anything from 100% - 0%. We have also replaced the circular knob on the hand controller with a pointed knob. This makes it harder to accidently turn up the speed as the motion is in the wrist rather than the fingers.
The dash plate supplied does not have a hole for a speed govenor but is is a simple job to drill and fit a the 10K pot.

We have cut down the spindle and marked the top with a slot. By placing the old circular knob on the spindle and not tightening it up, you provide protection against little wondering fingers. To adjust the pot we simply lift the knob off.

   

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