Blunami; Is it for HOn3 Locomotives?

[rgengineoiler]

Just about done stripping the top off my bench work, on my N scale layout.  Their seems to be a lot of talk about Blunami and possible use in model railroading.  For Me at my age it does sound like a good idea to
save my knees for under the layout because they are not very good and No, l do not want replacement.  There has been advancement for good battery use time and  I read this morning some were getting
three hours or more running time before plug in recharge,  which would be perfect for what I am going to build now.  I don't like using my cell phone as my controller and I think CVP might have something for
that.  Don't know yet.  What do all of you Narrow gauge experienced modelers think of the idea?   Doug   

[rgengineoiler]

Just Checked and CVP does have the Airwire 6000 system that works for all decoders, American or Europe.  CVP is a Texas Company.  I use a Digitrax system now.   Doug

[Erock482]

I was under the impression that the Blunami system was just a DCC Decoder, not a battery powered system. however looking deeper it seems you could rig it up that way in partnership with BlueRail and some of their products

since the blunami chip from soundtraxx is bascially a DCC Decoder, and a speaker to go with it. that pretty much takes up the tender of the locomotive for space. which means that any batteries would have to be wired into an auxillary car, or be small enough to also fit within the tender. In my experience, there is not a ton of extra room for batteries, or easy access to charge them, in most HOn3 Tenders.

While it is probably doable, with the tinniest of batteries available and a tender shell modified to maximize interior space, I think the install would be incredibly finicky, and you may wind up with an install so tight that simply charging the batteries would become a chore.

From a saving the knees perspective, is it possible to get all of your track laid, flip the benchwork over, and wire with the underside facing upward to save crawling around on the floor? Lay track, punch feeders through and solder to rail, then flip the whole thing over and tie into your main bus wires?

[peteski]

I guess by "chip" you mean entire decoder.  To me "chips" are the integrated circuits (ICs) on the decoder board itself, or the potato variety.  I find it  confusing when modelers call decoders (which contain multiple ICs) "chips".

But I do agree with you that battery operation in H0n3 scale might be difficult.  H0n3 models are only a bit lager than N scale models. They are sort of in between H0 and N. I have not encountered DCC controlled N scale models powered off a battery with no track power.

I'm not sure why wiring is such a hindrance.  With DCC wiring should be rather simple. Maybe run the wires on top of the layout (and hide them under the scenery later).

[rgengineoiler]

Thanks for the reply from both of you.  Right now just changing to HOn3,  I had bought a new Blackstone K-27 and a New C-19 awhile back knowing I was going to make the change.  So the battery Blunami
system is something that I wondered about.  My bench work is now open and all of my bus wires are their and the feeder wires too.  I also have been thinking about hiding wires on top in grooves and then
running them to a buss block and hiding the blocks being sure to be able to get to them if need be.  I have always soldered feeders every three feet in N Scale but what about HOn3.  Is That a requirement
also?  I have a plan drawn now and after I get the mess cleaned up from the old layout I'll get started with the new.  By the way,  I sold all my N Scale complete rolling stock all in bulk to Trainz.com.. Great
people to deal with and very professional.   Doug   

[peteski]

Doug,  for best reliability, a feeder should be soldered to every individual piece of track. If you used flex track, then it was roughly every 3'.  The point is to make sure every piece of track is directly connected to the power source.   If you have some rail joiners soldered, than the soldered pieces of track can be counted as one.  Neither N nor H0n3 requires heavy current to run, so the rails (nickel-silver is a type of brass which is decent electrical conductor) will be plenty sufficient to supply the current from a single feeder per piece of track.

But like with every track-powered model, keeping the track and wheel treads clean for good electrical contact and reliable operation is required - regardless of scale.  The smaller the scale (and lighter weight the locos are) the more important is to keep things clean.

[rgengineoiler]

OK and Thank You.  My old N was all soldered joints of flex and insulators at required area's.  Just checking for the new build and figuring out hidden wiring on top of new layout.
Still cleaning up the room for the new layout.   Doug     

[ArtinCA]

Sorry for the late answer.



This was a test to see if I could get a Blunami, connectors, speaker and keep alive in an HOn30 switcher. It's an Atlas MP-15 chassis in N. The hood winds up being cab height and wide, but I think it'll work.

I took measurements off different websites and printed the cubes on my Bambu printer so I could see how it all goes. Next up in the actual hardware and install.

Art