Page 4
The Radio System
The radio system is not included with the purchase of your RailBoss, but is readily available on-line or at
your local hobby shop.
The RailBoss is designed to operate using 2.4GHZ 4-Channel radios with a proportional throttle stick. 2.4GHZ
technology has revolutionized radio control. Details of how DSSS (Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum) and FHSS
(Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum) work are beyond the scope of this manual, but here is the short version
the radio is constantly changing frequencies and comparing signals at a high rate of speed, often using dual an-
tennae or dual receivers. The results are
•
Radio range far exceeding the needs of garden railroading un-
der most conditions.
•
NO interference from locomotive motors or other radio/noise
sources. No filters or special antenna care required.
•
Multiple operators can run at the same time without regard to
frequency or channel assignments. Your receivers will only re-
spond to your transmitter due to a “Binding” process.
•
Multiple receivers bound to the same transmitter will respond to
the same commands. This allows for double-heading and multi-
ple-loco operations.
One transmitter can be used to run all of your trains using one or more
locomotives per train. You can run up to two trains at the same time
from one transmitter. More than two trains at the same time will require
additional transmitters. The receiver(s) aboard each train must be bound
to their respective transmitter.
Note: Simultaneous operation of two trains requires a 5-Channel transmitter with a toggle switch.
During the “Binding” process, the receiver reads the transmitter’s unique identification code. From then on, it will
only respond to commands identified by that code. Binding is fairly simple and only needs to be done once. Refer
to your transmitter manual for details.
Note: Bind with throttle in the full DOWN position in order for RailBoss to work properly with the Tx off.
The RailBoss supplies the power to the receiver through the 3-wire cable, so no connections are required to the
BAT/BIND terminals. These terminals will only be used if a binding plug is required during the binding process.
Antenna routing and orientation really isn’t critical. If you have a dual antenna receiver, ideally each antenna
should be in a perpendicular plane to the other. If your receiver is mounted inside a metal body, you will obtain the
best reception by routing the antenna outside of the metal body.
See list of “Recommended Radio Systems” at the end of this manual.
The RailBoss Control Board
RailBoss is an ESC (Electronic Speed Control). It converts the signals intended to drive an analog servo into use-
ful commands for operating a powerful PWM (pulse width modulation) motor driver. It differs from the ESCs de-
signed for R/C cars because the RailBoss is designed to allow nice slow prototypical speed control of your loco-
motive using the proportional throttle stick and 256 speed steps; i.e. the position of the throttle stick corresponds
to the speed of the locomotive from minimum to maximum. Adding momentum to the throttle enhances the proto-
typical operation. Momentum is fully programmable, and can be turned off via the transmitter to assist with switch-
ing operations.
RailBoss provides power to your receiver and gets its R/C commands using the four receiver cables provided. It
operates over a wide range of battery input voltage (7-25V, i.e. 2-6 Lithium cells, or 7-16 NiMh/NiCad cells). The
battery input is protected from damage due to reverse polarity.
Connect R/C cables with the
orange (data) wire towards the
top of the Rx. The BATT slot re-
mains open, unless being used
for binding.
