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Installation of the Receiver
The receiver should be mounted as far away from the motor as possible, and as high up as possible. If you have
a receiver with dual antennas, ideally they should be mounted in perpendicular planes, but this isn’t critical.
2.4GHZ antennas are only about 1” long. If you have one that appears to be about 12” long, it is really a coaxial
cable 11” long, with the last 1” acting as the antenna.
Do not cut the antenna wire to shorten it.
The length just
allows you to position the 2nd antenna away from the first. Plug the supplied cables into the receiver. These are
standard R/C connectors that are “supposedly” polarized to only plug in one way, but in many cases they will go in
either way. Consult the receiver manual for your system to insure proper orientation, but normally the data wire
(single orange wire) goes towards the top or inside of the receiver. Connect per the wiring diagram at the end of
this manual. The 3-wire cable is built to standards used by Futaba, HiTec, and JR Radios; Red (+) in the middle,
with Brn (-), and Orn (data) on either side.
Installation of the RailBoss Control Board
The RailBoss board can be mounted most anywhere, but allow space for access to wiring, and no metal should
be in contact with the board. The power components (heat sink and large metal tabs) will get hot, so keep them
out of direct contact with plastic. Holes in the corners of the board can be used for PCB stand-offs. Make sure the
stand-offs don’t touch any circuit board components. Or double-sided foam tape on the bottom side of board can
be used to secure the board to a plastic surface. Handle the board by the edges, avoiding direct contact with the
circuitry. Static electricity can damage the components. Try to ground yourself by touching something metal prior
to handling the board.
Refer to the wiring diagrams at the end of this manual.
Power Input (Battery)
The RailBoss Control will not function below 7v input at terminals B+ (18), B- (19). Reverse polarity will not cause
damage, but the RailBoss will not operate.
This product is not intended for track power applications where
polarity reverses.
The higher the battery voltage the more heat the RailBoss heat sink will produce. Voltage in excess of 25V will
damage circuit board components. Battery packs of 7 to 16 NiMh/NiCad cells or 2 to 6 Lithium-Ion/Polymer cells
are suitable.
Warning! The heat sink on the voltage regulator may be extremely hot, especially when running in reverse.
Enough to burn you if touched, or melt any plastic it comes in contact with.
When making wiring connections to the battery pack, use extreme caution to avoid shorting the leads together. Do
not connect the battery to the circuit until all other wiring has been completed. The battery pack should have a
quick disconnect connector for safety and ease of replacement.
The power on/off switch can be located on the floor under the loco. If you have a critter, the charging jack can also
be floor mounted, since you will probably take it off the track for charging. For a full size locomotive and/or tender,
you may want to locate the charging jack on the end of the car to enable charging in place on the track. The
switch in the charging jack isolates the battery from all other electronics when a jack is plugged in, regardless of
the position of the power on/off switch. Note: A G-Scale Graphics “Battery Conversion module” will greatly simplify
the power input wiring and provide screw terminals for connections.
A 5-amp fuse in-line with the battery input is recommended. This is also included in the G-Scale Graphics “Battery
Conversion module”
Motor Output
Connect directly to the motor. All other unknown circuitry should be disconnected from the motor. A maximum of 5
amps continuous current is available from the board.
Warning! At max current the power transistors on the board
(metal tabs) will be extremely hot. Enough to burn you if touched, or melt any plastic they come in contact with.
At power-up the motor output will provide a voltage to the motor that is positive on terminal M+ (20), negative on
M- (21). This is intended to be the forward direction of the locomotive.
Directional Lighting Outputs
Lamps: Terminal 10 provides battery power for Incandescent lamps. So the voltage rating of your lamps must
match the battery voltage. When battery voltage exceeds the lamp rating, use a resistor of appropriate value in
series with terminal 10. Multiple lamps may be connected in parallel, but total current draw for either the FWD or
REV output should not exceed 200 ma.
