Aristo Revolution TE 2009 P4

After doing a Plug N Play install and a non P-N-P install I wanted to see if I could use the Revolution Receiver in a power car. Battery users have already done this so I thought I would give it a try, thinking I might save a few dollars on receivers this way. The downside is you do not have remote control of any lights or the smoke units. I have since decided controlling the lights and smoke units was worth the cost of another receiver installed in each loco. I will install receivers into the locos I wired for the power car later this winter.


Here is what I saw when I opened my B&O RS3. It had the P-N-P board and battery MU wires installed.		I went to the Aristo-Craft web site and clicked on the Technical Support button. Under Locomotives & Rolling Stock I found a diagram showing the 12 pins of the dummy plug and their purpose. The diagram showed that pins 1 & 2 and 11 & 12 are for track power. Pins 3 & 4 and 9 & 10 are for headlights and motors. Pins 1, 2, 3, & 4 were connected with circuit board traces between them. The same with 9, 10, 11, & 12. I cut the traces between pins 2 & 3 and 10 & 11. I soldered wires to pins 3 & 4 and 9 & 10. This allowed me to power the motors and headlights from the Revo receiver motor outputs.

The marker and cab lights are still powered from track power. The yellow and green wires go to a terminal block. From that block I ran new connectors out the front and back of the loco for connecting to the power car. I used the existing MU connectors to supply track power to the power car for more power pick up points.		Here is the Revo receiver installed in the sound/power box car. The female connector is track power into the box car and the mail connector is motor output from the receiver. I also ran wires from the motor outputs to the sound board.

Here is another look at the receiver.		Here you see the cap board, the Phoenix 2K2 board and a G Scale Graphics SST module, which shuffles what sound is played when the connected reed switches are tripped by a track magnet. The switch closest to the speaker turns the SST module off and on. The other switch selects either track magnet controlled sounds or Revo controlled sounds.

The switch with the gray ribbon cable is the volume control switch. Since you can control the 2K2 board volume from the receiver I have since removed this switch.( Note - You can not control the Phoenix PB9 or P5 volume with the Revo. These boards are designed differently. Dave Bodnar is working on a solution for this.) The other switch allows me to power the sound board from the Revo motor outputs or track power.		Here is an overview of the sound/power box car. Plenty of room for everything.

Here you see the connectors on the end of the RS3 and Sound/Power Box Car. By using male and female plugs on the loco and on the box car, I can't plug them in the wrong way. This would be fatal to the Revo receiver.