[p-dremel]

Hi

i'm new on this forum and i'm french...

i've bought a ninco electronic controller (Vario16) in spain this summer and it doesn't want to work on my track

; my wiring is a normal breaking wiring but an hand made one... it works with the ninco 75ohms controller

i've tried the vario16 on the track off a friend and it doesn't work neither...

...

who can help me ?

many thanx

bye

Peter Dremel

 

[Intergrali]

One of the Tech Team who has experience or will have will help you soon.

>The strange Tech Team member

<

 

[Hwise]

Well is the track of your friend a stock Ninco power base or custom built like yours? If its a standard power base, its possible your controller is just bad.

Since your stock controllers work fine, this is my best guess.

The Vario needs to be programmed if I remember correctly, is this a new controller or a used one? The switches on it must be moved in combinations in order for you to program it.

My memory is rusty on this, but I beleive this is the case, I will double check for you.

Harry

 

[p-dremel]

The track of my friend is a custom built like mine... but a very serious one...

Camelinat Circus (1)

Bienvenue à Camelinat Circus (2)

and the vario16 is a new one. I don't think the switches may stop the controller...

i tried to increase the voltage on my power supply and i saw that the vario16 began to works with 19volt ! (the ninco stock transformer gives 14.8v...)

i'm affraid

that the wiring in the ninco power base could quiet dierent than a custon wiring...

many thanx

bye

Peter Dremel

QUOTE Peter, I tidied up your post some so the links work - Great sites and track !! Get your friend here too, I would love to hear about that track - Swissracer

 

[bluetoes591]

The Vario controllers, like other electronic controllers only work with the polarity one way. Try swapping the wires to your track and see what happens.

 

[p-dremel]

i've tried it...

 

[JEXY1]

From memory the Vario controllers only work with the Ninco power supply designed for it. (something to do with all the braking circuits and stuff)

A while back someone on SCI did go through all the cable requirements, but it was very compicated.

The only really basic way i can think to get power to your track via a Ninco power input is to buy the correct ninco power pack track connector (10401 -DOUBLE POWER LANE STRAIGHT) power it up with Ninco transformers pop the track section under your track and hot wire from the Ninco track to yours.

I plan to do something similar with Hornby/SCX track layout so i can use the Vario controller and the ninco lap counter.

I'm sure they must be a better way, but this should work.

Good luck

 

[dreinecke]

I have the same problem! I've got a Sport layout wired up for + polarity, brakes, and I'm using 1 Ninco 18v power pack per lane. The Ninco Vario 16 Controller will NOT work on mine. The car will "stutter" around is the best I can make it work. None of the settings seem to help, and I've also switched the polarity around.

I'd found a link on the web of someone who'd done this, but it was dead.

So, if anyone can figure it out, please post it.

Thanks,

David

 

[Donkey Runner]

Here is my 2 cents worth I also had the same problem and I found it to be a short on the wire, just as the wire goes in to the handle it was just to tight and it nicked the wire causing it to stop working. If you pull the wire side to side and see if you get any life from the car some time's the car will jump forward then I would say that is the problem. I ended up re-wiring the whole thing.Just a point to note I remember you could not see the wire that was broken I had to slice through the black cover to see the 3 wires and there was the problem.I hope this makes sence.

Stewart.

What I should have said was you can not see the damaged wire until you cut the sleeve back.

 

[dreinecke]

Stewart,

Hmm. I did cut the plug off to wire it for my track.

I've futzed with different ways of hooking it up. It litterally makes the car stutter. Almost like something isn't being translated correctly with power.

Thanks for the tip though...I'll check it out.

 

[Ecurie Martini]

A wild guess: - but the description of "stuttering" rings a bell so here goes:

Our little cars operate on DC - direct current - our household power is AC - alternating current which must be rectified and reduced to suit the 12 volt motors.

There are two ways to control the voltage to the car - usually we do if after the power has been reduced in voltage and rectified from AC to DC - using resistor or electronic controller designed to vary the DC voltage but another (and really cheaper) way to control the voltage is to control the reduced AC current before it is rectified - this is typically done with a solid state device - a Triac or SCR (silicon controlled rectifier) This is how household light dimmers work. These things work by essentially chopping off a portion of the AC wave form as it varies from + (mains voltage) to - (mains volatage) 50 or 60 times per second. They depend on the point that occurs 100-120 times per second when the voltage is actually zero (crosses from + to -) to trigger their action and thus will not work, or certainly not well, on DC current.

There might be some residual action if the DC is just rectified and not filtered ( i.e. no capacitors or regulators in the circuit) because this voltage will be varying from 0 to (+) mains voltage 120 times per second. The zero point might be enough to trigger the device - and give a stuttering response.

Thus, the guess: - The Ninco electronic controllers are meant to plug into the Ninco circuit on the AC side of the rectifier - but one would really need a circuit diagram to be sure.

EM

 

[p-dremel]

I received a ninco double power base friday...

so i measured the output of a Ninco Transformer (17volt without motor running and 14volt with a running motor)

so i ajusted my variable power suplly to the same value (14V) :nothing ; so i increase the power untill 17V : nothing

i had to increase to 19V to make the ninco vario 16 running !!!

i'm affraid that my power suplly is too good for the vario 16 that may use the cyclic variations aroud 14v...

bye

Peter Dremel