Servo bracket unit for Accucraft Ruby

Servo bracket unit for Accucraft Ruby
Electronic Model Systems
22605 East La Palma Avenue, Ste. 516
Yorba Linda CA 92887
Price: $129 + shipping
Web site: www.rc-steamers.com

Anodized aluminum bracket; two micro-servos; mounting hardware; mounts in Ruby cab
Pros: Compact unit makes easy work of installing R/C servos in a Ruby live-steam locomotive;
elegant, sturdy, and attractive package
Cons: None

Anyone who runs live steam in the garden soon learns that their locomotives act like the prototypes in one unwanted way: they don’t have the built-in “cruise control” that characterizes electrically powered models, so their throttles must be opened more on up grades, then closed some coming down. With small locomotives, with smaller cylinders and less momentum, the effects are greater than on larger engines.
If this is a problem for you, you have two choices: regrade your line so it is flat or install radio control in your locomotives. Electronic Model Systems has come up with a nifty way to make the radio-control option an easy choice.

EMS has been in the R/C hobby business since 1969. Their first live-steam product, offered under the name of RC-Steamers, is an all-in-one, dual-servo unit for Accucraft’s popular Ruby. The package consists of a black anodized, precision machined, aluminum bracket, two servos, and various mounting and connecting bits. You must supply a standard, ground frequency, two-channel transmitter and receiver, which EMS sells or which are available at any R/C hobby shop for as little as $50. (Tip: If you buy a complete set for this application, ask the shop to keep the included servos, which are too large for most large-scale locomotives, and give you credit for them.)

The RC-Steamers bracket is ½” thick, exactly the same as a standard micro-servo. Its size and shape are cleverly designed so that it holds two micro-servos in exactly the right orientation to connect to the throttle and reversing lever of the Ruby. Installing the servos is a simple matter of drilling two holes in the locomotive’s rear beam and screwing the bracket down. A small hole must be drilled in the reversing lever and the control rods connected to the throttle and reverser. (If your Ruby has the round knob on the throttle, EMS offers control horns as a low-cost option.) After your receiver and batteries are mounted, you’re ready to run.

The servos used have universal plugs and are compatible with Futaba, JR, Hitec, and Airtronics-Z receivers. The leads are also standard length, which is about twice what is needed for a Ruby, but this triviality is the only mild flaw I could find with the kit.

In summary, this initially simple-seeming idea won me over with its ingenuity and high level of engineering quality. It is a well-executed product and installing R/C in a Ruby couldn’t be made any simpler.