Riverdale receiver

with telemetry pressure feedback and automated damper
Downloads
Video
Fitting lamps
Riverdale receiver
With the Riverdale receiver it is possible to read the boiler pressure on your transmitter using telemetry. This is very comfortable when you cannot read the pressure gauge for a long period of time. On top of that – when selecting AUTO mode - the Riverdale receiver will open and close the damper automatically at a certain preprogrammed pressure.
And should you want it, the receiver could control front, back and cab lamps.

The Riverdale receiver does work with any Amy, Elke, Irene and Darjeeling 'B' Riverdale boiler.

A temperature sensitive resistor is fitted under a boiler band. The temperature of the boiler equals the temperature of the steam inside the boiler which equals pressure (120°C=15psi; 133°C=29psi; 144°C=44psi; 152°C=58psi). A very little microprocessor is programmed to calculate the pressure and – in AUTO mode - to open and close the damper automatically.

The little microprocessor Printed Circuit Board together with a Reely/Flysky receiver is built into the Riverdale receiver and fitted with 2 connection blocks. The connection block for servos, batteries and temperature sensitive resistor exits in line with the casing. The second sits on top of the Riverdale receiver for connecting front, back and cab lamps.

Because the connectors are in line with the casing the Riverdale receiver is very small, even with all connectors connected. So it fits optimally in all Riverdale locos.

receiver

Controlling the Riverdale receiver with right up/down stick
DOWN: activates whistle and turns on AUTO mode.
UP (short): closes damper and turns off AUTO mode.
UP: holds the damper in any selected position (HOLD mode). UP in AUTO mode toggles lamps.
UP until transmitter displays 0.6 volts (takes 5sec): brings you in PROGRAM mode.

To check the receiver batteries, the first 6 seconds after turning on the receiver its battery voltage is displayed instead of steam pressure.
A standard telemetry combo is used, meaning that the display is in Volts. While calibration is in Psi,  40 Psi for example is displayed as 4.0V. Minimal pressure displayed is 8 Psi (0.8V).
 
Under normal conditions the temperature sensitive resistor measures pressure quite accurately. But take note of a time lag of about 4 seconds between measured pressure and gauge pressure. This is noticeable when the pressure rises fast. During firing-up use the gauge pressure.
During running when you see pressure rising or dropping fast, “overreact”. So open or close the damper real early. This will compensate for the time lag the fire reacts to damper changes (under these conditions up to 30-90 seconds).
The AUTO mode does not compensate for both earlier mentioned time lags: it will only open and close the damper at the preprogrammed pressure. It makes driving the loco much more comfortable but you still have to do the thinking!

For more details download the Riverdale receiver user manual at the bottom of this page.

telemetry receiver fitted in Amy
Riverdale receiver fitted in Amy: temperature sensitive resistor connected to T
connection. Servos connected to CH2 , CH3 and CH4. Lamps not yet connected.


For the Riverdale receiver you need a Flysky FS-i6 transmitter. This transmitter can control upto 20 models and has a 3 position switch what is very convenient for the reverser servo. More info here.

The Flysky FS-i6 transmitter is a computer transmitter that allows (and needs) programming servo end-points, mid-trim and normal/reverse. It also has more programming options. For more details download Flysky FS-i6 transmitter user manual here. You need programming skills to find your way around, so read the Flysky transmitter user manual before considering Telemetry. When you never worked with a computer transmitter before, play with it first. Just connect batteries and servos (without linkages) to the receiver and try all functions. It is useful to get acquainted with the Riverdale Receiver short UP and other functions as well. Take note that the necessary programming skills for the Flysky FS-i6 transmitter and the Riverdale Receiver could make the build more complex.

Fitting lamps in locos is described here.

The pressure feedback and the automated damper allow for slower running. For full potential - depending on your loco and lay-out - a smaller exhaust nozzle could be fitted. In that case fit a 1.1mm nozzle instead of the 1.2mm standard nozzle. And with a Slomo fitted - when running with a 1.0mm nozzle - fit a 0.9mm nozzle.

The Riverdale receiver is designed specially for Riverdale boilers only and is produced in small quantities by Riverdale Locomotives.


Downloads and links telemetry


You can contact us by e-mail :  mail@riverdale-loco.com  or by telephone:  +31 499 476808

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