NCE POWER PRO DCC Installation and operating manual

Installation and Reference
Manual for the
RU-4/5 Wireless Adapter
Fits NCE CAB04p, CAB04e and CAB05.
Version 1.0
Operate your cab without “plugging in”
Features:
‚Add wireless capability to your Cab
‚Two way communication with the cab
‚All features of your cab are available without plugging in
‚Installs entirely with in your cab - no soldering!
‚Uses ANY battery chemistry: Alkaline, NiCad, NiMH, Lithium, Lead Acid
‚50+ hours of operation (typical) with Alkaline batteries
‚Includes battery holder and antenna
‚Automatic switchover to bus power when plugged in
‚Graceful degradation of operation when approaching maximum range
Additional items needed:
‚11/64” (3.25mm) and 11/32” (8mm) drill bits
‚Two AAA battery cells
‚Hobby knife with a sharp #11 or #16 blade
No guarantees are made by NCE or authorized NCE dealers as to the suitability of this product for its intended
use. As with all radio products, communication integrity in the presence of interference can not be
guaranteed.
This book, schematics, drawings and artwork copyright 2002
NCE Corporation Webster, NY 14580
POWER PRO DCC
Digital Command Control
TM

About your wireless adapter:
The RU01-Pro is designed to eliminate the need for tethered operation of an NCE Cab. All
present and planned features of the cab are usable while untethered from the cab bus. The
adapter is battery powered and will supply power for both cab operation and the adapter
itself. Although the RU-4/5 adapter is designed to operate at any voltage from 2 to 16 volts
we recommend the use of 2 AAA cells. The transmitter power of the RU-4/5 is .00025
Watts. By comparison your cell phone can put out 3 Watts or 12,000 times the power of
the RUCab.For this reason a general discussion of wireless communications follows.
Wireless communications:
We are continuously asked about the operating distance of the wireless cab. There are
many factors governing the useful range of wireless products. The RU-4/5 operates in the
ISM (Industrial, Scientific and Medical) radio band at 916.5 MegaHertz (Mhz).Many
cordless phones, wireless computer networks, home automation systems, and wireless
security devices also operate in this portion of the radio band and all contribute to radio
interference. In any radio system, propagation of the radio signal will suffer in the presence
of ‘in band’ intererence.When devices operate in the same frequency band they may
contribute interference to the point where your cab may not work at all. On the other hand
your wireless cab may interfere with the operation of the other devices you already own.
Radio waves are like one big telephone ‘party line’ where everyone is talking at once. A
device using these radio waves must attempt to sort out what ‘voices’ are relevant to its
operation and which ones are ‘noise’. If there is too much noise it can’t do this
successfully and will operate poorly or not at all.
Indoor radio propagation is an issue for special consideration. The human body readily
absorbs RF energy in the frequency band used by the RU-4/5 cab radio. Placement of the
base station can mitigate blocking of the radio signal due to human body absorption. In
most indoor situations ‘dead spots’ can be found where reception is very difficult. These can
occur even if there appears to be a direct line of sight between the transmitter and receiver.
These dead spots, or ‘nulls’, are the result of multiple radio transmission paths between two
points caused by reflections off metal objects such as steel beams, screen wire, concrete
rebar, metal door and window frames, ceiling tile frames, model railroad track, etc. Nulls
occur where the path lengths differ by an odd ½ wavelength (about 6 inches at 900 MHz).
Deep nulls are usually very localized and can be avoided by moving slightly, usually only a
few inches. On occasion, when performing complex tasks communications between the
cab and command station may take longer than expected thus slowing down your loco or
macro selection. In these instances you may find it more expedient to plug in the cab.
The transmitter power of the RU-4/5 is .00025 Watts. By comparison yourcell phone can
easily put out 3 Watts or 12,000 times the power!
Pre-installation checkout:
Before beginning installation of the RU-4/5 it is best to ensure that your Cab is within the
specified range of addresses for wireless operation. Your CAB04/05 must be in the range of
19 to 50 for proper operation with the RB01 base station. To set the cab address of your
CAB04/05:unplug it from the operating cab bus, hold down the “SEL LOCO” button while
plugging in the cab. Type in the 100 PLUS the desired cab address (example: for Cab
address 22 put in 122) followed by “ENTER”. The cab should now be set to the new
address. Make sure it operates properly then unplug it so installation can begin. If you
have an older version of the CAB04 or CAB05 with the internal DIP switch for the cab
address consult you cab manual for adressing instructions.
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revised:
21 February 2002
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RU-4/5

Installation in CAB04p,CAB04e and CAB05
Open the cab:
Remove the four cover screws (no need to remove the knob).
Remove the cab bottom. Set aside the cab top along with the main circuit board.
Remove the battery door from the cab bottom
Drill the holes:
1. Cut the drill template from the back page of this manual. (Cut on the heavy lines)
2. Fold the template along the thin lines. Attach the template to the cab bottom as shown
in Photo #1 with tape. Make sure the top edge of the template aligns with the top edge
(open edge) of the cab bottom
3. Use a small drill such as 1/16” (1.5mm) to drill pilot holes at both marked locations on the
template.
4. Enlarge both holes with a 11/64” drill. (.161”, #20 and 4.25mm are the same size)
5. Now enlarge the hole marked 11/32” hole to 11/32” (.312” or 8.0 mm)
6. Carefully clean the burrs from the edges of the holes using a hobby knife.
7. Test fit the radio circuit board in the holes. Adjust the holes with a hobby knife until the
circuit board will seat flush up to the edge of the cab. If the circuit board does not lay flat
in the case it may be necessary to enlarge the holes just drilled with a hobby knife near
the open edge (top) of the cab bottom. See photo #2
Install the radio circuit board:
8. Locate the 9 pin wire harness and insert one end of it into the 9 pin connector on the radio
circuit board. Make sure it is fully seated.
9. Tilt the circuit board so the connector and red LED go in to the holes at the top edge of
the cab bottom. See photo #2.
10. Loop the battery wires up over the circuit board and through slots in the fork shaped clips
of the cab bottom as shown in photo #2. Note: the black wire is highlighted with white in
the photo.
11. Make sure the battery holder and wires are routed through the open battery door as
shown in photo #3
12. Place the cab top parallel to the cab bottom and connect the remaining end of the 9 pin
wire harness to the mating connector on the ProCab main circtui board.
13. Dress the wires as shown in photo #3.
14. Carefully reassemble the cab bottom to the top while paying close attention to make sure
no wires are caught between the cab halves.
15. Replace the 4 cover screws taking care not to over tighten and strip the holes.
16. Insert the battery holder into the battery compartment of the cab as shown in Photo #4.
This may take a bit of jiggling to get in the hole correctly as shown in the photo. When
installed correctly it will stay in place on its own but still allow access to the two AAA
cells.
17. Insert the battery holder into the battery compartment of the cab as shown in Photo #4.
This may take a bit of jiggling to get in the hole correctly as shown in the photo. When
installed correctly it will stay in place on its own but still allow access to the two AAA
cells.
18. Insert the batteries using the polarity indicators moled in to the battery holder.
19. Attach the antenna. Do not over tighten.
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revised:
21 February 2002
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RU-4/5

Installation photos:
Photo 1
Photo 2
Photo 3
Photo 4
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RU-4/5

Operation of the Cab:
To turn on the cab:
Press “HORN” and the cab will activate. If theRB01 base station is on, the LED on top of the cab
will start flashing. The LED will not flash until the cab successfully communicates with theRB01
base station. After the cab communicates with the base station normal operations can begin just
as if you were plugged in to the cab bus. If the base station is not on or communications are poor
the LED will light steadily for about 4 seconds then go off with each button press.
Description of LED activity:
The LED on top of the cab will flash every time it communicates with the base station. A regular
‘pulse’ of this LED indicates good quality communications. The flashing will become erratic
when you are getting out of range from the base station. You can use this LED activity to ‘map out’
weak signal areas and ‘nulls’ of the layout room.
Automatic shutdown:
As it comes from the factory, the cab will automatically shut itself off after 5 minutes of inactivity.
If this happens, pressing “HORN” will turn the cab on and normal operations can resume.
Low Battery:
The cab will continue to operate until the battery voltage drops to about 1.5 volts. There is no low
battery warning on theCAB04p,CAB04e and CAB05 engineer cabs.
Tips:
When you press a button on the Cab press and hold for about a second. You don’t have to press
harder than normal but pressing slightly longer results in better performance.
We recommend having severalUTP or UTP-DIN panels located around the layout where you can
plug in the cab in case the battery goes dead or conditions such as severe interference cause
loss of control via radio. We usually hang a short cab cable about 2 feet long from a small
number these panels to facilitate plugging inin an emergency.
You may find it more expedient to plug in the cab while doing extensive programming or
system setup. When performing complex tasks that require many messages to be
displayed on the ProCab,communications between the cab and command station may take
longer than expected thus slowing down your programming..
The LED on the cab flashes every time it sends a cab status update to the base station.
You can use this flashing to map out the dead spots in the layout room. The cab is
communicating best when the LED has a steady flicker. Move about the room noting where
the spots wher the flashing stops or becomes erratic. Then move the base station to a
different location until you get good reception at at the most important operating spots.
The cab may not operate when you get within 1 foot (300mm) of the base station (other
cabs will still operate normally). The LED on the cab will flicker but the will not seem to
communicate with the base station. This is due to ’overloading’ of the base station receiver.
We’ve found that if you cover the antenna with your hand it will attenuate the signal enough
for reliable communication. Due to the extreme low power of the cab radios we’ve had to
make the radio receivers in the base station very sensitive. This can result in the receiver
being overloaded when a cab is too close.
The CAB04/05 with wireless seems to propogate the radio signal better to the sides of the
cab than to the front or rear. Turning the radio sideways to the base station will sometimes
result in better communications.
The cab will work much better with the antenna vertical rather than pointing the antenna at
the base station. In crowded layout rooms we’ve had good luck attaching the base station
to the ceiling with the antenna pointing down. See the diagram below for how the radio
signal propagates from the antenna.
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revised:
21 February 2002
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RU-4/5

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21 February 2002
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RU-4/5
Side View Top View
Antenna Radiation Patterns
from RB01 Base Station

NOTES:
FCC notice and Legalese:
The RU01-Pro, RU01-4/5 and RB01 wireless adapters for NCE cabs are RF products and may only be used in
countries in which the units have been Type Approved or Certified for sale and operation. Use of these
products in countries where they are not certified may result in interference to other critical radio services
and legal penalties.
FCC ID: NC4RU01
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC rules. Operation is subject to the following conditions (1) this
device may not cause harmful interference and (2) this device must accept any interference received,
including interference that may cause undesired operation.
**Last
revised:
21 February 2002
Page 7
RU-4/5

Warranty
This product is fully factory tested and warranted against manufacturing defects for a period of 1 year. As the
circumstances under which this product is installed can not be controlled, failure of the product due to installation
problems can not be warranted. This includes misuse, miswiring, operation under conditions beyond the design
range of the product. No guarantees are expressed or implied as to the suitability of the product for its intended
use by the purchaser. No guarantees can be made as to the communications range or performance of this
product in the presence of radio or other electromagnetic interference. It is possible that interference can cause
undesired operation including loss of control of speed, direction etc. Damage to purchaser’s equipment due to
loss of control is not warranted or covered by NCE.
For warranty or non-warranty replacement send the decoder (and any payment, if required) to:
NCE Warranty Center
899 Ridge Road
Webster, New York 14580
Silent Running, Powerhouse Pro, Power Pro, Power Plus, Powerhouse Digital Command Control, ProCab,
Switch-It, Snap It, the ProCab logo with “The Power of DCC” slogan, and EFX are trademarks of NCE Corporation.
Master Series is service mark of NCE Corpration. Digitrax is a trademark ofDigitrax Inc.
Spare Parts: Spare parts for your cab or RU01
wireless adapter may be ordered
from the list below. $4 US will be
added to your order for US priority
mail and packaging. Check or
credit card will be accepted.
Address all parts orders to :
NCE Spare Parts
899 Ridge Road
Webster, NY 14580
11/32" hole
11/64" hole
CAB04/05 drill template
This tab folds under cab bottom
Align template with top edge of cab bottom
This tab folds
along side of
cab
This tab folds
along side of
cab
**Last
revised:
21 February 2002
Page 8
RU-4/5
$8.00Rubber keypad for Cab04/05
$1.50Cab04/05 battery holder
$2.00Cab04/05 screws (set of 4)
$7.00Cab04/05 rear cover w/battery door
$2.00
Pro Cab screws (set of 9)
$8.00
Antenna
$3.00
ProCab
battery clip set
w/wires
$8.00
Rubber keypad for
ProCab
$10.00
Procab
top
$10.00
ProCab
bottom w/ battery door
Price (US $)
Description