Mallet Electronics

Control

The radio receiver is manufactured by Keithco, Inc and marketed as a component of the Locolinc system. Locolinc has been very responsive in helping diagnose and repair problems.

Battery Power

The motor drive, sound system and firebox-glow LEDS are powered by a 14.4V, 4.2 amp-hour, NiMH rechargeable battery. The locomotive will run for 4 hours. The battery takes about 4 hours to re-charge using an external charger.

Sound

The Mallet is equipped with a Sierra sound chip and a 4 inch speaker. The sounds are not controllable from the radio transmitter but are actuated by loco movements (toots when starting and stopping; "fireman Fred" sounds when standing, etc) and by roadbed magnets (for the road-crossing whistle and air brake sound).

NOTE: Sierra Sound Systems is no more. It was purchased by Soundtraxx, then all products discontinued on September 16, 2008.

Installation

All electronics, both batteries, and the speaker are mounted in a trailing box car. The speaker is too large to be mounted flat on the floor of the box car, so it sits at an angle. This car is quite heavy and limits the pulling capability of the locomotive to about 11 cars (in addition to the battery/electronics car) up the 7.2% grades on the layout.