KISS

[KDG]

Hi all.

 

Had a frustrating few hours yesterday trying to get a tts chip to work reliably in a Hornby dcc ready class 20.

 

Intermittent sounds, total loss of movement, random sounds etc.

 

I tried the loco on dc, ran ok. Tried the chip in other locos, ran ok. Tried other chips in this loco, not great. Must be loco. Checked soldered connections on chip as far as I can, looks ok. Checked soldered connections on socket, looks ok.

 

In the end I gave up as I was getting frustrated and decided to box the loco up and look again another day. As I turned the loco upside down, I noticed it......

 

 

Great blobs of crud on the wheels of the trailing bogie. Not all the way around though. Contact cleaner and kitchen roll removed it effortlessly and the loco now runs and sounds as it should.

 

 

KISS

 

Keep It Simple Stupid

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

Further to which. If the Hornby 20 has traction tyres ( as the Lima model on which it is based did) then expect to clean the pick up wheels of the cab end bogie very regularly to maintain reliable pick up.

 

If you want to make life even simpler, flog the Hornby, replace with Bachmann. The all metal wheels, with all wheels picking up and driven is a day over night improvement, especially for use with DCC.

[KDG]

Your quite right of course 34C, the Bachmann model is better. Traction tyes do cause issues with leaving crud deposits on rails

 

The Hornby 20 was already in my collection and will do until the upgraded Bachmann 20 arrives in XX years time, I have some on pre order. The tts chip was on offer and actually sounds pretty good for the price. I'm still learning dcc and only have an entry level controller at this time.

[SRman]

 A quick way to clean the trailing bogie wheels is to put a fine wire brush in the Dremel (or other mini-drill), and spin the wheels while cleaning them.

Edited November 16, 2018 by SRman

[KDG]

Hello SR man.

 

I'm always worried about using abrasives on loco wheels. No matter how fine, I'm concerned that the abrasive will cause pitting to the surface of the wheel thus encouraging the build up of crud. Probably being over cautious.

[SRman]

Since the wheel is spinning at the same time, there isn't much friction. I haven't noted any problems in all the years I have been doing this, and as it was a trick passed on to me by a friend who has been doing the same for even more years, I don't see that as being too much of a problem.

In the case of the old Lima and Heljan brass wheels which tarnished while you looked at them, the wire brush method worked a treat. With plated wheels, I think the wheels are actually harder than the wire in the brush.