Barnaby Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 ............ only @ the weekends 2 manDyspams Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted September 19, 2014 Author Share Posted September 19, 2014 (edited) I think railway modelling must be one of the most untidy rubbish-producing hobbies known to man. I went up in my roof this morning to tidy it up prior to treating the walls with stain-blocker paint. I ended up throwing away an awful lot of stuff that had been kept just in case it proved to be useful later... short pieces of pine, offcuts from longer bits odd shapes of hardboard small pieces of card of varying thicknesses short pieces of Peco track, most with one rail much longer than the other pieces of multistrand wire less than 300mm long woodscrews, used many times before and with bruised slots a broken drill a variety of other odds and ends kept "in case they might be useful" Sometimes you have to accept that the space that all this takes up is more valuable than the clutter. Edited September 19, 2014 by chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alant Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 I think railway modelling must be one of the most untidy rubbish-producing hobbies known to man. I went up in my roof this morning to tidy it up prior to treating the walls with stain-blocker paint. I ended up throwing away an awful lot of stuff that had been kept just in case it proved to be useful later... short pieces of pine, offcuts from longer bits odd shapes of hardboard small pieces of card of varying thicknesses short pieces of Peco track, most with one rail much longer than the other pieces of multistrand wire less than 300mm long woodscrews, used many times before and with bruised slots a broken drill Sometimes you have to accept that the space that all this takes up is more valuable. I think we are a special breed Chaz ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
asa Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 You've been in my loft Chaz! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianwales Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 Hi all Folowing the posts about the decoder tester, because the layout is upstairs while the computer is downstairs in the family room I put the tester on a plank of wood along with my sprog and a length of track so I can do any alterations to the decoder settings on the computer away from the layout. Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted September 19, 2014 Author Share Posted September 19, 2014 (edited) Hi all Folowing the posts about the decoder tester, because the layout is upstairs while the computer is downstairs in the family room I put the tester on a plank of wood along with my sprog and a length of track so I can do any alterations to the decoder settings on the computer away from the layout. 20140919_141323.jpg Ian I usually do something similar Ian, because Dock Green is usually packed away and it takes too long to set up just two boards (no room for all four) for a test run. I have a piece of plywood with about five feet of Peco O gauge on it (which used to be the top of a sector plate on my dismantled home layout. The ESU software I use to program chips (including the editing of sound projects) provides a virtual handset which will allow locos to be programmed, driven and the CVs set at will. Chaz Edited September 19, 2014 by chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted September 20, 2014 Author Share Posted September 20, 2014 I think we are a special breed Chaz ! My wife Sue queries your choice of the adjective "special" Alan. She prefers either "odd" or "strange". (Her little workroom is immaculately tidy). Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted September 20, 2014 Author Share Posted September 20, 2014 Yesterday, a trial fitting of the cylinders and valve gear from the old frames. There are a few repairs needed. The solder joint at the front of the LH slide-bar has failed and the valve spindle on that side has detached. Those CH screw heads are very obvious, if the bolts are fitted from the other side the much less obtrusive nuts will be more acceptable. Clearances are so very tight between the front crank-pin and the back of slide bars that I will have to.... eliminate any side play on the front driving axle shorten the leading crank-pin to a working minimum insert a little packing on the two bolts securing the cylinders to the frames, even 0.5mm will help ------------------------------------------------------------------- I have been looking again at the return cranks taken from the old frames. I am tempted to reuse these. The setting of the angle of these on the wheel will have to be made by turning them on the fixing bolt and locking them in place (with varnish!). The downside to this is that both the leading and centre drivers and the cylinders and valve gear, coupling rods and connecting rods will have to be assembled together and then the whole lot offered up to the frames and axles - EEK! I must also change the fixing of the motion bracket, the nut at present goes behind the wheel and is a nightmare to fit. If I change the captive bolt so that it is soldered to the bracket (not the frames) the nut will be on the back of the frames and therefore much easier to fit (MUPPET! ). 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeatherKay Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 I think we are a special breed Chaz ! No, we're not. I have the misfortune to live with an amateur radio operator… Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted September 20, 2014 Author Share Posted September 20, 2014 (edited) No, we're not. I have the misfortune to live with an amateur radio operator… Your joke takes us into anorak territory again. I have seen a lot of angst expressed about the image of railway modellers and how we don't deserve the image that we (and trainspotters) have in the MEEJA. It's a can of worms that needs burying! Surely it's true that any enthusiasm, especially if it's absorbing, is going to look baffling to someone who doesn't share it. I have no idea where this is going so I'll just stop n..........zzzzzzzzz Edited September 20, 2014 by chaz 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeatherKay Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 Surely it's true that any enthusiasm, especially if it's absorbing, is going to look baffling to someone who doesn't share it. I believe you have the right of it there. I am afflicted by many interests and passions. Keeping control of them can be a nightmare, and when Best Beloved shares some of them - as well as his own - it can get really messy. That's enough wandering off topic. Back to your mogul rebuild. *Sits down, hoping to learn something new about outside valve gear as she has a WD 2-8-0 pending* Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
81A Oldoak Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 Your joke takes us into anorak territory again. I have seen a lot of angst expressed about the image of railway modellers and how we don't deserve the image that we (and trainspotters) have in the MEEJA. It's a can of worms that needs burying! Surely it's true that any enthusiasm, especially if it's absorbing, is going to look baffling to someone who doesn't share it. I have no idea where this is going so I'll just stop n..........zzzzzzzzz This is where it's going (#5 is very scary): http://www.oddee.com/item_97171.aspx Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted September 20, 2014 Author Share Posted September 20, 2014 (edited) This is where it's going (#5 is very scary): http://www.oddee.com/item_97171.aspx Quite so. My favourite is the dog dyed to look like a tiger - what a strange planet we have. Some of the stuff on the net makes an obsession with toy trains look very tame. Oops, my next posting will be on the mogul (honest, Heather). Edited September 20, 2014 by chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted September 21, 2014 Author Share Posted September 21, 2014 (edited) A small change which will make assembly easier... I arranged the motion brackets to fix with a single washer and nut. Two 10BA bolts soldered into the frame. The one nearest the front of the loco is cut off short and forms a locating stud. The other was used to retain the bracket BUT even without the wheels in the frame it was quite a struggle to fit the washer and nut. After a fair bit of anglo-saxon I saw the light. I drilled out the bolt in the frame and soldered a new one into the bracket. Much easier to fit the washer and nut now. Obvious - well yes, but it can take me a while to get there. -------------------------------- It can be tricky getting Slater's wheels off the axles, even if both have been well fettled and deburred. Here's a method I use.... I found a bolt 15mm long (the length is unimportant providing it projects a useful distance from the wheel when screwed into the axle) which was a match for the thread in the axle ends. Sorry - I don't know the thread - maybe someone can add it? I faced the bolt off in the lathe so that the head was flat (not essential) and then drilled into the face with a centre drill. To ease the wheel off I replace the allen bolt with my prepared bolt, screwed in finger tight. Holding the wheel rim (on both sides if you can) I use an automatic centre punch, usually on the lightest setting, to drift the axle in until the wheel loosens enough to be lifted off. Check as you go that the wheel is not going to damage the brake gear etc. Chaz Edited September 21, 2014 by chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium 2ManySpams Posted September 21, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 21, 2014 Snap: 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted September 21, 2014 Author Share Posted September 21, 2014 Snap indeed. I have a bracket which fixes onto the end of Dock Green and so has to be removed for transport. This is fixed in place with a single bolt into a T-nut, but kept a the right angle by a peg made from a sort piece of dowel, where I would otherwise have fitted a second bolt. Surprising how often a bolt and peg is a good solution. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Isambarduk Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 It's 6BA (but it's a screw, not a bolt -pleeeeeease). David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted September 21, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 21, 2014 As a matter of interest what system of pick up will you be using. On tanks I use wipers or srung on both sides. On tender engines you can use de insulated wheels on one side engine and tender being opposite. However that means fiddling with the wheels something I prefer to avoid. I was wondering if the KA would make just using wipers on the loco feasible on say a 4-4-0. Secondly where would you advise putting the chip and speaker on a tender loco. I am thinking about the Duke (David Andrews kit) I was thinking of starting. Thanks Don Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
daifly Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Secondly where would you advise putting the chip and speaker on a tender loco. Can I make a plea that you don't put the speaker in the tender. Whilst at the Swindon Steam exhibition a few days back I was disappointed to see this option had been adopted on a number of locos running on..... I'll just say a large layout featuring an incline to avoid their blushes.... and it just seems completely wrong when the sounds come from some distance away from the noise-making area of a locomotive.Dave Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted September 22, 2014 Author Share Posted September 22, 2014 (edited) It's 6BA (but it's a screw, not a bolt -pleeeeeease). David Thanks David. Yes, the screw needs to be 6BA - for my application steel is better than brass (?). please excuse previous 'orribly slack terminology. Edited September 22, 2014 by chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
two tone green Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Yes agree, don't put it in the tender. 7mm is big enough to give position to sound and it really is noticeable when the speaker is in the tender. Drain cocks are not fitted to tenders as far as I know ! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted September 22, 2014 Author Share Posted September 22, 2014 (edited) As a matter of interest what system of pick up will you be using. On tanks I use wipers or srung on both sides. On tender engines you can use de insulated wheels on one side engine and tender being opposite. However that means fiddling with the wheels something I prefer to avoid. I was wondering if the KA would make just using wipers on the loco feasible on say a 4-4-0. Secondly where would you advise putting the chip and speaker on a tender loco. I am thinking about the Duke (David Andrews kit) I was thinking of starting. Thanks Don Slater's plunger pickups. I have them on most of my kit built locos. I don't like the American system (as it is known) of pickup, using the tender for one polarity and the loco for the other. Why should you need more pickups on a 2-6-0 tender loco than you have on an 0-6-0T? Put the speaker in the loco. Avoid putting it in the tender unless you really must. Not only will it sound wrong if heard at close range but you will have to connect the tender with wires - one of my reasons for disliking pickups on tenders. I don't know anything about the Duke (David Andrews kit) but there is plenty of room in the firebox of the K3 for the motor the decoder and the speaker. There is often enough room between the frames for a speaker as on my ex-GNR saddle tank.... ...even if there are compensating beams. Incidentally you can see that this model has Slater's plunger pickups. I prefer to get all the electrics on the frames of the loco if possible. It makes the wiring easier and doesn't require plugs and sockets. In answer to your question on the keep-alive - I am sure fitting one will improve the running of any loco. However I am having problems getting a home-brew KA to work with an ESU V3.5 decoder. Have a look at this topic if you want to know more.... http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/90318-home-brewed-dcc-keep-alive-enough-capacitance/ Chaz Edited September 22, 2014 by chaz 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Dave thanks for that comment, I had considered it as an option, but your experience suggests that I wouldn't "get away with it". I'm surprised that it is noticable, but as it is, I can discount the option. Don I have some success on my 28xx in having the ESU speaker fitted in its little drum shaped box, and bluetacked to the top of the firebox facing downwards - the sound would therefore exit through the underside of the firebox (but not, in this case, through the chimney as Warren Shepherd's smokebox formers don't have big holes in!) All the links from the discussion of KA are now collected together in post 39 of my Porth Dinllaen thread for convenience. All my tender locos have pickups on the tender wheels. The 28xx is unique in not having pickups on the loco wheels, the tender has split axles/frames and all wheels sprung, and a KA as described in my thread. HTH Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted September 22, 2014 Author Share Posted September 22, 2014 (edited) All the links from the discussion of KA are now collected together in post 39 of my Porth Dinllaen thread for convenience. All my tender locos have pickups on the tender wheels. The 28xx is unique in not having pickups on the loco wheels, the tender has split axles/frames and all wheels sprung, and a KA as described in my thread. HTH Simon There are so many ways of arranging pickups and if they work they can't be wrong and it then comes down to personal choice. What you have done with your 28xx tender is an elegant solution - personally if I ever built a 28xx (a very remote possibility) I would put plunger pickups on the drivers. Chacon a son goute! In view of my travails with KA I will have a look at your links, hoping for enlightenment. Chaz Edited September 22, 2014 by chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Chaz After your comments in post 1890, i do not imagine there is any great chance of you turning your hand to one of Mister Churchward's lovelies.... The solution does work, but probably won't be repeated. Previous conversation with David (DLOS/IsembardUK) suggests a more elegant plunger design. S Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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