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StuartM

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Everything posted by StuartM

  1. Having read through all the previous posts would I be right in thinking that if I wished to try my hand at TT the current gauge which is considered standard would be 14.2mm If I wished to build a class 03/4 are all the parts readily available? Rgds, Stuart
  2. Good job, but it would be better if the loco was running atop of the baseboard and then put on the rails as this would prove that the loco is not being powered or controlled from the track
  3. If you can't can't do it, make a tool that can! The problem I was having with the das clay, was that the clay was collecting around the chair detail and the gaps between the bottom of the rail and the ballast, in effect creating a ridge of clay along the length of the underside of the rail. I've found a way to stop this happening is to place the clay up to the edge of the sleeper and then use the tool to tamp it into place. I then place a small roll of clay between the sleepers between the rails and again use the tool to tamp the clay into place. This overcomes the problem of the clay being pushed against the rail and filling all the gaps as happens when using the finger as the tool. The track in the photo can be divided into two sections, On the left hand side the sleepers between the rails were filled with neat ballast (no clay) and then pva was dropped on to it On the right hand side, clay was tamped between the sleepers and then a thin layer of ballast was sprinkled over and then tamped into the clay, again with pva added atop of that. When dry a worn toothbrush was run over the track to remove any loose ballast. The results are pretty good, personally, I prefer the ballast on the right which has been tamped into the clay. I have now ordered some grey clay as this will look better than the terracotta and might even save some painting (we shall see) The original tamping tool was made from lengths of plastic glued together with poly weld, This worked but won't last very long, so the mk2 was made out of brass.
  4. I hate ballasting I've spent the last couple of weeks trying different techniques, in particular das clay, as I want to get that look where the track has the ground up to the tops of the sleepers, my main issue is the clay congregates around the chair detail and ruins the effect I'm trying to achieve. In an effort to get round this I thought perhaps poring liquid resin on to the baseboard might do the trick, alas the same thing happens. Attached is a photo as a sign post to others, still at least I now have an interesting objet d'ar to hang on the wall
  5. The battery would add the weight required for traction adhesion In the case of ngauge, the battery would take the place of the metal chassis and again would provide traction weight
  6. Good luck Someday all model railways will be battery powered/RC
  7. Thanks for the tutorial which is much more helpful than the instructions that came with the couplings. Many thanks Stuart
  8. I was wondering if this competition will ever get round to being judged? But if it does, this one subject has attracted more comment that all the other entry's, which makes me think that there is enough interest in the idea for one of the big three manufactures to at least take a look at the feasibility of producing a rtr battery powered/rc loco for the UK market.
  9. The short answer is not that would be of any use. The battery which is somewhere between 3-6v would not be powerful enough for a loco, unless you wanted creep speed for a very limited length of time The small helicopters I'm thinking of have no speed control, in other words the motor is either full on or off so would be no good for controlling a train loco Rgds, Stuart
  10. Two way communication between the controller and the loco is not 'needed' if you just want to make a locomotive move in either direction, speed up or slow down, but if you want feedback from the loco, then two way communication is recommended. DCC works by pulsing current to the motor for a % of a second, eg: a 50% pulse = half power, a 100% pulse =full power. When the motor is not being pulsed it acts a a generator and creates current, the decoder can measure this current and adjust its speed accordingly, it can also send this information back to the controller. Regards the controlling four locos question, this is a matter of software, just like DCC can control 999 locos by giving each one a unique address, you would need a system that does the same. Just think DCC but instead of the control commands going through the rails, they would be going via a radio signal instead. The changeover from control by rail to control by radio just requires an upgrade of controllers and decoders that have the wireless hardware/software built in and, rechargeable battery in the loco. In the case of older 00 locos a battery and rc receiver could be wired into the loco just like people convert older locos to DCC at the moment. Ngauge (my preferred gauge) would be a bit harder and this is where I see the chassis becoming the battery. This is the future and, I think your right, once it hits the shelf's it would sell like hot cakes, as long as it was priced right. All other forms of control would be obsolete pretty quickly imho
  11. For those who still don't think that battery powered/RC model railway locomotives are possible, you may find this video interesting. It might not be 00 scale or even of a train, but it does demonstrate what is possible. In comparison a model loco is simplicity http://www.wimp.com/transformercar/
  12. Tiptonian said "It is probably a safe bet that many people who are considering R/C want independent loco control, anywhere on the layout, no track or wheel cleaning and no layout wiring, and are not the least bit bothered about lights, whistles, sound, let alone bi-directional comms and 2-way protocol. I for one do not even know what the last two mean,let alone what they do or how they enhance the enjoyment of my models. Equally, when I look at R/C equipment on the net, I cannot understand if it will do what I want it to do or not." I would expect a battery powered/RC layout to work just like a dcc layout does now, except all the instructions are being supplied to each loco via the radio link rather than through the rails, so all the bells and whistles that are available with dcc would still be available with a battery powered/RC loco. Power from the battery, control from the RC. bi-directional comms and 2-way protocol. Means that there is a two way communication between the controller and the loco; bi-directional means both ways and 2-way protocol means two radio channels one for sending data in one direction and the other for sending data in the opposite direction. The hand held wifi dcc controllers we have today could be used, with a rewrite of the software All that is required is an on-board rechargeable battery in the loco or in the case of nguage the loco chassis being replaced with a rechargeable battery and a suitable decoder with a radio receiver/transmitter. Non of this is beyond the manufactures ability and the fact that we still continue to collect current through the rails in 2013 is akin to a payphone to make a phone call when everyone else is using a mobile or smart phone.
  13. There are some very attractive advantages from going wireless, but it cannot be a realistic commercial proposition, nor be attractive to a wide audience if it involves going backwards to crude RC technology. It needs something that at least retains the more advanced capabilities of DCC (including bi-directional comms), or preferably a more up-to-date 2-way data protocol (e.g. along the lines of something like RailPro). Unfortunately, using crude RC equipment is just the electronic version of going back to clockwork. Again, I have to disagree, DCC works by sending a constant stream of data through the rails to an "addressed" decoder and the decoder sends data back the same way. With wireless technology the only difference is, that the rails have been replaced by a radio signal. Think of your Broadband routers wifi capability, that sends a constant two way stream of data between the router and the pc/laptop/tablet/smart phone etc. The idea of a radio controlled loco is no different, it is to all intense and purposes, DCC without the rails and power via a battery rather than through the rails. The only thing the rails should do, is guide the train.
  14. Oh wake up, Electronics are as cheap as chips, the manufactures of dcc controls just put a high end price tag on them, same with sound chips etc, these things cost pennies to make, they're just profiteering, that's what businesses do. You've seen the RC helicopters for £25, its the same technology. Sure the battery might be a little more costly, but so what, look at what you're getting, a wire free locomotive that can run over trackwork as complicated as you like, because there IS NO WIRING involved, anywhere on the layout, ever!, plus no wheel clean, no wiper cleaning. I'm sorry to get annoyed over this, but the technology is already available and is very affordable, the only two barriers to a battery powered remote controlled model railway layout are the manufactures and the naysayers of doom. In the video, the Transmitter, receiver and chip cost me less than £20, you can't tell me that a manufacture like Hornby or Bachman can't reduce this cost through bulk purchase. And for those who want to continue to buy second hand locos, just think of all the locos that would flood ebay as the rest of us scrapped our wired fleets and replaced them with battery/wireless technology.
  15. I have to disagree in part, There is no rush to take up what is available because its not widely publicised and involves conversion and outlay. Whereas if all new models from the main manufactures came out of the box with a rechargeable on board battery and radio receiver and the only additional outlay was a radio transmitter controller, then I think the take up would be extensive, especially if manufactures ceased making locos that collected current through the wheels, wipers and chassis. I think they manufactures just don't get it, or probably don't want to get it, rather like oil companies that want to keep selling us oil until it runs out and 'then' they'll make affordable and practical electric cars available. Personally I think they would sell more units as the hobby would become accessible to those who are put off by the complexity of wiring and the cost of dcc
  16. This might be toy like but it proves the point perfectly, plus you get all the sounds as well! Thanks for posting. There is absolutely no reason why this technology can't be fitted to the more refined models that we use. Track-work as complicated as you like with...... absolutely no wiring and no more track or wheel cleaning.
  17. Thanks for explaining that Jerry, The track looks wonderful and, like you say, the lack of chairs doesn't detract in anyway and, I totally understand how much time this can save, besides its only nerds like myself that might notice anyway. Work like this inspires people like me, so thanks and please keep posting Rgds, Stuart
  18. Love the trackwork, Is is plastic or pcb?, I can't quite make out if there are the chairs from the photo Rgds, Stuart
  19. 1. Paint neat 'black' acrylic paint onto a third of the body-side then immediately wipe off paint with as many cotton buds as it takes 2. Repeat for the remaining two thirds, the other side and both ends 3. Paint neat 'frame dirt' with a semi dry brush onto the running gear 4. Paint the roof with black acrylic or if you prefer dry brush, or leave well alone. I used Rail match acrylic paint and 17 cotton buds. There were no airbrushes used in the weathering of this coach
  20. I tried my hand at weathering one of the new GF GUV's tonight
  21. I've been taking a break from layout construction this weekend and inspired by Pixies workbench have taken to the paints and weathered a new GF BK and some mineral trucks
  22. Absolutely stunning! I've always wondered why people are so fascinated by the Blue Pullman, but then I remember watching the Silver Pullman's when I was a kid so I'm probably predisposed to the WR version. I did wonder when GraFar released this model if they would eventually produce a silver version, if they ever do then I might stump up the the required £210. Excellent work on your part, gives the rest of us something to aspire to Rgds, Stuart
  23. The loco in the video was just a battery and a small receiver mounted on two bogies and I just did it to prove the theory more than anything, I could make a working version for 00 no problem, trying to shrink it to fit inside an ngauge body proved more challenging, but given tome and a fair wind it should be possible. The idea would be to replace the chassis with a chassis shaped battery, the chassis after all is only there to provide traction weight and an electrical path from the pick ups to the motor armature.
  24. Agreed, You would get to keep all the functionality of your current dcc system as the commands would be sent to the loco via the radio signal instead of the rails. The big advantage would be NO TRACK WIRING EVER!!!!!!!, none at all, you could have as many double slips and diamond crossings as you like and not a wire insight. Another advantage would be that you would be able to use a radio controlled loco on a 'wired' layout, so you could slowly replace your loco fleet one by one rather than having to have a big switch over like when you convert from DC to DCC. I'm not sure why people don't understand the simplicity and ease of a battery powered radio controlled loco, perhaps I'm not explaining it well enough?
  25. I disagree. I don't use my camera, my Kindle, my torch or my sat nav for weeks at a time but they still work when I switch them on. The battery's would not be 'off the shelf' but would replace the chassis block (weight and space), think of the number of battery blocks for laptops of all shapes and sizes, again not difficult to do. A dedicated siding by a fuelling point for recharging would add to the realism of operation if you had a fuel gauge for each controller on your hand held controller, just like the real railway when the fuel gets low, the loco goes and gets refulled Yes battery's have a limited life, so replace the battery once every five years, big deal
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