DaleT

Hi folks I recently got a o gauge jinty as a gift, i have bought a gaugemaster prodigy 2 for it (and for my railway i hope to build).. I noticed today on first that sound functions 1 to 9 work fine.. funtions 10 to 15 do not work.. i can get function 11 sometimes but its not consistent.. Now i have had it on the program track.. the controller can 'read' the loco fine and all its CVs etc.. i can even change the sound value of the CVs that are related to the functions i can not hear.. Is this a common issue? I was thinkimg maybe the sound chip in the 3F is an older version and the Prodigy 2 may not read it well..? I hope it is not the controller! But it is brand new so i dont think it is.. Anyway the loco is great and it chuffs away nicley.. its just i expected perfection with the price of all this stuff ! Thanks for any info Dale

Hi guys Thanks for all your comments and advice.. Ive decided to stick with a normal dcc system for now and possibly add in the bluetooth control as mentioned above. Ive spent the last few days reading up on things - control (either dcc or Rc) is a vast subject in itself nowadays! I guess right now i just wanna play trains so im going to keep things simple (for me) Thanks again

Hi folks I recently got an o gauge jinty for an early birthday gift.. it is dcc sound fitted. I dont actually own a dcc controller! However, before I splashed out on one for it (and the small railway Ive been planning for years) i wanted to know more about RC options.. Basically this is what I want. I wamt to be able to control the loco from my mobile phone via bluetooth. I also want to be able to have the sounds availiable. Can this be done? And also, is there people who make it there business to convert these locos? (As i dont dare attempt it myself!) Many thanks Dale

Thanks mate Dale

Hi all Below is a picture of my motor and 25:1 gear box I want to use for a loco I'm building. I bought it 2nd hand, and apart from the manufacturer, the only other things I know about it is that the motor works, and the gears are quite dirty. I have never used this type of gear box (just mashima motors and worm drives) and I was wondering what it the best way to clean the gears? would the gears need a light oiling after cleaning? Also, is it wise to put a tiny drop of oil on the motor shaft/bearing? If so, what type of oil? I own peco power lube and daywat lubricating oil.. My other hobby is RC car racing and I just literally blast everything with an aerosol based bearing blaster, but I thought that may be a bit harsh here! thanks for any help with this Dale

Morning Sandy To be honest I haven't thought about a layout much. But it is my intention to by a point and a few more lengths of flexi track to test it out properly. If the wooden dining room floor is still level enough I think I can fit nearly a 5ft curve down to mess about on Dale

Thanks again - always good to check these things!

Ok thanks guys.. I intend to use a motor with a gearbox on a fixed rear driven axle. So I hope this will work ok with minimal (0.005") movements.. just to clarify its a 7mm kit. Thanks again Dale

Hi I have got the basic chassis built and the coupling rods on my 0-6-0. It's rolling nicely but fitted with the washers that come with the kit there isn't much side play across the axles. About 1mm each side... The instructions say 'use washers as required' which made me think, just what is required? I am by no means clever in this department but does it have to do with what curves the loco will be running around? I'll probably never have the space for curves in O gauge so I'm not too worried, but is about 1mm each side ok for standard peco points etc? should I allow a little more over the middle axle? sorry if this has been discussed already, I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for. thanks Dale

Thank you to all three of you for the info.. I'll take the advice given and see what a bit of experimentation brings with lower priced motors. Once I've got something substantial built I think it'll be easier to assess things..

Hi and thanks for your reply, My car RC equipment is quite large compared to the current model rail equivalents, and the ESC and receiver are two separate items. Even so they may be able to be squeezed in.. The motor I have in my RC car has a voltage range of 7.2-8.4v, My receiver is 2.4Ghz like the popular ones used in garden rail etc and rarely has any trouble when racing around large open car park spaces etc... I guess it would be odd controlling a train with a stick type handset but if it keeps costs down then hey ho.. I was recommended the 6v motor from abc gears which is listed as suitable for battery controlled models etc.. surely this be good enough? I guess I am perplexed as to why there's not just a standard way of doing this, when i was converting an older DC loco to DCC I could find 100s on pages of 'how to' examples etc Isn't there a general consensus as to what motor will work with an average O gauge loco? Dale

Hi folks Sorry for jumping in here! I am hoping that someone with more experience than me could offer some guidance.. Im building a 7mm 0-6-0 tender loco and id like to build it as battery RC. Now I actually have RC cars and use lipos etc but in that world everything is marketed with accessibility in mind and knowing what works with what is much easier to understand etc.. It seems so far in the railway modelling world that volts, amps and watts is the language used, and this is where I'm stumbling a bit.. So I thought it logical to start with the motor and I was advised a 2.5w 6v surplus maxon motor.. So I guess I'm looking for advice on what RC equipment/batteries are best for this motor and if there will be any performance limitations etc? Im only going to be pulling a few wagons or 2/3 6-wheeled coaches.. Are there any practical guides to this? Thanks for any info Dale

Thanks for the quick reply.. I think I'll give it a miss then, I have already got the motor installed and wired etc.. It would have been nice to have a little control panel but not essential.. you live and you learn! Thanks!

Hi I am sure this has been asked many times, but I can't seem to find what I'm after.. I only have 1 point for my DC starter layout and I wanted to wire in LEDs for a small control panel.. A control panel is not crucial but I just wanted to try it.. I have the Peco PL13 mirco switch.. I have noticed that I can't wire the frog AND the LEDs - just one or the other.. Should I have got the Peco PL-15 ? or is there a way to get directional LEDs with the PL-13 and have a live frog? Thanks for any info - I've been stressing out all afternoon!

Well I'm almost there so I thought I'd post one final not-so close up picture I just need to do some paint touch ups and glue in the cab detail. It's really crying out for the cab detail now. I've got it running a bit smoother since the video, particularly in reverse it is silky smooth and very quiet.. running forwards it's still a little noisy but runs smoothly.. I will try Jim Snowden's suggestion of placing washers on the worm gear in the near future.. I was quite nervous about soldering on the coupling rods as I've heard about getting it wrong and soldering it all solid! But I survived.. Although it was a challenge at times I am really pleased with it and I am already wondering what to build next! I have made lot's of little mistakes, had to bodge job some bits and just had to plain try and hide some other bits but now I know and next time I'll do things better. I need to invest in more tools too, especially a paint gun - I used the old halford's primer/satin black - it's ok for this time but I think I can do better next time. Didn't like the LMS look for some reason and when one of the transfers fell off I took it as a sign and got some HMRS BR transfers, they are brilliant! Thanks for the help, Dale