David_R

Same for my ipad - no photos loading. Very annoying. The Ads work fine, of course (I do know how to fix that :-) )

I have just re-wheeled a Dublo Class 20 using Hornby Railroad Class 37 wheels (from a spares/repairs loco) - they are a perfect fit on the dublo axles. The Deltic uses the same wheels as the Class 20 (according to the spares drawings) but looks to have more wheels with traction tyres David

Thanks for of the replies. Digging through the Gibson catalogue I see the the profile frames are still available, and rod etc. The spokes are plastic with round axle hole so seem to indicate that it is all Gibson parts In which case the axles are plain rod - I guess the wheels are glued in place? (this is my first experience of an etched chassis - more research needed on here!) I'll need to rig up a decoder so it can have a good run on the roundy roundy. And yes, there must be some scary small springs in there. There's a scary small screw missing! Cheers, David

Hi All, I succumbed to a very reasonably priced Airfix 14xx tank loco at the Warley show - with an etched chassis. No indication who made it though so maybe the collective can help identify what it is please The hornblocks have wire retainers, there are screws to adjust the axle loading - they can just about be seen. The gearbox is enclosed so a bit tricky to lubricate Wheels unknown. Maybe the drivers are both Airfix non-traction tyred? Motor? It runs ok forwards but waddles backwards. The quartering looks to be a little under 90 degrees. I'd like an idea of what I've got before trying to get it running better. No idea yet how it pulls, but it will only have an autocar to haul. Many thanks, David

The challenge is to put it back together! Glad to hear your 14 was revived. I also followed the advice on the mega Class 14 thread and added some shims behind the flycranks. I used thin slices from a suitably thin tube recovered from a spray bottle. That should stop stop the rods catching the cab steps.

A quick follow up. New motor fitted from Olivia's. Eventually prodded all of the wires back into position and she's running well again. Thanks to all who replied. David

Thanks all. The picture shows the original motor. The recommended replacement on the Gaugemaster and Peters Spares websites is 43mm long hence the question. Will definitely check with Olivia's Trains regarding their motor. Cheers David

Not sure if this should be here or in the Motor/Drivetrain section, but as great skill is needed to put the thing back together ..... The flappy con rods caught on the cab steps and I didn't notice for a while - and a boost of power (DC) before realising what had happened didn't help, the motor has died (the plastic under the commutator melted). Does anyone have experience of the replacement Heljan motor? I have put in a cheap Ebay motor and it is severely lacking the torque of the original - it now crawls up gradients then races manically down the other side. Do the replacements behave like the originals? And why are the new ones so much shorter? The original measures about 48mm end to end with the worm end shaft about 12mm long as in the picture. The new ones are 43mm so each shaft is about 6 to 6.5mm. Any comments welcome! Best Regards David

Agreed - that’s an impressive list. Looking forward to it happening. Thanks David

I was curious about the motorshield development. I had thought about doing my own (already hinted at!), but it is another project that I don't have time for. I appreciate that you'd want to keep the development to a limited group - every (wo)man and their dog wants something slightly different .... David

Hi Don, I am a frequent visitor to dcc-ex.com but I haven’t seen anything on the hardware development, though I might have missed it. Maybe I’ll try github. Cheers

@FlightRisk - are the details for the new hardware (CS and motorshields) available somewhere? I have had a look on Discord but found it difficult to find anything. I built a DCC EX system a little while ago (a mega, L298 shield and the little ESP-01 board and TrainDriver) - works very well on the 1 yard test track. I’m aware of the L298 limitations so I guess that a better MOS device will be used rather than an old BJT device, although the data sheet shows how to parallel the outputs - and a lower current drive can be used for the programming track. Looking forward to some optimised hardware. Thanks, David

Impressive BDM! Please keep us updated. I don't seem to have the time or skill to tinker around with the code - my brownie points get used in the shed building the trackbed

I have made the test setup in the picture. Layout under construction so using the time to work out what works for me (DCC++, JMRI, DCC++EX, wireless handheld throttle .....) Code is running on an Adafruit Trinket. Pins 2 and 7 are not available so had to move the keyboard and rotary encoder pins. Loco is a Hornby Morse Collieries (it was free!, but runs really nicely on DC and now DCC). Lais decoder, default address of 3. Initial problem - the direction kept changing randomly. Added a pullup to the pin. The keyboard is about 30 years old but never used. Some keys work nicely (* and #, plus the rotary and button) but others generate multiple characters. Took a while not to have locos 1111, 2222, 3333 and 4444. Maybe some capacitors will help. If I use a handheld throttle, I will probably get a 3.3V LCD module - they are a bit smaller so less chunky case needed. Must add a big thanks to Mark for tidying up Dave Bodnar's code. Cheers Dave