RMweb Premium Bogie Posted April 18, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 18, 2019 Sorry my irreverent sense of humour is on full time! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Alister_G Posted April 18, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted April 18, 2019 30 minutes ago, Bogie said: Sorry my irreverent sense of humour is on full time! Yeah, so's mine, but yours must have a faster trigger... Al. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Bogie Posted April 18, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 18, 2019 Being in Australia and closer to the international dateline may explain it. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Alister_G Posted April 18, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted April 18, 2019 Well here we are on the 20th page! Who'd a thunk it? I'm very grateful for all the interest and support everyone is showing in Ladmanlow. Anyway, here's a couple of photos to be going on with: Thanks for looking, Al. 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
calvin Streeting Posted April 18, 2019 Share Posted April 18, 2019 nice Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
1722 Posted April 18, 2019 Share Posted April 18, 2019 2 hours ago, Bogie said: Let me just clarify - you are not talking about Alister's kitchen. 2 hours ago, Alister_G said: Dammit Bogie, you beat me too it! Al I wouldn't like to say! (just talking about the model, yes.) 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Alister_G Posted April 18, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted April 18, 2019 Let me introduce you to 68068, who is our victim for this evening. She is a Dapol J94, already fitted with a DCC chip, but no sound. Our mission, should we choose to accept it, is to fit a sound chip and keepalive. When we remove the cab and body, we see a blooming great lump of pot-metal: And when we remove that, we are left with not as much room as we thought... However, snuggled away in the bottom of the boiler, is the current DCC chip: If we remove the motor keeper plate, and the chip, this is what room is available: Let's desolder the old chip and see what we can do: So we are left with the wires from the wheel pickups, and not much else. Here's the nice new shiny sound chip and speaker: It's an ESU Loksound v5. Here it is next to the space in the boiler: Yes, well that's not going to fit, is it. The speaker will though: Just got to find room for the rest of it, then. I took the big lump of pot-metal down into the dungeons, and introduced it to the Vice of Gentle Persuasion: and hacksawed off a chunk of it, to clear the decoder: So with the speaker in the bottom of the smokebox, I can just about fit the decoder above it: A bit of surgery to the motor keeper plate helps things fit: Let's break there, and I'll finish in another post. Al. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Alister_G Posted April 18, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted April 18, 2019 So, any idea that I can fit a keepalive to this loco is looking unlikely. Here's the 2200µf capacitor in the smokebox: Not a lot of room for the decoder and speaker then, really. No, the only option is this: Which I think you'll agree isn't ideal... We will forget that idea then, and concentrate on fitting the chip and speaker. Here's the chip again, and it's wiring harness: So first I cut off the pink and light-green wires for the Aux lighting - don't need those! Then I cut off the 8-pin plug - don't need that either! In fact, all I need are six wires: the red, black, grey and orange, and the two brown speaker wires, so let's cut off all the others as well! I tinned up the remaining wires: and then connected them all up. The red and black go to the track: and a bit of heat-shrink sleeving insulates them. The grey and orange are soldered directly to the motor: And that's about it! I replaced the motor keeper plate, put the speaker in the bottom of the smokebox, with the decoder above it, and screwed the weight back on, then I took it to the track to see if it worked. I hope to have a bit of video of this running, later, but for now I'm happy to report that it works. Thanks for looking, Al. 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Alister_G Posted April 18, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted April 18, 2019 Here's a very short bit of video to prove it works... On the very dirty track, the lack of a keepalive is very apparent when compared to the DJM one. Thanks for looking, Al. 6 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Stubby47 Posted April 18, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 18, 2019 What room is there in the bunker for the keep alive? 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Alister_G Posted April 18, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted April 18, 2019 Not enough for the capacitor I've got Stu, although the speaker would fit in the bunker, I've discovered. I'm having a re-think, wondering how well it would run without the blooming great weight in it, which would give sufficient room then. I'll have a play tomorrow. Cheers, Al. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 7 hours ago, Alister_G said: Not enough for the capacitor I've got Stu, although the speaker would fit in the bunker, I've discovered. I'm having a re-think, wondering how well it would run without the blooming great weight in it, which would give sufficient room then. I'll have a play tomorrow. Cheers, Al. Or HALF the weight maybe, sounds like a hacksaw job to me, just on the weight, not the WHOLE LOCO, Al. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Regularity Posted April 19, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 19, 2019 (edited) 20 hours ago, Alister_G said: No, the only option is this: Which I think you'll agree isn't ideal... It depends. I think if you chose to model a different prototype, you might get away with it... After all, this was designed to keep extra steam in reserve, so an early form of “keep alive” on the prototype... Edited April 19, 2019 by Regularity Typos 1 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Enterprisingwestern Posted April 19, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 19, 2019 Desoldering the decoder wires rather than snipping them might give you a smidgin of extra wiggle room? Mike. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Alister_G Posted April 19, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted April 19, 2019 1 hour ago, Regularity said: It depends. i think if you chose to model a different prototype, you might get away with it... That's brilliant! I knew I was modelling the wrong railway... They say there' a prototype for everything, but that's exceeded my expectations, definitely Al. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Alister_G Posted April 19, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted April 19, 2019 I was determined not to be beaten, so today I dismantled 68068 again, and removed the ballast weight completely. Doing that gave me enough room to re-arrange things and fit the keepalive capacitor. So first I had to prepare the decoder, by cutting away some of the insulation, to get at the contact pads on the end where the keepalive wiring needs to be attached: Then I soldered on the wires: I added the resistor and diode of the charging circuit to the capacitor: and then connected that to the decoder: So here's the arrangement: The speaker lives in the firebox, and the capacitor sits on the floor of the smokebox, with the decoder above it. I had to cut 4mm off the front of the motor keeper plate to allow the capacitor to move back enough to clear the front of the smokebox. With that arrangement, it all just fits: Trial and error determined that the speaker needs to lie on it's back to clear the whistle and safety valves: but at that, it all fits nicely. Moreover, it works, and has made a marked difference to the running. The only slight point of issue is that by removing the weight, I've also lost the attachment point of the chimney, and the screw that holds the front of the saddletank down, but the chimney is now glued to the top of the tank, and the body seems to be fairly happy if I'm careful how I handle it. That's all for now, thanks for looking, Al. 5 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
calvin Streeting Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 4 hours ago, Alister_G said: Moreover, it works, and has made a marked difference to the running. I was surprised how better they are with stay alive.. welcome shoe horning all that in. how many more locos have you got to do. ? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Enterprisingwestern Posted April 19, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 19, 2019 Sorry to keep chucking marbles under your feet, but would the sugar cube fit in a milled/drilled/filed hole in the footplate facing downwards maybe? Mike. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Alister_G Posted April 19, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted April 19, 2019 23 minutes ago, Enterprisingwestern said: Sorry to keep chucking marbles under your feet, but would the sugar cube fit in a milled/drilled/filed hole in the footplate facing downwards maybe? Mike. Not at all Mike, any and all suggestions welcomed. That's something I hadn't considered, and might be worth a look. I don't think there's enough depth to bury it completely, but it might help, certainly. I'm not completely happy with the existing speaker, anyway. Compared to the one in 68012 it's quite tinny and "thin" sounding, so I might replace it. Al. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Alister_G Posted April 19, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted April 19, 2019 32 minutes ago, calvin Streeting said: I was surprised how better they are with stay alive.. welcome shoe horning all that in. how many more locos have you got to do. ? Thanks mate. Just one more at the moment, I only have three J94s, but the last one 68006 doesn't even have a motor at the moment, it's a mule which I was going to use for double-heading. I may put a motor in it and buy another sound chip though. Al. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Alister_G Posted April 19, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted April 19, 2019 This evening, having got the two locos running with the keepalives, I turned my attention to finishing off the detailing. I added a new coupling hook and lamps to 68068 courtesy of Dave Franks, and some Slater's three-links. I then painted the new additions, and tweaked the weathering on 68068 and 68012. All the locos on the Cromford and High Peak spent most of their working lives in filthy condition, and so I really want to reflect that in the weathering. So both locos received a blast of matt varnish, and a going over with the Rust and Smoke weathering powders. You can see in this shot that the front of the saddletank on 68068 has risen up a bit. I'm going to have to glue it down, I think, once I've done fiddling with speakers etc. And here's 68012 a bit dirtier than before: She's still comparitively clean, though, she was often used for rail tours so perhaps was slightly better looked after than her sister locos. Anyway, I think it's time for some shots of the layout. A most unusual line up! Let's try those in black-and-white, shall we? That last one's my favourite. Thanks for looking, Al. 8 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Alister_G Posted April 19, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted April 19, 2019 And finally, the three stooges: Al 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Bogie Posted April 19, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 19, 2019 Great stuff! 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold NHY 581 Posted April 20, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 20, 2019 I hope you don't mind, Al. I had a tinker. Rob 3 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Alister_G Posted April 20, 2019 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted April 20, 2019 I don't mind at all Rob, very nice tinkering. Love the colouring on the top one, it's almost got the feeling of a Cuneo painting. I hope Norman took the opportunity to have a Bakewell tart while he was up here? Al. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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