JZjr Posted March 3, 2019 Share Posted March 3, 2019 (edited) Hello, I'm looking at installing conductive couplings on a 158 before maybe expanding them to other units. Currently I am looking at using a 4-pole coupling so I can wire up track power and speaker wires, using a separate decoder for other functions in a trailing vehicle, my standard DCC installs use 10 functions anyway. I have come across the Roco 40345 Electric Coupling and the Veissmann 5071 Conducting Coupler. Has anyone had any experience with these that they could share? Does anyone have an idea of the current rating for the Roco coupling? Does anyone have any other recommendations for a conductive couplings with at least 4 poles, more could be useful? Thanks in advanced for imparting your wisdom. Edited March 3, 2019 by JZjr Condensing and clarifying text - I never write it very well before posting! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium ColinK Posted March 3, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 3, 2019 I didn’t know such things existed, could be useful for me too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium ColinK Posted March 3, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 3, 2019 I didn’t know such things existed, could be useful for me too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZjr Posted March 3, 2019 Author Share Posted March 3, 2019 ColinK - I have seen them online before, they have been around for many years but I haven't seen them used anywhere, and they are a little expensive at £15-£20 per pair but for some models it is much easier to use these rather than miniature plugs between vehicles. If there aren't many people with experience with them, I might just buy some of each and do a brief write up of them on my blog. Cheers 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butler Henderson Posted March 3, 2019 Share Posted March 3, 2019 (edited) There is also one by Heljan at £8 a pair http://www.kernowmodelrailcentre.com/p/16357/850211-Heljan-Universal-Power-Coupler Edited March 3, 2019 by Butler Henderson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andymsa Posted March 3, 2019 Share Posted March 3, 2019 4 hours ago, JZjr said: Hello, I'm looking at installing conductive couplings on a 158 before maybe expanding them to other units. Currently I am looking at using a 4-pole coupling so I can wire up track power and speaker wires, using a separate decoder for other functions in a trailing vehicle, my standard DCC installs use 10 functions anyway. I have come across the Roco 40345 Electric Coupling and the Veissmann 5071 Conducting Coupler. Has anyone had any experience with these that they could share? Does anyone have an idea of the current rating for the Roco coupling? Does anyone have any other recommendations for a conductive couplings with at least 4 poles, more could be useful? Thanks in advanced for imparting your wisdom. Hi, i have used the Roco couplings, they do need some thought as to where the wires run into the body of the coach. Also you need to allow slack for the sideways movement of the coupling. Being 4 poles I use two for track pickups which vastly improves pickup, and the other two poles for coach lighting. One thing to take note of is there is no twisting of the coupling as they are rigid, overall a nice coupling and not to intrusive on racks of coaches. One thing to make sure that you stick to the same wires for each type of circuits you wire up. If this is for lighting of coaches something to look at are lighting units with built in decoders presently I'm using the ones from ESU Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZjr Posted March 4, 2019 Author Share Posted March 4, 2019 12 hours ago, Butler Henderson said: There is also one by Heljan at £8 a pair http://www.kernowmodelrailcentre.com/p/16357/850211-Heljan-Universal-Power-Coupler The Heljan couplings look very similar to the Veissmann pair, they're 'temporarily out of stock' at the moment so I will keep an eye on them. Andymsa - I intend to use them in multiple units to improve pick-up and to have a speaker in each vehicle, it will be particularly important to make sure I wire them correctly or I will have a blown speaker and decoder! Cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexAshton Posted March 4, 2019 Share Posted March 4, 2019 You could use these and retain your existing couplers? Available in 2,3, and 4 way versions. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZjr Posted March 4, 2019 Author Share Posted March 4, 2019 (edited) Thanks RexAshton, I do use mini-sockets in some installations, I find that in some cases they are difficult to hide. I use 4-pole plugs which cost £0.65 each from Railway Scenics.. Cheers Edited March 4, 2019 by JZjr Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andymsa Posted March 4, 2019 Share Posted March 4, 2019 1 hour ago, JZjr said: The Heljan couplings look very similar to the Veissmann pair, they're 'temporarily out of stock' at the moment so I will keep an eye on them. Andymsa - I intend to use them in multiple units to improve pick-up and to have a speaker in each vehicle, it will be particularly important to make sure I wire them correctly or I will have a blown speaker and decoder! Cheers The roco ones will be perfect for what your doing. And it does make a difference with better pickup from rails. I have several railcars that I have converted. As to makeing sure you don't wire incorrectly, set a standard i.e. Bottom contacts for rails and the contact closest to each rail is for that rail. Top contacts for sound Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Vecchio Posted March 4, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 4, 2019 @JZjrLook also at Krois, They have a wide selection of conductive couplings with different number of poles. All go into NEM shafts. Their webpage is normally also available in English, for some reason it didn't want to switch today... Look here 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZjr Posted March 4, 2019 Author Share Posted March 4, 2019 (edited) @Vecchio Thanks, certainly something to think about, I'm sure 6 poles could come in useful somewhere and I see each pin takes 1.2A so enough to supply a whole train of lighting or a fairly large motor by OO/HO standards! Cheers Edited March 4, 2019 by JZjr Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZjr Posted March 6, 2019 Author Share Posted March 6, 2019 I have managed to source some Veissmann conductive couplings. Without moving the NEM pocket, they are too short for the Bachmann 170. I have not yet tried them on any other MU's but I'd imaging it would be similar. I have also ordered some Roco couplings, when these arrive, I'll give them a go and decide whether I need to modify any coupling mounts. As a side note: The Veissmann couplings need pushing from underneath to uncouple, it does feel a bit tight so I'm not sure if an uncoupling ramp would me up to it. When I tried to uncouple two vehicles the coupling came out of the NEM pocket before they separated! Cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andymsa Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 2 hours ago, JZjr said: I have managed to source some Veissmann conductive couplings. Without moving the NEM pocket, they are too short for the Bachmann 170. I have not yet tried them on any other MU's but I'd imaging it would be similar. I have also ordered some Roco couplings, when these arrive, I'll give them a go and decide whether I need to modify any coupling mounts. As a side note: The Veissmann couplings need pushing from underneath to uncouple, it does feel a bit tight so I'm not sure if an uncoupling ramp would me up to it. When I tried to uncouple two vehicles the coupling came out of the NEM pocket before they separated! Cheers The roco coupling is offset to the nem prongs. On my coaches they have to go a certain way, but for operation it doesn't matter which way the go what ever works best for you. All these type of conductive couplings need to be held when coupling or uncoupling as you found out you can pull them out Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZjr Posted March 8, 2019 Author Share Posted March 8, 2019 Hi all, The Roco couplings have also arrived and are also too short to couple my 170. I will now need to look at ways to extend it. I have two pairs of each Veissmann and Roco couplings and I have a 3-Car 158 & 3-Car 170 to (Re-)DCC Fit so I will give both of them a go. Cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Vecchio Posted March 9, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 9, 2019 In my opinion the position of the NEM pockets on your 170 are not in the position the standard asks for... Any way to move them forward? There is a nice article from buffers which says it in the first 2 paragraphs... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZjr Posted March 9, 2019 Author Share Posted March 9, 2019 To be honest, the coupling distance would probably be perfect if I was to remove the plastic gangways and replace them with something more flexible. Cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZjr Posted May 6, 2019 Author Share Posted May 6, 2019 I just wanted to check back in here after fitting my Roco couplers to a Bachmann 170. I find that when coupling the vehicles together the coupler pins bend and come in to contact, this has resulted in the shorting of the speaker wires. There is no damage to my decoder but it does mean I will have to have a look at miniature plugs instead - the Veissmann versions are reserved for my 158, hopefully they will perform better. Cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andymsa Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 12 hours ago, JZjr said: I just wanted to check back in here after fitting my Roco couplers to a Bachmann 170. I find that when coupling the vehicles together the coupler pins bend and come in to contact, this has resulted in the shorting of the speaker wires. There is no damage to my decoder but it does mean I will have to have a look at miniature plugs instead - the Veissmann versions are reserved for my 158, hopefully they will perform better. Cheers Are you you trying to couple with track power on, I wouldn't recommend that. When coupling hold the coupling with your thumb underneath the coupling this stops it bending down. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZjr Posted May 8, 2019 Author Share Posted May 8, 2019 I was coupling with the power off. However as I was coupling, the contacts became deformed causing a short once correctly coupled. Thankfully it was only the speaker wires that were running through the couplers. I have tried to bend the contacts back however at lease one of the couplings is now not usable, I think I will transfer them to another project and use floor level micro-sockets in this instance, Cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andymsa Posted May 8, 2019 Share Posted May 8, 2019 18 minutes ago, JZjr said: I was coupling with the power off. However as I was coupling, the contacts became deformed causing a short once correctly coupled. Thankfully it was only the speaker wires that were running through the couplers. I have tried to bend the contacts back however at lease one of the couplings is now not usable, I think I will transfer them to another project and use floor level micro-sockets in this instance, Cheers Yes i I know what you mean by the deformation. I found they have to be square on for a good fit, and using the method with the thumb under it to stop it bending down will help with this. As to the bent contacts it is possible to repair them as you can very carefully take the couplings apart. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZjr Posted May 8, 2019 Author Share Posted May 8, 2019 Thanks, I will certainly spend some more time trying to repair the couplers, however I don't think I will buy them again. They are much more convenient than inter-vehicle plugs & sockets however, in my opinion, not worth the £19.50 over the inter-vehicle plugs. Cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andymsa Posted May 8, 2019 Share Posted May 8, 2019 4 hours ago, JZjr said: Thanks, I will certainly spend some more time trying to repair the couplers, however I don't think I will buy them again. They are much more convenient than inter-vehicle plugs & sockets however, in my opinion, not worth the £19.50 over the inter-vehicle plugs. Cheers They seem expensive where did you get them from? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZjr Posted May 8, 2019 Author Share Posted May 8, 2019 They were £20 for a pair. Not sure where they came from. I can get micro plugs for approx 50p a pair pre-soldered or for pennies unsoldered. Cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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