Jump to content
 

spring pickups


d00m
 Share

Recommended Posts

No one replied to this, but, if you are interested, I ordered a 40m roll of 0.4mm brass wire @£5.00. It easily wraps around an axle as a pickup and works really well. (It might be slightly better using 0.3mm). Well worth doing as it saves ££££'s.

  • Informative/Useful 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

On 13/09/2021 at 22:52, d00m said:

Does anyone know what size (gauge) wire pick up springs are made from?  I should say it's for OO gauge  (dcc concepts make them). 0.3, 0.4 or 0.5 mm etc.?

 

 

 

I use 0.3mm brass. The key is to have a nice range of movement and very low stiffness. I normally add a coil to mine which allows for plenty f relative movement on a compensated chassis. I normally rest them onto the flange. The images illustrate it best.

 

Mark

 

 

D24E775D-3210-496E-8890-4791374285AC.jpeg

2BFFEBA8-A3AF-43A4-A6A5-CC53279C41CD.jpeg

41CDADEE-BBC9-4D06-8CAE-ED91989972FD.jpeg

  • Like 3
  • Craftsmanship/clever 5
Link to post
Share on other sites

That chassis looks amazing! Hadn't thought of using it like that on locos... it may be time for me to look at some troublesome pickups on one of my 14xx.

I was looking at coach lighting and the springs DCC concepts sell - low friction axle pickups - hand winding onto an axle is remarkably easy and extremely effective, but I will try 0.3mm on the next set.

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

1161705092_WheelSpring.jpg.bdf5c63b06aee0b0c62ce0bc9b4b7799.jpg

22 hours ago, Sir TophamHatt said:

I ordered some 2mm springs, which from the DCC Concepts page, suggests they're good for OO gauge.

Ordered mine from Coastal DCC - superb service every time!

 

Not sure what this measurement refers to though.

That'll be the axle size. Hand winding 0.3mm brass wire on to axles is dead easy and saves having to take insulated wheel off to get springs on. Also, as you are making them yourself, you can leave a longer 'tail' on the spring...

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, d00m said:

That'll be the axle size. Hand winding 0.3mm brass wire on to axles is dead easy and saves having to take insulated wheel off to get springs on. Also, as you are making them yourself, you can leave a longer 'tail' on the spring...


This is true.

I had ordered some other brass parts but had already finished a lot of the work I needed them for.  Perhaps at some point I'll convert them.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...