RMweb Gold Trofimow Posted September 10, 2012 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted September 10, 2012 As with the dustcart, the wheels from the Faller bus chassis are a little small. The original Oxford wheels have removeable tyres, which are made of a harder material than the Faller tyres. They pull off the original axles and might be OK for the working model, so I'm going to give them a try. The Faller steering axle only clips together and can be dismantled easily. The wheels can be gently pulled off if you hold the end of the brass stub axle in a pair of pliers. A touch of superglue suffices to fix the Oxford wheels in place. A small piece of plastic does as a mounting for the re-assembled front axle. Once the Faller rear wheels are replaced with the Oxford ones, we have a basic rolling chassis, which can be tested using flying leads. There still needs to be a home for the on/off switch - it can be persuaded to fit under the cab with a little more plastic nibbling. That's it for now.... Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard brown Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 sorry if I missed it but where can I find on the dcc car system and where can I buy them from Thank you Richard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Sheep Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 I'm still struggling to find an N gauge system Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BernardTPM Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Tomytec do a 'bus' system in N - it's used on Horseley Fields. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Trofimow Posted September 11, 2012 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted September 11, 2012 Tomytec do a 'bus' system in N - it's used on Horseley Fields. And Faller do N gauge as well, albeit with a limited range of vehicles. I don't know how practical this sort of conversion work would be in N - it's too small for my eyes and fingers! Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Trofimow Posted September 11, 2012 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted September 11, 2012 sorry if I missed it but where can I find on the dcc car system and where can I buy them from Thank you Richard Hi Richard, DCCar is, like the Faller Cars themselves, a German system. Some information is available in English, a lot more is in German, but Google Translate does a good enough job to understand most of it if you don't speak the language. There is a useful introductory wiki (in English) here http://wiki-en.dc-car.de/index.php?title=Introduction_of_the_DC-Car_System A very useful overview (in English) on this site, although it has not been updated for quite a while http://www.midlandred.org.uk/dccar.shtml A forum (in German) with lots of useful info here http://www.ciservice-ilchmann.de/forum_modellbahn/index.php The DCCar manufacturer's site (in German). Contains lots of useful info on using Faller car system. http://www.modelleisenbahn-claus.de/dc-car.htm I buy my decoders online from here. Other dealers are available. http://www.mara-elektronik.de/ And finally, if you search you tube for DCCar, there are numerous videos of the system in action, how to's, and of vehicle conversions that people have done, many of them far more advanced than those I have been showing on here. Explore and enjoy! Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PhilJ W Posted September 11, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 11, 2012 One thing that puts me off is the cost, at about £50 a pop for a new vehicle I'd be very nervous about carving one up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard brown Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 Hi Richard, DCCar is, like the Faller Cars themselves, a German system. Some information is available in English, a lot more is in German, but Google Translate does a good enough job to understand most of it if you don't speak the language. There is a useful introductory wiki (in English) here http://wiki-en.dc-car.de/index.php?title=Introduction_of_the_DC-Car_System A very useful overview (in English) on this site, although it has not been updated for quite a while http://www.midlandred.org.uk/dccar.shtml A forum (in German) with lots of useful info here http://www.ciservice-ilchmann.de/forum_modellbahn/index.php The DCCar manufacturer's site (in German). Contains lots of useful info on using Faller car system. http://www.modelleisenbahn-claus.de/dc-car.htm I buy my decoders online from here. Other dealers are available. http://www.mara-elektronik.de/ And finally, if you search you tube for DCCar, there are numerous videos of the system in action, how to's, and of vehicle conversions that people have done, many of them far more advanced than those I have been showing on here. Explore and enjoy! Alan Thank Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Trofimow Posted September 11, 2012 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted September 11, 2012 One thing that puts me off is the cost, at about £50 a pop for a new vehicle I'd be very nervous about carving one up. Yes, I can't pretend it's cheap - you have to consider adding a new vehicle in the same way as you would think about adding a new loco to your railway - the cost is similar, and the decoders are an additional cost. However, you are not likely to need a large number of vehicles for an average layout, and as it takes time to do the conversions, the cost is spread over a period. I have only half a dozen vehicles that I produced over a number of years, and I need to retro fit with decoders - they will get done one at a time. If you don't want to carve up a Faller model, it is possible to do by buying components individually, either as Faller spares, or as specialist parts from one of the suppliers I mentioned earlier in the thread - but it is not likely to work out any cheaper that way. I try to keep down the cost of vehicles by buying them in start sets from Amazon or Ebay - often cheaper than in the shops and you get other bits in the box at no extra cost. I also buy vehicles second hand when I can get them. Body damage and battery condition do not matter, as I only want the working parts and the batteries are cheap to replace, provided you don't buy them as Faller parts. Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Sheep Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 One thing that puts me off is the cost, at about £50 a pop for a new vehicle I'd be very nervous about carving one up. depending on the size of your layout and the era you might only need a couple to look realistic. a small rural branch-line set in the 1930's for example would only need two out of three from the choice of bus, lorry or car, any more than that and it would be a bit busy Obviously a town scene might draw a bit more traffic, but it wasn't until the 50's that personal motoring started to become affordable for the average home owner, It was only in the 90's that it became unusual for a family to not own a car. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Trofimow Posted September 17, 2012 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted September 17, 2012 The fire engine has progressed a little more... A mounting boss inside the body has had to go to provide clearance for all the new gubbins The battery for this one is going to be another lipo. The space available is less than in the dustcart, but there's room for one 240 mAH @ 3.7v, which compares with 250 mAH @ 2.4v for the Faller original, so should be adequate. It's the centre pack in this picture, which shows the size compared with the Faller cells (top) and the larger lipo for the dustcart (bottom). And this shows how much space it takes up on the chassis. Wiring is still to be done once a decoder has been purchased, but it all fits together well enough. Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HARRYMALLARD Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Have been following this thread with great interest and am loving every minute of it! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Trofimow Posted September 21, 2012 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted September 21, 2012 The decoder for the dustcart has been delivered . First job is to separate and identify all those tiny leds. Thankfully, the wires are colour coded. The battery is fixed to the chassis with a dab of Tacky Wax, and the decoder goes on top with the traditional sticky pad. Then the power and motor wiring can be connected and tested. Yup, the rats have been nesting again... The rear lights, brake lights and rear indicators have been fixed in place on the back of the chassis, and now the leds for the front indicators and headlights are fitted to the cab. The front sensors go under the bumper. Then the cab goes into place on the chassis. And the rear body can also be fitted. The dustcart still needs tidying to paint over and blend in the wires to the leds along the chassis, plus decals and weathering, but is now functionally complete and working. It also needs to have the DCC address changed from the default, and the speed curve programmed, but that's a job for another day. As with most things, this project has been a learning curve. I used the largest capacity battery that I could fit inside - if I was doing it again, I'd use one size smaller to leave a bit more space for all those wires. It would make getting everything in place a bit easier without reducing the running time too much. Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard brown Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 dose the decoder come with the leds on it or do you need to add them richard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Trofimow Posted September 21, 2012 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted September 21, 2012 dose the decoder come with the leds on it or do you need to add them richard You can buy them either with or without. I strongly recommend getting them pre-wired - I find the extra expense is worth it to preserve what's left of my sanity..... Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fitness Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 Cracking bit of work on the dust cart Alan. . Are the wheels on the Fire engine working ok on the Faller Axles? They look excellent and I'm looking to improve the "look" of my buses wheels. Jon F Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Trofimow Posted September 22, 2012 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted September 22, 2012 Cracking bit of work on the dust cart Alan. . Are the wheels on the Fire engine working ok on the Faller Axles? They look excellent and I'm looking to improve the "look" of my buses wheels. Jon F Hi Jon - the Jury's out on the fire engine wheels at the moment. They don't run quite true as the original axles were slightly larger diameter than the Faller ones. I could fill the holes and re-drill them to improve matters, but I also need to find out if the harder tyres they have will give enough grip on a working model. The chassis can only be run on flying leads from a controller at the moment, so I can't yet do a proper test. Any further work on the fire engine will have to wait a while until sufficient funds have accumulated to place another order for decoders from Germany. At Bernard's suggestion, earlier in the thread, I have obtained some scale wheels from the Little Bus Company. These are accurate looking mouldings in a soft rubber like material and are available in specific AEC, Leyland and London Transport types. I've bought a representative selection and propose to try these when I update my buses with decoders in due course. They might suit your requirements. Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fitness Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 Hi Jon - the Jury's out on the fire engine wheels at the moment. They don't run quite true as the original axles were slightly larger diameter than the Faller ones. I could fill the holes and re-drill them to improve matters, but I also need to find out if the harder tyres they have will give enough grip on a working model. The chassis can only be run on flying leads from a controller at the moment, so I can't yet do a proper test. Any further work on the fire engine will have to wait a while until sufficient funds have accumulated to place another order for decoders from Germany. At Bernard's suggestion, earlier in the thread, I have obtained some scale wheels from the Little Bus Company. These are accurate looking mouldings in a soft rubber like material and are available in specific AEC, Leyland and London Transport types. I've bought a representative selection and propose to try these when I update my buses with decoders in due course. They might suit your requirements. Alan The LBC wheels look alright, but have moulding flash and pips to remove. This in itself can cause them to be out of round and the axle holes are too big. The material is a bit too soft to provide the solid fit required for the mechanics. As with most model bus parts they are more geared to the "static" model market. I would prefer some more like the Faller ones, just bigger! JF Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Trofimow Posted October 8, 2012 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted October 8, 2012 There's not been much to show recently - I've been busy re-doing the roadway, so no progress on vehicles. As I've mentioned before, the vehicles are controlled by infra-red commands from the DCC system, so they do not actually need the normal Faller magnetic stop devices. This does have a downside, in that if a vehicle is going to be stationary for an extended period during an operating sequence, it will still be consuming battery power for the decoder. It can be worthwhile to use magnetic devices to disconnect the battery in these circumstances. The need has arisen to do this at the bus station. If I have to put in many such parking stops, I will most likely use permanent magnets moved by servos, but I happen to have a pair of standard Faller stop coils that were included in starter sets, so I have decided to use these for the bus station. The disadvantage with these as designed is that they need constant power for as long as the vehicle is to be held stationary. There is a simple way to invert this function so that the coil only needs to be energised briefly to start the vehicle - it's not my idea and has been used by many others before. Simply place a permanent magnet on the centre core such that it will operate the reed switch in the vehicle. I've used a mounting bolt from an old hard drive to extend the core through the thickness of the baseboard. When the coil is energised, it opposes the field from the permanent magnet and releases the reed switch in the vehicle. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 The disadvantage with these as designed is that they need constant power for as long as the vehicle is to be held stationary. Reminds me of a story I was told - After an exhibition was finished, it was forgotton to remove and turn off all the buses waiting in the bays at a bus station. The power was turned off and immediately all the buses took off in a le-mans style start. Competeing for the lead in to the first corner was carnage.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fitness Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 I have permanent magnets on my layout, some moved by a home made motorized device which self locks. I once left a bus on a magnet stop for just over 3 weeks.( it was hidden behind a backscene). Moved the magnet switch and the bus just appeared and carried on as if it was stopped for just a minute! Frightened me half to death.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iL Dottore Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 This is a most useful thread, I've been contemplating using the Faller system on my layout, but had never thought to chip them. A lot of food for thought (and useful "here's how I did it" photos) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Trofimow Posted November 14, 2012 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted November 14, 2012 Speak it softly - for the Gods of Time will surely be angry if they find out that their perpetual quest to prevent me getting into the railway room has failed - for today at least.... A little progress on the fire engine: The reed switch has been fitted above the hose connection detail on the right hand side of the chassis. It's not the usual position - there's no room to fit it there. The reed will only be required when parked in the fire station, so a suitably positioned magnet can be provided inside the building. The rear cab bulkhead has also been cut down to enable the battery to protrude above the back seats, thus: And the task of wiring in the decoder has commenced.... How long that takes depends on those Gods of Time... Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Trofimow Posted November 15, 2012 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted November 15, 2012 They said there would be days like these.... The front LEDs on the fire engine have now been installed and tested, headlights, indicators and IR sensors are all working OK and responding to DCC commands, so the next thing is to connect the motor circuit before moving on to the rear lights. Trouble is there is no response to motor commands. Testing with a meter shows no volts on the motor output of the decoder, so looks like it's a duff 'un. The magic smoke has not escaped, so I've not fried it. I'm guessing either it was dud to begin with or it has succumbed to static damage during handling. Some days you just have to walk away and open a beer..... Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fitness Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 They said there would be days like these.... The front LEDs on the fire engine have now been installed and tested, headlights, indicators and IR sensors are all working OK and responding to DCC commands, so the next thing is to connect the motor circuit before moving on to the rear lights. Trouble is there is no response to motor commands. Testing with a meter shows no volts on the motor output of the decoder, so looks like it's a duff 'un. The magic smoke has not escaped, so I've not fried it. I'm guessing either it was dud to begin with or it has succumbed to static damage during handling. Some days you just have to walk away and open a beer..... Alan Ouch! Any chance of a re-fund or will you have to take a hit on that? JF Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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