Kernow Adams O2

[Peter Bedding]

Would love to see some photos of those Peter.

 

Cheers

 

Hello Tim,

 

Easier said than done. Settings drift on my PC has resulted in an inability (temporary I hope) to upload photos. I have had to improvise a system to copy from previous postings. Which by the way were posted some years back ( 26 June 2010) in a thread titled "SouthWest by Southern", which was my first attempt to chronicle my current efforts. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then, including some surgery on my left ankle to install a steel reinforcement, and then followed by a heavy fall in the shower which shook-up everything else. So my efforts at layout building are even less accomplished than I had once intended. However, if the computer problem can be sorted, I shall have a major photo-shoot on the current layout/shunting plank to get my record up-to-date.

 

Hth

 

PB

[AJ'S]

Body removal from Southern green version.

I am finding it impossible to release the smokebox end from the footplate. It will only lift a few degrees at the cab end not 45. I am wondering with the airtanks and all the pipework is it supposed to come off?

Has anyone found a way to remove the body.

[bigherb]

I am finding it impossible to release the smokebox end from the footplate.

Mine doesn't either, it seems to be glued to the footplate.

[Matabiau]

I have just received the Southern green 02 and having fitted a DCC decoder it struggles on the bends of my layout. They are no tighter than 2nd order but even the slightest bend in the track causes the loco to slow to a stagger. Has anyone else experienced this? I have lubricated the axles and the connecting rods and that makes no difference.

[Bluebell Model Railway]

If you read back through the topic yes...
 Check the back to backs on the wheels, need to be around 14.5 / 14.4, mine ran perfectly after adjusting this as they were 15mm on both of mine.
As the 2 axles are insulated from each other with a plastic joiner in the centre they will require pressing together, and this should fix the problem.

Also mentioned it in my review of the model.

[Matabiau]

Thanks very much for the quick response. I have just checked and the front wheels were at over 16mm separation back-to-back. Bringing them into 14.5mm has improved running drastically. 

[PaulRhB]

There appears to be an EM enthusiast pushing the envelope out a bit in Daves' factory

Edited December 30, 2015 by PaulRhB

[thefin]

Still waiting for my pre-order for SR 207 to be acknowledged as processed / shipped. Guessing it's been a busy short week @ Kernow!

[PaulRhB]

I ordered mine the day after Warley and it turned up this morning I don't think busy sums it up from what I've heard

[colney123]

Gutted still awaiting my replacement 207 , but I'm sure it will get here , maybe they could bring it with them when they come to St Albans in a couple of weeks time lol

[tender]

Gutted still awaiting my replacement 207 , but I'm sure it will get here , maybe they could bring it with them when they come to St Albans in a couple of weeks time lol

 

You're not alone, still waiting for my replacement 30182 after over 3 weeks of sending it back. Not the usual after sales service I've come to expect, normally replacements are sent by return.

[olivegreen]

Having not even received my O2, which I have had on order for about 20 months, and reading that so many have received theirs, I gave in to impatience and contacted Kernow yesterday.

 

Very nice reply, saying that I had not been forgotten and that there are still over 600 to go out. I feel comforted - in a queue, there are inevitably those who will be behind others, of course.**

 

As to the complaints above about replacements not happening as quickly as usual… I think that a bit more patience from all is needed - myself included.

 

 

***Edit to add that the order of dispatch, (un?)related to when orders were placed, still defeats me…!

Edited January 1, 2016 by olivegreen

[Prometheus]

Having not even received my O2, which I have had on order for about 20 months, and reading that so many have received theirs, I gave in to impatience and contacted Kernow yesterday.

 

Very nice reply, saying that I had not been forgotten and that there are still over 600 to go out. I feel comforted - in a queue, there are inevitably those who will be behind others, of course.

 

As to the complaints above about replacements not happening as quickly as usual… I think that a bit more patience from all is needed - myself included.

 

This does seem to have sold rather well.

 

Without wishing to rub salt in anyone's wounds, my Southern liveried 02 arrived some days ago. It runs faultlessly.

 

Tony

[olivegreen]

This does seem to have sold rather well.

 

Without wishing to rub salt in anyone's wounds, my Southern liveried 02 arrived some days ago. It runs faultlessly.

 

Tony

The red bit: eeerrrrggghhh !

The blue bit: Good to hear!

 

Mike

[Richard Lee]

Kernow sent me an email on the 22nd December that leads me to expect a nice, green present very soon.

 

Some people on RMWeb have suggested that electronic track cleaners do not go well with coreless motors.  Others (on another forum) have suggested that their experience leads them to suppose that there is no problem.  I don't know which to believe, but am unwilling to take a risk; I  fitted an on-off switch in one of the 16 volt AC wires between my controller and my Gaugemaster HF1 track cleaner, on the main layout.  Without the 16v AC coming in, the Gaugemaster track cleaner just sends the DC voltage from the controller without trying to clean the track.

 

This was easy enough to test without a locomotive, but with the controller plugged in.  With the switch on (to use the track cleaner) the indicator light of the track cleaner comes on. (It goes off if there is a loco on a non-isolated section.)  With the switch in the 'off' position, no indicator light whether or not a loco is on the track.  The controller moves trains with or without the track cleaner.

[DJM Dave]

Hi Richard,

 

There is considerable debate as to whether an electronic track cleaner actually does what it says on the tin!

 

However, your thought process regarding switching it out is faultless methinks.

Happy New Year

Dave

[PaulRhB]

The track cleaner doesn't actually clean the track as such it just burns through the dirt by putting spikes of power in, this is what some say burn out cordless motors as they are less heavily built. Personally I prefer to actually clean the dirt off first rather than zapping it which inevitably causes heat and possibly pitting of contact surfaces, which just causes more places for dirt to collect.

Edit: I should add I like the efficient coreless motors for their low current consumption so I can use N gauge decoders that fit in easier.

Edited January 1, 2016 by PaulRhB

[No Decorum]

Kernow sent me an email on the 22nd December that leads me to expect a nice, green present very soon.

 

Some people on RMWeb have suggested that electronic track cleaners do not go well with coreless motors.  Others (on another forum) have suggested that their experience leads them to suppose that there is no problem.  I don't know which to believe, but am unwilling to take a risk; I  fitted an on-off switch in one of the 16 volt AC wires between my controller and my Gaugemaster HF1 track cleaner, on the main layout.  Without the 16v AC coming in, the Gaugemaster track cleaner just sends the DC voltage from the controller without trying to clean the track.

 

This was easy enough to test without a locomotive, but with the controller plugged in.  With the switch on (to use the track cleaner) the indicator light of the track cleaner comes on. (It goes off if there is a loco on a non-isolated section.)  With the switch in the 'off' position, no indicator light whether or not a loco is on the track.  The controller moves trains with or without the track cleaner.

Ingenious.

 

I had an electronic track cleaner rigged up years ago. It certainly got a locomotive going again when it encountered dirt but it seemed to create black deposits which ultimately seemed to jam everything up and require a lot of cleaning. In the end, I decided that I was better off without it.

[Richard Lee]

So far, I find the "electronic track cleaner" very useful.  I have not noticed pitting, or other damage.  What I do believe is that although it reduces cleaning, you do still need to do the track from time to time, for instance, with half a wine cork followed by a lint-free rag dampened with surgical spirit, cheap vodka or isopropyl alcohol.  When the indicator starts to come on more than a very small amount, it is a good idea to schedule a track cleaning session.  Oh, a quick clean of wheels is a good idea, as well.

 

Sorry about leading people off-topic; my post number 1343 was intended to be of use to people who used these what are described by the manufacturers as "electronic track cleaners", were unused to coreless motors but were expecting an O2, or something similar. I hadn't intended to spark a discussion on these devices.

[Gwiwer]

My O2s are still very low mileage; two are only run in plus an hour or so and the third is yet to arrive.  My Beattie well tanks have the earlier style motor.  I use Gaugemaster ultrasonic track cleaners on DC just because the layout is outside and the rate of track gunking is far greater than it would be indoors.  I have neither the time nor the inclination to give everything a full rub-down every time I want to run a train and the ultrasonic units assist in keeping things moving between the two-hour long full wipe-downs with IPA.  They do what they say on the tin.  I accept there may be pitting but there's likely to be pitting anyway outdoors and I'm not running an exhibition piece.

 

However as coreless motors seem to be a way of the future which is already here and I don't wish to cause myself any undue problems I intend to unplug the ultrasonics as part of a partial rewire in the coming weeks and see what difference it makes.  Specifically whether it makes any difference to the O2s and / or the operability of the layout at a moment's notice.

[Guest]

Gave ' Calbourne' a coat of gloss, 'Ventnor' a coat of matt varnish today.

[Peter Bedding]

Gave ' Calbourne' a coat of gloss, 'Ventnor' a coat of matt varnish today.

 

Absolutely no confusion there, sir, it's enough to make me want to model early BR as well as late Southern. But at risk of beating an old drum, we still need at least one suitable coach from the SECR/LBSCR stable and a re-issue of the diecast Bristol/ECW K6. I am certain that is reasonable.

 

PB

[ChrisG]

Help please!

 

Has anyone managed to remove the body from one of these locos? I managed to get it a bit less than half way towards the 45 degrees at which point the boiler is said to part company with the running plate. At this point it felt very much like something was about to snap and this, plus the warning about breaking the delicate pipework, was enough to cause me to abandon the attempt.

 

A follow on question is whether anyone has fitted a DCC concepts decoder with "stay alive" capacitor. There isn't enough room as things stand but I reckon if it were possible to shorten the installed wires in the boiler, remove the installed circuit board and solder in a Zen Nano decoder plus "stay alive", everything should fit. Getting inside the boiler seems to be a pre-requisite for that. I have no ambitions to install sound so an alternative approach would be to put the "stay alive" in the bunker, again, needing the body to be removed. 

 

Anyway, if I could only remove the body I would be able to research this for myself.

 

Many thanks in advance for any answers received.

 

Chris

 

Alton

Hampshire

[tender]

Help please!

 

Has anyone managed to remove the body from one of these locos? I managed to get it a bit less than half way towards the 45 degrees at which point the boiler is said to part company with the running plate. At this point it felt very much like something was about to snap and this, plus the warning about breaking the delicate pipework, was enough to cause me to abandon the attempt.

 

A follow on question is whether anyone has fitted a DCC concepts decoder with "stay alive" capacitor. There isn't enough room as things stand but I reckon if it were possible to shorten the installed wires in the boiler, remove the installed circuit board and solder in a Zen Nano decoder plus "stay alive", everything should fit. Getting inside the boiler seems to be a pre-requisite for that. I have no ambitions to install sound so an alternative approach would be to put the "stay alive" in the bunker, again, needing the body to be removed. 

 

Anyway, if I could only remove the body I would be able to research this for myself.

 

Many thanks in advance for any answers received.

 

Chris

 

Alton

Hampshire

 

 

You don't need to remove the body to get inside the bunker, just remove the two small screws at the bottom of the bunker space (after removing the coal load) and the cab top and rear can be lifted off leaving the body in place. You could wire the stay alive to the speaker wires in the bunker and then connect the other ends to the stay alive decoder in the boiler.

 

However, i don't see why you would want to fit a stay alive, the pickups on the O2 are very good, maybe your track needs a good clean.

[ChrisG]

You don't need to remove the body to get inside the bunker, just remove the two small screws at the bottom of the bunker space (after removing the coal load) and the cab top and rear can be lifted off leaving the body in place. You could wire the stay alive to the speaker wires in the bunker and then connect the other ends to the stay alive decoder in the boiler.

 

However, i don't see why you would want to fit a stay alive, the pickups on the O2 are very good, maybe your track needs a good clean.

 

Removing the body is going to allow me to determine the best configuration. For example, removing the circuit board, hardwiring the decoder and adding a "stay alive" can best be done with the body off, as it will allow shortening all the wires to make more space in the boiler. Alternatively, putting the chip and "stay alive" in the bunker also requires removal of the body as many wires need to be re-routed. One benefit of this option would be to free some space for a slug of lead which would improve adhesion. I have experienced no problems with the loco on my track - a "stay alive" is merely an insurance policy and i fit them in every loco I can.   Right now I am puzzled by the wiring colours to the circuit board which look like three blacks, an orange and a red!   And no wiring diagram supplied......  So that's another question - which wire is which?