The Official Rapido APT-E Thread

[John ks]

Well I bit the bullet,

 

I cut the connections,

 

The lights went out, A bit of buzzing, but I came round after a couple of minutes,

 

So I tried an old decoder, It got fried some years ago, no sound but motor works on it and in time can create its own smoke, Who needs a smoke generator!

 

Wired the pcb board up as follows,

There is tabs on the board to solder to marked L and R which is what the leds were connected to,

Right side I wired to track 1                         RED

Left side track 2                                           BLACK

led side on right track to front headlight       WHITE

led side on left track to track 2                     BLUE

 

Now the funny thing is nothing blew up, Headlight off but leds on but dim, headlight on and back to full brightness. There's something wrong somewhere, could be decoder, how I've wired it, or maybe not just possible.

 

More testing is needed and if anybody has any thoughts, Please let me, and everybody else who wants to try this know.

 

Ideally any info off Bill or Jason on the setup of the pcb board would be greatly appreciated, Rapido pushed the boundary's on developing and building the E-Train, now it's time for us to push her further!!!

 

Anyway boards safe, can easily solder over the cut, no need to bother Charlie, Simon from SH Modelmaking is the service/repair and spare parts agent for the E-Train, already spoke to him about other spares and taking "silver snake" down for the running numbers to be applied soon,

 

Regards Craig.

 

If the used decoder has an in built resistor for the output function then the coach LEDs wont get full voltage and will be dim

You don't need the full train set up to test an individual trailer

the trailer can be placed on a test track with the articulated bogie on the track and the other end on a piece of plastic

then the trailer can be tested and programed without affecting the rest of the train

Hope this helps

John

 

[Mr_Tilt]

LOL Kit, I will add them to the list, Trestrol, OH god help me!!!!

 

Hastings, I am already in the early stages of doing the design work, need your help on it.

 

Paul

 

NP, I have some drawings of Hastings somewhere and I have an old Triang Trestrol model as well. 

[UP 4000]

Well it turns out I'm just plain thick!!!

 

Tried allsorts with connections, testing the breaks with a multimeter, using the decoder tester, Just plain and simple connect one side to the white wire/headlight and one to the blue wire and works perfect.

 

I was trying to make the connections on the ESU decoder tester using an old 21pin loksound, must have been causing a problem somewhere, tried an 8pin spliced the wires and hey presto! bobby basic.

 

Thanks John for your help, I was just working on the pcb board and that was removed form the additional car I have, so the E-Trains have'nt  been touched.

 

Thanks Craig.

[RedgateModels]

Well it turns out I'm just plain thick!!!

 

Tried allsorts with connections, testing the breaks with a multimeter, using the decoder tester, Just plain and simple connect one side to the white wire/headlight and one to the blue wire and works perfect.

 

I was trying to make the connections on the ESU decoder tester using an old 21pin loksound, must have been causing a problem somewhere, tried an 8pin spliced the wires and hey presto! bobby basic.

 

Thanks John for your help, I was just working on the pcb board and that was removed form the additional car I have, so the E-Trains have'nt  been touched.

 

Thanks Craig.

 

I think there is maybe some mileage in an aftermarket PCB that could be dropped in, maybe with an 8 pin socket to take a direct fit decoder, although if you have to solder the new pcb in, then you may as well solder a decoder to it ....

[Removed a/c]

Well it turns out I'm just plain thick!!!

 

Tried allsorts with connections, testing the breaks with a multimeter, using the decoder tester, Just plain and simple connect one side to the white wire/headlight and one to the blue wire and works perfect.

 

I was trying to make the connections on the ESU decoder tester using an old 21pin loksound, must have been causing a problem somewhere, tried an 8pin spliced the wires and hey presto! bobby basic.

 

Thanks John for your help, I was just working on the pcb board and that was removed form the additional car I have, so the E-Trains have'nt  been touched.

 

Thanks Craig.

2000 APT-Es headed your way !   

[russ p]

I'd never noticed how wrong the P train looks without the black window surrounds,looks like K9!

[UP 4000]

2000 APT-Es headed your way !   

 

Oh please No!

 

Doing two coaches has been hard enough, still got another 10 to go,

 

I can now understand why Rapido never made them controllable, the power draw on the decoder would have been too much. I tested with a Gaugemaster loco decoder, That's rated at 150mA, 200mA peak and that buzzes.

 

I have ordered a Lokpilot Fx that's 250mA so hopefully that should do it.

 

Yet again, Another dodgy video clip,

https://youtu.be/qjLDWVJxj-s

 

Regards Craig.

[Removed a/c]

Looks great with the lights off and the computers flashing away !!! 

 

 

I think not being able to turn the lights off is about the only niggle (and IMO it is a small niggle)

[UP 4000]

Looks great with the lights off and the computers flashing away !!! 

 

 

I think not being able to turn the lights off is about the only niggle (and IMO it is a small niggle)

 

Thank you, Good little task to do but I do agree the lighting is the only issue I had, Not that I don't like the lights on, Just a bit to bright for me.

 

No wonder the E-Train had 10 turbines, two to power it and the rest for the sunbeds!!!

 

I think there is maybe some mileage in an aftermarket PCB that could be dropped in, maybe with an 8 pin socket to take a direct fit decoder, although if you have to solder the new pcb in, then you may as well solder a decoder to it ....

 

Would have saved me some trouble, But I don't think it would be cost effective. The boards would have the be complete with the 10 pin multiplugs already attached and you couldn't have an 8 pin socket on the board. would be way to big to hide.

 

I've used an 8 pin harness, removed all excess wires and the plug and decoder goes in the belly of the coach.

 

I think this could be a good idea for Rapido to do on the HSDT and P-Train???, If not a socket then solder tabs with a removable link so you could solder on your switch, decoder or potentiometer to turn lighting down or off. 

 

Thanks Craig.

[Removed a/c]

Don't you hate not being home when they try to deliver a parcel. My APT is in the city and I can't get to it !!!  

Edited May 12, 2016 by thebritfarmer

[Mr_Tilt]

 

 

No wonder the E-Train had 10 turbines, two to power it and the rest for the sunbeds!!!

 

 

Why do you think we replaced the fifth turbines with the Dale diesels? We not only had to power the sunbeds but also had the disco lights............. 

[kylegordon]

Had my APT-E running for a few days now, and it's fantastic.

 

Just want to say thanks to all those involved. It's a stunning piece of work, and I'm immensely happy to have one.

 

Looking forward to putting in my deposit for the Class 41 and rake :-)

[47137]

Thinking about the dcc address (discussed many pages ago) this could be 2783,from the old telephone dial.

Richard.

[lyneux]

A shameless plug for Kit's talk at Showcase this year:

 

[Phil Parker]

Thinking about the dcc address (discussed many pages ago) this could be 2783,from the old telephone dial.

Richard.

DCC units with old telephone dials instead of keypads, now there's an idea!

[47137]

DCC units with old telephone dials instead of keypads, now there's an idea!

This would work for me - twenty-odd locos all addressed using the first five digits on the dial with two rotations.

 

The trouble is, the zero is at the far end, and nowadays every other UI designer delights in inserting leading zeros for us to type in.

 

- Richard.

[Removed a/c]

Thinking about the dcc address (discussed many pages ago) this could be 2783,from the old telephone dial.

Richard.

A great idea, but even touch tone and cell phone still have the corresponding letters to numbers. Or am I missing something? 

[UP 4000]

Why do you think we replaced the fifth turbines with the Dale diesels? We not only had to power the sunbeds but also had the disco lights............. 

 

Wasn't a glitter ball as well Kit?

 

You would have had the world's fastest mobile disco!!! Sweet sounds of the deafening turbines, the rocking and the rolling, and all them flashy lights, APT-E, A Pimped-out Train Eeeee.

 

Regards Craig.  

[47137]

A great idea, but even touch tone and cell phone still have the corresponding letters to numbers. Or am I missing something? 

What I am trying to say is "dial A-P-T-E", that's all.

 

- Richard.

[vac_basher]

Quick question, did the APT-E ever make it past Bristol? If so, what about beyond Exeter?

[Ian Smeeton]

Quick question, did the APT-E ever make it past Bristol? If so, what about beyond Exeter?

 

Not on my trainset!!

 

 

Regards

 

Ian

[Mr_Tilt]

Wasn't a glitter ball as well Kit?

 

You would have had the world's fastest mobile disco!!! Sweet sounds of the deafening turbines, the rocking and the rolling, and all them flashy lights, APT-E, A Pimped-out Train Eeeee.

 

Regards Craig.  

 

I reality we probably DID have the world's fastest rail-borne disco. I always had my cassette recorder (remember them?) on the Tilt Control desk and it was wired up to my intercom headset, which I still have, and it played through the right hand earphone. but with the flick of a switch on the headset it was connected to the intercom circuit itself so everyone could 'feel the music'. 

 

On the longer positioning trips I'd play requests over the intercom as I had maybe 4-5 C90 tapes of the current hits with me all the time. Needless to say the Inspector, Driver, Secondman and Guard were NOT on that intercom circuit!!! 

 

 

Quick question, did the APT-E ever make it past Bristol? If so, what about beyond Exeter?

 

Afraid not, not in reality anyway.

 

We had the same question a while back on here, and the furthest west E-Train ever got was Swindon, as made famous by the cover shot of E-Train and the 252 HST prototype in a 'Modern Railways' of the period. 

 

Of course on your layout YOU'RE in charge............ 

Edited May 13, 2016 by Mr_Tilt

[UP 4000]

I reality we probably DID have the world's fastest rail-borne disco. I always had my cassette recorder (remember them?) on the Tilt Control desk and it was wired up to my intercom headset, which I still have, and it played through the right hand earphone. but with the flick of a switch on the headset it was connected to the intercom circuit itself so everyone could 'feel the music'. 

 

On the longer positioning trips I'd play requests over the intercom as I had maybe 4-5 C90 tapes of the current hits with me all the time. Needless to say the Inspector, Driver, Secondman and Guard were NOT on that intercom circuit!!! 

 

 

 

Afraid not, not in reality anyway.

 

We had the same question a while back on here, and the furthest west E-Train ever got was Swindon, as made famous by the cover shot of E-Train and the 252 HST prototype in a 'Modern Railways' of the period. 

 

Of course on your layout YOU'RE in charge............ 

 

Oh Wow, The first tilting train, and it has spotify, now there's something, British engineering at it's best,

 

Regards Craig.

Edited May 13, 2016 by UP 4000

[shreds]

Thank you, Good little task to do but I do agree the lighting is the only issue I had, Not that I don't like the lights on, Just a bit to bright for me.

 

 

But if you install reflective windows "JLTRT", then the lights will be barely perceptible from the outside, hopefully.

Edited May 13, 2016 by shreds

[UP 4000]

But if you install reflective windows "JLTRT", then the lights will be barely perceptible from the outside, hopefully.

 

Quite possibly, A lot easier and cheaper, But where's the fun in that, And you don't get to see the interior.

 

Regards Craig.