Kernow GWR steam rail motor

[Tony_S]

3 hours ago, Kaput said:

Same version I'm waiting on. Have to admit to be a little miffed if you ordered and got it within a week while there is others ordered weeks/months ago still waiting.

 

Maybe Kernow will rethink the idea of decoder fitting themselves for future models.

I didn’t do anything other than order it as a pre order and have my card debited immediately. I wasn’t trying to jump a queue, it just happened. 
Tony

[Tony_S]

3 hours ago, Andy Keane said:

I have sent you a PM with the full instructions in

Andy

Thank you. Your PM helped. 
Tony

[Kaput]

10 hours ago, Tony_S said:

I didn’t do anything other than order it as a pre order and have my card debited immediately. I wasn’t trying to jump a queue, it just happened. 
Tony

 

Apologies if it sounded like a dig at yourself. It's not your fault.

 

 

Noticed in Kernow's newsletter today their little update rail motor orders sounds like zero progress from the last update.

[cctransuk]

24 minutes ago, Kaput said:

Noticed in Kernow's newsletter today their little update rail motor orders sounds like zero progress from the last update.

 

Not how I read it - it said that orders were coming in so fast that the overall number outstanding had hardly changed.

 

Not the same thing at all!

 

Patience is a virtue!

 

CJI.

[Andy Keane]

Just now, cctransuk said:

Patience is a virtue!

possess it if you can, seldom in a women, never in a man.

[Kernow MRC]

With preparation for attending exhibitions this weekend (the van is now on the road) and Alexandra Palace next it has been a busy week. We have now dispatched all pre orders paid up to the end of December 2023, we currently have just over 100 orders to complete fitting decoders and dispatch.

Thank you again for your patience.

Edited March 8 by Kernow MRC

[sjgardiner]

Well, as promised Saturday thoughts on my Kernow Steam Rail Motor. It is gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous. Sadly, a life in my display cases mostly awaits it, but it looks and sounds fantastic.

 

A full post on my Blog with more pictures and video is here: https://sjgardiner.wordpress.com/2024/03/09/a-self-propelled-railcar-of-a-different-kind/

 

A couple of minor notes:

- Destination Boards fit. Bewdley fit fine, Bridgnorth seemed to be a different size and not want to fit. A gentle pinch to put just a touch of a bow in it, and it popped into place and held.

- To those who seem to have had slide bar issues, there is maybe an audible hint of a tic in the motion, but no sign of any of the alignment issues others seem to have quickly sent theirs back over. Given the distance for me to ship it back, it would have to be pretty bad to actually warrant any complaining.

 

All in all, long story short, I am super happy with my purchase, glad I have one, and glad it looks like Kernow is on the way to a sellout of the first run. Hopefully that means more runs in the future for anyone who missed out. I've never actually physically visited either of Kernow's stores, but I am going to be passing close by Guildford in April and am hoping to stop in and continue to be a customer in person for once at least!

 

Regards,

 

Stephen Gardiner

Toronto, ON, Canada

 

 

 

[Mikkel]

I wonder if anyone can help with a little query:

 

My SRM will not run when the unpowered bogie is off the track/rolling road. Does anyone know if this is as it should be - i.e. a result of the way it is wired - or does it indicate an issue with pickups on the powered bogie?

 

PS: No. I'm not trying to run it with one bogie off the rails 🙂 Just trying to diagnose a variety of issues with my replacement example.

 

Edited March 10 by Mikkel

[Chuffer Davies]

1 hour ago, Mikkel said:

I wonder if anyone can help with a little query:

 

My SRM will not run when the unpowered bogie is off the track/rolling road. Does anyone know if this is as it should be - i.e. a result of the way it is wired - or does it indicate an issue with pickups on the powered bogie?

 

PS: No. I'm not trying to run it with one bogie off the rails 🙂 Just trying to diagnose a variety of issues with my replacement example.

 

Hi,

the power bogie has pickups and so should run when the non powered bogie is off the track. My powered bogie is only picking up on one side so your’s is not unique. You can check which wheels are picking up by lying it on its back and testing each wheel in turn with some flying leads off a controller or clipped to the track.

Frank

[Mikkel]

Thank you. No pick-up on the power bogie at all in my case.

 

But it's the least of my worries, as it turns out. Also various assembly/QC issues on the powered bogie (bits not pushed home etc). Runs like a bag of nails, despite running-in.

 

Will arm myself with a glass of the strong stuff and do some surgery. Worse things are happening in the world.

 

[Harlequin]

It's best practice to use speakers with a sealed enclosure behind them to contain and absorb sound waves from the back of the diaphragm so that you mainly hear the waves from the front of the speaker without the rear waves interfering and thus you get clearer, louder results.

 

The factory-installed speaker in the SRM is open to the interior of the body, which is not an acoustically sealed enclosure and has walls thin enough to transmit some of the internal sound.

 

So, I designed and 3D-printed a speaker enclosure to fit over the factory-fitted speaker and, since the speaker is housed in the luggage compartment, I disguised it as a pile of Edwardian luggage.

 

Here's the prototype:

 

Please excuse the dodgy painting.

 

I unsoldered the lighting capacitor and moved it up into the ceiling space with flying leads (there's plenty of room):

 

Then I unsoldered the speaker, removed it and fitted it into the new enclosure (you can see there's a ring to hold it in place with a dab of black tack:

 

The new assembly is a tight fit over the SRM speaker housing and pushes the speaker down onto it's seat. The original screws hold the enclosure in place:

 

With the speaker wires threaded back up through the PCB and soldered back to their pads, the body could go back on for a test.

 

After all that I can report that it really does seem to improve the sound - but not by an astounding amount. And the luggage is only visible on rare occasions when the lighting is just right.

 

It was an interesting little project.

 

Edited March 10 by Harlequin

[Michael Hodgson]

21 hours ago, sjgardiner said:

 

 

American pocket billiards 😜!

[sjgardiner]

3 hours ago, Michael Hodgson said:

 

American pocket billiards 😜!

That’s what the sign says (said sadly)…

 

 

[melmerby]

7 hours ago, Harlequin said:

It's best practice to use speakers with a sealed enclosure behind them to contain and absorb sound waves from the back of the diaphragm so that you mainly hear the waves from the front of the speaker without the rear waves interfering and thus you get clearer, louder results.

That is incorrect.

If the enclosure is completely sealed it acts as a damper, restricting the cone movement, so loudspeakers in sealed enclosures are less efficient than those that are open and require more power to get the same sound level.

However they can produce a cleaner more controlled sound.

Edited March 10 by melmerby

[Harlequin]

9 hours ago, melmerby said:

That is incorrect.

If the enclosure is completely sealed it acts as a damper, restricting the cone movement, so loudspeakers in sealed enclosures are less efficient than those that are open and require more power to get the same sound level.

However they can produce a cleaner more controlled sound.

That's what the internet says about hifi speakers but empirically I think a sealed enclosure makes the sound louder when used with the typical miniature speaker we're using.

 

[mikesndbs]

9 minutes ago, Harlequin said:

That's what the internet says about hifi speakers but empirically I think a sealed enclosure makes the sound louder when used with the typical miniature speaker we're using.

 

 

What you have done is very clever and I like how it looks, however the rear of the speaker should not be sealed. The sound from the rear of speakers is important. In hifi speakers it is both passed through baffles and ported to produce base. Constraining the cone also stops it moving properly. If you are happy with how it sounds that great but as an ex speaker producing company employee it's best to leave the back open.

[Neal Ball]

Just now, mikesndbs said:

 

What you have done is very clever and I like how it looks, however the rear of the speaker should not be sealed. The sound from the rear of speakers is important. In hifi speakers it is both passed through baffles and ported to produce base. Constraining the cone also stops it moving properly. If you are happy with how it sounds that great but as an ex speaker producing company employee it's best to leave the back open.

Im not a speaker expert…. But our Hifi speakers at home have a piece of hardboard over the back. The front of the speaker of course has a piece of mesh.

 

I think Phil’s development is very interesting - anything that can make the sound louder is to be applauded.

[Harlequin]

2 hours ago, mikesndbs said:

 

What you have done is very clever and I like how it looks, however the rear of the speaker should not be sealed. The sound from the rear of speakers is important. In hifi speakers it is both passed through baffles and ported to produce base. Constraining the cone also stops it moving properly. If you are happy with how it sounds that great but as an ex speaker producing company employee it's best to leave the back open.

Thanks Mike,

Most DCC speakers are supplied with sealed enclosures. Some have bass reflex ports passive radiators but they are still sealed. Have a look at YouChoos speaker catalogue, for example.

In the Hifi world both sealed and ported speakers are used.

 

Edited March 11 by Harlequin

[Eddie the dog]

I have a sound fitted Railmotor.

At slow speed the motion is quite ‘jerky’, can anybody suggest cv changes that do not effect

Inertia please ?

[melmerby]

2 hours ago, Harlequin said:

That's what the internet says about hifi speakers

That's what physics says about loudspeakers.

[melmerby]

2 hours ago, Harlequin said:

Some have bass reflex ports but they are still sealed.

If they have a bass reflex port, how are they also sealed, a port is just that, a hole that sound can exit from.

[Harlequin]

9 minutes ago, melmerby said:

If they have a bass reflex port, how are they also sealed, a port is just that, a hole that sound can exit from.

Sorry I used the wrong term. I meant passive radiator.

 

[Neal Ball]

19 minutes ago, melmerby said:

If they have a bass reflex port, how are they also sealed, a port is just that, a hole that sound can exit from.

 

Which is all well and good - but do you have any suggestions about how to make it louder?

[melmerby]

1 hour ago, Harlequin said:

Sorry I used the wrong term. I meant passive radiator.

 

Ah. Yes, KEF used to have those on their large speaker systems:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/235274017804

[Andy Keane]

6 hours ago, mikesndbs said:

 

What you have done is very clever and I like how it looks, however the rear of the speaker should not be sealed. The sound from the rear of speakers is important. In hifi speakers it is both passed through baffles and ported to produce base. Constraining the cone also stops it moving properly. If you are happy with how it sounds that great but as an ex speaker producing company employee it's best to leave the back open.

I think there are some crossed wires here. IIRC, the key thing about ported speakers is the fact that the duct leading to the port should be long and lined with sound absorbent material. This allows air movement but absorbs the HF sound (a bit like a car exhaust pipe does). This helps sound volume and efficiency, while not muddying the HF. Given that in our models the rear of the speaker does not lead to a well damped port line, Phil is quite correct in saying sealing things up helps clean the sound, but it is most likely at the expense of efficiency. Better still would be a proper lined duct but I don't think we have room. An alternative that might be worth trying is some layers of felt inside the coach body to absorb the HF sound before it escapes?

Andy