Nigelcliffe

I have hundreds of them, so drop me a line off list. They are primarily aimed at the 4mm scale modeller, but some of the parts on the etch may be useful in 2mm adaptions. Coils come from Plantraco Microflight in Canada; they sell "nano servo kit" which is a coil and two magnets. Its clearly not a proper "kit" as there are no instructions! Nigel

There is no copyright possible of an idea or mechanism, so the principles of operation are not covered by copyright law. They could be covered by patent, but that would not be possible once the invention has been disclosed to the world. Copyright would not be breached if the same item were drawn afresh. As someone is not likely to produce an etch drawing by scanning an old etch, a breach of copyright is not likely to occur. In the event of a breach of copyright, the next issue is to show the amount of financial loss, which in very rough terms is the lost sales. But as a breach is unlikely to have occured, then no case will occur. Its a different matter about politeness: most designers of model gubbins I've met like to hear about improvements or enhancements. So one can gain permission, information, friendly relationships and a constructive environment by consulting people. - Nigel

Cheapest decoder option is probably Paul Harman's DIY design; it was originally done for coach lighting to reduce the cost of controlling the lights in a rake of coaches. Depending how its built, it can have up to eight function outputs per decoder. But, it does mean assembling a circuit on vero-board. Around £3.00 per decoder if you have a PIC programmer to load the code into PICs bought from Rapid or Farnell. Nigel

Thanks for the explanation.

It's probably better to describe Alan Doherty's stuff (Worsley Works) more clearly. Alan is not a 2mm modeller, he stops modelling at 3mm scale. He does etch dozens of things and is very accomodating at making stuff available, which makes his range incredibly useful. The basic dimensions are usually good, but they are not "thought out for building in 2mm scale". So, a loco etch may contain some frames, but working out how to fit the motor and gears is left to the builder, or the design of the chassis parts is for a 3mm (or larger) scale set of parts. In contrast, the chassis designs Chris has produced, along with those by David Eveleigh, Nigel Hunt and Bob Jones (Fence Houses) are designed to be built in 2mm scale. - Nigel

Very nice. How did you form the gutters ? (Mine are not yet at gutter stage, but will be soon).

I'm sure it will look very nice alongside a Kato class 66. Nigel

There is recent discussion in the wheel design team (*) about doing 2FS split-axle wheelsets for the Farish 150x series and also to take another look at the Dapol mechanisms (150-series and 121 bubble-car). I guess we should also check any other multiple units which have appeared (I recall mention of EMU's somewhere). To produce any design for replacement wheels, we will need to borrow examples of the models so we can accurately measure things; ideally known good runners which have not been subjected to any modifications or any minor knocks to drive area. Making replacement wheels usually involves ordering a batch of several thousand CNC turned parts, so if a single solution will fit many models it is more likely to be produced than something which only fits one type (which is probably totally uneconomic). Thanks for the confirmation that the Farish 108 and new 101 are identical, that means the 101 can be crossed off my list. (* wheel design team = 1.5 people, I'm the 0.5 who prods things occaisionally. One other person does the actual hard work, along with designing and making dozens of other Association components. And he'd quite like to finish his layout ! ). - Nigel

Only one comment, in my experience, aluminum angle does not make a good reliable running surface. Aluminium angle is great for alignment, but I'd be fitting steel (or similar) rail to the inside corner for the wheels to run along for both the alignment angles, and any cassettes which use aluminium. ( I could dredge up my physics and chemistry of conductivity of aluminium oxides, but it would be a long deep dig ! ) - Nigel

There were a number of versions of the 1970's GP tank with exterior differences. Some are closer in appearance to a J69 than others. I think the interior hollow space and chassis mounts were the same. But don't get carried away with "oooh good, scale J69", it is only roughly like a J69 and wrong on a number of dimensions. - Nigel

For AJ's it really is worth reading the Scalefour book I mentioned. In the course or writing the book, the authors found developed a load of new jigs and techniques for assembly. They make folding up the wire parts and fitting them accurately much easier than the older methods. The jigs are very simple and can be made to suit any side. The cone on the cylindrical jig is not really for angle setting, it just allows the first bend to be made beyond 90 degrees with the wire still held. Nigel

Mick uses the "Electra" design. It is similar-ish in size to the AJ, though slightly more obtrusive due to the counterweight. It is simpler in operation and construction as it only requires a free-rotating pivot in a tube, rather than a carefully sprung wire (though AJ's can be made in a hinged manner, see book mentioned in previous message). The Electra suffers from needing an uncoupling "shuffle" in a manner similar to Kadee/Microtrain couplers - backup to release tension, open coupling with electromagnet, pull forwards to clear coupling, then backup again, finally release electromagnet. Once uncoupled, the Electra can be propelled in its open state, and the wagon left at any location. In contrast, an AJ can be opened without any form of "shuffle" by passing over an energised electromagnet with the couplings slack (and also can be propelled in the uncoupled state). Fit the DCC controlled coupler I use onto locomotives - it can be made to work with all types. I built a coupling end which would couple with AJ,Electra and DG couplings; I checked operation on AJ's with Jim Watt's stock at an Expo. Once the hassle of fitting is sorted, the operational fun to be had with a loco which uncouples "on command" rather than chasing buried electromagnets is wonderful ! - Nigel

It should be in the book on Alex Jackson available from the Scalefour Society. But I can't immediately lay my hands on my copy. (btw. if you do get a copy, treat the last two pages as vague ideas rather than instructions on how to do it, I've changed just about every component in my models which are illustrated there ). - Nigel

LokSound v4 and Zimo chips can have their sounds allocations to function keys changed by the end user. CV changes in the LokSound or "PseudoProgramming" in the Zimo. - Nigel

A common solution for nameplates is to approach one of the designers of etched kits and ask for your nameplate to be put onto their next test-etch. Cost should be pretty low as the area of etch is tiny. - Nigel

You don't use the same flux and solder for electrical wiring as you might use for etched kit construction. Electrical/electronic multi-cored solder should make a good joint without flux. Note that you should not mix Lead-free solder with Lead-based solder. Use one or the other, and keep soldering iron tips separate for each type. In general, Lead-based solders melt and flow at lower temperatures and seem to have better understanding in the hobby community. All commercially purchased electronics will now be lead-free, so if trying to make a joint onto an existing board it needs to be lead-free. - Nigel

A cheap photographic light box helps - white fabric covered box with one open side, which you put bright lights around. This gives a uniform difused light to the subject within. Jessops sometimes have them for sale at good prices. Then, add cheapy close-up filter lenses to the end of a zoom camera: http://www.2mm.org.uk/articles/budgetphotos/index.htm - Nigel

Fixing lead inside the chassis of the 14xx near the front wheel (eg. a flat piece on each side, with a hole for axle/muff) would also help with counter-weight, and it keeps the weight low down, which I find helps on small locos. - Nigel

More haste = less speed. You'll get "out of stock" on some of the gears The good news is that Poland are due to ship a lot of gears to me in the next two weeks, which should mean the shop will be stocked by the time the kits get there. - The (gear) tooth fairy.

There is a fault in the NMRA documentation on Accessory Decoders. In one place the documentation implies that value "0" equates to accessory addresses 1 to 4, and in another it imples that "1" equates to accessory addresses 1 to 4. The consequence is some confusion between makers; programming a device to have addresses 1-4 on one system may imply 5-8 on another. Or for that matter, addresses 41-44 on one system will become 45-48 on another. The off-set is always 4 units. The fix, for your Multi-Maus is to program the decoder to have a lower address range. Try to set CV1 to "0" rather than "1". It is possible that the SwitchPilot won't accept a value of 0, in which case there is no solution to the problem, and all turnouts will start from 5,6,7,8 on the MultiMaus regards - Nigel

My friend who owns a Gaugemaster system has the SvdA problem - track short and SvdA is displayed. If the short is cleared, the command station base unit restores power, but the handset stays locked in SvdA mode as reported in this thread. To clear it, one has to unplug and re-plug the handset. Shorts on my friend's line are typically incorrectly set turnouts and short at the crossing polarity. The problem was reported to Gaugemaster, who said "its supposed to do that". So, after discussing things with my friend, we have fitted a 21W bulb in series which acts as an "idiot indicator", to indicate that an idiot has forgotten to throw the turnouts correctly ! - Nigel

Yes, duplicate for the other end, onto decoder outputs 3 and 4. Some modifications required if outputs 5 and 6 of a Zimo MX620 are used, I can sketch those at Warley. - Nigel

For the combinations Nick outlines above: LEDs are labelled A1, B1, C2. Resistors are rectangles. Current diodes (eg. 1N4001, though smaller would work) are unlabelled. This results in the tail lamp (C2) being on regardless of which of A1 or B1 are on (or both). Control of the outputs is for function mapping within the decoder, it depends on what each maker offers. From reading their manuals, TCS seem to have a wide range of options, so it would be possible to map the combination (A1+C2) to Function Key F1 when forwards, and a different output (eg. A2 + C1) to F1 when in reverse. - Nigel

If not resolved quickly, bring it and a bit of paper to Warley next weekend and we'll work it out. As the thread shows, it depends on how many different combinations of lamps are required. If the arrangement when going in direction 1 is (A1 + C2) or (B1 + C2) or (A1 + B1 + C2) ie. C2 will be on whenever any of A1 or B1 is on. Then that only takes two wires (four for both directions). C2 is fed by both of the wires, using diodes to stop back-currents illuminating the "wrong" ones of A1 or B1. That leaves two spare outputs, for the interior lights and the loo flush. - Nigel

Is the Tomix unit a definite fit under these etches ? The width over the side-skirts is limited, so bogie space is restricted. I know someone with one of these on the bench with chassis design still in the air. - Nigel