Nigelcliffe

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

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

 

P.S: I am very happy with may latest modern EMU though, an 8 car unit manufactured by Hornby in N. I will leave you to work that out.

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

The earlier GP tank was a sort of variant on a J69, and there is a chassis in preparation for the J69 which will also fit this.

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

Hope I'm not rushing in where angels fear to tread, but I thought Mick used the Electra coupling? I seem to remember him being very enthusiastic about it at a 2mm Expo and even giving me an A4 guide to making them. To me eyes they looked just as unobtrusive as the AJs Jim Watt uses, but I believe the latter have the edge for operation if traditional yard shunting is important, since vehicles can be propelled after uncoupling without recoupling?

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

I've been trying to find out what such a jig looks like. I've heard of them, but never seen one. It would make life easier.

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

Whats needed is some standarisation between the sounds that companies use. Even if its just the same ones put in place by the same company. You would know that, for example all 'Company A' engines have coupling as F5, and flange as F10. Im just using those as examples and dont belive they are all that way at present, regardless of steam, diesel or electric power.

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

Hi there,

 

I wonder is anyone could point me in the direction of 2mm scale custom nameplates (if such a thing exists?)

 

The name is quite obscure ("Rhondda") so I asume a custom service is the only option...

 

Many thanks in advance

 

Paul A.

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

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

Very, very nice Chris.

 

With these now near production, could you let the world know what gears, wheels and other bits are needed from the Association shop? I fancy stocking up before the rush. B)

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

Hi

I would contact Gaugemaster as doest seem correct to me! 'SvdA' means the system has detected a short and should shut down all track output power. How can a system provide power to run trains if it has a full short circuit being applied across its connections? Unless your DCC wiring isn't 100%?

System shut down is certainly what happens on my PA.

When there is a short circuit on my layout the PAs power is cut off instantaneously and " SvdA" appears in the throttles display.

I remove the cause of the short and reset the system (On / Off switch) and its all is back to normal operation.

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

Minitrix A4 is likely to be very similar to the Britannia and 9F. I've done both the Britannia and 9F with a CT DCX75 above the worm gear (make a small plasticard shelf to fit from the body fixing "tower" to the motor. Front light works fine straight from a function output, with the common positive to the chassis. They were simple installations.

Some photos of the Britannia exist on "old RM Web"

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=46360&p=702349&hilit=Minitrix#p702349

You could put a sound chip in the tenders (or an ordinary one), but you need at least three wires across the tender-loco gap (four if you want lights) which can make the loco less smooth around corners due to wire drag. By putting the chip in the loco, you don't need any additional wires; the standard single wire plus draw bar are enough for pickups.

Minor points on Ron's Digitrax figures...

The ??168 radio handset, and the handset in the SuperChief set, is a DT402D which has two throttle knobs, so two locos at a time is very simple with the throttle. The single knob UT4-Duplex has just been announced in the US, and I think would be around ??100 in the UK given the US list price.

Any radio based system is expensive, as Ron's figures show.

One hopes "Mr TouchCab" will extend his code to other platforms !

Thanks Nigel.

 

I have been thinking of what the requirements are. After looking at the timetable that I have created for Grimley, it is possible to have three trains moving at once not including locos shunting in the depot. Being realistic, the maximum number of trains moving at once (not including the depot) is going to be four e.g. A Multiple Unit arriving on the Down Slow, HST passing through on the Down Fast, Voyager passing through on the Up Fast and a freight on the Up Slow. There are obviously other permutations etc. but I think the maximum main movements at any one time will be four trains which means four drivers and therefore four controllers.

 

Being wireless is a great feature as this gets rid of the wires on the loft floor and enables the driver move with the train as it trundles around the layout.

 

On the number of locos on the layout at any one time, having a limit of 40 is not a problem. For example, five DMUs, one HST, one Voyager, two freights and even say ten odd locos at the depot still leaves you well below the 40 limit. It would be nice however to have the ability to put a loco on the track without having to delete one from the roster and then add the new one. Not the end of the world though.

 

Having quite a few locos on the layout does require more power and so I do need to purchase a booster.

 

The other major factor to consider is the cost, as I already have one handset would it be cheaper to just add the Pro-box, booster, another handset etc. or switch to a comparable system which fits the bill? I don??™t know.

OK. What follows is my own view. I recommend you try a few systems out, if possible at clubs or modellers with bigger layouts, or at a better dealer. What works well on a small simple layout might not work so well on something bigger.

The 40-limit in the Dynamis is going to be a problem.

It can be worked around - give two locos never used at the same time the same numerical address and description (eg. description = "Voyager / GNR Single" as neither would run on the same operating session). But ultimately its a pain in the neck.

Power, I doubt that many OO layouts ever need more than 5amps to run ( a handful of Heljan's can draw 1A, but generally they need less), so most of the bigger command stations are going to be OK.

You've not mentioned signals or turnouts under DCC control. I assume they are done either manually or with an analogue control panel? If so, then DCC handsets with lots of buttons and macros to drive turnouts are not much use unless you plan to add the turnout decoders !

Wireless, nice, but there are other ways such as a lot of plug-in points around the layout so operators unplug if they want to follow their loco around, then plug in at the nearest convinient socket. Pretty much all makers support this, the interconnect is usually 6 or 8 core cable back to the command station.

Look on Ebay to see how much a Dynamis sells for s/hand - there is a market for them. I haven't looked to see if the new RMWeb has a "for sale" board, the old one did and it seemed to work quite well between members.

I doubt there is much in it in prices for any of Digitrax, Lenz or NCE once you've factored in enough control knobs (throttles), etc. ESU might be cost effective if you have Apple iPhone/iTouch around to use as a software throttle, otherwise its a significant step up the price curve.

Thanks for the information Craig. I too have the basic controller after realising that the only way to operate our layout realistically as per a prototypical timetable, DCC was the way forward. The idea of four wireless controllers was very appealing so that is why I went down the Dynamis road.

 

Not sure what to do now.

 

I suppose 40 locos on the layout at any one time is quite a lot but having to chop and change between them, programming etc. could be a potential pain in the backside. Although saying that I don??™t spend that much time playing these days!

 

Still one day when I eventually do run the layout properly that will be the time to decide. Perhaps for the extra cost of the Pro-Box, that would be better value than starting from scratch. As I do not know the cost of other systems available, would this be economically the best option. Any thoughts?

I would recommend writing down what you want from a system, then see which systems can meet the requirements. Only then compare the prices.

The 40-loco roster on the Dynamis is one of those things which is irrelevant to most systems as they don't hold loco names/numbers on the handsets.

If wireless handsets are required, the main contenders are Dynamis, anything by Digitrax (every handset is IR and Wired, even the ??50-odd UT4 utility throttle, EU legal radio an optional "available soon" extra) and ESU (assuming recently announced stuff is in shops). There is also CT (I'd skip due to lack of support) and Zimo (in the "if you need to ask you can't afford it" price league).

If willing to breach EU/UK radio frequency laws, then NCE and Digitrax have radio wireless on sale in the US.

If wireless not required then lots of makers are possibles.