Right now I'm building a pair of diode matrix's that will be part of the control system for a friend's 5 track staging yards. The one on the right is finished and tested, the one on the left is just getting started. This is just part of a bigger project that going to go on over the next few weeks or months.
EJ&E 601 quit moving Sat morning, and needed service. This "new" SD9 wasn't so new as it was packed with grease. The grease turned green from corroding the worm gears. I digress: is it just me or does everyone have to take apart Atlas locos early in their life? I have both road numbers of this EJ&E run, both had running and noise issues. The other road# was bought new at a hobby shop. They run great after fettling, I'm probably spoiled by Kato which runs super smooth and whisper quiet from the factory. Sent from my SM-S901U1 using Tapatalk
Now that I have removed all Intermountain locomotives, and tested all the locomotives that have decoders in them. I am faced with the task of installing decoders in the remaining DC locomotives and the locomotives where the Digitrax or NCE or TCS decoders have stopped working. That is a number too great to publish at this time because I am staggered by the overall number!
Not sure about what others do, but I've gotten into the habit of tearing down each loco before I do anything with it. Make sure it runs. Clean and relube. Check and adjust the gauge of the axles. Install a chip. Then detail, paint, decal, weather and replace the couplers.
Okay, on the workbench are some 3D prints I have been cranking out. The new printer is capable of turning out really nice stuff. The FDM printers aren't quite as fine as the resin ones, but I am quite pleased so far. This station I found on thingiverse and ran it last night. I cannot wait to try it out.
Parts from Germany finally arrived so I can fix up my "Rheingold Express" loco. Over time my meat hooks have managed to damage the steps and ladders of the tender hence those replacement parts. The other part with wires is a drawbar to replace the one I damaged when I updated to sound a few years back. It was kind of pricey but I wasn't expecting it to come with wires and a headlight LED so I guess that accounts for some of the cost.
Well the parts are finally coming in for the next set of etched brass locos. Two different kits for the brass loco shells, two Kato 11-106 power chassis for them, and from Shapeways a set of bells and a set of headlights. Also some Tamiya Camel Yellow. Now waiting on some fans from Shapeways. The Shapeways things have gone into a jar of Simple Green to soak overnight that is the green jar on the left. Tomorrow the protective plastic come off the brass kits and they go in some lacquer thinner, the jar on the left. Middle jar contains vinegar for a final cleaning and brass prep for painting. Vinegar is a mild acid that can give a slightly etched surface to help paint adhere. Tomorrow I will start by working on the power chassis then the brass shells. 100_0047-1 by John Moore posted Aug 10, 2023 at 8:13 PM
Well the Shapeways parts were cleaned in Simple Green and dried then painted. Brass paint brushwork now needed on the bells. Started the bend in the brass and started the assembly. Couplers were changed out on the Kato mechanism and tanks were added. 100_0049-1 by John Moore posted Aug 11, 2023 at 11:04 AM
A couple more DCC w/sound updates. Going for drop in without modifying the frame so had to use a smaller speaker and run the rear LED leads around rather than over the speaker to get the shell back on. Other than that a pretty easy update. One more to go.
Nice job on the rear light mod. What speaker is that? The size? Link? Are you happy with it? Going to put up a YouTube so we can hear it? I know, lots of questions but I might need to use a smaller speaker at some point. That one still looks not real small though. Thanks, Sumner
Thank you. The speaker is the sbs4dcc branded 8x12 with half deep chamber. The sound is adequate but you really have to ensure you have a good seal to the chamber. I was hoping to get a 9x12 with half deep in there which is what I had room for in a recent SD70 flat radiator release from Kato but the clearance is less due to how the flared radiator of the ACe clips on to the shell. The 9x12 has a noticeable increase in sound quality IMO but if you can design/print you own baffle with more volume by extending it to the rear and under the rear LED you might be able to get that quality back. I have some locos with that same 8x12 speaker but larger baffle and those are some of my best sounding narrow body diesels I have.
It is funny that my very first DCC locomotives had the Lenz SM2 decoders installed and they still run perfectly. American decoder manufacturers need to take note on how the European decoder manufacturers make their decoders. While not perfect, one defective Zimo decoder out of 140 locomotives with the same decoder is a very far cry from the large number of Digitrax (133), NCE (ALL 44) and TCS decoders (43) that have failed. So far Zero out of 63 ESU decoders have failed.
DCE, does your cab control pickup a new zimo decoder automatically and store it in the database or do you have to create a profile for it manually? I've a couple of locos with zimo in them but they didn't pick up and I was under the impression that was supposed to be a railcom feature.
Well ready for the vinegar bath to slightly etch the brass prior to painting. 100_0051-2 by John Moore posted Aug 11, 2023 at 5:20 PM 100_0053-3 by John Moore posted Aug 11, 2023 at 5:20 PM 100_0054-4 by John Moore posted Aug 11, 2023 at 5:20 PM
Zimo and TCS Decoders have RailCom, ESU are all RailCom+ It is only automatic when the decoders are RailCom+ Current Lenz decoders are RailCom+ but Lenz is not sold in the US anymore. RailCom still provides true bi-directional command and control. I would check the newer TCS DCC Systems, they are supporting Railcom but not RailCom+, but they may have advanced features capabilities.
Well it is a bad way to start the day. 16 more defective Digitrax decoders in what were working locomotives. I guess it is time to say "Death to Digitrax!" in this household.
Ahh! That makes sense. Thanks. I'm setup for ESU with cab control, lokprogrammer and almost all of my motive power using their decoders so given the quality and price advantage likely I'll stay locked into that brand for the foreseeable future. I've thought about getting setup with ZIMO mostly for my z scale as they have an advantage there with slightly smaller decoders than ESU. FYI I saved ~$40 per loco on those ACe's I just updated to sound doing it myself ($99 DC +$100 sound decoder/spkr vs. $249 for sound) plus I don't have to wait another 6 months for Kato to release their sound versions. The other thing is most of the loco manufacturers including Kato are using ESU sound decoders so for those instances where there is no cost advantage to doing it myself I just buy the sound version and use my desktop to tweak everything on the decoder per my liking. Usually a few adjustments in the motor settings and I can get the locos creeping smooth as silk. Brands like Rapido and Scaletrains even electrically separate their ditch lights to different aux outputs so if you want alternating flashing lights on grade crossing triggers that can easily be setup too as it seems the manufactures usually stop short of setting that up themselves. Sorry to read about your rotten luck with those. Digitrax performance when they work is not the best anyways. I recently picked up a couple of their decoders for some Z scale locos due to form factor reasons and I have to say I am not that happy with them and I've tried everything I can think of to clean up their performance. I think long term you will have more satisfaction updating to something more current.
