Drew, Why don't you tell us how you did it, maybe take two different engines..a Kato and an Atlas, if you have that selection ...or whatever, and either post here or in DCC. Tell us what you set them at, and more importantly, give us your reasoning for it. I would be interested, and I suspect others might be as well.
Hello Ken. A warm welcome to the TrainBoard family Slow running is, for me the sign of a good quality locomotive. The new models by most manufacturers, especially Atlas and Kato, are way better than they were not so many years ago. Whatever the supposed shortcomings, we should be thankful for the level of control now possible with modern equipment. This is not to say that things still cannot be improved further.
to rsn48 I will do just that. Give me a day or two to collect my notes, and I will give a detailed summary as to my conclusions on 28 speed step programming, and choice of maximum speed. Drew
Drew I am about to embark on adjusting DCC equipped engines with speed steps, I look forward to you posting in the DCC section. RSN48 I am runninig the NCE system with a 486DX Lap Top, What success have you had. I too run 128 Speed steps.
one of the champs in slow running and probably still is, is that old standby the ConCor PA with its sun and planet motor reduction. These were quite well known for taking up to ten or more minutes to go from one tie to the next.
Squirrelkins, is Con-Cor still in business? I tried con-cor.com and concor.com but got nowhere. I wonder if they would sell that planetary gearbox separately for use in other engines, and how much? Must be some tiny gears!
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by watash: Squirrelkins, is Con-Cor still in business? I tried con-cor.com and concor.com but got nowhere. I wonder if they would sell that planetary gearbox separately for use in other engines, and how much? Must be some tiny gears!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> You can find Con-Cor here http://tucson.com/concor/index.html Bill
Are you familiar with this mechanism? Kato used it in almost all of their FULL-WIDTH locos and it was a natural for them to use it in the concor PA. It is not up to todays standards, I don't even know if Kato is still using it? If you get a chance to look at a CC PA I think you'll understand.
RSN48 So I finally got my notes together and here is a website to see what I have done in programming my locos with 28 speed steps http://www.railsusa.com/sites/BNSF/28SPEEDSTEP Please send comments Drew [ 09 April 2001: Message edited by: Drew Aldridge ]
My advice, practice makes perfect! Set your desired speed and just let the train go at it's own pace. If a trains going uphill add more "throttle", and for downhill add slower "throttle" setting. Realism is the key to a sucessful train operation! PS: If you really want to have your loco run at it's maximum speed, just yell "Highball" and make sure the mains are clear!
Hear!Hear! Well said Mr. Clark. I've got a wonderful old heathkit throtle that has allowed for some very realistic running all these years. And being a memory throtle it has infinite speed steps. It is a constant voltage job (22VDC) and veries the current instead, it has yet to cook a motor (with or without pulse).
Well thank ya Squirrel! Now that's impressive, see what ya can do with a little practice Squirrel. Gentleman and ladies (can't leave the ladies out of this one), if you listen to what your engine is telling you, you can make your layout run smooth without the hassle of trains stopping dead. Keep in mind that constant voltage to the train will ensure a smooth ride, and remember what I said earlier. Well I hope that I've done my duty on this subject, lets talk about super detailing!! I love this hobby!!!
Super detailing is when your new SD90MAC blows a turbo and starts spewing black diesel smoke all around your layout!
