Coffee Shop XXXIX-9/21/2013

[bnsf971]

Good afternoon. I went over to our clubhouse today to do some diagnosis on my Digitrax-equipped locomotives on the NCE-powered layout.
Wow.
Out of ten locomotives, ONE will run in a consist. And that one has a separate MRC sound-only decoder in it, and the sound decoder won't play nice in a consist. Brought everything home, and consisted all ten units together, and away they went, with nary a hiccup. At least I know where the trouble lies, and it doesn't lie within any of my locomotives. This does mean I have 70+ locomotives that will operate on the club's layout, and I'll simply either run the incompatible ones at home, or singly (not consisted).
Anyway, I'm off to the grocery and used bread stores, to stock up before the last minute bread and milk panic buyers descend like locusts and clean out the shelves. Around here, if you whisper the word "snow", panic ensues. There was the brief mention of snow flurries on tap for Wednesday. Personally, I think we might get some light rain showers, really cold rain, but just rain. We'll see.
I picked up a slightly used Genesis DD40AX that hit a concrete floor. I'm heading in to the train room/workshop to put Humpty Dumpty together again.

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Are these locos equipped with BEMF? Did you try turning the BEMF off? Sure solved some problems with some repowered Varney's I have on my layout. Even running under one address they didn't want to play well. Turning off BEMF on all but the lead unit worked wonders.

 

[bnsf971]

Are these locos equipped with BEMF? Did you try turning the BEMF off? Sure solved some problems with some repowered Varney's I have on my layout. Even running under one address they didn't want to play well. Turning off BEMF on all but the lead unit worked wonders.

cv10=0 on them, with no joy.

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Been working on an idea for the beginning of Oliver's adventure.

It's best to let what's in the computer so for tell the story. It's not much but it's a start.

That's all I have so far. Bet'cha can't wait to see what happens when he leaves the room can ya?. Frankly neither can I.

 

[bnsf971]

Okay, I temporarily stopped banging my head against the electronic wall of conflicting DCC equipment, and spent the last couple of hours reassembling a damaged Genesis DDA40X that I got in the mail yesterday. I had to dismantle it, then put everything that got knocked loose or broken off as I put it back together. There are some things that won't hold up to harsh use, and i hope to be able to replace them with new parts from Athearn. I'll find out if those parts are available on Monday. I do need front handrails, and a couple of small detail items that probably flew into never-never land when the engine hit the floor. One thing I found in the pile o' parts is a handrail from the second engine involved in the collision that resulted in the one-way trip to the floor.
Now that it's back into more-or-less one piece, I programmed and ran it, and it runs very well. I discovered it will go around 24" radius curves, in spite of Athearn's spec of 28" minimum. I put longer Kadee couplers on it, and now it will pull other cars and locomotives without dragging them off the rails going through the tighter curves.
Oh, anybody that knows where the bell is supposed to go, please let me know. It was laying in the bottom of the box when I got it, with no obvious place for it.

 

[kbkchooch]

Okay, I temporarily stopped banging my head against the electronic wall of conflicting DCC equipment, and spent the last couple of hours reassembling a damaged Genesis DDA40X that I got in the mail yesterday. I had to dismantle it, then put everything that got knocked loose or broken off as I put it back together. There are some things that won't hold up to harsh use, and i hope to be able to replace them with new parts from Athearn. I'll find out if those parts are available on Monday. I do need front handrails, and a couple of small detail items that probably flew into never-never land when the engine hit the floor. One thing I found in the pile o' parts is a handrail from the second engine involved in the collision that resulted in the one-way trip to the floor.
Now that it's back into more-or-less one piece, I programmed and ran it, and it runs very well. I discovered it will go around 24" radius curves, in spite of Athearn's spec of 28" minimum. I put longer Kadee couplers on it, and now it will pull other cars and locomotives without dragging them off the rails going through the tighter curves.
Oh, anybody that knows where the bell is supposed to go, please let me know. It was laying in the bottom of the box when I got it, with no obvious place for it.

Terry
I'm going to pose your DCC question to a friend of mine to get his opinion , he's kinda like my DCC version of Obi Wan Kenobi. Might take me a few days to track him down.

As far as the bell goes, I dunno. I don't do any of Uncle Pete's stuff.

 

[Trussrod]

Good evening, it's 7:14Pm here, the day was very nice out. Let's see what WW says - 66.0 °F going for a low tonight of 36.0 °F and the humidity is 33%.


Last night I started laying the code 55 rail on the Whiskey cliff edge siding and finished 3' of it using the Central Valley tie strips which worked very nicely. I finished the code 55 shortly after noon today. Then I started on the code 70 mainline and have one three foot length done and a second one started but was getting tired as not enough sleep as well as needing something to eat. I'm feeling better now so I'm going to head into the garage/train room and do some more work.

Have a good weekend.

 

[Burlington Bob]

Well, I got home late yesterday evening and got to say hi to my wife and two dogs before going to bed. Got my clothes washed and packed and got to see both of my granddaughters this afternoon and the youngest is staying the night with us. I should have my camper ready for cold weather, hopefully there won't be any surprises. I made skirting for my camper to close in the bottom and I hung a sensor for an indoor/outdoor thermometer under the camper to tell me the temp under there. I have a heat lamp that I can turn on and off as needed and my water hose is wrapped with heat tape and all insulated. The end result should be a reasonably comfortable place to stay that is a lot cheaper than a motel. One of the other benefits is I have a full sheet of foam insulation board left over that WILL get used on my layout! Now I just need to have time for that!

I am working on a 2x4 section after work that will become a part of my layout, if it turns out the way I hope. This is my first foray into modeling in over twenty years so I have to brush up on what little technique I had before. Time will tell! Also, I have a decoder to put in a used Atlas GP7 so I have plenty to keep me busy when I feel the urge. I've got a lot of reading to do to catch up on the goings on here and elsewhere so I have to get busy. Here's wishing everyone has a great Thanksgiving in case I don't get a chance before then!

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Time for me to call it a night. See y'all tomorrow.

 

[IronBeltKen]

I gotta call it a night too. I spent much of the day doing errands, and when I got time with the layout, I was [reluctantly] turning my yard into a construction zone. I decided I must replace that malfunctioning turnout before the Friday op session. Having a yard throat that causes derailments would be too much of a distraction. But now at least, my Yard tracks #4 and #5 look much more 'natural' - the curves aren't too abrupt as they were before the fix.

I didn't make it to Jim Brewers open house either. Too much family stuff on the agenda, and I have an op session to prep for...

 

[Bill Tidler Jr.]

Good Morning! from Tipton IN.

It's SUN 11/10/13

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, USMC!

Temperature in TIPTON IN

Temperatures will range from 36 to 43 degrees with clear skies. Winds will range between 6 and 10 miles per hour from the west. No precipitation is expected.

 

[Boris]

Good Morning! from Tipton IN.

It's SUN 11/10/13

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, USMC!

Temperature in TIPTON IN

Temperatures will range from 36 to 43 degrees with clear skies. Winds will range between 6 and 10 miles per hour from the west. No precipitation is expected.

HOORAH! Semper FI!

Joe

 

[Boris]

Happy 238th Birthday Marines! Semper Fi

Good Morning, Happy Sunday.

It's sunny and a bit milder this morning, looks like another nice day. The rebuilding of the layout is moving right along. I do not like working with hydrocal though. The sub road bed is coming along, although I will have to deal with some uneven spots or I will be back where I was. Did I mention that I do not like working with hydrocal?

Terry, Contact Athearn's parts dept directly, they should have what you need available. Amazing what will negotiate a 24" curve.

Lots of Football to enjoy again today...........Have a good one

Joe

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good morning. It's 50° with 93% humidity. The high will be 75°.

No plans set in stone for today. I may start on the map for Oliver's adventure. I'll have him find out he's caught up in the surrealistic world of the model train layout sometime early on and that while most vehicles and people on the layout can't move some are very capable of movement and present a danger to him.

 

[railfan]

Okay, I temporarily stopped banging my head against the electronic wall of conflicting DCC equipment, and spent the last couple of hours reassembling a damaged Genesis DDA40X that I got in the mail yesterday.

Glad you stopped banging. I was worried about the wall. Hee hee!

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Been doing a bit more work on Oliver's motel room. I used the TV to get him a message about part of what he needs to accomplish.

I'll work on it some more later. Right now the suns got the window next to the computer lit up so brightly it washes out the screen.

 

[Cjcrescent]

SEMPER FI


Happy Birthday to the USMC!
​

 

[Cjcrescent]

ROLL TIDE!


Alabama 38-Lswho? 17

​

The score of the game against LSwho? last night was the largest margin of victory over them since 1947, in the regular season. This does not include the 21-0 score at the BCS Championship Game in 2011.

I really shouldn't gloat, but when Lee Corso picked us to win on College Game Day, I thought we would be the losers. The last couple of times he has picked us, using the headgear, we have lost the game.

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Poor Oliver just can't win for losing it seems. Our boy from Alabama is OK while he's in the motel room. I'm making this part of the game somewhat more interactive than 'Paradise Cove'. Of course it's not going to be as big either. So far Oliver can search the room and the bathroom. He can turn things on and off, he can open and close the medicine cabinet. So far he can find two items. A red key and a note warning him to be wary of goons. He ignores the note, balls it up and drops it. on subsequent searches of the bathroom it's mentioned that's there's a balled up note on the floor. After finding the red key any further searching of the room results in him being told he already has the red key. After he turns on the TV and hears Mr Blurry Guy he's free to leave the motel. However if he tries to leave without turning on the TV one of the guys waiting outside says "I didn't hear no TV. Turn on the TV". Once the TV has been turned on and Mr Blurry Guy says what he has to say Oliver can leave. Now things start to go badly for him. He opens the door and walks out of the room. The two big guys outside grab him and throw him in the back of their car and a third guy in the car swings something and Oliver's lights go out in an explosion of stars.

This is as far as I've gotten. When I pick it up again Oliver will wake up in a sub-basement compartment under the observation car at the end of a train of dead-head equipment being sent back up the line behind a trio of GP40's. Now I don't know if these sub-basement compartments open into the interior of the car or not (probably not) but this one does. He searched the room so Oliver already has the tool he needs to get out. Trouble is, once he's out where does he go? He's trapped on a train with I don't know yet how many bad guys. So far he has only the red key. Other than that all he has is his wits, his fists and whatever he can find.

 

[bnsf971]

Glad you stopped banging. I was worried about the wall. Hee hee!

Suddenly the little matter of handrails and imcompatible DCC systems is not so bad...today I took my BLI T1 and ran it on our club layout. After a few minutes, it started surging, then almost stopping. Nothing seemed to help it, even resetting everything with cv8 to 8. I removed it from the track, and after I got home, I tried it on my home layout. Where the motor driver in the decoder failed completely. Everything else works, but there is zero voltage going to the motor. If I turn the motor by hand, it will make chuff sounds and smoke will puff, and all the lights work as they should. I guess it will be time for yet another phone call to BLI.
Sigh...