Model Railroading sure looks different nowadays...


NYSW F45 said:
i just watched his soldering video. i never realized the "clean" tip issue. everytime i've tried to solder something it always would ball up and not work out for me.
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Get yourself a soldering iron holder like this
http://www.mcmelectronics.com/content/productimages/s4/21-8160.jpg

Keep the sponge damp but not soaking wet and clean your tip on it frequently. When you plug in your iron let the tip heat up then clean it on the sponge and put a dab of solder on it before working. When you have made a solder connection clean the tip again and then put another dab of solder on it before you stick it back in the holder. This keeps the tip from burning up so to speak. If you let the tip sit dry with no solder on it the heat will over time degrade the metal. Keep repeating this procedure as you work. Used to solder professionally and never really had to change tips over several years. I used the ultra fine tips too which would have more of a tendency to dull up or blunt from excessive heat.

Use liquid flux if you can and just but a drop on the joint before you make the connection. Once the joint dries clean it with a small stiff bristle brush and denatured or 97% or so pure alcohol. Rubbing alcohol will work but will leave more of a residue.

Using one of the higher price irons like a Weller with temperature control is great but not totally necessary if you are a skilled solderer.
 
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Quip said:
New Age Model Railroading

It's certainly not like it used to be... What do you guys think? Are the *new guys welcome to usher in their new methods, or should we stick with the tried and true ?
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Looks super to me. What's a "new guy" though? Are you a "new guy" if you prefer these "new methods" over the late 20th Century consumerist vision? I got started in this hobby in 1961 when I was five. And I thank God I've lived long enough to see these great days dawning! And am still young enough at 54 and healthy enough to anticipate participating in the new mainstream.

Here's a question. If they (including me) aren't welcome to usher these new methods in, how can you stop them (us)? :D It's certainly not like it used to be when a small self-annointed group could decide what was "good for the hobby" and get publicized based on who would make the most money. You know, the days when Kalmbach, Carstens and a small group of advertisers/manufacturers and NMRA activists were defining the hobby? Those bad old days belong to the last half of the 20th Century. They're going fast and good riddance!!!

These "new guys" and their "new methods" (i.e. computer assisted hyper-scalable manufacturing, Youtube instructional vids) are probably a lot more adept with things internet, too. Their bullhorns will therefore be louder. "Fast Tracks" is a neat system of specialty jigs. But in my opinion Fast Tracks are a transitional step themselves.

Learn a little CAD and build one of these DIY CNC Routers: http://www.solsylva.com/ You'll soon be making your own switch building jigs from aluminum plate. And crossing jigs and double slipswitch jigs and .... And also making your own custom Tru-Scale style milled road bed from basswood or even yellow pine. And vacuum forming patterns and die injection molds and...

Ready or not, here comes the end of the Model Railroader consumerist era that Kalmbach ushered in. You know, back where you read a magazine that promoted at least 5 advertisers' products per so-called "how to" article, and after which you were supposed to whip out the VISA Card? Possibly some people worry about key manufacturers losing market share and going under while not knowing the "new methods"? I agree, that could be a real problem. All I can suggest is be very nice to the "new guys" (a/k/a your nearby neighbors). They'll probably do some custom runs for you.

I agree, it's certainly not like it used to be. :)

Thank God.
 
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RW&C said:
The only way this could be practical is a) you have a trillion turnouts to do, or b) you're in a club, everyone chips in a few bucks, and you borrow it when needed.

That said, it's clearly an amazing tool. I love a well made tool, and this apparently makes it so easy even I could do it. :)
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Or c) Make your own aluminum plate jigs with your own CNC equipment. The beauty with this approach is there's virtually no limit to the kinds of jigs and dies you can make for yourself.
 
To me these "new methods" are no different then the advent of DCC technology. If you accept the one, you must accept the other. I think it's called progress although sometimes that can be debatable.
 
"I used the ultra fine tips too which would have more of a tendency to dull up or blunt from excessive heat."

I used to sharpen the tips and re-tin them. But I never considered myself to be an expert solderer.
 
Well, I'm just saying I never had to sharpen them as long as you keep them clean and keep some solder on them in between making solder joints, it works good, at least for me it seemed to.
 
Nice work, Bernie. Quip, you can control yard switches from the front fascia using automotive choke cables and handles, with the cable attached to the switch throwbar. Starts getting a little shaky when they are over about three feet long but a club I belonged to controlled 22 yard switches using this method. Much better than reaching over rolling stock to throw a turnout.

I don't have enough turnouts on my layout to justify the cost of the Fast Tracks system but I would use it if I had a larger layout. Everything I've read says even the most ham-handed modeler can build very good switches after the first few, and the operating characteristics are much better than even the best RTR switches. As you can see from Bernie's pictures, they look a lot better also.
 
Jim,

Pushrod/Control Rod for RC Airplanes would be a more cost effective approach then automotive choke cables would it not ? They seem to work the same way. I believe that is what Fast Tracks uses for their Bullfrogs, actually.

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DSC00318.jpg


http://www.handlaidtrack.com/Control-Rod-18in-p/bf-0016.htm I was right ! Exact same stuff... So you would attach the rod directly to the throw bar ? What about the switch machine ? Is the automotive cable more rigid to the point where you wouldn't need a switch machine to pivot ?

That image shows a rod being used to control the elevator, it is connected to a servo inside the fuselage of the plane... Has anyone ever tried using RC for switching turnouts ? I wonder if it would be possible to gut a radio and have it in such a way that the turnouts run on servos... ?

Thanks for the tips !

Quip
 
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Quip, I think either method will work fine. The automotive choke cable is stiffer than RC cables and you don't need anything but some piano wire attached to the throwbar and then down through the layout, where it attaches to the choke cable. The choke cable has a knob already attached to one end that sticks through the fascia. You adjust the throw by soldering a nut to the cable as a stop. It's a fairly cheap way to do remote manual switch controls.

Using RC servos and motors is certainly possible, although I've never seen it done. Using stationary DCC decoders and Tortoise switch machines would probably be about the same cost and not require a lot of extra wiring and controls.
 
As an RC guy I imagine that the servo would work quite well, but it's a bit overkill. Servos are meant to go to any position, and hold that position against opposing force (driving the throw bar back to that position if needed). For a rudder, a steering linkage, an aileron, where you need multiple possible angles, that's great, but a switch just needs to be one way or the other. Using a complex servo control system for a switch linkage is a bit like having Steven Hawking balance your checkbook.

Also, running a servo with a servo controller usually includes a bit of jitter, when the servo overcorrects itself repeatedly and twitches. Unless your prototype is inspired by the symptoms of an epileptic seizure, you're probably better off avoiding standard RC servos.

But by removing the internal control circuitry of the servo, and wiring the motor directly to your dpst switch, you'd get something similar to a standard stall-type switch machine. Of course, as servo motors are not intended to stall, you risk burning out the motor if you run it at its normal operating voltage. If the voltage is very low however, the turnout would in theory move at a prototypically slow rate and the motor would cope with the stalling. (You may need to put a ceramic capacitor across the motor leads, as the electrostatic noise from the stalled motor could interfere with DCC commands.)
 
rfxcasey said:
I really like this guy. Watch his series on rebuilding this turnout. He is a bit insane though. http://www.youtube.com/user/thebige61#p/u/67/qrAh35XgHqs
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I've watched a ton of his videos. More people should be like him. Imagine how much time he puts in just getting the videos on the web. I've learned so much from him. No, I don't know the guy, but I feel like I should.. lol
I look forward to his videos.

Not sure I would call him insane though. Thats pretty rough.
 
I've watched a ton of his videos on everything to do with his layout. He is on Twitter .. http://twitter.com/thebige61

He has a live video feed .. basically .. what he makes the videos from. He will 'announce' on Twitter that he will be working on the layout. You can click into the link .. and can watch real time .. and even talk to him via the attached message window. Pretty cool.
 
Watched some of the Fast Tracks vid's and have a question: Warris mentions about cutting the frog gaps if you're running DCC - do I have that right? What if I'm not and am running old-school DC cab control? It seems to me if you don't cut frog gaps it'd be like back when a lot of us started in model trains back in the 50's with the all-rail frogs and such before Atlas came out with their product. Or like the ME turnouts before they went to DCC-friendly construction, right?

Please, I don't want to get into a DC versus DCC discussion - that's for another time and place.
 
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