MTH SD70ACe BNSF 9370


BNTorsney said:
Living in Florida is has been almost impossible to find a SINGLE drill bit smaller than size 60; I always had to order them Online. ...
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Is there a Harbor Freight in your area??

They have several assortments of drills smaller than #60.

They're pretty cheap too.
 
That's a great site, BT. I see they have #80's for the same $2.29 a 10 pack, which is the most common size you need for drilling holes for things like grab irons. I'm sure they are not high quaility but you can aford to break a lot of them at that price. It seems like #80's will break no matter how much you pay for them, so you might as well get them cheap. They also have a great selection of Dremel tools accesories as well.
 
where on there site is the 10 pack? Also does anyone know besides micromark who would sell the micro chuck for the tiny drill bits? I need it for my micro drill from black and decker. The one for the dremel is good, but at the high speeds it just melts the plastic.
 
Use Search Box

NYSW F45 said:
where on there site is the 10 pack? Also does anyone know besides micromark who would sell the micro chuck for the tiny drill bits? I need it for my micro drill from black and decker. The one for the dremel is good, but at the high speeds it just melts the plastic.
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On the right side of the home page is a search box. Just put the number of the drill and the word drill after it: i.e. - 66 drill.
 
Bnsf

I just got these for my son as well and we love them!
I got two of the BNSF's and the UP version.
As soon as the NS versions come out, I will be getting a few of those as well.
I also have the UP Heritage 1996 on Order.
Since I have the MTH SP 4449, that should be fun to have as a pair.
I have to agree with some, I am anxiously waiting MTH's other current diesel offerings.
We have the DCS commander, but are only running that on our O gauge line.
Its very nice for what it is and enough for our needs.
Our HO line was primarily DC until I purchased the MRC Blackbox.
I figured that for $40 bucks, it was worth try.
I ran it in junction with my cheapo MRC DC unit.
That little thing works great!!
I have all 28 functions on my new HO diesels available to me.
It should suffice until I decide what DCC or DCS to get.
I heard over at the O Gauge RR magazine Forum that DCS is upcoming with an upgrade. I know they are testing the new TIU's already and there is talk of a new handheld, but I know nothing for sure.
In any case, great little engines!
My son and I are having a blast and I guess that is what matters!
 
That's all that matters. Running them in DC seems a shame. If I were you and MTH was all I had, I'd hook up the DCS to it.
 
hamltnblue said:
That's all that matters. Running them in DC seems a shame. If I were you and MTH was all I had, I'd hook up the DCS to it.
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Definitely. I want a wireless system, but am holding off until I hear something concrete from MTH about a new DCS wireless unit.
Unfortunately, I have several different brand locos, so I need DCC rather than just DCS.
I also have a few Broadway Limited and some Intermountain units coming.
I was thinking about the Prodigy Wireless due to the fact that I can run a program from my computer and control them from that.
However, computer command systems are few and are still in the infant stages IMO.
I really wish somebody would step up and give that option. All you would really need is a power source and some sort of USB dongle for the wireless control.
That is the future in my opinion.
I have a buddy who is a programmer. I was thinking of creating my own user interface and then having him do the back-end using DCS or Prodigy as a start. Not sure how complex it would be, but I would have to purchase a system and have him look at it before I know for sure.
The MRC program is a start, but that user interface is horrible.
I was thinking of programming it in Java so it would work on Windows or Mac.
Alas, it is a side project until I can get a system and then have the time to research it.
Anybody have info on any computer control systems?
I know of JMRI, but that user interface is pretty bad as well.
 
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If you're going to mix DCC and DCS engines on the same layout, the only option is DCC. Digitrax, NCE, and MRC are probably the top choices at this time and there are others as well with satisfied customers. I'm not sure about MRC but NCE and Digitrax definitely have great wireless solutions. Computer control isn't as high on the list for most because it takes you away from actually running the trains. There's nothing like having a controller in your hand and runnign a train. Wireless makes it even better. Put a controller in a kids hand and watch him. Nothing like the look. Hell a member here even posted a pic with his grandchild and you could see his, oops her eyes sparkle. With computer control you operate the PC, not the train. IMO I think it would be not much different than running a HO train simulator program. What more and more people are liking is using a pc to program loco's. That's done through a serial port and most major manufacturers support it.
 
hamltnblue said:
If you're going to mix DCC and DCS engines on the same layout, the only option is DCC. Digitrax, NCE, and MRC are probably the top choices at this time and there are others as well with satisfied customers. I'm not sure about MRC but NCE and Digitrax definitely have great wireless solutions. Computer control isn't as high on the list for most because it takes you away from actually running the trains. There's nothing like having a controller in your hand and runnign a train. Wireless makes it even better. Put a controller in a kids hand and watch him. Nothing like the look. Hell a member here even posted a pic with his grandchild and you could see his, oops her eyes sparkle. With computer control you operate the PC, not the train. IMO I think it would be not much different than running a HO train simulator program. What more and more people are liking is using a pc to program loco's. That's done through a serial port and most major manufacturers support it.
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Yeah, you make a good point, but I was thinking along the lines of a touch screen portable. A tablet if you will.
Imagine an i-pod/phone about 2 or 3 times the size. That way you are tapping and sliding to control much like an i-pod/phone.
I agree that a stationary computer or even a laptop would be too bulky and limiting.
In any event, sorry for hijacking the thread.
Back to the BNSF, great engine!
If I had a beef with it, it would be the paint.
I'm into flat or matte paints. They give a little more realistic look.
Looking forward to some switchers from MTH.
 
hamltnblue said:
I IMO I think it would be not much different than running a HO train simulator program.
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That statement hit home just like the rest of your post. There is no better way than to hold the controller or even push the buttons yourself to make the bells and horns scream. I love it when my young nephews and nieces come over to see my trains. I let them hit the buttons and their smiles come out. My son is 18 years old and he is mentally handicapped , he has just started getting into helping me a bit with the trains. His level of comprehension is around a 6 to 7 year old child and I need to keep the controls simple because I want to have something special that we can do together for a long time. That is why I have purchased a DCS and I also run DCC digitrax. The DCS is great for this situation and little kids. When I am by myself, the layout runs mainly DCC . ( Ok , I admit, I do play with the DCS a lot too, it is pretty cool);)

As for DCC , I believe that MRC does not read back cv's and digitrax does. If you are going to do a lot of programming, this would be a problem.

So thanks for the post Hamltnblue, I am scraping my PC control idea for now.:)
 
Going back over my pics of the install I noticed I did an oops and will have to open back up tomorrow.

In this pic you can see that I hooked the 2 purple wires to the 2 yellow speaker wires and tied the white speaker wires together. This puts the speakers out of phase resulting in the sound not being as loud as it can be. There should be the yellow from one tied to the white of the other with the other yellow and white going to the decoder since they're wired in series.
Decoderhanging_edited-1.png
 
There's always at least one "oops" per install. :) I'm glad you found yours before you got buttoned back up. I reversed the truck leads on my last one and, because I'm such an expert now, I never checked it before I managed to finally get it all barely stuffed in the shell and got the shell on the frame. When I finally did test it, forward was reverse and vice versa. :rolleyes: I changed the direction with some CV modifications. No way I was pulling that shell back off and resoldering anything. :eek:
 
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Actually I had it buttoned up and had to open up and re-do solder and heat shrink but it was worth it. I was considering making a pdf of the install and was sorting through the pics and noticed it. Ran it for about an hour afterwards. It's a great runner.
 
hamltnblue said:
Actually I had it buttoned up and had to open up and re-do solder and heat shrink but it was worth it. I was considering making a pdf of the install and was sorting through the pics and noticed it. Ran it for about an hour afterwards. It's a great runner.
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I'd like that PDF...
 
hamltnblue said:
Sorry, I forgot to add this one in. It's just more wires identified. The front and rear coupler wires were abandoned.
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i dont think this was necessary.... There is a way to make them clip at only 3scale mph... look for MonsterRailroad fix on youtube. If you can make them work with your decoder....
 
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