Running Bear's Coffee Shop LXIV


TOOT - Club I was in back in K.C. had a setup like that. I remember seeing that circuit in MR way back when. I have the issue, but I cannot remember which one it is.

This is something that was present when the layout was DC only and I recall someone saying they were pleased it worked with the DCC setup as well. I know shorts can play merry hell with Tsunamis in consist, causing an engine or engines to drop out of the consist and become false consisted (Terry mentioned this some time ago). Has happened to me twice. What he has suffered this time is somewhat concerning (put mildly).
 
Good morning Everybody!

I put my semi-informed 2 cents in to NCE. I don't know what good it will do, but I hope they see the benefit in counteracting negative advertising (word of mouth).

I also asked if I needed an external circuit breaker for my DCC Twin and Deluxe ProCab. I'll let you know their answer.

I was surprised to see NCE told Terry he did. I expected it would have sufficient protection built in. Lionel for example has multiple layers of protection built into their top of the line power supply (ZW-L) and they make it very clear if you are using any other power supply you need external protection.

Well I'm out of time, I hope Everyone is well.

God bless us Everyone.
 
...
Spousal Unit and I have decided to proceed with the surgery - it will be done in two seperate stages. First stage will be to "replumb" two bypasses of the aneurism- one in each side of my lower neck. If that is successful, then three weeks or so later, they will attempt to block off the effected artery from both sides. Sure is going to pull the rug out from under our RV travel and visiting plans for a while - so you guys can breathe a little easier for now. No date set at this time...

Great news Sherrel, thank you for the update.

Don't stress over what you miss this summer. God willing you will have more summers to enjoy the RV and maybe even come and visit me!!! :)
 
Good Morning All. 69° and overcast...looks like rain but none on the radar for over 150 miles. It was in the forecast for 6:00 am this morning and has now been moved back to 10:00 am. I'll be in the garden in a few minutes picking green peas and maybe more spinach and lettuce. Onions are about the size of tennis balls but have not yet matured. I did pick one Monday for supper. Safely home from the marathon excursion yesterday. Eight destinations in four cities, 150 miles driven in 6.5 hours. Since retiring, I purposely stay at home as much as possible, but when I have any necessary errands I piggyback lots of others to it. Back when I was working, I commuted 100 miles round trip daily; I had enough back then!
Trainwise, I included a trip to Discount Model Railroads for supplies. Picked up what I believe is the last 17 pieces of roadbed that I need, half dozen ground throws, more metal wheels (but not all that I need), a couple of DPM wall section kits and some detail parts. Those were the needs; I also picked up a new caboose, two pick-up trucks and a couple more laser-cut structure kits. Got some other stuff that I don't remember but I'm $261 poorer.

Justin - Great historical pictures that you have been posting of your area. I never got to visit WV so pictures are my only views.
Chet
The old NP depot where the club has their layout in Livingston is about 40 miles away. I will be going over there when I get a chance.
That's like backyard here in TX, I'm sure that's the same in MT as well.
Sherrel - Thanks for the well wishes. Here's mine in return regarding the surgery. I'm glad that you are going forward and it's so inspiring that you and the family made the decision together. Keep us informed when you can.
Greg - You bring up a good point regarding breakers that I have posted somewhere before. The breaker only shuts down the power side, and everything is still connected to the neutral side all of the way out to the pole. Unplugging is the easiest way to overcome that. I don't know if that contributed to Terry's woes though.
Johnny - Good news on the procedure. Stay safe with the weather. It's basically skirting my area and staying north in OK and KS and headed your way. We'll see some eventually this spring. No need for me to respond to your other thread regarding inclines as I see you have gotten all of the advice that I might ba able to offer. I will point out however, that a 2% grade up to 4" will take 16' to go up and 16' more to go down (approximate).
Beady - Video reminds me of the Lego layout in Gulfport MS that I posted pictures of last fall.

Everybody have a great day.

Willie
 
Good morning. We're at 30 degrees without a cloud in the sky. Mid 60's expected today and up into the mid 70's on Thursday.

Willie - 40 miles is nothing out here either, except in the winter when you have to go over the pass.

Sherrel - Glad to hear that you opoted for the surgery. Better to not tke any chances. Best of luck and keep us posted.

Terry - Again, hope you can get something worked out. After hearing all of the different problem that have been posted with DCC over the years, I am glad that I am keeping it simple and running DC only.

Later
 
I don't know whats going on with Terrys unit. I've had zero problems with my NCE Procab unit in ten years and I have no special short-circuit protection on my small layout. And my club and its members have had pretty well zero problems with the big club layout....plus generally speaking one hears that NCE is pretty trouble free, so I'm guessing and hoping Terry just suffered bad-luck gremlins and his system will settle-down now.
 
Willie: Speaking of lighting, I've seen first hand what damage lighting can cause. On our property at the cabin we have 70-80 foot white pines and during a rare December thunderstorm, lighting struck one of the tall pines. The entire tree was destroyed into pieces, none of the pieces too large to pick up. The tree was in the woods approximately 10 feet from the roadway. The nearby roadway was closed to traffic and my driveway full of wood.

The remaining part of the tree was a section of roots that the soil was blown away from the roots.

Chet: Thanks for posting more great pictures of the Livingston club layout.

I can only imagine what a lighting strike could do to the electrical system of a house or structure and the electrical items plugged into the system.

Terry: I found that many of the model railroad manufactures really stand behind their products. I've had good responses from Woodland Scenics and Micro-Mark when encountering small problems with the products they offer. Digitrax repaired an older DT300 throttle. Digitrax provided a completion date and the repaired unit arrived back to me within the 30 days that Digitrax estimated for the repair work.

To the layout room this afternoon to practice with my new camera.

That's all.

Greg
 
I don't know whats going on with Terrys unit. I've had zero problems with my NCE Procab unit in ten years and I have no special short-circuit protection on my small layout. And my club and its members have had pretty well zero problems with the big club layout....plus generally speaking one hears that NCE is pretty trouble free, so I'm guessing and hoping Terry just suffered bad-luck gremlins and his system will settle-down now.

Morning Everyone!
Reading the post above- It seems to me that it is all the more reason for NCE to stand behind their product and NOT try and second-guess what may, or may NOT have caused the problem.

On to other news: Thanks to everyone for the well wishes towards me. I had a shock yesterday! A neighbor next door to me in Laughlin, NV, - same age as myself - fell in his driveway and broke his hip on Monday. He was transported to Las Vegas for surgery to repair his hip and died while in surgery. One just does not know what is around the corner!

Another great day here ... still wish we could have some of that water from back there?
Today is forecast to be NEARLY THE SAME temperature as yesterday.
Today
High 90 | Low 57 °F
0% Chance of Precip.
Yesterday
High 90.5 | Low 50.3 °F
Precip. 0 in
 
Sherrel ... That is very sad news. ... As you said, we never know what is around the corner. .... Two of my grandchildren lost a grandfather who passed away yesterday. Not me of course. ....

Terry ... I hope you get things worked out regarding your NCE system.

My DCC is MRC wireless with 8 amp booster. I have 4 districts with a circuit breaker for each one. I also have some reverse loops with auto-reverse circuits. It has worked well for me.
 
Good morning all, 53 and filtered sun.

I spent some time in the Library yesterday, getting ready for a construction project. Decided to put together a module using my Wyoming buildings and also be able to run some trains at the show.

Will be posting more on my layout thread.

Have a great day all----
 
Getting things worked out with the dcc system is going to involve using it intil it fails again, and throwing it away, and either getting one the manufacturer will stand behind, or leaving dcc entirely.
 
Afternoon All,

Pretty darn hot today. We got home yesterday around 4:30 from our stops in Sarasota and Tampa. Of course we were in between St. Petersburg and Tampa and there was a accident so that added 40 minutes to the trip. We were on a bridge almost at water level and my wife saw a couple of dolphins jumping around. Of course all I saw was bumper to bumper stop and go traffic...that's fair right?:(

Tomorrow I'm going up to see Jon and Phil should be there also. MOH will be chaperoning my grandsons field trip so that he is allowed to attend. Long story.

Reading about NCE surprises me. I always thought they were the "good company". I went with Digitrax because that's what the club uses, so when I had an issue I could get an answer quickly. Now I ask Jon. He is extremely knowledgeable about their products. The one time I called Digitrax and talked to a repair guy he acted like I was a moron because I did not understand their very technical instruction guide. Needless to say I was not impressed. I will say it looks like they are trying to change that image.

Terry- Sorry to hear of your DCC issues. I bought a DCC Specialties circuit breaker years ago, but when I am not using the layout it is unplugged since we are the "lightning capital of the world".

Sherrel- You know we are all pulling for you.

Garry- Sorry for your family's loss.

I hope everyone has a good night.
 
Afternoon folks....

Been busier than a cat covering poop on a marble floor lately! I have been popping in now and then to keep up with what has been going on but had not much to say.

Terry. Really amazed to hear you have been having any problems with NCE. As far as I have always heard they are the best! Period. Customer service has always been one of their strong points. Sorry to hear of your experiences. The owner of NCE is one of my members in the NMRA Division. I have emailed him a few times for NMRA Business and he has always been very helpful. I switched from Digitrax to NCE a couple years back, and so far have found NCE to be much better. Most of the folks around my neck of the woods use NCE and they all have had good experiences (If they have a problem they just get in their car and drive over to the factory....). I was having all kinds of problems with my Digitrax equipment......

One place, if you haven't used it already to get some excellent info on DCC, is http://www.wiringfordcc.com/track.htm I use the "Light Bulb" trick on my layout to help prevent problems with shorts. You don't want to walk away and leave it with a short, but it can add more resistance in a fraction of a second and lower the current going through the short. It is also great when I was trying to locate what tracks never got wired properly a few weeks ago. Shorting the track lights the bulb if the wiring is correct.... I have three districts on my layout and if there is a problem it tells immediately which district has a problem.

[edit] There is also a Yahoo Group that may be able to help you: NCE-DCC@yahoogroups.com (You have to join the group to use it....)

Good luck with all this!
 
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Gonna call it a day at work and will leave you with Union Pacific 844

[video=youtube;UheS8pOSb14]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UheS8pOSb14&feature=em-subs_digest[/video]
 
Good evening. It's clear and 72.
Tomorrow, the command station/booster will be back, and Friday the part I was told I had to have, or the command station would explode will be here. Then I can make sure it works, and possibly make some tough decisions.
 
You should be OK now, with the "extra" short circuit protection, that should be well and truly catered for. We often get shorts on the club layout that take a while to find, especially with the long trains some of the guys (including me) like to run. Maybe those car light bulbs really do help.
 



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