Coffee Shop XXXVI-2/4/2013

[Bill Tidler Jr.]

Good Morning...

Good Morning! from Tipton IN.

It's Thursday, March 7, 2013.

TIPTON IN

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good morning. I think. It's 36° with 88% humidity. The high will be 65°.

I feel no better than I did last night. My joints are burning and hurt every time I move. I think I'll just do a whole bunch of nothing today. Excuse me while I fall apart right here.

 

[Boris]

Good Morning:

It's also 36°, in Central Jersey. Overcast with an occasional snow flurry. The "Storm of the Century" apparently fizzled, as none of the "predicted" consequences occurred .

It was fun watching the local news shows trying to spin the non-event. It was even more interesting to watch them fill empty news space with out of area news 'cause they were all geared up to cover something that didn't happen.

I'm not quite certain what will happen today, as the forecasters don't appear to have a clue .

Have a great day.

Joe

 

[blackz28]

I find it to be at least as reliable as the DZ125, my preferred decoder. The DH123 doesn't have BEMF. The DZ125 does have BEMF but it costs a bit more.

i know the DH123 doesnt have BEMF thats why i didnt get that decoder before but since you seem to have good luck with the dh123 i figured it will work for me also

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Yeah, it works great for me but my layout is flat as Kansas. I don't know what they'll do on grades.

 

[Espeefan]

They do fine on grades. It's a decent basic decoder that I have in some diesels and a bunch of steamers.

 

[blackz28]

They do fine on grades. It's a decent basic decoder that I have in some diesels and a bunch of steamers.

thanks i wanna put them in my diesels cause as you know you dont want all your diesels with sound that would drive you insane , so i want to just do 20+ decoders

 

[Espeefan]

Sound is nice but expensive. I have been buying my Athearn Genesis models without sound or DCC and adding DCC later and sound only if I choose. At the rate most of us accumulate locomotives it takes deeeeeep pockets to add sound to everything!

 

[blackz28]

Sound is nice but expensive. I have been buying my Athearn Genesis models without sound or DCC and adding DCC later and sound only if I choose. At the rate most of us accumulate locomotives it takes deeeeeep pockets to add sound to everything!

I hear you there , i am going to put the dh-123 in my turbine and all my diesels , see i dont mind my steam having sound its soft compared to the drumming of diesels & as you stated its alot cheaper without sound

 

[PNKFLOYD]

Would the DZ125 work okay with a small steamer? Something like an O-4-0 or 0-6-0 swithcher for yard duty?

 

[Cjcrescent]

I use DH-123's almost exclusively. I've been using them since they first came on the market, and am continuing to do so. In my 30+ loco's I do have a few others like a DZ-125, TCS M-1, 1 Tsunami steam, and 1 NCE 13sr type, I find the 123 is a robust and reliable decoder. I have had 2 burnout over the years, but that was due to my mistakes and nothing to do with the decoder. Many's been in place since 2002.

What I really like about them is they are just 2 function, and since steam comprises the vast majority of my fleet, all I need is just 2 functions. Speed and lights, although many times I don't install the lights.

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

I hear you there , i am going to put the dh-123 in my turbine and all my diesels , see i dont mind my steam having sound its soft compared to the drumming of diesels & as you stated its alot cheaper without sound

I have DCC decoders in all the locos I use but I draw the line at sound. I've had a grand total of ONE sound loco (a diesel) and even on low volume that thing was driving me up the wall! It was very annoying! I couldn't give it away fast enough. One of my friends wanted it so bad he could taste it. I told him it was free but he gave me three Athearn F7's anyway.

 

[Cjcrescent]

Would the DZ125 work okay with a small steamer? Something like an O-4-0 or 0-6-0 swithcher for yard duty?

Will work just fine Mikey.

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Would the DZ125 work okay with a small steamer? Something like an O-4-0 or 0-6-0 swithcher for yard duty?

It'll work great. The decoder is smaller than a dime so you can stash it somewhere in the boiler or in the cab.

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Well my joints have been burning all day. The Aleve I took eased it somewhat but it's finally worn me down. I did some work on one of the FP7's earlier today, trying to work out some of the motor noise. I haven't tested it yet. I also worked on the primer gray FP7 filling in the gaps in the drill holes where the grabs and rails were put in. Modeling clay has so many uses.

Tomorrow I'm going to take my modem to the Suddenlink office in town and exchange it for a new one and see if that puts an end to the problem I'm having with my IP dropping out.

Well, it's time to call it a night. See y'all tomorrow.

 

[Bill Tidler Jr.]

Good Morning...

Good Morning! from Tipton IN.

It's Friday, March 8, 2013.

TIPTON IN

 

[bnsf971]

Good morning. It's clear and 29.
I did the "Flight of the Bumblebee" thing Wednesday and Thursday. Left here at 3 AM to fly to Charlotte, then to Fort Myers. On the way from the airport to my brother's house, I learned first hand the caliber of driver in the area hasn't improved. A pickup truck tried to drag race us away from a red light, spun out, and ended up on the sidewalk. The driver learned that wet roads = slippery roads. We picked up the Uhaul truck, and began loading it about noon. By 1:30, it was loaded, and by 2:30 the apartment had been cleaned and the keys turned in to the office. We left at 3:00, where I rediscovered how un-aerodynamic a box truck is. 40mph winds and an 11' tall wall traveling down the road at 70 mph make for an interesting drive. A semi truck driver discovered the hard way how hard he was pushing his rig when he blew his engine trying to go fast. He passed me, then came to a rather quick stop about a mile up the road, in a cloud of antifreeze, oil, and smoke. The hole in the side of the block was obvious as we trundled by.
Traffic was terrible North of Tampa, where they are working on widening the Interstate. It took over an hour to go 8 miles.
After that, though, it was smooth sailing, and we pulled into Salisbury, NC, at 6 AM yesterday. We unloaded the truck, took it to the local Uhaul store, and I came home at 2 PM, 35 hours after leaving. With no sleep.
For some reason, I felt a little tired, so I went to bed early last night, about 9 PM.
Now y'all know how I spend my vacations...

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good morning. It's 39° with 95% humidity. The high will be 70.

It's looking like it will be a warm but cloudy day and we may have rain this weekend.

Well yesterday I worked on one of the 70's era FP7's in an attempt to quiet down the motor noise coming from it and it most definitely is the motor making it. It runs good and pulls well. It's quiet enough running by itself but put a load on it and it develops a load hum. This one may become a parts source for others needing repair or it may be fodder for a future project. If I get a wild urge to remotor something it may get picked. I have an Athearn motor from an SD45 that I could shoehorn in. I put an Athearn blue box motor into an Atlas FP7 last year and that loco runs very well now. As I remember I had to cobble together the drive shafts for it from Athearn and Life-Like parts.

Sometime this morning I'll be taking my modem to the Suddenlink office and exchange it for a new one. Hopefully that'll stop the dropout problems I've been having. That's so irritating to have the IP signal just vanish and have to power down and restart the modem to get it going again.

My joint pain is still with me, mostly in my arms, ribs, neck and back. It doesn't feel like a pinched nerve. This has a different feel to it, like my joints are on fire. The docs don't seem to know what it is and I don't think they want to know. All they do is throw pills at it and suggest things that don't work. Right now Aleve is my best friend.

 

[blownoutcylinder]

Good Morning

We are getting a little bit of sun here this fine morning...

I've been rather busy lately...dang tests...medical appointments...now I also have a few interesting bruises to add to my collection...dang Pic lines

 

[blackz28]

Good morning. It's clear and 29.
I did the "Flight of the Bumblebee" thing Wednesday and Thursday. Left here at 3 AM to fly to Charlotte, then to Fort Myers. On the way from the airport to my brother's house, I learned first hand the caliber of driver in the area hasn't improved. A pickup truck tried to drag race us away from a red light, spun out, and ended up on the sidewalk. The driver learned that wet roads = slippery roads. We picked up the Uhaul truck, and began loading it about noon. By 1:30, it was loaded, and by 2:30 the apartment had been cleaned and the keys turned in to the office. We left at 3:00, where I rediscovered how un-aerodynamic a box truck is. 40mph winds and an 11' tall wall traveling down the road at 70 mph make for an interesting drive. A semi truck driver discovered the hard way how hard he was pushing his rig when he blew his engine trying to go fast. He passed me, then came to a rather quick stop about a mile up the road, in a cloud of antifreeze, oil, and smoke. The hole in the side of the block was obvious as we trundled by.
Traffic was terrible North of Tampa, where they are working on widening the Interstate. It took over an hour to go 8 miles.
After that, though, it was smooth sailing, and we pulled into Salisbury, NC, at 6 AM yesterday. We unloaded the truck, took it to the local Uhaul store, and I came home at 2 PM, 35 hours after leaving. With no sleep.
For some reason, I felt a little tired, so I went to bed early last night, about 9 PM.
Now y'all know how I spend my vacations...

wow thats quite the adventure , yea as im finding out down here the snowbirds mostly cant drive when they come from all over the country & try to blend , and i cant remember if you told me or not but when did you move outta cape coma & move up north ??