Running Bear's February 2026 Coffee Shop

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Got some good work done recently so was able to lay a goodly section of track!
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Got 5 inches of snow yesterday.
 


The dog running the house is absolutely true! This is who runs our house. Ryden let's us know when it's time for him to eat, when it's time for us to eat, what days a grilled cheese sandwich is for lunch, (he loves cheese) he's addicted to bananas and lets you know when it's time for one so you can share it with him, and cusses you out when you leave the house. But, I wouldn't trade him for the world.
This is who rules our roost! Everything including my chair is hers!

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Finally got around to trying to install a headlamp in my Dapol Hawthorne Leslie. It uses a next18 decoder and the one that I had does not have any provisions to install extras. So I soldered a 6 pin decoder to a next18 male adapter. All looked good, got it all programmed and it doesn't fit. The hood won't close. Will try moving stuff around, but may have to punt. The stay alive fit nicely in the speaker box.
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As for the scam site, I contacted the credit union and they had me upload all of my supporting documentation. They came back and said that they will refund me the $30 bucks. They said that I had been mistakenly charged or something like that, not sure what that means. Will be following up out of curiosity. Nothing back from the FTC yet.
 
Finally got around to trying to install a headlamp in my Dapol Hawthorne Leslie. It uses a next18 decoder and the one that I had does not have any provisions to install extras. So I soldered a 6 pin decoder to a next18 male adapter. All looked good, got it all programmed and it doesn't fit. The hood won't close. Will try moving stuff around, but may have to punt. The stay alive fit nicely in the speaker box.
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I'm a little confused on this. What was its "active state" before adding the light. I assume it has a decoder. What decoder style? Socket or hardwired/built-in?
 
The loco doesn't come with a headlight so I added one. It uses a next18 decoder but the one that I was using does not have any solder points. The loco's elex board doesn't have any provision for a headlight. I used a next18 male adapter board and connected a decoder that is 6 pin wired. Now that I have a headlight connection, it should have been good to go, but all that doesn't fit inside the loco.

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The loco doesn't come with a headlight so I added one. It uses a next18 decoder but the one that I was using does not have any solder points. The loco's elex board doesn't have any provision for a headlight. I used a next18 male adapter board and connected a decoder that is 6 pin wired. Now that I have a headlight connection, it should have been good to go, but all that doesn't fit inside the loco.

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The Next18 is socketed on the board from the factory, right? You should be able to find the trace for the function you wanted to use and tap into that trace. A small knife to scrape anything covering the trace and then a small drop of solder with a thin wire should be all that is needed. The socket itself will have a place where that pin is connected in the socket so you should be able to find some sort of place to tap into even if the board itself has nothing (but maybe the point where the socket is connected to the board).
 
Good Morning Bill, may I offer to top up your cup of coffee?
Good luck to all who are conquering DCC wiring.
It's 39F here, gonna get up to the mid 50s today, cool this weekend then back to the 60s next week. It's been dry here, we are actually under a Burn Ban right now. Going to put some N scale and Ho Scale stuff up for sale, I have accumulated too much that will never see use, so it needs to find good homes. You all have a good day.
 
Good morning, it's 64 and clear.

I got the "bad address fee" straightened out. When I changed my address to my current one, somebody used the info to set up direct deposit instead of an address change. The fees have been reversed, especially after I let them know I had never signed up for direct deposit.
 
Well, howdy there internet peeps and those not arrested by the Thames Valley PD

It's Troy again!

Paid expensive prices for a mediocre cup of Starbucks Pikes Place medium roast. But, it's warm magic bean juice. So I'm content. Got a dry, non-iced cinnamon roll with it, also overpriced at Confiscatory hotel prices.

Wife made sure I brought my water bottle with me, cause I forgot it on the last cruise and had to purchase an overpriced one. So, she forgot to bring hers. I didn't say anything about it.

It's not like we don't have a cupboard shelf full of the free ones at home.
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Our shuttle for the cruise port leaves at 10:30a, so this may be the last or next-to-last update for a while. I'll be on the lookout for merfolk and sea monsters for the next 10 days.

You all try to control yourselves while I'm in limited internet coverage.
 
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