Running Bear's March 2026 Coffee Shop

[bnsf971]

What lines were you watching, do you remember?

 

[chadbag]

It does come with some tiny caps that you can see above the larger caps, but I have never tested their effectiveness. I've always just installed the 300uf worth of caps, which runs the light for at least 5 seconds after power is removed.

庄龍鉄道 powered by BASE

庄龍鉄道の直売ページへようこそ。直営だからできる価格でお客様にご提供させていただきます。店主自ら梱包発送を行いますので、一部発送までにお時間を頂戴することがあります。あらかじめご了承くださいませ。

syoryulight.theshop.jp

Btw Gemini had this to say to you:

"
Recommendations for Him in Japan
Since he is in Japan, he should go to Akizuki Denshi (Akihabara) or order from DigiKey/Mouser Japan. He should look for Tantalum-Polymer (often branded as POSCAP or KO-CAP).

• Part to ask for: 20V or 25V, 100µF, Case B (3528).
• The "Japan Special": Panasonic 25TQC100MD3. This is a 25V, 100µF Polymer part that fits Case B pads perfectly. It is the "Gold Standard" fix for this N-scale flickering issue because it handles the 13V-15V rail with a massive 10V safety margin.

One final tip for his install: Since he's using a rectifier, he just needs to make sure the Bar on the capacitor matches the Positive (+) output of the rectifier.
"

 

[Bill Tidler Jr.]

Good morning Coffee Shop, it's Wednesday! The temperature is 68°F (20°C) and a chance of rain.

Have a great day!

 

[chadbag]

OK, those are JR trains. (Versus some of the private railways that operate in Tokyo).

the Yellow ones are the Chuo line -- the local Chuo-Sobu. Orange are the Chuo express. The Green are Yamanote line, which is the big circular one that goes around Tokyo and runs in both directions. The Dark Green/Teal is the Saikyo line (Saitama and Shibuya) and the Red/Blue or Orange/Blue (Green) stripe is the Shonan-Shinjuku which goes down to Yokohama.

When we were there in December our hotel was a few stops from Akihabara on the Chuo-Sobu line so we rode that one a lot. Yamanote is the one you end up on in many cases to get where you are going since its the ring line.

 

[Kusojiji]

Thanks for checking! A 7343 cap is too big though. As you can see, it's the size of the lightboard. This guy sells even thinner boards for lighting up the bathroom?

I do use the low heat solder paste as it is instant melt and bond, which is why I don't think I over heated it.

These are all on DC and I don't run anywhere close to 6 VDC. My Shinkansen hasn't been run in ages!

 

[chadbag]

Thanks for checking! A 7343 cap is too big though. As you can see, it's the size of the lightboard. This guy sells even thinner boards for lighting up the bathroom?
View attachment 260002

I do use the low heat solder paste as it is instant melt and bond, which is why I don't think I over heated it.

These are all on DC and I don't run anywhere close to 6 VDC. My Shinkansen hasn't been run in ages!

I thought you were running these on DCC. Sorry.

Yeah the larger size (that is Case D) is a bit big. There is also a Case C size which is a little smaller. And they make a low profile version of each size Case S -- Case Y (no U or V)

• Case A (EIA 3216-18): 3.2 x 1.6 x 1.6 mm
• Case B (EIA 3528-21): 3.5 x 2.8 x 1.9 mm
• Case C (EIA 6032-28): 6.0 x 3.2 x 2.5 mm
• Case D (EIA 7343-31): 7.3 x 4.3 x 2.8 mm
• Case E/V (EIA 7343-43): 7.3 x 4.3 x 4.0 mm

 

[chadbag]

These are all on DC and I don't run anywhere close to 6 VDC. My Shinkansen hasn't been run in ages!

Gemini says:

"
2. "Spike" Induction from the Motor
Even on a low-voltage DC track, an N-scale motor is an inductor. When the wheels lose contact with the track (dirty track/flicker), the motor’s magnetic field collapses and creates a High Voltage Back-EMF spike.

• The Problem: These spikes can easily whip up to 30V–50V for a microsecond.
• The Result: While a ceramic or electrolytic cap might ignore this, a Tantalum sees that over-voltage spike and its internal dielectric layer punctures, creating a permanent short circuit.

"

 

[troyphoto]

Well, howdy there soggy internet peeps, and those sans girlfriends today.

It's Troy again.

Currently it's 66°F-degrees and raining. Going to stay that way through lunch time, then the temp falls. Well the rain will too. We don't get past the rain until about 6p

Looks like the current track of the frontal system is set to send all the storms right over us. They're sliding up and to the right (to the NE) and we're right on the line to see them all.

Wife and I had chicken with the Pope, Yes last night. Our four chicken places are the Colonel who wasn't, Religious Phil-A! Chicken, Pope-Yes Chicken, and Civil War General Chicken. We like the Pope place the best. Part of that is my prejudice against KFC since my father managed one for four year when I was a pre to early teen. I got reallllll tired of eating chicken.

Got my tokens for the game printed yesterday, and tried to print enough to have some to share with other players.

Realized while I was changing rolls of filament (to get different colors) that my desiccant beads in the front of the AMS unit were all brown. Fresh ones should be orange. They're inside the green holders in the front of the AMS. These help keep the humidity down in the AMS unit. Wet filament is not good.

So, I got a piece of foil (aluminium) and made a little boat, then dumped one of the green holders into the boat, and set it in the filament dryer (a little oven that gets up to 55C in temp. 8 hours later, and I've got beads that are much closer to dry than wet.

I just dumped the center of 3 desiccant batches in for this pic. Those should be a bright orange.

Hope everyone's trains stay dry. BBL

 

[migalyto]

Good morning all!

happy Hump Day!

Survived a very active stormy night. We had 2 rounds of heavy storms move thru the area. Nothing really severe with either of
them just very heavy rain and lots of lightning and thunder. I had 1.7' of rain on the first wave and not sure about the second
as I haven't went out to look., but would guess another at least inch. It is currently raining but looking at the radar its about
out of the area. The temp is 39F and that is our high for today.

Have a couple loads of laundry to do and a few other things to do around the house today. A nap will be in order later.

Not much else going on at the moment.

Have a safe day everyone!

 

[traiNscale]

@troyphoto cant wait to get my P2S with AMS Pro in a month..
and i think i also will have to print those green buckets for additional drying.
just have to see where i get those small balls from, in switzerland.

 

[Patrick]

Morning all,

Storms overnight, while severe, didn't really hit my immediate area. I did have 1.4" of rain in the gauge before I left this morning. Currently cloudy and 41° with a high later of 52°. Far cry from the 82° we hit yesterday.

Well, we finally have a bathroom remodel, flooring scheduled for the 27th. We have already purchased the new toilet and vanity, so I'll be ripping out the old stuff the day before. We already had the LVP purchased to match the rest of the bathrooms and kitchen area. Be glad to get it out of the basement where it's been stored for the past couple of years. The installer was verifying over the phone what He'd need, and I said I already had it. We wanted the shower done first, which was completed last year. So with what we have done to the master bath, I figure we still have nearly $16,000 in a small (room is 8' X 5'). And I haven't gold plated anything. But we'll be able to stay in the house longer.

 

[Patrick]

@Patrick Blower motor under the jockey box? Bang around above the floor board there with your fist. Had same problem in the Expedition and determined that was the problem; no, not the banging around. Pretty easy fix, except for the elbow don't move that way.

I tried the hit the thing as that worked with the original motor. Not sure what's up with it, but seems to be working fine again. I blame it on cheap manufacturing (original one came from the same country of origin on an OEM part).

 

[TLOC]

Good morning from a wet Wisconsin that’s still getting wet. Quite the lightning show last night starting around 7:30 and continued into the early morning after we got home at 11:20! No idea how much but could see puddling out on the street where my pothole used to be. It is now a mist that is supposed to turn to snow at 9:30. It’s another one of those guesses. We may get 3-5” or a dusting. No matter it would be gone in a few days based on next 3 days supposedly in the high 40’s.

Finished the water tank for fire suppression in the paper mill for my friend. Taking it over at 9am. See the “ paper mill thread for a friend” for pictures. We will work on the layout but not the paper mill. I have enough of his paper mill spread out on my benches and parts of my layout. He was talking about making the framing for his main yard. 30” deep x 65’ is the space but it’s not all yard! It’s the last piece of his triple deck track plan. I’ll cut all the lumber and then we will start creating the framing boxes. Once we have those done, he glues and staples, we will move out the table saw. The 12’ run off and assembly table we will take apart. He has a buyer for it. The table saw will slide under the main yard but his plan is to sell it. He’s keeping it for now as if he needs it the aisle spacing is 6-8’ in this area. He can bring it out and there is plenty of room. Today will be about 2- 3 hours of cutting, maybe an hour drilling 12 holes in each cross piece for buss wiring and 3-4 hours assembling the framing. He has 3 guys coming tomorrow to install it all. His time estimates have usually been right on so he’ll have lunch at 12:30 and I’ll be home for dinner! He is fairly well organized but can talk and get lost in the conversation. Of our crew besides me there are 2 others that can get him back to focus, but he does have some great stories! If all goes to plan today this will be the last of the lumber cutting for the 2 layouts I’ve been helping on in the past 18 months. Cutting except for minor things is done on the layout 45 minutes north and hopefully this one 15 minutes away. Both layouts are big. The mainline up north on a double decked layout is 800’ +. Today’s triple decked layout is 1250’ plus, both are measured point to point and do not include staging lengths. The friend north has all his equipment to operate. My friend 15 minutes away has maybe 10% of the diesels he needs and about 1/2 the rolling stock. He is getting ready to buy some diesels! Says his debit card is ready.

Enjoy the day

 

[TLOC]

You mention Lake Geneva. I thought you were mentioning the one in Switzerland.


We were there on our way to Italy.

View attachment 259973

I’ve been on Lake Geneva in Switzerland. Stunning landscape and a great country

 

[troyphoto]

Well, howdy there again internet peeps...

Trying to get myself back on a Keto plan with more movement. I almost wrote "exercise" but that's a negative vibe. So I'm working on "movement" which sounds easier and more fun. Exercise is just gym class, and I hated gym class.

Anyway, I'm getting pretty low on smoked meats in the freezer. Since we're about to St. Patrick's day, I'm seeing corned beef on special in the grocery. Been looking up recipes (neither wife nor I are fans of cabbage).... and I'm playing with the idea of Smoking it to get more of a pastrami instead of regular corned beef.
Has anyone tried that? I'm reading that one should soak the meat overnight in a water bath to let some of the salt leach out. then add the pepper and spices rub, and smoke like a brisket.

Hmmm....

or, I could just toss the corned beef into the crock pot and slow cook it all day. Add some sweet taters and carrots... Hmmm

 

[ctclibby]

The new glasses are great for my far vision, and reading is now no problem. But I have no intermediate correction and the computer screen is fuzzy.

How can Walmart sell a pair of reading glasses for $5 that work at all focal lengths (2.5 diopter) off the rack, and an optometrist can't do the same for an expensive pair of glasses? I can't figure this out.

????????

Michael: I used to have those readers all over the house because my arm was never long enough. Bought them in pretty large lots and they ended up all over the place. Case of: do something, take them off to see far, put down and go do something else somewhere else forgetting the glasses. During my eye exam 3 or 4 years ago, I told the doc pretty much the above and she looked at me funny. Said "why don't you just get a progressive lens?". Huh? So back to the optics guy and he checked me out. He sat me down in front of a computer, gave me a book and a pharma bottle with very small print. He came up with: When I look at the computer screen it is near the top of the glasses, book through the middle, and tiny small print stuff through the bottom. These are kinda trifocals with no lines in them but with more magnification at the top and bottom in different degrees with not much in the middle. It all has to do with head movement when looking at stuff. Apparently, everybody does it different.

Hope that helps!

Oh, my first 'fix' of blurry computer screen was ... wait for it ... get a bigger monitor. Well, ya can only go so big as I like to look up and out the window on occasion *without* standing up to see over the things.

L8r

 

[RhB Michael]

65°F for now outside. Good morning.

We had one severe thunderstorm warning this morning around 0500, but the core must have passed to the north or south of us. All I heard was two rumbles of not-really-close thunder and five minutes of heavy rain. All clear now and temp is going to start falling in a couple of hours.

Todd; I have come to realize I expect too much from glasses. They will never be able to function like ​

healthy eyes do, so I'm going to have to accept their limitations and just suck it up. One pair for computer work and the main pair for everything else.​

Y'all have a good Wednesday! Servus!

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning All. Mostly cloudy and 61° after the thunderstorms last night. Looks like nearly 1" in the gauge this morning, although I haven't ventured out far enough to see exactly how much. Roller coaster weather for the next 10 days.

Wind today will be from a cold front that should hit around mid-afternoon. Brief initial winds of 25+ mph.

Noted yesterday that this site is moving much better with no lock-ups. It has continued this morning. Hope that I don't jinx that by posting about it.

No plans for today until I see how the rain affected things. Out in the garden yesterday, I noted that the Lettuce that I planted last week had peeked through, one day ahead of my expectations. I also wielded the hoe and broke the crust on each side of the Lettuce/Radish/Spinach row to disrupt the germination of any weeds. They'll still be some, but just not as many. Impossible to completely control out here in the prairie. Looking at the weather forecast reinforced my gut feeling about not jumping ahead with planting the Green Beans or Squash yet.

Out in the train shed yesterday, I restarted assembly of that Walther's Tillman Farm House kit, now that I have the replacement part from them.

Painted the walls and started putting in the windows/doors. Left the camera out there so no pictures of progress yet. I was hoping to use this structure in the area that I am currently working on. Probably will get a lot done today since it's wet outside.

Karl - I can't decide whether it's the humidity or the insects that bother me more in Central and South Florida. The Gulf Coast seems more tolerable with less insects.
David - Train rides to another boat sounds like fun. Will you be on another cargo ship or a cruise liner this leg?
Hughie - Small world indeed!
Tom O - I don't think that the walking trail was the reason that Ken Griffin moved to Florida!
Mike - I read that there were some tornadoes in your part of the world last night. Didn't seem to have affected you.

Everybody have a wonderful Wednesday.

 

[troyphoto]

65°F for now outside. Good morning.

We had one severe thunderstorm warning this morning around 0500, but the core must have passed to the north or south of us. All I heard was two rumbles of not-really-close thunder and five minutes of heavy rain. All clear now and temp is going to start falling in a couple of hours.

Todd; I have come to realize I expect too much from glasses. They will never be able to function like ​

healthy eyes do, so I'm going to have to accept their limitations and just suck it up. One pair for computer work and the main pair for everything else.​

Y'all have a good Wednesday! Servus!

My wife does that. She has good close vision, meh medium (computer) and terrible far vision. Glasses for driving, walking. Different ones for TV watching or computer. None for reading.

 

[ctclibby]

Good Morning All!

32F @ 70% overcast.

Ended up with about 5 inches of white yesterday before noon. Gone this am, but more coming down. Makes life interesting!

Dau house/apartment in Missoula sold. Apparently the owner lowered the price by quite a lot because of the 'black mold' that was found last year. She found more a month ago or so, told the owner and decided to find another place. Being in a college town, rents are through the roof and there is no way she could make it work. She is/was paying $1300 for a space the size of our kitchen and mud room. She got her 30 day notice about a week and 1/2 ago. Frantic searching got nothing. So, her squeeze's parents offered the upstairs to their house to them on somewhat a temporary basis. Great! Trouble is it is located in Oklahoma City. So the fun begins. Her 1st thought was to rent a 20ft box van, load and go with her car tagging along behind. Her squeeze can't drive because of medical. We kinda changed her mind with "Since you have no real experience driving something ...um... big, you don't really want to drive to OK towing a car in the winter". Then went on explaining I80 and its ilks. Think we have her talked into I90, then down the 29 at Sioux Falls to KC, then to Joplin and backtrack a tad to OK City, skipping I80 altogether. Then she decided that she was gonna get a couple of 'Pods' instead of the rental. Cost was something like $200 more - but she did not have to drive the truck. Now she has about 10 days from Pods pickup to delivery and is going to screw off for a bit. Good for her. Think we also have her talked into seeing 'The Faces', Reptile Garden and Wall Drug is a 'have to', don't know about 'Bad Lands' access. We are going to Missoula to 'see her off' this Saturday, then back home for us on Sunday. Drop dead day is the 19th if I remember correctly. We don't want her to be that far away, but not saying anything as it will be good for her to 'spread her wings' a tad.

I got in a hurry and sprayed some Axe body stuff in my mouth. Now I speak with an Axcent!

L8r