2014_08_29 continues

My mods to the Austrains G Class

The bottom board is fine (My V/Line G's do not have ditch lights) But the top board breaks all the rules with one wire an Andode + for one LED and a Cathode - for the second.
I kept the resistors

attached but cut the join on the -ve side and added wires to enable the tsunami  in this engine.

Here you can see the negative Cathodes are connected wtf?

Back of board just hangs the capacitors on the back of the LEDS

The Led on top is headlight and it is sunny white, much too yellow for a modern diesel. I might change it out for a white one, perhaps move the white one from the bottom board which creates a bright white marker light, should obviously have the yellow light there?
So the negative track is cut.

Just to make sure nothing leaks between the leds I cut these tracks as well. Not sure I had to?

Drill out the board and pull wires through to prevent the light path being blocked when the board is screwed back into the body.

Having got rid of the huge light board Austrains had fitted, I now had room to use the speaker boxes. If you keep the light board you can put those two speakers into the chassis below the fitted speakers, but I found the sound awful and did this instead (It is much easier to keep the Austrains light board, however I now have the marker lights connected to the number lights at eac end. I can run with headlights on and marker/number off for daylight running. Or headlights off and marker / number lights on, parked in a siding? I can have marker lights at both ends or just one end for night time running and pulling a train.

Cheers
Rod

2014_08_29 Something Different?

Hello All
The weather has turned, days are warm and dry, and each night is a little warmer than the one before :D

Jobs done! 5 Dcc Sounds of Australia chips fitted :) plus two Tsunami. That's a big deal around here.

And after unloading my goodies from Caulfield I was able to create a complete train.

Damn ETM was a cow to fit Had to file away the bogie top and find a flat head screw because the wheels jammed in the bearing holes. Looks like the hour or two I spent on it stuffed some steps too :(
I intend to swap the US heads with an original VR one in time ;)
So Watto I trump your one tank container with all the above :)

2014_08_24

Sunday after the big Exhibition (AMRA)

Well yesterday morning I awoke 5 minutes before the alarm went off at 3.00am and got dressed and grabbed a coffee and departed for Melbourne. All my plans for accommodation the night before failed to eventuate and I decided to go early. Parked the car at Kilmore East and went on to Caulfield on the first up, arriving at 8.20am just behind Big Watto :) Some enjoyable banter filled in the wait before the doors opened at 9.00 however a pest kept butting in as I tried to talk with Zec. who was there a few minutes after me.
Struggled home about midnight with a bag of goodies which I must go outside and check out now :)
More later
Cheers
Rod Young

2014_08_22

2014_08_22 

Have a look at this one :)   Thanks Jim for sharing

 As to my Railway, I guess I will never reach this stage, but then neither could this Russian, without his money :)
Cheers
Rod

2014_08_21

2014_08_21  The warmer days have arrived, but the nights are still coll, too cool for the shed.


Well again it was time to step back from current frustrations.  So I found I had 58 unfinished projects on a temporary work bench. Actually the front of the Coal siding yards. I decided to start on these projects and take a break from points and track laying, particularly point motors :)

Projects were mostly sound units not completed (remember the FA G Class (not going there yet though) I found a BLI track mobile that had stopped, and fixed that.
I restarted other projects, only to find I did not know where the parts I bought were stored, so I
went through the place and located most of my supplies, and eventually was able to get 6 models on to the tracks in service.

Yesterday 10 BP tanks arrived from Southern Models, and I am pleased with them. Unfortunately I am suffering a lot of derailments, and they are random vehicles at random places. The gauge appears ok, and they are code 100 so I cant blame code 88, can I?

I don't know that a better camera will help me, I think my eyes are failing faster than I thought :(
Cheers
Rod

2014_08_13 PL Cars

2014_08_13  The drought (no models) has broken.
With Southern Models taking money for the VR Tanks, and a parcel from Austrains, and  also notification that my 81's and final G's are to be sent today, my poor bank account is in trouble once again.

In this video T326 brings up 6 PL cars freshly out shopped for use on the Branch line.
Unfortunately T326 suffered sound decoder failure after I stored it on JMRI so I could use the WIFI Controller on my I-phone.  Fortunately I have an ESU programmer and mike will send me the project to reload and fix the problem.   The sound here is not representative of the DCC sounds I originally purchased.

All four body styles :)
Cheers
Rod

2014_08_06 G Class?

2014_08_06

Just been tinkering around. Just too damn cold to settle into a job worth doing on the layout. Catching up on videos an TV.  But did some work on these today, just because people were talking on FaceAche about them. Cant believe I wasted the whole day on a computer (again :(  )

 

 When you come to think about it, the much criticized Powerline upgrade with a new all wheel modern mech might be popular if the price is kept low. This 25 year old body stands pretty well even with flush glaze and a bit of added brass.
Cheers
Rod