I had a Bachmann 2-8-0 that got out of quarter. I sent it in with I think 20 dollars. They sent me a new one with a decoder already installed. I can't find anything about this decoder. I have programed the address but that is all I can get. This is not a tsunami, I don't know what it is and that is the problem. :?

Hello every one figured id drop in and pass off my information and tell you we were one of the effected people out of the 250 in my area and we suffered 1-2 inches of water on first floor and basement a total loss. With that said i managed to save over 3000$ worth of locomotives and a few books, other than that lost my dcc system and the layout. Sigh more rain on the way.......

With DC we could protect a stub terminal by cutiing a rail and wiring in a diode to halt a loco but allow it to reverse out automatically.
As DCC runs on AC a diode would not control such a circuit. Has anyone any ideas on circuitry to achieve the same protection . I want to arrange a shelf layout fo DCC and can see some potentially loco fatal situations for stub ends ( inattention, distraction, unexpected acceleration or merely using speed control in the wrong direction).
My irst thought was to use a block control switch to isolate the last section, and reset it to closed to reverse the loco out, but this seems a bit too crude operationally.
A second thought is to use an LDR to bias a transistor to control a NC relay. An RC circuit could slowly repower the relay to restore power to the stub section, giving time for the operator to reset the DCC controller to where it is wanted.

If any one hs any ideas or circuits to achieve protection, I would love to hear them.

My Black and Decker cordless drill 12 volt power pack won't keep a recharge very long any more . It is several years old . The replacement power packs seem to be around $50 and I don't think I paid much more than that for the drill AND power pack , originally ....if I remember right

Is there a new drill anyone can recommend , or should I just spring for the new 12 volt P.P. ? I don't think I would need the extra power of a 24 volt PP and , besides , it would probably be a lot heavier .

Any suggestions ?

T

We are still planning to change servers soon. Don, Packey & I have been discussing the board's software and modifications. The 2 main mods are the photo gallery and the chat room.

Whenever the board software has to be updated to the newest release, a few times a year, it's really a chore keep the chat room running. So, we need to know if it's worth replacing our present chat room with another newer chat room (same amount of aggravation to maintain) or can we do without it?

We know that there are a few that use it, we're only asking that you reply to this post stating how often you do use it. Also - you may post if you know for certain that another member uses it.

Thanks!!!!

Don & Mikey.....

No roads announced yet:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.nscalesupply.com/MTL/MTL-Loco-SW1500.html">http://www.nscalesupply.com/MTL/MTL-Loco-SW1500.html</a><!-- m -->

Another of my experiment with cheap rolling stock that looks ugly.

This boxcar was manufactured by Life-Like years ago. They offered a badly painted version in CN "wrong color" with an utterly wrong paint scheme. Indeed CN acquired a few of them from ex-Penn Central parentage in the late 80s but they didn't look like this:



So I decided to strip the paint and start again:



Decals were scavenged from Microscale (CN freight and freigth data) to match as close as I could the picture from Canadian Rail Pictorial boox. However, I didn't have modern data placard sign decals. So I decided to paint them by hand on a blank decal sheet. Not perfect, but good enough if you aren't looking at it with a magnifier glass.



I also replaced the brake wheel with a Kadee one and also the stirrups. All other details, though cast on, were quite decent and didn't need an upgrade.

The result:





And after a light coat of weathering according to prototype picture:







Verdict: these Life-Like boxcars aren'T that bad when they receive a decent coat of paint and a few detail improvement like new couplers and newer roller bearing trucks.

Matt

We had a slight hiccup in our database. Luckily, Packey had done a backup last night, so we restored things to that time. This means that anything that was posted after 9 PM EST last night, has disappeared. It was too risky to try to find and add them, so you have our sincere apologies for the disruption and loss of some posts, but we need to give Packey a big hand for being able to get things back on track as much as he has.

My short line got some Gov. $$$$ to purchase a new truck !! I'm working on a 2 matchbox ford f550 iI bought at a supermarket for 88 cents a piece . The green one is stock except for some paint & decal removal (going to take it apart too) The red one I took apart & painted the cab , cut the reels & pump out of the body . My mother has trouble open her pills so I open them up for her & i looked at the packaging & it looks like scale aluminum diamond plate so iI saved some of them & glued them in the body wear i cut it & the headache rack too it's a start ! I'm a sound addict & I like to build & make stuff!!!!

Attached Files

Thumbnail(s)
           

This seems like a true orphan to me. I've had these Athearn shorty RDCs for years. One is powered by rubber band drive and the other is a dummy. I purchased the gearing package at least three years ago. But, it has all sat in a drawer. The challenge is to get these two units...

... looking like my other KP&W RDC (A PK unit) and running with the better drive