New Railway Modellers Forums

A neat idea, but there's one thing I'd like to clarify about the diagram: Even though the three resistors are given different numbers, I presume they're all the same value, depending on the operating voltage and the LED characteristics. But if the LEDs have different characteristics (perhaps differe...

Like Flashbang I can't help with IC2 length, but I can tell you that servo leads can be quite long if necessary. I use servos in my RC model aircraft, as well as for my points, and in my aircraft the leads can be maybe 4ft long. When extending them beyond the supplied servo lead length I use heavier...

I hadn't heard of decoders resetting themselves. IIRC there was a wrong point setting which caused my controller to trip out, but it was one of the other locos, not the Deltic. I didn't check to see if the Deltic had reverted to address #03 but, as I mentioned before, when I re-powered the layout ne...

Thanks for all those tips guys. Lead, or tungsten, shot and superglue seem like the simplest.

Just a note in case anyone else has this problem: Yesterday my N-gauge Deltic was running around my track for quite a while, as my wife had expressed an interest in how to operate my railway. In the meantime I ran several other locos to show her how it all works. At the end of the session I parked a...

I normally cut it with a Stanley knife I don't have an anvil to make it thinner, but I suppose I could cut off thin slivers about 1mm thick and then cut them into suitable lengths.

Thanks Bigmet, lots of points (sorry!) to consider there, I'll check them all.

Good point about the wheel bearings so, whatever I do, I'll take it easy. I've got some lead flashing which I use for ballast in my model aircraft, but it's about 2mm thick (1 foot in N-gauge terms!) so will be quite prominent. Is there a common source of thinner lead sheet?

All of my N-gauge rolling stock (Dapol and GF) is very light, and sometimes derails when being pushed over points, crossings or slips. The obvious answer to adding a bit of weight to open wagons is to put a load in them, but what do you do about closed wagons and carriages? I'm thinking to drill a s...

Certainly tape them off or attach them to a terminal block so they can't get snagged accidentally, as Dad-1 has said. If it suits the shape of the layout I would suggest making the buss wires a continuous loop with both ends connected to the power supply. Maybe overkill, especially if your wires are...

Thanks Bigmet. There's no 'screaming' so, as you say, it's more likely the gears, so I'll pay attention to them. The main culprit at the moment is a GF class 37 where the the gear trains are easily accessible and replaceable.

Can anyone point me in the right direction to get instruction re. general loco maintenance? My kit is all GF and Dapol N-gauge. I'm reasonably competent at cleaning wheels and pickups, and lubrication, but I'm particularly concerned that some of my models sound like they've got gravel in the transmi...

Bare LEDs always need a resistor in series. As already suggested, 1k ohm is a good starting value, but in theory the minimum/optimum value depends of the LED's colour (different colours have different electrical characteristics), its current-carrying capability (usually related to brightness), and t...

Hi abenn This is where I loose the plot I have'nt a clue when it comes to programmable chips I stick to basic electronic's using the 555 timer is a simple way to operate servo's the reason for 2 555's is one opens the gates 2 clockwise the other 2 anticlockwise the relay is triggered by my plug in ...

I don't understand: He demonstrated that the faulty LED was getting 6.5v and, I think, mentioned that the voltage-regulator had failed open-circuit, which would have eventually caused the LED to fail. So why didn't he change the voltage regulator as well -- or did I miss it?