New Railway Modellers Forums

Thanks Bigmet. I have no problem with the soldering side of things, and your first link seems to confirm there's no real physical problems. For the lighting I'm only concerned with the front and rear direction lights, not the interior, so hopefully that will be reasonably straightforward. All I coul...

I hope it's okay to ask about Graham Farish N-gauge here :? I've had my eye on a 371-427A Graham Farish N Gauge Class 170/3 2-Car DMU, but it doesn't come with a DCC socket. Is it a simple matter to hard-wire a DCC chip into this model (presumably one for each car, to control the lights), or is ther...

Bufferstop wrote: .... Extra tip, always park coffee/tea mug on opposite side to iron stand.

There we go; I've now read somewhere that the advice I read somewhere else to not use a damp sponge was wrong :? Actually, having used a damp sponge for many years, I can't really see anything wrong with it myself, so I'm glad to have company. But I think I'll still get one of those brass wire thing...

My iron is an Antex, which I would recommend to anyone. I use replaceable bits with it ranging from 5mm to 0.1mm, and it has variable temperature settings to suit lead or no-lead solder. Antex service is also very good; mine is so old the gaiter guiding the mains lead into the handle was splitting. ...

For the past couple of years I've been using home-made circuits using PICAXE 08M2 programmable integrated circuits to activate point servos, switch the frogs, and provide LED indication on the panel. I use them with switches but, being programmable, they could also be configured to use a momentary p...

Rather than a DIN plug I was thinking more of a JST XH type plug, which is the type used as a balance plug on most LiPos I have.

Why does it have to be a jack plug, collectors? Would a simple 4-pin socket compatible with the balance plug on the battery not be the safest solution? Having said that, as a user of LiPos in model aircraft for many years, I would normally advise against charging in-situ because of the fire that res...

I moved over from 00-guage DC to N-guage DCC a couple of years ago. I was amazed at the improvement in running quality achieved by DCC -- my N-guage 0-6-0 tank especially demonstated the difference when compared with my 00 one. Both my layouts had a power buss supplying each individual length of tra...

Jules59. I'm pretty sure Roger (RJ) is right: I remember cutting electrofrog wires when I was setting up my 00-gauge layout, but I don't remember having to do that at all when I built my N-gauge layout.

Although I don't understand the specifics of the diodes and resistor, I think your problem is that capacitors in series have an overall less capacitance than each of the individuals. If you want to add capacitances you have to connect them in parallel, which means that they all have to be rated for ...

I would persevere with Electrofrog if I were you. Whether you're running DC or DCC there's much less chance of 'dead' spots. The need to "cut wires and solder additional wires" is so that the frog and its two immediate bits of rail is isolated from all other parts of the points, and can th...

When laying my N-gauge track I used OO-gauge pins (my previous layout was OO-gauge) to temporarily hold it in place while the glue set. They're much more robust than the N-gauge ones and, IIRC, I used a 1mm drill bit and didn't drill full depth. I then pushed the pins in with a pair of pliers.

I've never done it myself, but word elsewhere on this forum https://www.newrailwaymodellers.co.uk/Forums/viewtopic.php?t=25759 is that code 55 and code 80 can be joined together with regular rail joiners and a small amount of packing under the sleepers. Settrack is, I believe, code 80.

Another vote for Peco code 55 track, and then buying rolling stock ad hoc. In my opinion the ability to flex the track to suit your requirements exactly, rather than messing aobut with fixed Settrack radii, is well worth it. Another minor benefit of flexible track is that you don't need so many powe...