Todays main irritation is...

[aleopardstail]

Given most days can through up an irritation or three thought I'd start a list.

my DCC-EX controller kit arrived today, Arduino Mega, Wifi shield and a motor shield, brilliant

does the arduino work.. does it^%$£$%^&

defect in the rest circuit stops it being programmed, apparently a few work arounds, have tried the component swap thats meant to fix it with no luck, need to try and reprogram the bootloader next

the joy of Chinese quality control

[peterws]

Talking of the Chinese, we could all use a bit of entente cordiale, y'know! Without their stuff rolling into the UK there'd be riots. They'd bomb us into buying more stuff like we did to them many years ago (Naval Bombardment) when our nation was called Great Britain.
And it has occurred to me, with such clarity, that our noble hobby creates inroads into this very thing, from history and indeed the present.
Look with revulsion on the steam engines of other nations. European, Far East, USA . . . they're all so bloody ugly!
So when these esteemed Chinese workers produce our models, they become the exponents and proponents of the most lovely and beautiful engineered products in living memory.
The Great British Steam Locomotive!
Can you imagine the comments after the gasps of amazement had died down?
"Why didn't our trains look like this?"
"Britain must be a wonderful country! How friendly and accommodating the people there must be!"
"We must go and live there! I believe they welcome immigrants and asylum seekers . . . "

[Bigmet]

...no longer able to arise from sleep fresh as a daisy at 7 a.m., after enjoying a day out in London, arriving home by train just before midnight. To really rub it in, while on the fairly crowded tube to KX a lady offered me her seat. (Mentally I am barely out of my teens, perhaps I should use hair dye on my grey-white beard to 'reset the clock'...)

[George Stein]

Main irritation -- major model companies increasingly common failure to maintain or provide adequate supply of basic spare parts. No one seems to have Hornby X8901 screws for Class 28xx. Need for repair. Arrgh!

On China and the hobby: Google "Bachmann China" to discover great ugly HO Chinese steam locomotives, etc. Chinese middle-class clearly getting into hobby.

George
North Carolina

hint, hint -- anyone who can source Hornby X8901 much appreciated.

[aleopardstail]

the lack of fundamental spares is I suspect down to the move to online box shifters, the model shops of old usually had a row of little drawers with the various screws, brackets, the odd spare motor, traction tyres, brushes, spring etc that the box shifters don't want to bother with as its too fiddly and takes up space.

doubt the manufacturers see value in selling a "spares kit" of common stuff, though to be honest anything that has tyres should come with at least one spare set and the idea of flogging a pack of screws is good - or at least documenting that they have used so alternatives can be found

[Bigmet]

Whatever the cause, I have taken the DIY route for the 13 key classes of my chosen location: wait for a cheap s/h specimen as a 'breaker'. Of course, having done this, then nothing fails sufficently to actually require spares and that's after 24 years of intensive operation of the oldest such...

[aleopardstail]

have had issues with RFID tags and locomotives, largely due to the metal chassis.

bought some "anti metal" RFID tags that are meant to be good for this

what do the instructions state? "Do not apply to metal"

[aleopardstail]

typical bank holiday

have various plans set out only to find "family" have other ideas, basically wreaking most of it.

not helped by Wickes only have one sheet of 4x2 9mm plywood that wasn't banana shaped. could have got a few of the 6x2 however Mrs L decided she was coming along so couldn't fold the seats flat enough for that

plus side, won an eBay auction for a diamond crossing about half new price with its unopened in the packaging. the one sheet I have is destined for one of the final two end sections, though the one I have the pointwork for.

Grrrr

[Bigmet]

...inexplicably my right knee ligaments are sore and it is uncomfortable to sit on my layout operation bar stool after several days away 'oop North. But at least I have the consolation of much fun with a friend's layout while away.

[Bufferstop]

the lack of fundamental spares is I suspect down to the move to online box shifters.....................

Reading that made me think back and I realised that it is now 40yrs since I moved into computing as opposed to electronics and communications. That's when I discovered that I'd been protected by manufacturers who recognised the need for spares. I queried the need to return an item DOA before checking for the very simple things that could be easily fixed. The suppliers insisted on it, getting into conversation with them I was introduced to a whole new world where all spares came out of failed units so any sort of problem with a new item and it was replaced.Of all the companies who I dealt with I could count on one hand the number who had any new unused spare parts.

[aleopardstail]

the lack of fundamental spares is I suspect down to the move to online box shifters.....................

Reading that made me think back and I realised that it is now 40yrs since I moved into computing as opposed to electronics and communications. That's when I discovered that I'd been protected by manufacturers who recognised the need for spares. I queried the need to return an item DOA before checking for the very simple things that could be easily fixed. The suppliers insisted on it, getting into conversation with them I was introduced to a whole new world where all spares came out of failed units so any sort of problem with a new item and it was replaced.Of all the companies who I dealt with I could count on one hand the number who had any new unused spare parts.

worked in the rail industry for a number of years, one technician role was equipment testing, diagnostics and repairs, large part of that was "this unit is dead because X has failed", followed by stripping it to repair other units

[aleopardstail]

electrical fork connectors

smallest I can find are 3.2mm..

I have terminal blocks that require smaller, closer to 2.7

I hate my life

[Flashbang]

electrical fork connectors

smallest I can find are 3.2mm..

I have terminal blocks that require smaller, closer to 2.7

I hate my life

I haven't seen Forked crimps with less than 3.2mm spacing between the forks! Could you use flat blade crimps instead? example....https://www.switchelectronics.co.uk/pro ... oEEALw_wcB
Or even Bootlace Ferrules?

[Bufferstop]

For a period of about 2yrs we had the only captive example of a 23.5 pin dot matrix printer. Finally I came across another example which had totally failed for other reasons. Its owners were more than happy to accept a tenner for it and I was able to extract the good pin from its head and plant it in ours. A job which I'll never again undertake, at the time my job didn't have the clout to write off an item of such cost. Today the item wouldn't have the cost and the job carries more than enough clout.

[aleopardstail]

electrical fork connectors

smallest I can find are 3.2mm..

I have terminal blocks that require smaller, closer to 2.7

I hate my life

I haven't seen Forked crimps with less than 3.2mm spacing between the forks! Could you use flat blade crimps instead? example....https://www.switchelectronics.co.uk/pro ... oEEALw_wcB
Or even Bootlace Ferrules?

its going into a screw terminal designed really for a fork, which is why its odd. one of those things. don't think a bootlace fits either as it really wants something both side - just means wire wrapping which I had hoped to avoid