what are people doing on their layout right now

[davidjhope]

  FOUND IT 

now I need a bag.

[MinZaPint]

Well I've said it before, the old eyes aint what they used to be! but I've managed to start cutting out the Scalescenes platform pieces that I need, I recall I posted that I was going to do this early January. Better late than never as they say! Using card from various bits of packaging which seems to work well.

[Newportnobby]

Just found a jelly baby.
Still no spring

Did you eat the head or the feet first?

[Sprintex]

Just found a jelly baby.
Still no spring

Did you eat the head or the feet first?

Depends which end has the obligatory bit of fluff stuck to it! 


Paul

[Jerry Howlett]

Beating the Conrad point motors to death with a hammer or one of the dogs depending on what I lay my hands on first !!!

[Fratton]

Nothing      

(queue violins)

An old back injury has flared up and I can't bend over or sit at my desk, standing is most comfy with laying down second and settee third, no railway modelling for me for a wee while!!!   

[Newportnobby]

Sorry to hear that, and you have my sympathies. I have to be so careful as to what I do due to a similar problems

[longbridge]

Finally starting the scenery on the new layout, cant count the amount of times I jiggled the track around to a way that made me happy, thats what happens when you carry your track plans in your head.

[Bad Raven]

Just been trial running three DCC trams on a small loop....juggling their speeds and stopping in the gaps.....next I need to adjust speed ramps to get them more balanced in acceleration and cruise speeds.........

[SymonC]

Busy making some Metcalfe terraced houses.

[Pete Mc]

Evening all,earlier this week,tuesday night to be precise,I decided to take my Digitrax Zephyr DCS51 dcc controller and some loco's to our model railway club.
As I didn't have a suitable dcc ready test track to use,I took a length of new flexi and some 16/0.2mm wire.I soldered the wire to.the track and set up controller.Now I put a decoder in the first loco to be converted,this being a Farish class 37 number 37254.This was easy as the decoder of choice is a Digitrax DZ125IN with NEM651 6 pin direct plug in job.
Now the fun began.Even though I knew it was on address 03,I wanted to change it to address 7254 straightaway.As this was the first time I have done any kind of dcc chip programming I didn't realise how frustrating it can be for the first time.Needless to say after 2 hours of trying I failed to do the one thing I set out to do so I could move onto another loco.So that night I packed up.the stuff,took it home and left it where I put it.
Next day,I decided to.build a programming track and dc/dcc test track plank thing so I don't have to keep swapping the wires over.
With this done,I then set about doing what I had tried the night before,with exactly.the same results.
So out came the destructions,both types included with the controller and the ones that come with the decoder.Had a read of these and one thing contradicted the other.In the decoder manual,it states that four digit addressing will be selected automatically when used.Not so.
In the book that came with the controller,(not the controller manual)it states you have to change the value of cv29.On looking at the value,I marked the original value and compared(when I use this word,that fat bloke with the handlebar moustache pops into my head singing Go Compare)it to one that activates four digit addressing.Withthe values changed,I tried again to change the loco address and voila.

Success.It accepted the change.

For the next hour I just played with the loco on a yard long test track plank.I also altered some other cv's like the acceleration/deceleration cv's as well.
Marvellous.
Now I have to stop procrastinating over the layout wiring,board joins and other stuff so I can install and test the dcc set on the layout.
Whilst all this is ongoing,I will no doubt save some coin for my first sound decoder,which will go into one of my Dapol hst's.I will have a crack at putting a sound decoder in a coach nearest the power car using this months 'how to' article in Railway Modeller on this very task.Hopefully,it will work a treat.
Lots to do.

Pete

[Newportnobby]

Hi Pete,
There are also some instructions on putting sound into a Dapol Voyager on this site. Dunno if the principles are the same
http://www.dapol.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=139&Itemid=32

[CAMBRIAN DRIVER DAVE]

I'm doing nowt on my layout cus I've got
My arm in plaster  :'(

[Pete Mc]

Thanks for that Newportnobby,I didn't know Dapol put this stuff on their website so I will have to have a good trawl over it at some point.
As far as I can see from the article,it looks like the coach is powered like a mk3 but as a mk3 isn't it doesn't have a nem plug it looks like a bit of soldering will be needed.I also don't need motor control because I will be using a separate decoder for that in the power car.
It has already been mentioned on here by kirky and John Yoochoose that the idea of using a plug between coach and power car may cause running problems due to snagging on tight curves so I guess a little bit of experimentation may be whats needed.
I'll just have.to wait and see,but rest assured,if I'm successful,I'll be the one shouting from the rooftops and posting my findings on here for you all.

Pete

[tadpole]

Finally finished tracklaying on the main line.
So far only the Salisbury Central branch, and tracks which are electrically visible therefrom, are powered and tested, so tonight:
1. power Exeter lines 
2. test Exeter lines
3. lay a couple of carriage sidings and headshunt
4. clear up the mess
5. sort out lumps, bumps, mis-alignments