These units had square UDE lights. I'm yet to see a square one in N scale but would be happy if they do exist.
Thanks! The part I'm looking for is this square-style UDE light: I need 2 for the H-12-44, but more could never hurt
I KNOW that Sunrise used to make a great Mars single oscillating headlight, but, alas, they are no more. I think that Detail Assoc made one as well...I know they made one in HO and I thought they made it in N as well. But I do know that there is someone on Shapeways that makes on, althought it is part of a SP GP-9 light cluster, but I'm sure it can be cut out: https://www.shapeways.com/product/K...pack-n-1-160?optionId=59104658&li=marketplace
The only single oscillating lights I've seen from SRE and DA are/were the round ones, not the square ones needed for these units. However, the ones in the Shapeways link would indeed work, if they can be successfully cut off the cluster.
I got the sound decoder in for my FM H-10-44 and put it on the decoder tester.... https://www.trainboard.com/highball...nd-decoder-with-fm-h-12-44-sound-file.147541/ Like it but think I will like it better with a different speaker. The speaker on the tester is an 8 x 12 that I tried in a loco and didn't like it so put it on the tester. I have another 8 x 12 that I think will be better but after doing some measurements think I can get a 9 x 16 in the cab. Since it is a shapeways H-10 shell on an Atlas VO-1000 frame there is a lot more room to work with vs. the Minitrix frame and shell. Sumner
The main problem with the Shapeways one is the quality-to-price ratio. For how much a pack costs, they'd better look good under a microscope. The golden age of Sunrise, Detail Associates, etc. really did spoil me when it comes to detail part bang-for-buck! Now that's a pretty cool test rig! Sure beats my breadboard and 9V battery. On the Minitrix, one might be able to fit a ≤9x16mm speaker in the nose light area with some minor frame milling. Replace the molded radiator mesh on the shell with a perforated metal piece so it doubles as a speaker grille, and I suspect it'd sound pretty good. This is my first time having to modify a frame, so I'm going to accept a regular decoder that actually works as my milestone for success. I'm still trying to decide whether or not I want to try and wrangle working Gyralites into this one.
I looked at putting the sound decoder into the Minitrix but it is I think too long and the milling to get it in and not mess the frame up right above the side junction with the part above the motor might cause a frame failure there. I think the speaker would be the easy part actually as you mentioned. I used a DZ126T in the Minitrix ( HERE ) and it fit easily as it is shorter than the ESU sound decoder but for what you are doing I spend a couple more bucks on an ESU LokPilot 5 Micro DCC ($28 at SBS). http://1fatgmc.com/RailRoad/Decoder-1/page-28.html The Digitrax only has two functions (front/rear light). The 5 Micro has 4 and 2 logic that could also be used so would handle the other lighting you are thinking about as far as I know. The ESU is also smaller and they are suppose to have better motor control. The Minitrix still wasn't a real easy install, see the install in the link I posted. Sumner
Wow, the LokPilot is TINY! I'd been looking at the TCS M4, which is about the size of the DZ123 but with 4 functions. With a single hacksaw cut I could fit TWO LokPilots in the nose of the H-12, one to run the locomotive and one as a spare
Yep and the Zimo is even smaller. I ordered 2 of those just in case I need something smaller yet. The Lokpilot should fit in about anything though. Sumner
I, for whatever reason, thought their parts would be available forever. Really kicking myself for not stocking up on some things I would use regularly, such as SP light clusters. Manufacturers like this seems to be gone all of a sudden with no warning. NJI seems to have vanished without warning as well and now there are no crossing signals available in N that are anywhere near the same level of quality and fidelity.
Even way back when Sunrise first started scaling back production, I figured someone would fill in their gap in the detail part world. But instead of shrinking the gap has widened to a chasm since. As my research advisor would say, there's an interesting study in this for someone. But anyway, today my spare-parts H-12-44 arrived. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about tearing apart a perfectly good locomotive for scraps, but that turned out to be a non-issue. In addition to the assorted shell damage visible in the auction photos, the motor is burnt out and somehow one of the idler gears is missing altogether. But the fuel tank, trucks (sans idler gear), frame, etc. are all fine, which makes this a nice guilt-free parts loco. A little careful prying and now my H-12-44 has an intact fuel tank, a non-traction-tire fourth axle, and enough spare parts that I can proceed with confidence.
I'm back from and ready to get back to something like work. While I wait for my UDE lights and decoder to arrive, I figured I'd risk one of my spare wheelsets and attempt a flange reduction. Even on Peco code-55 track the stock pizza-cutter wheels brush the ties just enough to interfere with smooth running, and that just won't do. For the most part I followed Sumner's excellent guide, with the additional step of adding a drop of extra-thin CA glue onto the insulated wheelset's bushing to give it a little more grip on the axle. Despite bouncing the file onto the wheel tread and gear a couple times, I ended up with something that stays in gauge and at least looks like it will run: The picture doesn't do it justice; it's not exactly RP25 compliant, but it's a lot lower-profile than the original. I've swapped this test wheelset into the locomotive, and I'll take it for a spin on the club layout this week. If my modified wheelset works like it should I'll go ahead and tackle the remaining axles. If it doesn't, I've got plenty of spares to try again on
So on the subject... If the wheels "brush the ties (spike heads) just enough to interfere with smooth running"...could one not just run a flat tip screwdriver..at an angle...down the inside of the rails and knock the top of the spike heads down just a tick ??? It would seem like an easier fix. Just askin.
It might be doable, but there are some caveats. For one, the inner 'spikes' on Peco track are more like flattened plates than actual spikes like on Atlas et al. track. I suspect they'll be quite a bit sturdier and harder to knock down than the regular spikes on other track. More importantly though, I'm not sure the train club would appreciate me taking a screwdriver to hundreds of feet of painted trackwork just so I can run an obscure prototype from a railroad on the other side of the country
I finally got the flanges turned down. Without the pizza cutters or traction tires to impede pickup, the loco's performance is markedly improved. So I've moved on to the most daunting task; decoder installation. It took some time with a razor saw and files to get the nose opened up. A TCS M3 fits very snugly in there; I can still take off another couple of mm before I start compromising the frame's strength, but I'd like to keep as much metal as I can. I'll need to add some grooves for wiring to the motor, pickups, etc. I'm not looking forward to doing that with a file. Maybe I'll borrow a working Dremel from someone first
No disaster today! It took about 10 minutes with the Dremel to mill a slot in the frame, several hours of filing to make it look pretty, then 5 more minutes with the drill and tap set to finish the job off. It may not be a masterpiece of machining, but the wires won't care. And I got a nice arm workout in the process
