Gee Fred, I wonder who that guy was that used a box with "Must Be Kept Frozen" on the outside? I remember you telling me that story, but I really have to question the intelligence of the neighbor who would pick up a packager at room temperature and really believe the wording on the package? First off, the package would not have been cold when they picked it up for you, but I guess they take things quite literally. Oh well, it's nice to have neighbors who really try to protect your property.
C'mon, it's not the postal service or any other parcel service that has gone bad, that is what it always was and will be. Parts have to fit for shipping, The GP30 circuit board is not. So, AZL to fix it (longer noses on the rear plastic clip, bit more tension on the board) and everyone is happy.
Gerd, Agreed: Thats what we are working on for the next production run. In the mean time, these little GP30s really do run well once everything is settled down. But I was trying to address Paul's concern: and my point was that if it needs a little adjustment after the Post Office's tender loving care, it will probably be fine going forward. ...unless you're like me with a 4-year old who likes to use his Dad's Z scale trains to run on his Thomas wooden tracks... Cheers! -Rob(A) AZL
Rob, Well I guess that's a little better than if he had taken his Thomas trains and tried to run them along the tracks on your Swiss layout! John
DCC conversion a friend of mine in Germany mentioned to me when converting the GP30 to DCC (Z2 decoder) he had to change the polarity of the LED on the CB to work in right direction. Is that known?
TCS Z2 Decoder. I ran all 3 of mine over 2 days at the GTE with great results over the past weekend. No warm motors, No burnt out LED's, just pulling long trains with ease! De-solder all parts from this side: http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/967/Image132.jpg Re-solder the 1.2K resistors to the negative lead of the LED's: http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/967/Image218.jpg Buzz the LED's to verify they light: http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/967/Image318.jpg http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/967/Image410.jpg De-solder motor wires then re-solder them to decoder facing forward, de-solder blue wire and discard: http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/967/Image511.jpg Insulate frame / decoder with Kapton, cut motor wires to length, then solder to motor tabs: http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/967/Image610.jpg Install light board over decoder, run wires as shown, spread away from rear LED so the shell / light pipe will fit normally, cut 4 remaining wires to length and solder as shown: http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/967/Image713.jpg
There is no way on earth I could have guess all of this setup information without your photo's Thanks for all your explanations! Ben
A couple more things about the GP30 design that I discovered during the development process 1) I stall tested the motor at 12 volts for 6 hours. It recovered with no loss of torque or speed. It also produced only 3 degrees of additional heat. 2) I tested pulling power of the GP30 at about 40% more than the SD70, and 100% more than the GP35. 3) Torture test had the GP30 pulling 8 AZL 3-bay hoppers over a figure 8 (overn and under) test track for 7 days straight without rest. No change in speed or reliability. Enjoy! -Rob(A) AZL
Rob, Aside from the circuit board issue, your tests should remove any doubt about the excellent quality of this new loco. Your testing should dismiss any fears or reluctance for customers to invest in this loco. Hat's off to you.
So what about this? 4) Ultimate Torture test; handed three tested, boxed locomotives in three standard packages to a USPS clerk, then a few days later after receiving the same three packages in acceptable condition, checked the contents. Each package contained one undamaged GP30 locomotives, all three ran flawlessly out of box... :0)
Loren, Very kind of you - thank you very much. Honestly, we do this because we love the trains, the scale, and the good people that Z attracts. Now I'll go back to working on proof reading locomotive designs. Does anyone know the Cantonese phrase for "no more excuses"? (Méiyǒu gèng duō de jíkǒu?) I've tried "Tài guìle" till I’m blue in the face. It’s a Z scale miracle!!! Maybe it’s because I threatened to wrap Rob Kluz in bubble wrap and mail him to Oshkosh, fourth class? (He kindly declined my offer.) Cheers! -Rob
No such thing! Ask Lucas, my 19 months old grandson. If he knows the basic Z scale rule, everybody should be able to do the same thing: "Handle With Care!!!"
Lajos, How come Lucas is so much more handsome than you? I know what he is thinking as he looks at those cars........."If I pull them apart like I want to, grandpa Lajos will blow a gasket most likely........