That thing is awesome haha !! Cheap too which I dig. I have to ask though it may be a stupid question. lol the applicator it self uses electricity to create static correct ? this is so it all sticks together and stands up. I havent really been able to find a site that explains how it works ??... which I'm most curious about !! More Good News !!! Lights are working ! I ordered flashing bulbs but they dont flash. I thought the idea would be cool but I'm guessing I need a few more components then just the LED and a resistor though Amazon customer answers say it should work. All the videos I've seen of an LED flashing are with at least one type of diode. I'm no expert but if any one wants to chime in on that I'd listen. Not to picky here though I just wanted them to work ! Happy Friday people !!
Static applicator... you are adding a negative charge to the grass fibers in the hopper and as they drift to the air then finally attach to the glue the like charges of each fiber cause them to repel each other and align the way they do. Like north of two magnets repel each other. LEDs on their own don't have the ability to blink. You'd need some additional circuitry in-between to make that happen. There are people out there selling blinking LEDs with everything ready for direct connection to ~12v. Check this page out. The "normal" flash rate may still be too fast but they are a bit smaller and very realistic looking for you application. I use a beacon on a water tower that has a slower flash rate using an NCE light it board, pico LED and a 1000ohm resistor. It's a little more expensive but you can power 3 of the pico LEDs with a single $8 board. If you are using DCC for your trains you can power the light it board with your track power and even turn the lights on and off with your cab controller if it has an accessory menu. You can see my setup if you pay attention to the top right section of the video.
Wow that’s a sweet layout !! And that’s what I thought when I got the package on amazon saying “flashing led kit”. Which only came with a resistor and LED haha Ya I plan on using my DCC zephyr express by digitrax. Its my first ever Dcc system so I have to do more research on research. I do have my first DCC engines coming in as well. I ordered 2 SD50 Chessie system locos with ESU Full Throttle sound decoder. I’ll have to see if the zephyr has an accessory menu. Cheers!
The zephyr does control accessories as far as I am aware so definitely be thinking about those light boards if you want to control your lighting from the throttle unit. The zephyer also has plenty of juice to run lots of LED lights (I think it's 2.5A output) and still run a couple of engines simultaneously. Thank you for the nice words about my layout. Back when I built it over 20 years ago the incandescent lamps were how most layout lighting was done so I didn't bother much with that aspect. It was only here in the last few months I decided to retrofit LED lighting on the layout and boy does that add to the cool factor. Everything but the signals are turned on and off through my controller using those light it boards which are super easy to program and better is that each of the 3 channels has 16 different lighting effects (dcc only). You can setup the lighting effects for a DC only setup but it will be the same effect for all 3 channels. Oh, I don't think it's shown in the video but the crossing signals flash too using two outputs from the same lighting decoder. I set up one side of the LEDs to channel 1, the other side to channel 2 then programmed each channel to Railroad crossing signal phase A and B respectively. Set it on it's own function control on the throttle accessory menu so I can turn on and off as needed. It would have been better to automate it but that is more $$$ of course.
Hey People of the hobby world. ! Hope all is well. I've been gearing up for thanksgiving and cant wait to eat. I plan on doing ALOT this week as well to the layout since i will have plenty of time and cant wait to show yall. One Question though. Does anyone know of any maps of railways for northern California ? I've been searching for a few days and cant seem to find anything other than public railways for commuting. thanks in advance ! Cheers see and see ya soon !
Hey People of the hobby world. ! Hope all is well. I've been gearing up for thanksgiving and cant wait to eat. I plan on doing ALOT this week as well to the layout since i will have plenty of time and cant wait to show yall. One Question though. Does anyone know of any maps of railways for northern California ? I've been searching for a few days and cant seem to find anything other than public railways for commuting. thanks in advance ! Cheers see and see ya soon ! How do i delete post ? Computer error
Pretty sure this has every railroad and every grade crossing in the US, and gets regular updates. The more you zoom in the more you see. https://fragis.fra.dot.gov/GISFRASafety/
Welcome to December !! Its been pretty cold over here and painting has been a challenge. I didnt give up though. I was able to get a lot done the last few days. The center piece of the layout is ready to be painted and have resin laid to represent the river, which is exciting. All the 4 bridges I complete will allow me to complete the track work and really test the loops I have in the track. The Main piece of hardware I've really wanted to use is from my grandfather which originally was designed for HO scale but now N. I cleaned it up a bit and airbrushed. Plan on dry brushing with some type of gray later on. before. after and some more after haha Next step is painting the river and adding props !! This was Great thanks. Some of the railways seem to be out of service which is pretty good to know as well !! The only thing running close to where I am at, near trinity lake, is Amtrak !! To bad I dont have any Amtrak Locos !
Wow !! well, seems I haven't been visiting for quite some time ! I've been extremely busy which is ok but I have missed my mini mountains haha I have been getting some wiring done and more importantly the center of the layout which connects it all. A lot of toilet paper, mod podge and paint. We are almost there. I'm finally going to be able to start building this crazy bridge and connecting loops to run trains !! Yes I will actually be able to run trains on the layout. !! India Ink also worked perfect for the center "Giant" bridge and also the mini piers I fabricated. Those were from an Atlas Pier kit. I also have a haunted house I'm going to be building. There are so many pieces in these modeling kits... I had no idea !! I'm looking for the small alligator clips that are connected rods which you insert into foam. This way you can spray them or paint them easily and not have to hold them. Anyone have a name for these ?! lol. Whos ready for Christmas !?!
Is this going to be Northern California (more traditional forest tall trees environment) or Southern California (more Chaparral brush on rolling hillsides)?
Thanks for asking ! Yes its mainly based off of the Northern California area. I've gotten most of my inspiration for this from the trinity lake and surrounding areas. The red looking mountains I've made have to be toned down though. I just need to find some pictures of the clay like cliffs they have up there. Its something to the tune of a redish purplish color which is really pretty. I've been told its considered clay but it could just be really moist dirt lol There will be alot of tall trees and cliffs on this layout. Hopefully I can accomplish it since its my first time doing anything like this!
That wood bridge is wild! Very unique and cool! Is part of it painted to look charred? If so, it looks spot on!
It is pretty awesome ! Thankyou, My grandfather actually built that out of some old pots for plants. I'm not to sure of the material but its like a thick paper. He designed it for his HO layout that he had. Unfortunately he never really got a chance to use it. I've been carrying it around for more than 2 decades actually lol. Its finally getting put to use. I of course brought it back to life with a bit of paint too which was fun. Im not sure about the charring affect but that is an idea !! It is definitely going to be the center piece of the layout !
I’ve just finished the river seen !!! Getting ready to lay down some resin to represent water!! Anyone ever throw color into the mix ? I wanted to know if using an acrylic paint to color the resin would be ok ?! Crossing my fingers here haha
I'm gong to get more resin but basically finished the gap !!! Almost ready to run some trains ! Early Merry Christmas !!!
How the year has already flown by!!! I feel like I haven't been on in a lifetime. Thankfully this land doesn't pass time as fast as human life does So many things have been going on! Trains actually run on this layout now. I told myself once I got that far then I would be close to finished ... bahaha Ya right ! I have one loop completed and have enjoyed every second of putting it together. Honestly though my amateurish actions only ran into one issue. The tightest point on the track I had to replace about 4 times before getting the solder and angle right. Excluding that things went well, each joining member of electric current (AKA.. Rail Joiners soldered together) has been smoothed and cleaned. Some include custom solder form (Seamless planning ). Bridges have been finished. Plaster has been spread and painted in areas. I only have one main bus wire for the power source just to test the track. The Zephyr Express has done me pretty well with running 2 locos and some lighting with that set up since I still have to install feeder wires. I haven't been noticing much of lag from the voltage drop scenario I expected. Than again I haven't tested actual voltage numbers yet. Either way I've been happy with the results so far. However, one of the Atlas Loco kit I got was very lurchy upon unboxing. I went ahead and took a look at CV values for speed steps and it was in range and actually matched the other one I had since I bought 2two2. I've even oiled the motor a bit hoping to not have to "crack the case". Prior to that I ran it for about an hour and it literally just STOPPED! I went ahead and tried quite a few diagnostic tricks and the only one that seemed to work was setting the throttle to go in a forward/reverse direction and spin the center motor with my finger to "jump start" it. After that it ran fine but once it stopped I had to repeat the same process. I'm disappointed about that and hope to do a thorough cleaning in the hopes it comes back to life. I'm looking into installing some lights into the caboose's I have. Any one ever do this on rolling stock ? This one should be relatable !!! Clean: Dirty: I hope all y'all are enjoying this!! I have a lot more to share !!! Happy New Year !
Your motor is bad , one of the segments has either a broken wire or a short . Probably a broken wire . You'll need a new motor .........Mike
Thanks for the response @Mike C !! Ya I was worried about that. Right out of the box it had a lot of "chug" and wouldn't move very smoothly. I'm going to contact Atlas tomorrow to see If I can exchange it. Such a bummer. lol @Mike C Is that something that is repairable ?
Upon looking around .... I had no idea they even made this !! This is HO of course but dam ... an N scale model would be righteous ! https://www.micromark.com/Broadway-...JKxeCZelSbZFHPPE-C8ED4gW3WwuWlRxoCfOIQAvD_BwE
I've had a bad run lately with losing motor poles like you described (or at least that's what I think happened). Probably lost 5 or 6 motors from various manufacturers this way over the past 5 years or so.
