I used the 3mm. I did happen to get the even smaller 1.8 LED as well. They are almost as small as the LED's on some decoders !! I swear When I get older I'm going to have to move to HO or lots of Microscopes ! The battery pack/holder doesn't quite fit in the car either. Applying tape around it to hold the battery in is hard. I like that it comes with a installed switch. Can't wait to wire the switches !
@MK SMDs !!! Those are really small. The look would be well worth it though. I love HO but with the amount of space I might/will have I would love to have longer trains the bigger trains if that makes sense. Also more trackwork is fun. @mtntrainman Nice !!! They look similar to welding helmets ! Does your skull feel famished after some time ?
I do have to give my eyes a break about every 5-10 minutes...LOL. The Optivisor fits nicely. It has an adustable headband and is comfy enough to wear...
Some SMD LEDs, especially those on eBay come with soldered leads so you don't have to deal with doing that.
Update Sunday..... or Scenic Sunday. I guess that is the fun one going around at the moment. Good stuff Some cool things happened to the layout recently. Finished my bench project of changing decoders on a Atlas SD60 locomotive. You can find the thread here. https://www.trainboard.com/highball/index.php?threads/converting-dc-loco-to-dcc-loco-custom.135933/ I'm excited to finally get rid of most, if not all, forms of the color white. Its tightening up very well. Trees are going to be what really makes this thing pop. Looking forward to that stage of building One more section of track has to go in. The construction crew I hired Is supposedly stuck in Vegas waiting on there extra mask to come in. Looks like the bridge wont get built for a moment....... Flashing House of evil !!! and some entertainment!! Hope y'all are doing good !
Thats looking great Sams ! Trees will make a hugh difference that one might not think. Good seeing your updates.
Great progress and it's coming along really nicely! Question on how you applied ground cover to the vertical surfaces/wall? Did you tilt the layout? On my layout I use Sculptamold to turn those vertical surfaces to mountainous rocks. I would think adding ground cover and glue vertically would be a challenge.
Thanks all very much !! For the ground cover... man it was tricky. For the mountain it was not that bad since the mountain is actually removable. I've even considered making that area a dual scene. One with the mountain on it and then when it is removed it would be another scene. For now though It is just easy to access trains that may derail lol For the ground cover on it though I was able to move it around. What I did was mix the ground cover I wanted then applied a thin layer of elmers glue slightly watered down and spread it half way. Just in case it dried on me. I sprinkled what ground cover I wanted on it. Then after a few minutes I went back and dripped alcohol and then watered down mod-podge. Solid finish after it is dried ! I did about 3 layers of this also. For the small ridges where the track lays was a bit more tricky. Slightly different process but I had to use my finger and push the ground cover onto the side. This took like 10 layers. Each time after it dried I would use a rag and put it on the end of a vacuum to save some of the material. Then add your alcohol and mod-podge. That way your not gluing clumped up ground cover you could actually re-use. I have heard some people use a piece of paper and then blow it onto the side with a straw. Something I might try in the future. But either way is messy haha Hoping to get some new toys in soon. Cheers y'all !!
Holy Crap !!!! Time Flies. As I look up I see the date of MARCH !!! holy crap. I've missed you guys. hope you are all doing well. Work has been nutty. I figured I would share this with yall since I'm sharing it with all the facebook shirade. Happy Freedom Friday !! Can't wait to show you guys my ugly lil' Liquor store Cheers! Take Care!
Hey !!!!! How is everyone doing! Do any of you remember my crazy ass ?!?!?! I hope your all doing well its good to see the forum still exist. I dig this place. I've been in a bit of a situation but doing ok. Nothing life threatening so I thank god for that. That has really kept me from doing anything to the layout. Basically I don't know "when" I'm going to have to move it. Anyways I figured Id throw this one out there. I want to do more and as I just stated its not a smart move... The wife is even telling me my ideas have to wait and literally puts her foot down on mine and squeezes my toes... so I know she is serious lol. I have been running trains on my layout and have went through many multiple sets of cars/engines and have been enjoying the crap out of it. Even got some new rolling stock ! I've even got a separate bench now that I use for speed matching N scale locos. I also have gotten two GP-40 SP HO scale locos that are MAGNIFICENT! I will post videos here if y'all are interested enough ! (leave a comment!) In this time I have been imaging something else or something I've always wanted to do with the layout and after a few months I developed a plan and now I have a vision that I really can make it happen. This is going to be a top secret project !! Aren't you excited ?!?!?! I finally figured out how to run two trains on my layout without having to touch anything. Lots of research but well worth it. I am going to be using a Digitrax BD4 and DS74. Have the parts ordered and should be here pretty soon. See you soon !
Thanks @Kurt Moose ! Thankfully electronic devices can be hidden oh man!! Im just finishing off a jug of popcorn they gave us from work! aye !!! Watch the shells! lol
The above plan is taking a bit more research then expected. I can see so many options with block detection. I'm looking forward to getting this going. Set up on the track should be pretty simple thanks to the linked video. The fun is going to be setting up trains,routes, and/or scripts on JMRI. Need to find out next If I can use a "loop route" instead of a route. I dont know yet how that is obtained. Not for long !! Not sure if yall are familiar with this guy but he has some great info and a fun outlook on model railroading. This weekend has been fun! Finally got the Bulldozer done. When you realize how small N scale really can be but then you remember there is Z scale haha This one should be operable without having to take off the cover now. I have to find a really small pin to fit. Have fun people !
WHATS UP !! Hey there. Hope all of y'all have been having a good time. I've been going nuts over here. Very busy and missing my posting. Have not been running trains as much as id like either but it is what it is! I wanted to drop in to say hello and of course leave you with some brain teasers. The layout is finally cut in half prepping for a modular type set up. It wont fit with any other layout but I do want to be able to move it easier. Also be able to work on it easier and re do. most of the wiring. This will include automation which Ive been chatting about forever. Anyways check out this post and see what you think. Maybe some of you can chime in who have dealt with all these digitrax products. I really am just trying to understand how they all work together. Hobby within a hobby for sure, """Hey all hope all is well. I am lost. Digitrax has a lot of products when it comes to automating your layout. Including signaling, turnout control, Power Control, and block management. Based on the above post my initial questions were answered. But now i'm in a hole other hole lol. I am in the process of making my 12'x32" n scale layout fully automated. Hopefully to be computer controlled. I am having trouble figuring out what I Need. The layout is fairly simple. 12 turnouts with tortoise switch machines. You probably are only going to be able to run 2 main trains at a time since the main thoroughfares share a turnout. (Meaning you would have to stop the other train and wait for a train to pass in order to continue. Hence the automated part) No signals and as far as power management I dont feel it is necessary. But thats why I am here. Been scouring youtube videos and not really getting the information that I need. I was thinking 1 BL168 and 4 DS 74/64 with my dcs52 command station could be enough to carry out everything. Especially since the 168 has Loconet. Any thoughts on this ? I have been looking at the BX88 as well which looks like it requires a DCS210 or equivalent. Uh just lots of products and not to sure how the exact mechanics of them working together is. Thanks in advance.""""
Hey !!! Hope all is well. What have you all been doing ! I finally made some progress. My lawn wont stop growing this year! Dunno if its the humidity or something in the rain water. I do not water the lawn though. I think my driveway gets more water then the grass but eh.. What are model trains for eh ? So glad I was able to put this together. It will make moving this beast so much easier!! Make sure to change video to 1080 HD. https://youtube.com/shorts/B-zcYlCPZOs?feature=share Prepping the area. Should have done this when I built but I had no idea what I was getting into since I had been out of the hobby for so long! Adding some trees FINALLY to the layout. Finished the bridge with lights crossing the other upper section of the layout. Now I am waiting for digitrax to send me back some products hopefully they are going to be functional.
