Frame Issues

Well it happened. I totatly screwed up one of my locomotives. I was in the processing of converting my Kato BN SD45 loco to DCC. I soldered everything OK and was ready to start rebuilding the loco. I was using a Digiframe from Southern Digital. This was my first use of the Digiframe......boy does it Su*k. There was lots of flash on the frame with filled in holes for the motor cradle. Speaking of the motor cradle, the frame was so messed up that the motor cradle would not even stay in the frame. Then with no force being used the frame snapped like a twig. These frames are complete crap!!! These guys have been great to deal with on other items. I will contact them and see how they deal with this. Then I did someting really stupid. I thought I could mill the original frame myself via a dremmel tool. I screwed up. So now I have a SD45 DCC ready loco with no frame. Does anyone know where I can find a KATO quality SD45 frame? I will be checking with Aztec....Now I know to stay away from digiframes.

a upset and ticked MATT

 

If it was a clean break, maybe someone with a resistance soldering unit can fix it. Or how about that TIX low temp solder that works on all metals except aluminum? I feel for you, cause I have 2 ruined frames in my junk box too! Both are Atlas RS-11's, and both now have Kato RS-2 Mechianisms in them. Anybody want to buy 2 undecorated RS-2 shells?

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Robert Ray
The NP & UP N-Scale Railroad

[This message has been edited by pray59 (edited 02 June 2000).]

 

John from Aztec confirmed what has been said here....no frames available. I contacted Southern Digital and they asked me to send the busted up pile of junk to them (the broken digiframe) and they will send me a new one. They said the frames are brittle to prevent bending and warping. They just seem weak to me. My new plan of attack is to use EXTEREME CAUTION while performing the install. If this fails, I will probably send my loco (in parts) to Southern Digital to have them assemble it for me. In the future, I will use Aztec. I have two other SD45 locos (UP) that were milled by Aztec. I bought them via the web from a hobby shop in California (off of http://nscalauction.com ). These run great. I will let you all know how this turns out. I guess the worse case scenero is that I would have to shell out cash for another SD45 and swap parts. Geeez, this stinks!

Matt

 

Harolod, I wish I had my original fram in good condition. I basicly cut of the weight that the fuel cover snaps onto. This is how I screwed up my Kato frame. The fuel cover no longer wants to stay in place. I will try the digframe again and see what happens. Maybe I will end buying another SD45 and swap parts with it....seems like a huge waste to me. Hopefully I can get the digiframe to work. What about other people who have used digiframe replacement for SD45 locos, how can I find these people and buy off their old Kato frames?

The saga continues.......

 

John from Aztec found a stock frame for me and will mill it for me. He is charging a small fee for the frame and the usual for the milling. I gotta tell ya, this kind of service is top notch and rates a huge A+ in my book!!!! Harold, I wish I would have taken your advice before. BTW, I am having it milled for the DN146A as you have done.

Oh happy days!!
Matt