Cousin Bill,
Welcome the world if hi-tech, shoehorning things into small spaces. I
just mentioned last week that complicated lighting projects look like
drain clogs. This is the same in the new expensive cars also--things
like ride control, tire pressure monitors all require connections and
computers to function. Gone are the daze when you used a pressure gauge
and a dipstick!
I have tried a couple of times to use shrink wrap to run my wires
through--it works in a limited way. Run the wires, shrink slightly and
then glue to side of boiler.
I have been using Richmond Controls surface mounts for some time--but I
won't use them unless the larger units won't fit (my GP-30's on my bench
for instance). Jim was at the San Jacinto Model Club Tuesday evening
and he made me an offer that I can't refuse, so we'll see if that works
out. Jim models in the N'th scale so he used to working with tiny
stuff--not bad for an old guy like me!
One of Jim's and my friends' solders his own leads to the surface mounts
and did it at one of our meetings--he claims he saves a lot of money
doing it himself, while I, like Bill can barely see them!
For a couple of years I owned a modified Big Boy that was mechanically
reworked by Jack Troxell and then completed (painted, lit, and PFM
sound) by another custom guy. After I purchased it, the PFM came out
and dual decoders installed, pretty much as Bill describes. The sound
decoder was in the tender, so it was possible to just "run the tender"!
The running decoder and headlights, firebox glow and markers were all
contained in the boiler area. Loved the engine, but it was just too
much for my layout.
Bob Werre
Phototraxx
On 5/4/12 5:15 AM, Bill Lane wrote:
I just finished an extensive rework of the RRM Espee 4-8-2 installing
DCC. It was decided to give it the full treatment. I make the tender
self-sustaining by adding wipers to the insulated wheels & install a
decoder to run the backup light. That meant cutting grooves into the
back of the wheels.
I also made a wiper contact to use the sound cam. Of the 3 available
axles this used the 1 right under the motor with the least amount of
space. I could have made the wiper much better and more hidden if
another axle had the sound cam on it.
