Riddles Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Just picked up this thread today, interesting stuff. A note on your HST squealing...if the HST is DC running on DCC it is most likely the coils of the motor oscillating as the waveform of the DCC signal is audible and your motor coils are acting a bit like speaker coils. My last DC loco (an 04 shunter) does this when using it on channel 10 on an EZ Command unit. I don't leave it on long as i think it would heat the motor up after a while. As Jaybee has mentioned HM2000 and R900 controllers, I don't think that the squealing noise will be DCC related. In fact the older Hornby HSTs had ringfield motors which need periodic light lubrication of the centre spindle. A drop of plastic friendly oil on each side of the motor and a few minutes running could result in a much quieter runner. Riddles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ba14eagle Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Bazzanoid After initially being quite excited by the fact that this solar lighting seemed so easy, today I have temporarily given up and binned all the bits - I dont know if the componants werent any good, or more likely my soldering skills and knowledge of electrical things let me down, but my bulbs, when the switch was "on", were on constantly (instead of when it was dark) All I had done was cut the wires from the panel / sensor and inserted some longer wire between the 2 cut ends. I dont really understand why it messed up. could the size of the wire have anything to do with it? or possibly could it have fallen foul of voltage drop? After all, I had inserted about 2 foot of wire in each. I might wait a few weeks and get a couple more and have another go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazzanoid Posted May 31, 2012 Author Share Posted May 31, 2012 Two foot of wire is quite reasonable and they are quite sensitive panels, it's possible they are programmed to read a voltage drop of x amount as "it's dark, we need to turn on" since most solar lights come on a little after dusk. Try unsoldering the wires from the solar panel and the board entirely and use a single thick piece instead of what is now effectively three sections for each wire, it is more likely one of your joints is dirty (electrically speaking) for whatever reason causing a fluctuation in the voltage and falsely telling the light it is night. Just take care not to damage the board or panel when you unsolder and re-solder, and be sure to 'tin' the wires before soldering them on to make life easier. And most importantly, make sure you connect the right wire to the right terminal! I take it the wires to the battery are all intact ok? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaybee Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 The squealing was cured a few weeks ago by Roneo Models in Essex - a drop of oil was all that was required. However the Intercity 125 is still not a good runner - very slow - so further work needed me thinks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traingeekboy Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 Oil does wonders but dirt mixed with oil in the mechs and on the contacts does wonders as well; not good wonders mind you. It sounds like the intercity will need to be taken apart and cleaned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazzanoid Posted June 10, 2012 Author Share Posted June 10, 2012 Having let the glue settle, we returned today to that most important task: Testing the fresh track. After some electrical teething problems and a short time bashing the track with the soldering iron later, we had success, and encouraged by this, hooked up the second track and ran trains back and forth on both lines at the same time. Very satisfying... and we even managed to get the 4-6-6 hauling 6 carriages comfortably. Now we can't wait to get the loop completed so they can just run around to their heart's content! http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i213/bazzanoid/P1050215.jpg' alt='URL>'> d-yfj9XCjv4 The ballast has held nicely in place and is set fast, so more of that to be done as time goes by.... http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i213/bazzanoid/P1050211.jpg' alt='URL>'> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaybee Posted August 11, 2013 Share Posted August 11, 2013 Sorry for the lack of posts in the recent year! Lot's of things got in the way of the building work, but on the occasional weekend that I've had free then work continued at a slow pace. Anyway I can confirm the loop is now complete and trains running very well. I'll be adding the platforms and buildings in the weeks to come and will post some photos soon. Jaybee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riddles Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 "The ballast has held nicely in place and is set fast, so more of that to be done as time goes by...." I realise that it was last year when you wrote that but I'm wondering if the ballast is still firmly fixed. Did you use dripped on dilute PVA (presumably waterproof) with the obligatory dash of washing up liquid? Or, did you use floor polish as others seem to have done? I'm still hoping to learn from the experience of others. Dave W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaybee Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 The ballast unfortunately did not hold. I used diluted Evo-Stick Waterproof PVA and the drip of washing up liquid. Perhaps the mix wasn't quite right. Will try again soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riddles Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 Thanks for that. Perhaps the floor polish treatment would work. We just need to know which brand has the staying power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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