Yorkshire Dave
Western Thunderer
Another solution is to use neoprene tube and insert a ball bearing to create a constant velocity joint.
This is one I built for a O scale drive truck.
HO Eureka Heights (SP) Houston
- Thread starter Focalplane
- Start date
Another solution is to use neoprene tube and insert a ball bearing to create a constant velocity joint.
This is one I built for a O scale drive truck.
Focalplane
Western Thunderer
That’s neat! Gives more flexibility than mine as well. Paul
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PhilH
Western Thunderer
Paul,
You may have problems with your nylon rod coupling - if you can drill the nylon it may be too rigid. The coupling needs some flexibility to allow for any slight misalignment between the motor shaft and the gearbox shaft. Something flexible and "grippy" like rubber, silicone or neoprene tubing as suggested by Dave might be better.
You may have problems with your nylon rod coupling - if you can drill the nylon it may be too rigid. The coupling needs some flexibility to allow for any slight misalignment between the motor shaft and the gearbox shaft. Something flexible and "grippy" like rubber, silicone or neoprene tubing as suggested by Dave might be better.
Focalplane
Western Thunderer
Phil
Our messages crossed. What I am hoping for is that the flexibility will come from the tacky stuff holding the motor and the sprung driven axle. The nylon rod is all I have to work with at the moment. As you can see I like Dave’s idea. However the diameter of the two shafts are 2mm and 2.5mm so this seemed a good solution.
Paul
Our messages crossed. What I am hoping for is that the flexibility will come from the tacky stuff holding the motor and the sprung driven axle. The nylon rod is all I have to work with at the moment. As you can see I like Dave’s idea. However the diameter of the two shafts are 2mm and 2.5mm so this seemed a good solution.
Paul
simond
Western Thunderer
Paul,
you could turn up a couple of bushes, with 2 & 2.5 mm bores, and an OD to suit whatever rubber tube you might have - I don’t think the nylon is a good idea, as it will act as a rigid extension of the armature - I doubt your sticky stuff is going to sufficiently flexible to allow the loco axle to move effectively. And it might be the source of your transmission noise!
you could turn up a couple of bushes, with 2 & 2.5 mm bores, and an OD to suit whatever rubber tube you might have - I don’t think the nylon is a good idea, as it will act as a rigid extension of the armature - I doubt your sticky stuff is going to sufficiently flexible to allow the loco axle to move effectively. And it might be the source of your transmission noise!
Focalplane
Western Thunderer
Yes, that’s probably what I should be thinking! Paul
PhilH
Western Thunderer
Paul,
I have some flexible tubing, not sure whether its silicone or neoprene, but it might be worth trying. Its about 1.5mm bore but it will slip over 2mm and 2.5mm dia shafts - I've tried it, and it gives a good grip on both. It might be better than your "wobbly" motor mount !
If you send me your address in a PM I could post a short length to you tomorrow.
I have some flexible tubing, not sure whether its silicone or neoprene, but it might be worth trying. Its about 1.5mm bore but it will slip over 2mm and 2.5mm dia shafts - I've tried it, and it gives a good grip on both. It might be better than your "wobbly" motor mount !
If you send me your address in a PM I could post a short length to you tomorrow.
Focalplane
Western Thunderer
Phil, PM sent!
Focalplane
Western Thunderer
When you consider I have 5 locos in various stages of “undress” for repair or upgrading, I don’t think I am doing too badly in the progress department. More important, though, is the help from other WT friends and the belief that however senior I may become (my better half uses senior instead of old) i enjoy learning new stuff. These two positives work well together, a great advertisement for WT as an online venue.
How do I keep the 5 projects separate? I found some black plastic trays which not only keep all the parts safe, by working within the confines of each tray I seem to be losing fewer parts to the carpet monster. Magnetic tools help as well in this respect.
How do I keep the 5 projects separate? I found some black plastic trays which not only keep all the parts safe, by working within the confines of each tray I seem to be losing fewer parts to the carpet monster. Magnetic tools help as well in this respect.
Focalplane
Western Thunderer
Update this morning:
Daylight E8 decoder, reply from Calgary’s Trains and Such that DCC expert is on vacation until next week.
Cab Forward AC-5, BLI confirm that as an early Blueline model the decoder cannot be programmed to chuff without a reed relay or cam. Suggest I try moving the reed relay closer to the flywheel but not sure I can. Other option might be an updated decoder. Set to one side while I ponder next move as the loco never worked in Texas. The chuff rate design is however a very clever feature and the sound file is superb.
P-14 Sunbeam pacific, hopefully some progress later today on the drive train.
GS-4 Daylight, BLI sending new gearbox, shipping cost only. Again a class that never visited Texas but it’s a beautiful model and I have 5 of BLI’s coaches to go with it.
Black Widow F7A, new arrival yesterday, quickly tested. Runs well but sound is a bit disappointing, TBH. It was a bargain and will eventually head demotorised Proto 2000 F7B and F7A for A-B-A freight duties. Will need to be renumbered.
Daylight E8 decoder, reply from Calgary’s Trains and Such that DCC expert is on vacation until next week.
Cab Forward AC-5, BLI confirm that as an early Blueline model the decoder cannot be programmed to chuff without a reed relay or cam. Suggest I try moving the reed relay closer to the flywheel but not sure I can. Other option might be an updated decoder. Set to one side while I ponder next move as the loco never worked in Texas. The chuff rate design is however a very clever feature and the sound file is superb.
P-14 Sunbeam pacific, hopefully some progress later today on the drive train.
GS-4 Daylight, BLI sending new gearbox, shipping cost only. Again a class that never visited Texas but it’s a beautiful model and I have 5 of BLI’s coaches to go with it.
Black Widow F7A, new arrival yesterday, quickly tested. Runs well but sound is a bit disappointing, TBH. It was a bargain and will eventually head demotorised Proto 2000 F7B and F7A for A-B-A freight duties. Will need to be renumbered.
Focalplane
Western Thunderer
P-14 update as promised:
Today I received a short length of tubing from PhilH and have just tried it out. First the photo:
As you can see there is a large gap between the two shafts inside the tube. This is not an immediate problem but I imagine that if the loco hit an obstacle the tubing might twist. So the solution might be to borrow Yorkshire Dave’s idea and place a ball bearing or similar in the gap.
The good news is that the drive train’s noise is significantly reduced. I thik some more tweaking of the valve gear is needed but other than the above comments I would say it will work well. Thanks, Philip, for sending me the piece of tubing so quickly. And there is enough left to do the S-12 switcher.
My plan for the P-14 is now to couple up the tender and add the loco body and do some running in before thinking about DCC. There is painting to be done as well.
Today I received a short length of tubing from PhilH and have just tried it out. First the photo:
As you can see there is a large gap between the two shafts inside the tube. This is not an immediate problem but I imagine that if the loco hit an obstacle the tubing might twist. So the solution might be to borrow Yorkshire Dave’s idea and place a ball bearing or similar in the gap.
The good news is that the drive train’s noise is significantly reduced. I thik some more tweaking of the valve gear is needed but other than the above comments I would say it will work well. Thanks, Philip, for sending me the piece of tubing so quickly. And there is enough left to do the S-12 switcher.
My plan for the P-14 is now to couple up the tender and add the loco body and do some running in before thinking about DCC. There is painting to be done as well.
PhilH
Western Thunderer
Paul,
There is quite a large gap between the motor shaft and the gearbox shaft. You could test how the drive performs by locking the wheels and turning the motor on to full power. If the tube twists by a large amount it may be worth putting a short length of 2mm dia. rod inside the tube leaving a small gap each side between it and the motor and gearbox shafts. It would also be worthwhile to check the stall current of the motor before you decide which decoder to install.
There is quite a large gap between the motor shaft and the gearbox shaft. You could test how the drive performs by locking the wheels and turning the motor on to full power. If the tube twists by a large amount it may be worth putting a short length of 2mm dia. rod inside the tube leaving a small gap each side between it and the motor and gearbox shafts. It would also be worthwhile to check the stall current of the motor before you decide which decoder to install.
Focalplane
Western Thunderer
Philip, I did this earlier this morning and it twisted badly. So I came up with the same plan you suggest. Need to see what I have lying around.
The stall test is a good idea. The tender has a huge volume available for DCC and I have pre drilled holes in the base to let the sound out. So a larger decoder rating should not be a problem. The same applies to the switcher. But DCC won’t be happening just yet.
The stall test is a good idea. The tender has a huge volume available for DCC and I have pre drilled holes in the base to let the sound out. So a larger decoder rating should not be a problem. The same applies to the switcher. But DCC won’t be happening just yet.
Focalplane
Western Thunderer
The whole problem with flexible couplings on old brass locos started for me in the 1980s and is only now coming back to mind after this little saga. I bought a nice 1970 era Japanese build Balboa GS-4 then and had it overhauled by a Houston hobby shop. The first thing they did was replace the flexible coupling (I just found the receipt) as well as wire up the headlights. No DCC but a circuit to provide the Mars oscillating lamp effect. It subsequently ran well but I made the mistake of deciding to have DCC fitted in Calgary between work visits. It disappeared and was never recovered from the shop (not Trains and Such, referenced earlier, by the way). So a bad story but then along came the Broadway Limited Imports GS-4.
I used to own a copy of the Brass Guide but sadly it's gone as well, probably during a clear out when we left Houston. Brasstrains.com published it but it is now out of date and it is probably better to just browse their website. They do have a grading system to assist buyers and one aspect of this is drivetrain noise. Out of 0-10 most older models come it at a noisy 5-8 and I feel sure this is almost always due to a hardened coupling. The P-14 experience, though not yet completely resolved, is already demonstrating how much the drive train noise can be improved.
I used to own a copy of the Brass Guide but sadly it's gone as well, probably during a clear out when we left Houston. Brasstrains.com published it but it is now out of date and it is probably better to just browse their website. They do have a grading system to assist buyers and one aspect of this is drivetrain noise. Out of 0-10 most older models come it at a noisy 5-8 and I feel sure this is almost always due to a hardened coupling. The P-14 experience, though not yet completely resolved, is already demonstrating how much the drive train noise can be improved.
Yorkshire Dave
Western Thunderer
I would elaborate on Phil's suggestion of inserting a short section of 2mm rod and insert a 2.5mm ball bearing as well.
With the Canon motor a standard HO sound decoder will suffice.
With the Canon motor a standard HO sound decoder will suffice.
Focalplane
Western Thunderer
I have copied Dave’s arrangement shown above and it works. Thanks to all who helped get this right. Next is to assemble the loco and tender and test run and also do the same motor upgrade to the S-12 switcher.
Focalplane
Western Thunderer
More success with the loco repairs today. I finally got the chuff sensor to work on the Cab Forward AC-5. It required moving the circuit board 1.5mm closer to the flywheel magnet and not screwing the circuit board down, but using tape instead. The synchronization is now variable between the two articulated engines. I have also adjusted some of the sound CVs, making the air pump less intrusive.
Over the weekend I tested the Walthers Proto F7A and discovered that although there is a Mars light above the regular headlight, it does not function "out of the box". It would seem I have to program the Aux1 or Aux2 light CV and the instructions are not in the box! The decoder is a Loksound 5. I hope I don't have to buy the ESU programmer.
Over the weekend I tested the Walthers Proto F7A and discovered that although there is a Mars light above the regular headlight, it does not function "out of the box". It would seem I have to program the Aux1 or Aux2 light CV and the instructions are not in the box! The decoder is a Loksound 5. I hope I don't have to buy the ESU programmer.
Focalplane
Western Thunderer
The gearbox for the GS-4 hasn't arrived (perhaps this post will cause it to appear later today!) and I have switched priorities to Moor Street as we will soon be back in the Railway Room. There will be several tasks remaining for then though I may decide to take the P-14 pacific with me to start the Daylight paint scheme. The S-12 switcher remains as bought. HO will be the winter project!
Focalplane
Western Thunderer
Ha ha! The gearbox arrived today so the previous post worked some magic. I am putting it aside with the rest of the locomotive as the emphasis is changing to O gauge and as usual there is more sorting out to do than modelling. The replacement gearbox screws together rather than using fragile clips so I am hopeful that all will come together eventually. This thread will, unless I start working on the P-14, be shelved for a couple of months.
Focalplane
Western Thunderer
Sorting out the remaining HO stock stored in France I discovered a couple of items long forgotten.
The first is an IHC pacific with SP livery which probably needs a lot of detailing to bring up to standard. Still may be more cost effective than importing a brass P-6. I think the loco was made on the 1980s in eastern Europe. More on this later.
The second is a soft back book, “Done in a Day” by Pelle Søeburg. Easy detailing and weathering projects.
The first is an IHC pacific with SP livery which probably needs a lot of detailing to bring up to standard. Still may be more cost effective than importing a brass P-6. I think the loco was made on the 1980s in eastern Europe. More on this later.
The second is a soft back book, “Done in a Day” by Pelle Søeburg. Easy detailing and weathering projects.
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