Mike has been kind enough to get in touch again after sending in his pics. Have a look how he crafts his fantastic mountains (his original post is here).
“Sorry the delay…super busy theses days….The layout was a birthday present from the boy’s grandmother….I met her daughter and grandson at the SEATTLE SCIENCE CENTER MODEL TRAIN SHOW last Jan….That is where I do my advertising….Mom talked to grandma and the rest is history….Aprox. 7′ X 10’…My #2 son Dominic(26) helps with the heavy work…A few construction pics….I am grateful for your passing info. along to others….
Mike”
“Hi Al. here is an idea for police strobes, emergency strobe, warning, or even a end of train device.
I tied into the mini power strobe that was there. It would destroy the board if I tried to remove it so I tied into it. I added a foot long wire with no power lose. I am using the rechargeable battery that comes with it and can recharge it. Will last a very long time strobing. or can use a rechargeable phone battery say 2.7 volts doesn’t take much power so don’t over power it with high voltage.
The PC board came out of a mini helicopter. So if you find them in garage sales cheap buy them. If you don’t have strobe lites on your train and want them and don’t want to hook to a decoder or isn’t any decoder think about using these boards. Small anough to fit into a Hoscale car or truck. So when I garage sale picking will look out for these toys. I am sure I can tie into the board to operate mini 2 servo’s say for a crane or something. another junk idea.
Kim”
Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.
A big thanks to Mike and Kim (blink and you’ll miss Kim’s video!)
That’s all for today folks – please do keep ’em coming.
And if today is the day you make your big start on your layout, the Beginner’s Guide is here.
Best
Al
PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.
Hi Al,
Enjoyed Kim’s information on led/strobe lights. He suggested using PC boards from toy helicopters or other toys or appliances. I’m new to this technology, can you or Kim provide more information on what to use & how to hook up?
Thanks,
Mike B.
Hi Mike. I can send in a pic or two of that mini helicopter board..Closer up so you can see how I hooked the led. Wont be long and I will send them out. It’s a good idea for those who cant build boards like me lol. my little strobe has been running none stop for 4 days now on that tiny battery supplied with the chopper.
wow mike that’s going to look fantastic.hope we get more pic’s as you progress thanks .
Al
great info as usual
Am just getting back into hobby after 40 year break – (always remained interested much to annoyance of SWMBO) am slowly building up an N Guage setup based on mythical Australian area – will be on a Modular setup
interested in the strobe idea – is it possible to fit to N scale? or where can circuit be found to build?
Warmest Regards
Brian D
Hi Brian.I suppose it can be used in N scale. circuit is small. I got the board out of an mini helicopter. I sent in a few more pic’s to Al to show the board better.
Kim, enjoy watching your tutorials, has given me plenty of help rebuilding an old 4×8 layout my dad and I had started when I was younger(Only 26 now), but as for working in N scale, the help board won’t fit inside one that small. (One hobby I lost time for was r/c airplanes/helis.) A board may fit, providing it is cut down, only downside is making sure not to interrupt the connection.
Hi.Im sorry it doesn’t fit N scale. I have another way you can build that end train device for N scale. Instead of using the board you can use a very small flashing red led.maybe a 1.8 mm led would do the job. hope this helps.
Al, could you please put this question in your blog.
Recently I changed my layout. I am on scale HO on a 13 x 6 feet table ; wired feeders every 3 feet from the bus line with NCE DCC system.
Running 3 trains which draw close to 3 Amp and slow down two of the locos considerable. Do I need a booster or is there another solution to keep up the speed.
Any suggestions will be highly appreciated
Karl in Issaquah
Hi Karl, I use Nce dcc on my layout as well. I would look at the wheels and the track and make sure both are clean because dirt will slow your locos down. You may need a booster but I will clean the wheels and track first and see if that improves performance.
Mike, Those are some great photos of your layout construction. Is that pink foamboard with 1×4’s glued/screwed to the edges? (That’s what I’m doing for my 4×8 foot test layout.) How does the Lionel flex track avoid the problem of inner rails needing to be shorter than outer rails on curves? Your photos should make the O-gauge enthusiasts happy. I like your mountains.
Kim the builder, that’s a clever repurposing of toy helocopter parts. I really didn’t understand the explanation but I bow to your wisdom.