Perhaps the model railroad companies that design/specify DCC components and use them, would not use wiring that acts like spring steel wires. Is stranded copper not possible with soft coatings, instead of what appears to be stiiff plastic ?
You're right, it is not pretty. (I'm referring to the ugly mess of wiring between the loco and tender). Maybe that's why I'm partial to diesels.
I'm thinking one solution is to eliminate the plugs and sockets, run the wires straight through and make the connection in the tender. The straight wiring harness could be painted black and fastened to the drawbar for better appearance.
I bought a coil of decoder wires, 30 gauge color coded, hoping they might be more flexible. Nope, very stiff plastic covering. It's just something we have to work around.
Some mouse wire is very limp. Of course, if you have a wireless mouse, you are out of luck.
Jim
There are supposed to be a myriad of hoses connecting a loco to its tender. The DCC wiring COULD represent them, but are in the wrong location.
well there is MTH.. No wires just a draw bar. But then again I know how many HO modelers feel about Mike and MTH. I also dislike the tether set up, but mostly because my far from dexterous fingers can't manipulate a large number of them into the cramped spaces they fit.
Proto 2000 and the new Mantua by Model Power use a wireless connection to.
Dear All,
You should have at least 2 conductors between loco and tender, "right rail" and "left rail", to get more electrical pickups for smoother running.
Typical tenders add 2 wheels left pickup and 2 wheels right pickup. I suppose you could add pickups to 2R and 2L dead wheels on the loco if they were available and easily electrified.
I think that changing to more supple wires and/or keeping the loco and tender attached to one another is more important.
Slipping a small chunk of 1/16" I.D. plastic hose or wire insulation over the drawbar post will keep the tender from flying off the loco.
This works wonders for keeping the wiring harness and connectors intact and operational.
Hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Joe Satnik
Eliminating the wires is not all that hard in theory. Install a non-sound decoder in the locomotive to operate the motor and the headlight. Install a sound only decoder in the tender for sound or a sound and power decoder for sound and tender light. Then to keep it all working, clean rails and wheels frequently.
Personally, I like Joe's idea better.
Jim
Quote from: Yampa Bob on May 03, 2009, 02:40:03 AM
You're right, it is not pretty. (I'm referring to the ugly mess of wiring between the loco and tender). Maybe that's why I'm partial to diesels.
I'm thinking one solution is to eliminate the plugs and sockets, run the wires straight through and make the connection in the tender. The straight wiring harness could be painted black and fastened to the drawbar for better appearance.
I bought a coil of decoder wires, 30 gauge color coded, hoping they might be more flexible. Nope, very stiff plastic covering. It's just something we have to work around.
I recently bought a set of ear bud earphones with really limp wire. It's 2 conductor from each ear and then three conductor to the plug. The only problem is the conductors are foil and very fragile. It might be worth a try if you're very careful.
Bottom line, model railroading is an analogy of the real thing. All analogies breakdown somewhere. Code 100 rails and the radius of curves are the most obvious along with huge couplers on rolling stock and locos. It is just a hobby. The hobby is always evolving.
Rich
Good news from me. I decided to tie all the wires together making the assembly like a bridge cable with sewing thread every 1/4 inch. As it turns out the spring characteristic of each wire when bundled up, becomes like a leaf spring and puts a repulsive force between the locomotive and the tender with no side component. Problem solved and the tender stays on the track. If I may toot my own horn " well done laddie !! ;D ;D ;D
I posted this in another thread but will post it here also. The first is what I did to a Spectrum 4-4-0 and 4-6-0. I allowed a little more slack after taking the photos.
(http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/richg1998/Spectrum%204-6-0/Underneath.jpg)
(http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/richg1998/Spectrum%204-6-0/4-6-0B.jpg)
My Roundhouse 4-4-0, 2-6-0, 2-8-0.
(http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/richg1998/Roundhouse%20steamers/Tenderbarwires.jpg)
(http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/richg1998/Roundhouse%20steamers/Closecoupled.jpg)
I coated the wires with black liquid vinyl liquid, a substitute for black vinyl tape.
My way.
Rich
Let's see. Air brakes. Separate water lines to each injector. And a steam line to keep the water from freezing in the winter. Yep. Looks good to me.
Jim
Rich,
Nice job, looks very realistic.
I love the flexible drawbars on my Roundhouse locos. I'm trying to find a suitable material to make my own. I wonder if the sidewalls of an old bicycle tire might work, I have leather punches to make the holes.
Nice, neat good looking work RichG. I have 4 steam locos I'd like to get that or something just like it done to. The Tulsa/Sand Springs MRRC is coming to the town I'm closest to in June. I'm going to take photos of your fix to show them & see what they do for a fix.
Yampa Bob sez:
"I love the flexible drawbars on my Roundhouse locos. I'm trying to find a suitable material to make my own. I wonder if the sidewalls of an old bicycle tire might work, I have leather punches to make the holes."
Bob, you might be overlooking a flexible covering for the loco to tender wires. At the filling station in your area check out the restroom. In some of these old independents there still may be a condom machine on the wall - 5 for 25 cents. These should work for what you want.
I'd tell you to ask your pharmacist but I really doubt he'd believe any part of the "these are for my steam locomotives."
Okie
it is true, this is not getting prettier ;D ;D ;D
There must be something wrong with me, or maybe Bachmann sells me "special" locomotives, or maybe I'm just a mechanical genius. But what ever it is, I have never had any of these "problems" with the wiring harnesses on these locomotives.
My secrets - add weight to the tender, it needs it anyway if you want to back up witth a medium length train. Arrange the wires so they are not binding on the drawbar or dragging on the track. Paint them black.
One special trick, bend a "U" shape in the drawbar of the USRA heavy Mountain right below the sockets on the loco, leaving more clearance for the wires.
One last sugestion, couple them up, get the wires in the right place, put them on the layout and leave them there. Excess handling has never been good for models this size, it is not any better today with the increased detail and these wires.
Sheldon
You are a mechanical gfenius. Adding weight to a locomotive is always good and I favor metal bodies for both the locomotive and the tender. And if anyone invents a real heavy speaker that also would be good. And a super heavy leading truck. ;D