That is why I eventually went to battery power & control. If you can do basic things your self & this is the cheapest way. I have Bachman, LGB & Aristocraft.
http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/satr/2point4GHz.htm
I have 6 locos using this method. You can bind 2 locos to each transmiter but I prefer each loco to have its own unit, so visitors drive there own train. Cost per loco including batteries is about $60 au.
This "how to" was taken from the Sandstone & Termite Railway, http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/satr/satr.htmwhere
Greg Hunter is always coming up with new ways of doing things. A very good site to keep in your favourites on the menu bar. Sandstone & Termite appeared in this magazine back in October 1999.
He covered making aluminum track from 3mm x 10mm flat bar, home made turnouts, truck construction, making wheels and many other hints in that article. well worth ordering the copy of the magazine.
I am sure there are many out there who have some ideas for home made items that work well, and perhaps they can show us on this forum in words and photos, if they dont want to make a magazine article.
Cheers from Andrew
Sandbar & Mudcrab Railway
The Aristo E8's are not known for defective motors. Only the GP40's had this problem, and Aristo will replace the motors for free on these.
Aristo locos are known for poor plating and the wheels are steel underneath, which allows rust.
I live near the ocean, and leaving an Aristo loco out overnight will generate a light coating of rust on the wheels once the plating has worn through.
Aristo has tried making stainless steel wheels, which solves the problem. They made a batch 1 year ago, but the wheel and flange contour was poor and people have had derailment issues.
The new Dash-9's have been said to have SS wheels available, and are coming out very soon, perhaps this is a solution for you.
I am converting all Aristo locos to SS wheels.
Regards, Greg
Visit my site: http://www.elmassian.com - lots of tips on locos, rolling stock and more.
Click here for Greg's web site
Greg
you have a large number of engines, what will your total cost be ya think?
Is it REAL? or Just 1:29 scale?
Long live Outdoor Model Railroading.
Well, one way is about $5.20 a wheel, we have them made for us.
The other way is to modify the ones we got from Aristo, that have flanges too small, that will work out to about $3 a wheel, but it will require turning the diameter down to get the flanges bigger.
Scott Polk promised a number of us he will fix the contour, and seems that the Dash 9's that have arrived have the new contour they want, so if it works, they will be made in SS also.
Of course all of this has been promised for some time, but I'm pretty sure something will develop.
I've been running on electrified aluminum rail both outdoors and in for about 16 years. The first couple of years were terrible - I could hardly keep the rails clean and the wheels on my Aristo-Craft RS-3 pitted something awful. Then I started using oil on the track, one drop on each rail every 50 feet or so. The track did not get dirty anywhere near so quickly. And after about 8 hours of running, the wheels on my RS-3 were mirror bright.
Now I clean the rails only once a year - in the spring. After that, I add oil as above every day that I run. If I notice the headlight flickering at any point, I add more oil, one drop on each rail a foot or two before the place where the flicker occurs. The wheels of the train spread the oil very quickly.
The oil has to be light weight, plastic compatible and non-oxidizing. A good example is Labelle 108 but the traditional Wahl Hair Clipper oil works too. Heavier oil or applying too much of even light oil can result in reduced traction. Oil that is not plastic compatible can soften wheels, particularly if they are made out of ABS, and result in a plastic coating on the rails. If the the oil can oxidize, which many oils can when exposed to the ultraviolet light in sunshine, it will leave a varnish-like, non-conductive coating on the rail heads which is difficult to remove.
Jim
Jim,
What part of the country (I assume USA) are you in? I have a friend who uses a little aluminum rail inside, all of his and mine and a few other friends all use brass outside. I have tried oil on the rails and it does work on the brass in an emergency. I have some grades on my railroad and I've had locomotives slippling on the up hills, so I don't use it often. Just when friends are coming over and I don't have time to clean the rails and haven't done so in a long time. So I am curious about how well this works on aluminum.
Bob
the reason you are getting wheel pitting is there is not enough electrical pick ups.
you need to have more than one wheel picking up from the rails.
sometimes the wheels or the brushes are very dirty.
aristo sells wheel brush kits to pick up off more wheels.
the reason you see a spark is the is the only wheel picking up. it sparks as it breaks contact.
if 2 wheels are picking up. the second wheel takes over and the first will not spark.
I am waaaay new to the Hobie and am trying to soak up all the info i can before making any large money decisions (at my age soaking up info isnt the problem retaining it is) and i was intrigued by your use of model airplane rc equipment on trains.
I have been in the RC hobbies (plane ,cars ,scale ships) for about 30 years. i was wondering why you used the straight horn on the servo rather than the circle instead of building a plate.
second why not use a speed control from a car or boat which already has reverse rather than a switch
third certain frequency's are dedicated to surface or air isnt that a problem with local RCers?
Not trying to be a pain just curious.
Thanx Ed
When I read about the evils of drinking I quit reading.
The e8's should be picking up power on every wheel.
Aristo has design problems, and more importantly assembly problems with it's modular power system that can cause pickup problems.
You can read my page on this and see how it fails and how to fix. Test each wheel for pickup, and also remove the motor blocks and bend up the contacts. Many people received e8's with one block with no pickup just because the contacts on the top of the block did not make proper contact with the circuit board.
My page explains all of this:
http://www.elmassian.com/trains/motive-power-mods-aamp-tips/aristo-motive-power/prime-mover-basics
I've got aluminum code 250 rail. I live in Sacramento, CA, where the weather is usually hot and dry in summer, and not quite as dry and a little cooler in winter. I power my locomotives through the track. I put a few drops of Dexron III automatic transmission fluid on the rail, and run the equipment through the drops. ATF conducts electricity, and though oily, is used in transmissions to create traction across a space.
ATF seems to clean the track of bugs and sap, improve conductivity, and reduce slipping.
BTW, pitting wheels, in my exerience, is more likely caused by dirty track (the pitting is caused by sparks) rather than a motor problem. Pitting hasn't been a problem in over 10 years of running on aluminum rail.
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