subscriber only content

[Anonymous]

See Ian your helping "The Worlds Greatest Hobby" but GR is making us go .PDFs which most of us do not want.

William

[Anonymous]

William;

I agree with the need to have someone to show your results too, but i can't quite relate that to what you have said.

In fact i am in just such a position right now; i have designed something that is to do with G scale railways and i call it, "The Device" and i don't know how i can show it to any one and it is really getting to me, if my scanner was working i could send a schematic out and people could see it. I am really pleased with myself and i didn't think i could do it. I even have all the component parts worked out and where to place them on a printed circuit board, in a weather tight box and all.

It will be 115 mm long 65 mm wide and 40 mm long; it will connect up to an LGB 12070 supplementary switch and an LGB Detection module and various sections of track as well as utilising 2 LGB 17100 track contacts. It will absolutely automate a set of points (switch) in a foolproof manner.

It contains an 8 way connector strip, a relay, 2 diode bridges a 1000 ohm 5 watt resistor and a printed circuit board. I am sure it will work but alas i think it would be hard for anyone else tounderstand it!

Rgds Ian   

 

[Anonymous]

Ian,

You mean you have no friends to show your hard work off to and the enjoyment of the railroad to?

Then I would think you would show them the web site and the magazines we get with fold out pages in them to make hand stock from.

William

[Anonymous]

What does that men to a person that lives on the other side of the world?

Ian

[Anonymous]

This is "The Worlds Greatist Hobby" then let new folks know and show them. 1/2 cent.

William

[Anonymous]

Yes my reaction would be the same; i am not impressed with people selling stuff that don't know much about it and won't go to any trouble to find out.

The last hobby shop i went to was in Blackpool in the UK with Kimbrit and the shop was devoid of customers except us, and they wouldn't even talk to us in a polite manner.

Rgds ian

[devils]

I agree on the knowledge front, there's a lot of shops out there selling stuff, especially DCC, with little understanding of the pitfalls or compatibility issues. I spent a long time searching for decoders that would work with MTS and handle lots of current, several shops said don't know or no and eventually I found one that found out for me so he gets the business now for being bothered to help (even if he's a fraction more expensive).

 

[Anonymous]

My objections to reading magazines and visiting hobby shops; is that there is too much information around that you don't need and too little knowledge of the real guts of things. I am also of the opinion that a lot of the people getting involved with these are are just tyre kickers and mostly don't actually do anything much at all, when it is all boiled down.

I on the other hand don't bother with anything unless i am really into it and am going to actually do something, like my present fascination with automating my layout; very interesting, very technical and it really gets my brain working and keeps altsheimers deseas away after; all i am 70 years old or is it 70 years young.

Rgds ian

[Capt Bob Johnson]

Haven't you guys learned as yet that the bean counters don't give a fig for common sense, horse sense, or anything but cents!   Onion Pacific as a prime example!   The world takeover by beancounters is pervasively carrying on: they will overcome!    As they take over one firm after another by graduating from the accounting dept to the CEO desk, they are winning the war!

[devils]

Phil, nice to know it's getting back to Kalmbach, it was never a criticisim of the magazine just of the bean counter who decided to try and extract every last opportunity to make sure we buy it. I will continue to buy it but from  a shop and try and share what info I get on the Forum, or Fora!

 

Ian, I agree that the net and aquaintances are a valuable soure of information, but I'd still argue that your sources probably get some of their info from shops or magazines so it's all indirectly linked.

 

I only think to say you're promoting the WGH campaign on one hand and then remove the archive is a bit daft. Maybe a condensed form with just the data of livery, current consmption and Pros and cons could be used rather than the infuriating 1st paragraph teaser.

 

Paul

[Anonymous]

Phil i have heard that your shoe size is greater than your IQ, is that right?

Rgds Ian

To others, I really don't read these magazines now do i go to hobby shops. I get a lot of information off the internet and from knowledgeable friends of which i have many all over the world. Also when i get into a subject i am interested in; i really investigate it by several means. For instance i am going down the track of automating my layout at the moment and to do anything much in this area you need to be into DCC. So i have really contacted a lot of people and am starting to find out how little i know about this subject but it is very interesting to me and i am getting to be as knowledegeable as i can be; before i do anything much. American ideas seem to me to be much more advanced and varied as compared to European ones and cheaper too.

Rgds ian

 

 

 

[toenailridgesl]

"Ian, where did you find out about how to build the technical bits?"

Paul,

Ian has ways that are beyond the ken of mortal men. He has all the answers. just ask him, he'll tell you.

I an a GR subscriber & author. I agree with your grievances & reiterate them to Rene' & to Marc on the occasions he drops in here to read the forums (fora?). Klambake is beginning to take we buyers for granted. It's not the fault of the folk (Rene', Marc, etc) who give us their time, but the bean-counters in NY who just happen to have Milwaukee by the short-&-curlies.

The more we female dog, the more chance we'll get some attention. The dropping of Pull-out plans in the GR mag.are an issue in point. If you've ever checked out Marc's plans site http://www.sidestreetbannerworks.com/railways/plans.html

you'll see that a good % of the pix are of my models. I think this is also why Marc asked me to do a 12 page how-to for the mag (Aug & Oct '05 issues, build a retired box-car).

Klambake are making a huge error with this move, I imagine it's for $ reasons but they are going to lose more $ by proceeding with it. I'm active on a number of internet LS sites & the general consensus is "NOT HAPPY, JAN!" I won't be dropping my subscription but I know of a number of folks who will no longer be (regularly) buying the mag off the rack from the local Walgreens etc.

Ian, bend over, we need more sunlight down here.

[devils]

Ian, where did you find out about how to build the technical bits? If it's all from one manufacturer then a catalogue will supply all the answers you need but I have models from several manufacturers and wanted them to be compatible with my LGB MTS. I found reviews in GR and searching the net invaluable in finding how to do it and then getting hold of the decoders I needed. I suppose being this diverse in what I buy means I found such resources useful when I was getting started in DCC.

I don't think you have to subscribe that's just a personal choice as I enjoy looking through the various ideas each month, whether you get your inspiration from magazines, a shop or the Net, the info comes from somewhere, to help you make the decisions.

I only buy some magazines when they interest me but GR and MR are very hard to come by on the High street in the UK now so I started effectively subscribing through a UK shop. I started getting them each month precisely because the reviews were useful in my case, but it would be nice to have access to ones from before I started without organising a subscription direct with the US.

Kalmbach started the Worlds Greatest Hobby campaign and then promptly removed a useful archive and resource for people, I just think it's a bit short sighted.

My problem is I like too many different things and I enjoy browsing in model shops. I also realise this probably won't change anything but it's a forum for comment so I just thought I'd see what the rest of you thought about it and see if GR had a particular reason.

 

[Anonymous]

I don't subscribe to any magazines nor do i need too, and i can't see why you really need to do this all the time. Nor do i go to hobby shops, they really don't do anything for me.

yet i have a very modern and technically advanced layout.

Rgds ian

[devils]

We can all unlock it effectively by providing information for anyone who needs it which is the point of the forum, which is why it annoys me, it'll just take me longer in future to help out.

Thanks for the thought though, that's why I like this forum.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm a GR subscriber but I don't usually use any of those "subscriber only" features...too bad I can't just loan you my keys....

[devils]

I've been buying every Model Railroader for the last 5 years and have  had it and Garden railways on order with Steam Powered Video for the last 2 years to make sure I get them. OK I'm not subscribing directly to Kalmbach, I'm trying to support a shop over here in the UK, but I buy them all the same. This new website format is really beginning to annoy me as all those useful reviews, we used to be able to access easily from past issues without paging back through every issue, are now locked out for subscribers only.

I have refered people to them in the past and used them myself to check things quickly to answer questions on the forum. Now I can understand keeping say the next issues and last 2 or 3 months off the site so people buy the magazine but why can't we all access the older ones.

I certainly won't be subscribing directly just for that as I have the articles and it locks out new people who might find them useful and then buy the magazine as a result in the future.

So come on put the Review Archive back on, it was there for ages, and open to all or will the marketing department only allow it if we are committed for a full 12 months?

I would still provide the information, when I had found it, to anyone who asked a question on the forum.

I will continue to support my relatively local shop who have provided good service for over 15 years as they are getting fewer in number and provide much better customer service than a faceless web company. This isn't saying MR and GR are a faceless web company but that I think they should support these shops and encourage them to sell them with the web extras because that is where many of us first saw the magazines.

Think that's mostly coherent but it's been getting on my wick!

Paul