send you a PM as to where to get a few 20 volt ones.
Digikey should have the 20 Volt ones too. Sometimes they are hard to find in the catalog.
After three separate times of trying to sell it, I will not be selling it now. I'll be keeping it and trying to stuff a sound decoder in the tender.
Digikey does not have SM 100uF 20V capacitors, unless I missed something. They have 16V, which would work for my DCC system, but not MRC's DCC system which is 16.2V.
If you go to a sound unit you can put back the weight that you removed to install the non- sound decoder and it might help a bit in the pulling department. I have several of these units and they pull about 17 cars up a 1.5 % grade through a 15 inch radius 90 degree curve. For the wires I suggest you use a super flexible wire from North West Short Line. It is called 29 51 I believe. You will need five wires. Two for the motor and two for the pickup and one more for the H/L. There is no need to run the blue wire from the decoder to the H/L for power, you can power if from the light board in the boiler. This is a tight fit if you use the SoundTraxx Tsunami decoder. To get capacitors to fit I use two surface mount 20 volt 100uF caps in place of the original cap that comes with the decoder. Wire them in parallel, which will give you 200uF.A 14X25 MM speaker will fit under the coal load.
Does that mean,,you won't be trying to sell it now??LOL...
Glad you got it working..
Cheers,
Frank
This Kato has restored my faith in Kato a little more. With the traction tires, this thing pulls very well, although not as well as my Model Power 4-6-2 Pacific. Now I have to decide if I want to run wires to the tender for a sound decoder.
gatrhumpy I have learned my lesson: if a set of driver wheels need to be adjusted, just get a new set that has already been balanced and adjusted for me and don't try to adjust it myself. I've ruined probably close to $350 worth of steam engines by checking the clearances of the driver wheels and adjusting them myself, or I'll use a tool to do it.
I have learned my lesson: if a set of driver wheels need to be adjusted, just get a new set that has already been balanced and adjusted for me and don't try to adjust it myself. I've ruined probably close to $350 worth of steam engines by checking the clearances of the driver wheels and adjusting them myself, or I'll use a tool to do it.
So be it, but in the greater scheme of things, it was money well spent because it gave you an opportunity to build up a wealth of knowledge that you can use going forward. Congrats.
Rich
Alton Junction
Yeah, thanks for your help woodone. Means a lot to me.
Now I'm thinking about a sound decoder.
All I can say is, HIP HIP HURRAY!!
Glad to hear you got it running well.
I got the new set of driver wheels. I installed all four, but there was a clicking sound on one of them that was bugging me. So I took off the second and fourth set, and the clicking was still there. Plus, the third set of driver wheels was slightly binding at very slow speed. So I took off the third set and replaced it with the original third set, and it ran better, but not up to my OCD perfect standards.
I then checked the width of the wheels on the engine and tender, and the third wheel on the tender was a tenth of a MM too tight. So I adjusted that, and the thing runs like a swiss watch now.
I did that with the current set of driver wheels and it runs fine upside down.
When you install the drivers don't install the side drive rods. Leave them off. This way there is no chance of the side rods and drivers to cause any binding. Just a thought.
Yeah, it's kind of annoying. Oh well. I hope this fixes the problem. If it doesn't, I'll send it to you and the drivers, or I might actually send the drivers back. If the drivers work, I'll hold onto the engine. I certainly can't sell it.
Sorry about that. They used to show the drivers. I think? I have ordered several of these and maybe I am mistaken has I know what I have received.
You wonder what goes on sometimes. They will show you a picture of a part that you can't order because it is no longer being made, but no photos of some thing you can buy. Go figure?
That was one of the parts that you could not click to see what you're getting.
Here is the site:
http://search.cartserver.com/search/search.cgi?cartid=s-1078&keywords=N282HVYREV&maxhits=100&bool=AND
Part 932031.
I'm going to see what the driver wheels will do when they arrive. It's currently for sale on eBay, so if it doesn't sell, I'll let you know and I will take you up on the offer if I can't get it to run right. Thanks for the offer man!
Gatrhumpy,
One thing I forgot to mention,,,must be a old age thing,,,a light went on in my head,,when you mentioned,that,it runs good in your hands..Get a piece of glass pane,or mirror and place the engine on it and check to see if all the drivers are touching the glass,,lift the front slightly and rear and check for vertical movement of the drivers...It's a possibility,that you have a axle bearing issue,,out of round,or worn,,causing a bind,when sitting on the rails with weight on them....
woodone You want to box it up and send it to me? If I can't make it run well, I will send it back and it will not cost you but the shipping.
You want to box it up and send it to me? If I can't make it run well, I will send it back and it will not cost you but the shipping.
wow, woodone, u da man.
What about it, gatrhumpy?
What say you?
Did you not look at the parts you ordered. The Kato site shows what you get.
I don't want to seem negative here, but you are swearing off on a locomotive that is one of the best running units I have ever ran into.
I have 4 and they run like a smooth Swiss watch.
I have worked on over 60 of these guys doing DCC conversions and have not run into too many problems with them over the years.
I will PM my contact information if you are interested..
.
Wait, I spent $20 on a new set of driver wheels and only got the wheels, not the connecting rods, crank pins, or anything else? How the heck does one put this in quarter if the OLD set was out of quarter?!
If I get this new driver wheel set and replace it, and it's not GLASS SMOOTH around my layout, I'm returning it and swearing off Kato steam engines forever. They're already on my ****list.
If I take the engine off the track, upright, it runs fine. Runs smoothly and quietly.
Nope, the drivers don't come with the crank pins. Better get on line and get a spare or two.
These things are small, if you ever drop one it will be real hard to find.
I do repair work and keep spare pins just in case. I have replaced the old style drivers with the revised sets and have not lost one yet, but you never know.
WHat about if you hold it upright but not sitting on the track? DOes it run as smoothly as it does holdign it upside down? That sort of thing can be an issue with the gear alignment, if it gets cranky when upright but no weight on it. If it onl does it when sitting on the track, then it could be somethign shifting when under load causing a bind - perhaps a bushing is missing on one of the axles, or the motor is loose.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
I bit the bullet and bought the set of driver wheels from Kato. Hopefully it comes with the foward crank pins because I dropped one on my carpet.
I just did that, and the wheel rolled smoothly.
I'm beginning to think it's a pickup issue. I flipped over the loco, applied power to it, and put it on speed step 6. It started smoothly, quietly, and without issue. No whir-whir-whir or anything like that. Smooth like a Kato should be. I checked the wobbliness of the wheels, and none that would make it bind or slow down.
I flip it over, put it on the track, which I just cleaned, and it's uneven in how the motor whirs, ie. a little jerky. I checked continuity using a multimeter of each of the driver wheels on the same side to other driver wheels on the same side (i.e. left first driver to left fourth driver), and no matter how I touched the probes ot the wheels, there was no continuity like there should be. Tried other drivers too, and once again, no continuity.
Just for giggles, I took out the first wheel and the side rod, i.e the rod that connects the first wheel with the third. It glides around the oval much better than it did before, but still not to my satisfaction. It still slows down and is a bit jerky, and the light flickers ever so slightly, and I mean ever so slightly. So since I just cleaned the track, to me this is a pickup issue.
I hope you realize,,that having the counter weights,adjusted to the way you say,,,has nothing to do with the drivers being in quarter..Take the drivers and roll them on a flat surface,,if they wobble,one wheel,or the other,then that means,it's out of quarter...
At this point I'm not entirely convinced it's the drivers. Within the realm of the freeplay of the drivers, I moved the left side all the way to the front (moved them forward), and made sure the right side was 90 degrees off from that. Not sure what else is going on. I checked the resistance of the driver wheels to each of the other drivers on the same side, and even to the tender wheels, and they all came out fine.
gatrhumpy That's the funny thing. I'm looking at this thing, and the drivers all seem to be in quarter. When the left side counterweights is at top dead center, the right side is 90 degrees off from that (on the side). This thing used to make a whir-whir-whir-whir sound, but I adjusted the driver slightly to where it does not do that any more. Ugh - I don't want to spend $20 to get another set of driver wheels for this thing. I want to get rid of it.
That's the funny thing. I'm looking at this thing, and the drivers all seem to be in quarter. When the left side counterweights is at top dead center, the right side is 90 degrees off from that (on the side). This thing used to make a whir-whir-whir-whir sound, but I adjusted the driver slightly to where it does not do that any more.
Ugh - I don't want to spend $20 to get another set of driver wheels for this thing. I want to get rid of it.
Spend another $20 and do it right.
Then, you may decide to keep or still sell it on eBay.
If you put it up for auction again on eBay, start the bidding at a lower price, the minimum you would accept, and go from there. Be aware that this is a poor time of the year to be selling locos on eBay. You will get more interest and better bidding if you relist in the late fall around or after Thanksgiving.
gatrhumpy I can't even sell this thing on eBay! I've tried twice, at $120 and then at $110, and I can't sell this thing. Ugh. I've been tinkering with it to try to stop it from slowing around curves, and no luck. The wheels are all perfectly in gauge, the track is clean, I've checked the resistance between track sections to ensure electrical conductivity, and have cleaned the wheels. It's still jerky, even on straight sections, and I cannot for the life of me explain why. You are asking too much for a locomotive that does not run well. And I would guess that you are telling your bidders the problems the unit has? I saw a couple of Kato Mikes on e-bay for less than $100 and all said they ran well.
I can't even sell this thing on eBay! I've tried twice, at $120 and then at $110, and I can't sell this thing. Ugh. I've been tinkering with it to try to stop it from slowing around curves, and no luck. The wheels are all perfectly in gauge, the track is clean, I've checked the resistance between track sections to ensure electrical conductivity, and have cleaned the wheels. It's still jerky, even on straight sections, and I cannot for the life of me explain why.
You are asking too much for a locomotive that does not run well. And I would guess that you are telling your bidders the problems the unit has? I saw a couple of Kato Mikes on e-bay for less than $100 and all said they ran well.
What Randy is saying is true. I never gave a thought about the driver being out of quarter. The way the Kato Mikado is built is that the front set of drivers is driven by side rods from the third driver. There is no gear on the front driver. So if you twisted the front driver to make it gauge you have got it out of quarter from one side to the other. There is not very much play or slop in the way the rods are connected to the drivers pins.