About Digitrax throttles: For one thing, you can't compare hobby products to mass produced ones (like cheap cordless phones). Those cheap cordless phones are cheap to you, but they are very expensive to tool up. The reason why they are cheap to you is that they sell millions of them, so the tooling cost can be spread out. Meanwhile, in a hobby like ours (with perhaps 250,000 of us in the USA in all scales), tooling up custom throttles can't be spread out over too many units. That's why Digitrax buys their throttle bodies from SERPAC (they have their own website). Also, to modify the throttle would actually require an all-new application to the FCC, which is both time consuming and expensive.
To solve the battery issue, why not install a toggle switch at the top of the throttle? I've done dozens of them at my club, including three of my own. A simple sub-mini SPST toggle is all you need.
Paul A. Cutler III
Showing off your latest whatever and receiving the response:
"Oh, isn't that cute."
Irritated modelers. Never had this before the Internet forums.
I have read many model railroad magazines since the late 1940's and never saw anything like all the Rants I see in forums now.
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
Medical and car repair bills that come out of nowhere to obliterate my carefully-hoarded spending money. This always seems to happen just as long-awaited items are due to arrive, so that, thanks to ¥€&*¡¢ limited runs, I'll miss these and therefore be forced to wait 4-5 years till they *might* be run again.
richg1998 Irritated modelers. Never had this before the Internet forums. I have read many model railroad magazines since the late 1940's and never saw anything like all the Rants I see in forums now. Rich
I think you forgot to read the Railway Post Office that used to grace Model Railroader's pages. That whole section was usually a complain fest. Heck, you only have to look at this latest issue to see a reader rant against a certain advertisment....
Geared Steam Forumites that begin a post with "I've been modeling for xx number of years" and thinking that anyone with less should never question anything they say.
Forumites that begin a post with "I've been modeling for xx number of years" and
thinking that anyone with less should never question anything they say.
Or owned and ran a hobby shop x number of years. *ad nauseum*
+1000!!!
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
BMMECNYC That tool that you just had in your hand 5 seconds ago, that you spend half an hour finding.
That tool that you just had in your hand 5 seconds ago, that you spend half an hour finding.
Yeah, well that's me too. And all this time I thought I was losing my mind! Could it be just a cluttered work bench?
Hobby Police!! And their pronouncements on how one should properly enjoy ones hobby.
Bob Bochenek
arbe1948 Hobby Police!! And their pronouncements on how one should properly enjoy ones hobby. Bob Bochenek
I have had several of those to pm me over the past 14 months and advise me that my Slate Creek Rail or Summerset Ry could not exist .
Well so much for prototype switching roads like Progressive Rail.
I had one chap to tell me I was a disgrace to the hobby.. Oh well..I guess I wasted (at that time) the 52 years I spent in the hobby.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
BRAKIEI had one chap to tell me I was a disgrace to the hobby..
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
JaBear BRAKIE I had one chap to tell me I was a disgrace to the hobby..
BRAKIE I had one chap to tell me I was a disgrace to the hobby..
Alton Junction
richg1998 I have read many model railroad magazines since the late 1940's and never saw anything like all the Rants I see in forums now.
And is that a bad thing? The mags are still great, but they are a one-way communication. Go back to th e1980s and try to find a bad review. "The starting speed was 20 SMPH, the handrails are a scale three feet to thick, and the molded-on grilles look like they were cast in the wrong scale. Overall, this is a fine model that will look great on any layout."
For modeling how-tos, layout reviews, etc, I still love the mags, but if I want to know if a product is any good, I'll ask in the forums. :)
I just got back into the hobby after a 25 year absence, and it feels like the modeling has gone out of model railroading. Used to be you bought a good-running model and detailed it to your hearts content. Now you bay 3-4x as much for a model superdetailed with fragile plastic parts. I bought a couple of used P2K Geeps, but I'm almost afraid to put them on the club layout. We *run* our trains, and the ones that are out there on the pike look terrible from rough handling.
And if you do still want to detail, good luck finding parts at the LHS. My local doesn't seem to have ordered DA or DW parts in decades, and what there is, is relegated to a few small boxes. Still at original prices 9half of today's), but how many Alco cab armrests do I need?
And I suppose I don't blame them. Why devote a bug chunk of space to $150 worth of bits and pieces when you can put $5,000 worth of locomotives in the same display area? Problem is, those of us who still want to detail have to buy retail or hunt at shows for what we *might* need.
I suppose there is *some* upside... I just bought Athearn handrails for an old RPP CF7 shell (on an OMI drive with sprung trucks!).
And if ever finish said CF7, instead of the answer I'd get 20 years ago ("Cool model!") I'll get "How much did that cost you? Why didn't you just buy an Athearn?"
One more rant: For all the money we're paying for locomotives these days, are the drives any better? Not really -- the 30-year-old Kato drive seems to be the pinnacle of performance.
Sigh.
[/rant]
this is a great topic.
1 - model companies that put paint schemes on locomotive for railroads that never had that type of locomotive
2 - lack of a tractor trailers such as grain hoppers, cement hoppers, etc for N
3 - people who criticize someone else's layout that do not have a layout of their own OR boast that something you built is not prototypical, at which point you politely inform them that what they are looking at is a model and by the way it is my ^&%$$^&*(*&$# railroad and I will do as I %&%#%*(( please.
I feel better now. Thank you.
Ted
BRAKIE I had one chap to tell me I was a disgrace to the hobby.. I hope you felt suitably chastised Larry.
Yes,I got all teary eyed and choked up over it.Couldn't sleep for several days.
theodorefisk 3 - people who criticize someone else's layout that do not have a layout of their own OR boast that something you built is not prototypical, at which point you politely inform them that what they are looking at is a model and by the way it is my ^&%$$^&*(*&$# railroad and I will do as I %&%#%*(( please.
I can criticize your modelling all i want, because my layout is so much better than yours. I'd like to share pics, but I can't because it's still in my head.
Dave
Just be glad you don't have to press "2" for English.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ_ALEdDUB8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hqFS1GZL4s
http://s73.photobucket.com/user/steemtrayn/media/MovingcoalontheDCM.mp4.html?sort=3&o=27
Going back to what people have said about running out of supplies, how about running out of supplies when you don't have an LHS and everything hobby-related has to be ordered?
Another one for you (and this happened to me): Finding a certain paint that you loved working with, is a main color for your railroad, etc. and the company discontinues it and are unable to find anything to replace it. (A certain color of Polly Scale paint and no other line has it where it can be brush painted. I don't own an airbrush. Additionally, Montana's weather doesn't permit painting outside a good part of the traditional modeling season.)
Getting distracted while working on one project by finding other ones that need to be worked on.
[edit]
Also somewhat going back to what was already mentioned, how about having a shopping list but realizing you're finding things that weren't on the list, but you need anyway?
AutonerdI just got back into the hobby after a 25 year absence, and it feels like the modeling has gone out of model railroading. Used to be you bought a good-running model and detailed it to your hearts content. Now you bay 3-4x as much for a model superdetailed with fragile plastic parts. I bought a couple of used P2K Geeps, but I'm almost afraid to put them on the club layout. We *run* our trains, and the ones that are out there on the pike look terrible from rough handling.
[rant] I'm so sick of people complaining about how the hobby has gone to poop because there are no "real" modelers left.[/rant]
I've been in the hobby long before RTR stuff, since the early 1970's, and I got news for you, not every one "enjoys" building and detailing kit stuff - we did it because we had to. I still build a few kits here and there but love the nice prototypical RTR cars on the market - big time saver and they look better than many of the kits I've built.
If you want old school trains, I see TONS of blue box and other kit trains at trainshows on the secondary market. Folks like you can be happy by going and getting that stuff which is plentiful. If you live far away from a big city with a big train show, do yourself a favor and go visit one and stock up. There, everyones happy - no need to rant! (where is my Staples Button "that was easy")
There are some tables at the train show I go to that are full of parts such as Details West or Details Associates - not everything there but a lot to look through. Join HOSwap or HOInterchange yahoo groups email lists and ask for parts - some may have some they want to sell. I sold some parts such as Farr Air grills, 36-inch EMD roof fans, Cooling coils etc that I no longer needed.
One more rant: For all the money we're paying for locomotives these days, are the drives any better? Not really -- the 30-year-old Kato drive seems to be the pinnacle of performance. Sigh.
Now I can tell you've been out of the hobby for 25 years. There are definitely drives out there that are very smooth in HO - my Stewart Drives (ok, made by KATO). My Athearn RTR SD45's run like KATO's, and many of my Athearn nicely. Oh, how about Atlas drives - top notch and among the best. Athearn Genesis run nice. Intermountain SD40-2's, nice.
davidmbedardTamyia glue bottle seal ring coming out. Running out of flex. Running out of cork. Friends who enjoy and process beans then come over to model. Shipping costs to Canada. Ebay sellers who refuse to ship to Canada. The C word. Atta-boys. People who expect an Atta-boy. A falling exacto knife hitting my foot. Detail parts that get lost in the carpet. Plastic couplers. Dull blades. Bad lighting. Not having a toilet in the basement. Dried paint in the bottle. Paint bottles that refuse to open. Being told not to bother because mfg X has announced the particular model. Mfg X producing said model and passing off a foobie as the waited for model. CA cement on your fingers. CA cement on the model where it should not be. Engineering plastic and it's inability to be bonded. Haters. Posers. Know-it-alls. Having to source out NOS to build a kit. People who buy brass and pass it off as their "work". MRC decoders. Tsunamis with no CV5. Factory light boards. Athearns use of bulbs. People who start a thread with a question and leave it unresolved. Trolls. Thin-skinners. Over weathering. Graffiti on RTR taking up room on LHS shelves. Loud furnace fan. Time flying by. Posters who finish part way through a wo
Those are prety much all the things I hate, and I have a few more. I hate running out of CA glue, especially in the middel of a project. There's also a hobby shop near us that overprices stuff way high (ugh).
I also hate shopping. Shopping is terrible.
Knocking over paint bottles when doing brush work. Twice last night, Grrr!
God's Best & Happy Rails to You!
Bing (RIPRR The Route of the Buzzards)
The future: Dead Rail Society
When you're favorite railroad website won't connect, even though you know that its not down.
To make a good kitbash or stretch build structure, and not having supplies to make it until three months later and you totally forget what you're building because you forgot to draw out the plans in the first place.
Amtrak America, 1971-Present.
bing&kathy Knocking over paint bottles when doing brush work. Twice last night, Grrr!
Presbyopia and general lack of finesse.
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
Having the vacuum cleaner suck up details and parts from layout.
South Penn
Having two Chessies that think of n-scale rolling stock as really neat dog crunchies.
Favorite scales: HO and G
Favorite gauges: anything in HO and G scale
Favorite era: anytime trains roamed the tracks, but I prefer steam
Favorite railroads: any railroad, but the Alaskan RR is on top
Favorite layout configuration: any layout that makes a continuous circle
Freelance vs prototype: freelance, kinda obvious from above
Why can't Kadee put a larger hole in their trucks? I always worry that I won't get the pad level and straight. Maybe that's why a few pieces of my rolling stock look like they are leaning to one side.
For me it is perfectionist. There is nothing wrong if you are one but for me I try my best to get it right but if I like some thing I do it. My pockets are not as deep as some so I make do with what I can. So in my world if something is a little wrong too bad. In my HO world everyone is happy. A fellow railroader once told me in his world he is God so he doe's what he likes and the rest can____ well you can fill in the blank. Have fun life to too short.
Missing coupler springs!!
Smacking the back of my head getting out from under the layout bench.
Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry
I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...
http://modeltrainswithmusic.blogspot.ca/