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Jerry:
Thanks for sharing!
Grant:
Since reading your first reply, I investigated your Mirbou hardwood which confirmed all you said about its great durability and strength. My research lead me to a great website of a company in South Carolina that specializes in imported exotic hardwoods that are especially good for things like outdoor decking, siding and railroad ties, and flooring. see http://www.eastteak.com/
Perhaps you or some of the forum guys would be interested in my findings:
I was looking for woods that have a very dark color (like railroad ties- you call them sleepers) and resist termites and rot. And I found many good candidates.
Ipe: http://www.eastteak.com/exotic-woods/ipe-lumbe/
Camaru: http://www.eastteak.com/exotic-woods/cumaru-lumber/
Afroromosa: http://www.eastteak.com/exotic-woods/afrormosia-lumbe/
Jatoba: http://www.eastteak.com/exotic-woods/jatoba-lumber/
Mirbau (You call it Mirbou): http://www.eastteak.com/exotic-woods/merbau-lumber/
Teak: http://www.eastteak.com/exotic-woods/teak-lumber/
Wenge: http://www.eastteak.com/exotic-woods/wenge-lumber/
Might be interesting just to call East Teak for prices. ( I bet they are all horribly expensive!) I wonder how they compare to Redwood?
I also did a lot of research on deck sealers and stains. (I have only used Minwax stain on my trestles, but no sealers). I was going to use clear Thompson's Waterseal, but the trend now seems to be towards sealers that stain too. You want longevity of more than a year before needing to re-coat. And you want UV, termite and rot resistance. For years the popular "go to" sealer was clear Thompsons Waterseal. So I was surprised with the horrible reviews Thompson gets. People say it doesn't last and doesn't resist mildew and rot.
On this website for the decking trade it lists the top five sealer/stain brands that they have tested and recommend. (I imagine that you would want to stain and seal railroad ties and trestles the same way you treat outdoor decking.)
Interestingly, most must be ordered directly from the factory because I don't find them in Lowes or Home Depot, although Amazon carries some of them. See: https://www.deckstainhelp.com/category/deck-product-reviews/
I ordered a gallon of transparent dark oak TWP 100 “Total Wood Preservative” to try out on my trestle walkways which need re-staining anyway. It appears to be the number one choice for the best quality stain & sealer.
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Grant:
Great reply- full of useful tips. Love your philosophy of longevity and strength. That's mine too. I also used thousands of brass escutcheon pins in the three miles of wood in my redwood trestles, so your tie pins will match what I have. I didn't realize that scolloped nail punches were even available. That was news to me. So I searched the web and they are indeed hard to find. I only found one supplier who makes them for gunsmiths. They call them "cupped" punches https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/general-gunsmith-tools/punches/cup-tip-punches-prod656.aspx
Since we don't have Mirbou wood, I'm not sure what I'll use. My trestles are made out of redwood which has held up very well, so I might use that. The only changes that I think I'll make to your method is that I think I'll rough up the ties a little bit and slightly round the corners just to make them look older more rough hewn, and I think I'll stain them. Otherwise I really like your system and the materials you are using. Thanks!
Jerry: Do you also drill spike holes into the foot of the rail the way Grant does? Or do you also use the Micro Engineering tie plates? Or do you just put the spikes next to the rail directly into the ties? Do you only put them on the outside of the rails? Do you have problems of them coming out over time? What kind of wood do you use?
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Hi Grant-
For years I have toyed with the idea of replacing the plastic LGB ties on my LGB flex rails with homemade wooden ties. Seeing all your photographs showing your beautiful wood ties on your track has inspired me to write you.
Would it be possible for you to post some closeup photos of the assembled track showing the "spikes" you used to attach the ties to the rails? I am good at woodworking so I think I can do it. But do you see any problems with me using my existing LGB brass flex rails? Can you give me (us) any tips for how you inserted the spikes? (for example, did you use a small hammer or some sort of hand held squeezing devise?) Did you need to drill pilot holes? And finally would you mind sharing the name of your spike supplier?
thanks so much in advance,
John Carmichael
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You're welcome Larry! Let me know how they work for you. Ever since I shorted out an engine from slider drop, I just don't want to risk it again by depending on the sliders being perfectly aligned since the only way to test them is to run them over the frogs. With the inserts, I NEVER have to worry.
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Hi Larry:
The problem you encountered is somewhat common. Unless the sliders are perfectly level and aligned they can get hung up in LGB switch frogs. The exact same thing happened to me a few years ago the first time I ran my new Triplex. It also happened to the sliders on my old MTH F-3. Ray came up with a solution on his webpage at http://www.rayman4449.com/MTH_Triplex_mods.htm#Triplex_sliders_caught_in_switch_frogs But unless you get it exactly right, you can still have the problem or worse (when one of my F-3 sliders got caught in the frog it also shorted out the motor!). I have come up with a great way to avoid this completely without using tape. I made plastic inserts from a scrap piece of thin (about 1/8" thick) plexiglass from Ace Hardware. They are about two inches long and about 3/16" wide. I made one tip pointed at the same angle as the frog. I simply slide an insert into the frog channel with the pointed tip aligned with the rail, allowing enough space for the wheel flange to pass through. With the insert in place, it is impossible for the slider to drop down and get caught. You want to make the insert wide enough so that it fits in tightly so that it doesn't come out. I made about a half dozen of them so that I have enough for all my switches whenever I run my MTH engines. Note the you can put them on either side of the frog depending on which track you want to use. Since the plastic is clear they are almost invisible so they are not ugly or distracting and won't tear like your electrical tape. Note that the LGB frog channels can warp slightly in the hot sun over time, so I made inserts of slightly different widths so that they would always fit tightly.
Here are some photos:
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This Letter is mostly for Ray:
A film crew from a local TV station filmed my railroad yesterday. We decided to use the USA Trains Hudson that Ray modified for me last year. He added Protosound 3, Protosmoke, and a better speaker. The Hudson was a great choice. Everybody present was amazed with its wonderful sound. But they were especially impressed with the heavy realistic smoke it created. Ray, your Hudson was the star of the show! Here is a link to the clip: http://www.kvoa.com/clip/13427345/local-non-profit-builds-garden-railroads Thanks again Ray.
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Great video Joe- taken on a great day, of a great layout with a great engine! Love the white flowering tree too!
a couple of questions-
The smoke stacks are covered with a grey rounded roof open at the back I have never seen this roof on a Big Boy. Is this a scratch-built addition? Did any of the original prototypes have this roof? And what function did it serve?
thanks for sharing,
John
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Hi Doug:
I'm sure you'll get many different answers to your question. My own recommendation would be to try the Railboss remote controlled controller for trackside use. It is VERY user friendly, easy to learn and use, and is not expensive. It is available for track power or battery power. You can read about it and purchase it here:http://www.gscalegraphics.net/store/c12/Track_Power.html
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There was a MTH wifi premium app update this morning. It updated automatically on my android. The More/Settings page says that this version is now called v2.0.0 Build 37. I wonder what it fixed?
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Thanks Ray. The Advanced Features sound like things we won't be using very much.
By the way, the kids (me included) love the microphone feature on the hand-held remote.
I don't see this feature in premium. Is it there? Do you think we could use the device's microphone with the Protocast feature to behave like the remote's microphone?
(Once I stopped a little kid who's curious hand was stretched out from derailing my engine by yelling on the microphone "Don't touch me!")
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Thanks Ray for relating your experiences. One wonders when seeing something odd if it is unique to his particular system or if everybody else is seeing the same thing.
On the "More" tab page, in "Advanced Features" there are four things:
Record/Playback
Import/Export
Recover Engines
System Settings
Please correct me if I'm wrong or explain the things I don't understand, but this is how I interpret these:
Record/Playback is for recording and playing back a running session. I'm pretty sure this is what it does.
Import/Export- I have no idea what this is. I don't remember this on the hand held remote. What is this!
Recover Engines- I don't remember this on the remote either. Sounds useful, but what does it do? Is it possibly for making unresponsive inactive engines active again?
System Settings- Hide E-stop button, Max Engine Speed Lock, TIU settings. self-explanatory. No doubts here.
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I have three android devices with premium version all on one account. Yesterday evening I tested a lash-up with a F-3 Diesel in front and a Hudson in rear and used my Samsung phone which was the 2ond device for which I purchased the premium version. Creating the lash-up was easy, and every feature on the engine page worked perfectly-even the whistle (actually a horn in this lash-up since the lead engine is a diesel).
However, with the lash-up active, neither the 2ond page (features) nor the 3rd page (settings) would appear when I touched their page icons on the engine page. The screen went blank on those two pages. Does this mean that these pages are locked out?
I read your comments Ray on this issue and saw that you have reported it to MTH. Was I seeing the same thing you saw? Has it been fixed? Will the fix require an update to the premium version? This evening I will test the first device to see if it also blocks those pages.
thanks in advance.
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(Ray-To finish off this topic, I'll post my last observation here, but I'll use the error reporting page for future error reporting)
A friend of mine had the same payment problem as Ray and I did. He said he turned off his phone and rebooted it and the app payment issue got fixed. So I did that to my phone and tablet and they both allowed easy payment after rebooting. Perhaps that was just a coincidence since you attribute the cause and the fix to MTH and Google. Did you reboot your phone and tablet Ray? If you rebooted yours, then perhaps rebooting is necessary for the fix to work. We might suggest rebooting to anyone who is having problems.
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Damn! (excuse my French) Just when I thought the big updates were going so well and smoothly. At the very end of the process this fatal glitch shows up. It is serious on two fronts. One, because there will be a lot of unhappy people who have been waiting a long time for the premium. And two, because MTH won't be able to sell the premium and get paid until it is fixed.
I guess we'll just have to tread water until help arrives.
Thanks Ray for telling MTH. Stay on top of them!
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When I turned my android on there was a notification that an MTH app update was available, so I clicked on it and it installed. Then I opened the app and in "More", under App Settings/APP VERSION it says I now have v2.0.0, build 36. That is the premium version. So far, so good. But when I go to "More/+Upgrade, and touch "Purchase" I get a message that says: "Error - Authentication is required. You need to sign into your Google Account. Google Play- OK" Now I'm stuck, because when I touch "OK", it says to sign in again. But I think I am signed in already! Is this where you got stuck too Ray?
Do you think we now have an inactivated premium version on our smart devices, where activation depends on payment? Do you think there is a glitch preventing payment?
I haven't tested v2.0.0 on the track yet. I'll do that next.
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Thanks Ray!
They've released this news: http://mthtrains.com/news/595
M.T.H. Premium Smart Phone App - Now Available For Download On Google Play And The Apple App Store
April 18, 2017 – M.T.H. Electric Trains has published its smartphone and tablet Premium App for controlling a DCS layout wirelessly to the Apple App Store and Google Play stores. As of 10:00 AM, Tuesday, April 18, the apps have not propagated through the Google Play and Apple App Stores. Keep checking the respective stores for the app's appearance throughout the day.
The long-awaited Premium version of the App is the third "level" of the DCS App that allows users to gain full access of their DCS controlled layout via wifi control from their Apple and Android smart phones and tablets. Owners of the existing app will need to update the app (if auto-update is not enabled on their devices) to gain access to the Premium level. Once updated (the new version is 2.0), users should proceed to the More section of the App and click on Upgrade. From there, the Premium version is just an in-app purchase away from loading onto your smart device. Pricing for the Premium version is just $24.99 ($19.99 for Standard App owners).
In addition to full control over DCS functions, the Premium App brings new features not available via the traditional DCS Remote/TIU configuration. These new features include control over select Lionel Legacy® locomotive features via an easy and intuitive interface that enhances operation of Legacy products. Users will be able to access all the popular Legacy features and build Legacy and TMCC® lashups with just a few taps. Legacy operation has never been so easy.
Premium users will also gain access to other popular DCS functions including Record and Playback, Lashup Creation and AIU Accessory Interface Control. At last, users will be able to control their layout's switches and accessories from the ease and convenience of their smartphones and tablets.
Using the Premium version's Import/Export function, power users can import those accessory and switch configurations into their smart device. For users with dozens of switches and accessories, this easy import process eliminates the need to re-key all those items back into their smart device. Best of all, the import process takes just seconds.
The app communicate with a separately sold DCS Wi-Fi Interface Unit or WIU. Any Android tablet or phone and Apple iPhone or iPad will bring the DCS Digital Command System to life in a way never thought possible when first paired with a DCS remote control. Any of these smart devices can run the new apps.
The Premium App requires an update to the DCS Track Interface Unit (TIU) software. The new DCS software, version 6.00 is available as a free download from the M.T.H. Website. The DCS 6.0 software must be loaded into the TIU and Remote with the latest DCS Loader program (Version 5.0). Like the new DCS software, the DCS Loader Program is a free download from the M.T.H. website.
Click HERE To Download DCS 5.0 Consumer Loader Software
Click HERE To Download DCS 6.0 Software
Click HERE To Go To Google Play
Click HERE To Go To iTunes
Lionel, Legacy, TMCC are registered trademarks of Lionel LLC.
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I updated the TIU and remote to DCS 6.0. It was easy and uneventful. Having the newer TIU Rev-L makes it easier because you can power it up for the update with just the USB cable and without a power pack. The remote update requires two hands and a very strong finger- one hand for the mouse and one for pushing the power button. I remember from the 5.0 update that you must hold the button down for almost five minutes and my finger got sore. So this time, in my left hand, I pushed the button with the eraser end of a pencil and held the mouse in my right hand. Use a pencil!
I just tested both the updated remote and the Standard version android Wifi app with engine on track. Everything worked normally- no glitches, problems or improvements. The noticeable improvements should become apparent with the Premium version of the Wifi app which is still unavailable as of this morning.
p.s. Note to MTH: MTH needs to do a better job reviewing, testing and fixing their broken and improperly routed website links, especially when they are announcing important new product updates. They should do that today!
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NOTE: The link (above) MTH says will take you to the DCS 6.0 download page does not take you there directly. I finally found the download page here:
http://mthtrains.com/dcs-version-600-software-upgrade-revision
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From http://mthtrains.com/news/594
New DCS 6.0 Software Available For Download
Click HERE to Download DCS 6.0 Software
YOU MUST USE THE DCS 5.0 CONSUMER LOADER TO INSTALL DCS 6.0 SOFTWARE INTO YOUR TIU AND REMOTE.
Click HERE To Download DCS 5.0 Consumer Loader Software
April 17, 2017 - The latest version of the software used in the DCS system is now available for download. The download is FREE and includes new DCS Hardware Software (Version 6.00) that allows the TIU to control Lionel Legacy locomotive features when the TIU is paired with the DCS WIU WiFi Interface Unit. Both the DCS Remote and TIU Track Interface Unit should be updated with the new software however, once updated the Remote will NOT have Legacy function control. Legacy control is only available when DCS is controlled via the DCS Premium App.
The new DCS Software allows the user to control the TIU from the DCS iOS and Android Premium App available from the Google Play and Apple iTunes online stores. App control of DCS also requires the separately sold DCS Wi-Fi Interface Unit (WIU).
The new DCS Consumer Loader Program (Version 5.0) must be used to reprogram the TIU. Older versions of the DCS Loader Program are incapable of making some firmware changes to the TIU that allow the TIU to interface with the Wi-Fi Interface Unit.
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Ahh! Now I understand. I keep the original antenna, but remove it and attach it to the high outside end of the adapter cable. I had been thinking of using just a cable by itself like the old Crest Train Engineer had on its trackside receiver.
Thanks Ray
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Ray wrote: " If you were to relocate the WIU antenna, how long would you need the cable to be?"
answer: I need at least two feet of antenna cable to reach the outside back of the cabinet which is attached to the side of the house, then I can take it straight up the side of the house another six feet to the roof eave if needed.
Ray wrote: If you're going to do anything I would look at seeing if you can get an extension adapter cable that allows you to move the antenna to a better location."
question for Ray: Is the extension adapter cable an accessory sold by MTH or others or do I need to make one? I can't quite visualize it. Do I need to remove the original WIU antenna and attach the adapter cable where the original antenna is connected?
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Subject: WIU Antenna Modification for Better Reception
I put my WIU inside my new trackside electrical cabinet as close to the track and as high as possible. I put it there to protect it from the elements. Conditions are cramped so I have to keep the antenna in a horizontal position. When I put it in the new cabinet it caused a small reception dead area at the far side of my layout where my android loses contact with the WIU. I'm wondering if I can improve the signal transmission by modifying the antenna of the WIU instead of moving the WIU out of the cabinet. I'm thinking it might be possible to add a long antenna wire strung outside the cabinet. I remember that Ray wrote about a similar antenna modification that he made to his TIU. But in Ray's modification he used a very short wire that is only about a foot long, and he soldered it to the TIU circuit board. According to Dr. Ray, the wire should be short to match the TIU's and remote's signal frequency.
Have any of you tried to modify your WIU antenna with any success?
Does anyone know if a shorter wire (which would only be inside the cabinet) would be better than a longer wire (extended outside the cabinet)?
Should I solder the wire to the circuit board or somehow connect it to the base of the existing antenna?
thanks in advance
John
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Looks unfinished. Where's the ballast?
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I wonder what its dimensions are. It looks pretty big judging by the size of the wire connectors and the antenna. It might pose problems getting it to fit in a tender. Then there is that antenna. Could it be concealed by bending it down or replaced with a wire, or will it stick up through a hole in the tender top?
Also, will it be possible to use a single phone or tablet to run a battery loco at the same time as a track powered DCS loco, or would you need a separate phone or tablet?
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