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  1. This is something that I've been thinking about doing for years and that is converting the USA Trains streamliner passenger cars over to Kadee couplers. I've had all these cars apart over the years fixing interiors that come loose in shipping, adding people, upgrading lighting, repairing wiring and power switches etc. Always looked at upgrading couplers and though ugh! I like Kadee Couplers as nice looking with that feather touch coupling action and well the USAT style knuckle couplers are more of a slam bang affair...and my passengers deserve better! And the USAT stock couplers are mounted way too low for me. I started in converting my great aluminum fleet the other day and it turned out to be a rather simple affair! Here's stock coupler compared to a Kadee height gauge which isn't a "set in stone" standard as I use it as more of a reference. I use the oversized "G" couplers and not the small 1:32 couplers. The 1:32 are so small that they'll slide apart vertically when a long car goes thru a dip in the track. My test car will be this PRR RPO as it'll be repainted next Spring. Stock USA coupler install. Remove center screw and pop the cover off. I use 2 small jewelers screwdrivers to disengage cover at rear. If you use a bigger screwdriver it'll break the thin plastic where slot is. After cover removed then removing spring and coupler reveals coupler body to mount screws. Remove those screws and coupler body. I reassemble couplers then stow away in the cars box. What's left is the die-cast metal coupler mount. I'm sure this is the same design as what's used on the heavyweights. Remove the 4 mount screws and mount comes off leaving a very nice spot to mount Kadee's! I start with a piece of 1-1/2" wide x 1/8" thick aluminum flat stock that I buy at Menards. A 3' long piece is like $10. Sure it's the same that can be bought about anywhere like Home Depot, Ace Hardware, Farm & Fleet etc. as it's all provided by Hillman. I cut a piece 1-5/8"+ long with hacksaw then square up to size with bench sander. I then mark piece with a line 1/8" up from one end. If you rough the aluminum up first with say a 220 grit sanding block then a line drawn with a mechanical pencil will be a bit easier to see. Could use blue layout ink and scribe the line but then may as well use a milling machine to perfectly drill the holes but hey, this ain't rocket science. After drawing line then I use the coupler mounting bracket to locate mount screw holes. Align the back edge at the line you just drew and fix with clamp while drawing holes with mechanical pencil. I left out that I also drew a centerline for where the Kadee mounting holes will be. I forgot to snap a pic of that layout. I use #907 Kadee's on these cars as they're bigger and beefier where it counts. Others may use the #906's. I plan on this train being at least 12 cars long with a Express boxcar or two at frontend so it's be a heavy hard pulling train. In drill press, the 4 adapter to car body holes are drilled 1/8" and the 2 Kadee mount holes are drilled #33. Here had to notch out the 2 ribs to make room for the 4-40 screw heads that I use to mount coupler to adapter. All mounted. I used 4-40 machine screws to mount coupler to adapter plate. I had originally planned to thread the adapter for 4-40 screws but decided on thru-hole mounting using nuts. Gave adapter plates a quick shot of flat black paint as have plenty around here. I changed the 4 x 3mm diameter adapter plate mounting screws from like 6.6mm long to 8mm as I buy those by the 100 count in various lengths up to 16mm long. Black thread cutter/ thread rolling screws as they're VERY hand to have in stock. Opposite end Good shape when checked with height gauge Few closing thoughts. It actually took me longer to writeup this posting than to make those 2 adapter mounting plates. Material price maybe $2 per car esp. when buy the hardware by the 100's. None of the above is "set in stone" as I may re-mount couplers further "under" the car. If you wanted would be just as easy to use the stock USA couplers as they'd be raised and they will work with the G Kadee's. Would have to drill and tap the for the original USA coupler box flat top screws.
  2. MTH Parts Dept - 5 STAR performance. Immediate and updating communication, along with part shipping! Needed a One Gauge caboose truck, now I can repair a broken truck that sidelined my Pennsy for a number of years!
  3. I am thinking about adding a reverse loop to my planned layout that just started construction, I run all MTH HO with DCS. Is there a specific wiring configuration that needs to be done for this to work with DCS? Is a reverse loop with DCS even possible?
  4. I am looking to remove the letter from a MTH one gauge Hudson tender. I have read that MTH uses a lot more clear coats than other manufacturers. has anyone tried this before?
  5. I am a big fan of German steam engines, it seems that a reasonably priced mid size model has finally come into fruition from Piko. However I run all DCS and would like this to do that as well. The 'base' model is DCC ready, I want to take out that and convert it to PS3. Has anyone gotten one of these or opened up other Piko European steam engines that would know if its possible or If there is even enough room in it to do that? https://www.piko-america.com/products/37240-dr-iv-br50-reko-steam-locomotive-g-scale
  6. $400 TO $900. YOU CONTACT ME AT 423.745.0149 / TopNotchPrinting@gmail.com
  7. This topic is to create a feedback list of various Android tables, so please share your experiences here. Notes: Power save mode: Make sure you deactivate power save features applied to the DCS app itself and turn-off power save mode on the tablet. I generally recommend changing the screen time blank timeout to longer periods of time. MTH Wifi/vs home network: If you have issues with app and you are using your home wifi or Ethernet network, connect your tablet/phone directly to the MTH WIU Wifi network it creates. Tablet lagging/Slow: When tablets get to low battery levels it typically goes into power save mode and runs the processor at lower speed levels that can cause apps to lag and may cause issues. If your tablet is running low and lagging, stop using and charge it back up. App Auto-updates in Google Play store/Apple store: If you are someone that can't update your TIU/Remote software yourself or don't stay up-to-date on when new DCS versions are released, you may want to turn off App Auto-updates. Some App updates will need updated DCS version loaded to the TIU/Remote. Tablet quality/Price: Remember that you do get what you pay for. If you are willing to spend $1000s on your train collection, be willing to spend a little bit on a good quality tablet to ensure you get good battery life, decent speed and avoid strange issues that can come up with some of the cheapest tablets out there. The application itself may be a relatively simple and lnot very demanding on the tablet processor, but you still need reliability & stability! I have personally used the inexpensive Amazon Kindles with good result but in general I recommend considering a good quality name brand tablet like Samsung to minimize the number of issues you might encounter and to get good battery life. My personal preference has been the 7" tablets but 8" is likely close enough in size to feel the same. I would expect all Apple tablets to be of high quality and not have issues noted here on very low end Android tablets. Recommend: Samsung Tablets - So far these are the best Apple Tablets should all be good as well Tablets with noted issues: Amazon 7" & 8" Kindles (8gb/16gb) - Link to Amazon.com - $49.99 for 7" Note: Using the Amazon Kindles requires additional step to get working as Google Play store is required in order to install DCS Wifi app. **See this topic for more info: Install Google Play Store on Kindle: ** One user seemed to have better luck using the Wifi when they moved to a Samsung tablet from using Amazon Kindle. Not Recommended/Avoid: Poloroid 7" (P7100) - Link to Menards - $39.99 RCA Voyager 7" (8gb/16gb) - Link to Walmart.com - $44.98 This tablet does NOT work well with DCS app and is basically unusable. **DO NOT BUY** Engines drop to inactive list due to strange issues with the tablet OS/Wifi connection/Power save features.
  8. Have a CN F7 AA with power unit front truck motor failure. Anyone with a spare motor for replacement? MTH, etc. no replies--or not available... Truck dissasembly down to motor, power applied rear power truck is a go; front is stuck, can spin with finger and it goes at all speeds until stopped. Is this a bearing shaft failure, if so, anyone with a fix? Thanks.
  9. Thanks to all of you who helped me with tips and advice for G scale. In 3 months I've tore down O scale and have trains running in G guage. Here is an mth set of f7 warbonnets in yellow and a broken down mth hudson .
  10. From the album: Joe Paonessa

    Here she is running on her stand
  11. Hey I'm going to have 2 reverse loops on my G scale layout. Will an mrc reverse module work ok and will it work with mth locos.thx
  12. So trying to figure how I'm gonna do this.im gonna have to use some R1 curves in a few places. Will mth f units or dash 8 6 axles run on r1?
  13. Just completed this install of MTH Protosound 3 in a Bachmann G scale Thomas the Tank engine. Added timed Smoke, speaker, front and reverse lights.
  14. Most recent install of Protosound 3 in USA Trains SD70. (w/upgraded speaker, sound, smoke output)
  15. Looks like there's a new catalog. http://mthtrains.com/news/589 GS series has the smoking quillable whistle! MTH-OneGauge-Catalog-2017.pdf Update:5/1/18 --- Two GS4 paint schemes have been **CANCELED** due to not enough pre-orders. - 70-3032-1 - All black SOUTHERN PACIFIC GS-4 - 70-3035-1 - All black BNSF GS-4
  16. Few photos of custom GS-2 / GS-4 all black with side-skirts. Final step is to paint the smoke box black. (Thank you to Chuck for the excellent side-skirt painting )
  17. This a list of known DCC control equipment that has been found to have problems programming/controlling the MTH Protosound 3 engines/boards. (Some DCC equipment can have problems programing certain DCC decoders so this is not something isolated to the MTH Protosound 3 boards.) Problem DCC equipment list: (when trying to program MTH Protosound 3 boards/decoders) Marklin Central Station 2 (aka CS2): Reported issue with PS3: Has problem programming/changing CV values on some boards. Reported issue with other non-MTH DCC decoders: Has problems programming older/early Marklin decoders If you have issues, please review this master reference page: https://www.mthtrains.com/service-documents-taxonomy/proto-sound-30 Also for NCE, see: http://www.rayman4449.com/Programming_The_NCE_DCC_Controller.pdf I maintain DCC related info on my website at: http://www.rayman4449.com/DCS_Overview_Videos.htm#Operating_PS3_Under_DCC
  18. Hi guys, A while back, I traded a locomotive for a stripped out MTH Hudson. I'm having an issue when I run it, however. When I am running through Aristo wide radius turnouts (trailing points), the sliders drop down between the rails and jam. Obviously, the gauge is a little wide there. Should I attempt to correct the gauge or should I remove the sliders? Also, I note that the lead drivers do not fully touch the rails, and again, I suspect the sliders are the culprit. Any ideas? Thanks, Mark
  19. Test video of the MTH Hudson (One Gauge) with new Protosound 3 upgrade with PS3 sound. Items to note with this sound file: Standard steam whistle sound Playable whistle with three levels of whistle
  20. Did a test video of the GS-4 with the new PS3 upgrade and PS3 sound. (Engine has the GS-2 nose from my GS-2 engine) Items to note with this sound file: Standard steam whistle sound Playable whistle with three levels of whistle Crossing sound with Air Horn (unique to the GS class engines) Crossing sound with steam whistle
  21. This video displays the sight, sound and smoke of MTH's complete G scale American Freedom Train on the Imagination Station Kids On Track Model Railroad. This one is a family favorite! We have made a ride on video also. We hope you like them both. Check out our other videos also. https://youtu.be/3sbfLqfID_g https://youtu.be/5glJlXyfSng
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