Z Scale SW1200

shortpainter Jun 8, 2018

  1. rvn2001

    rvn2001 TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks guys. The window on the side is supposed to be a window that was added to the outside of the cab for winter operations. I'm thinking that if I trim them up a little and use a fine point paint marker to run around the edges they might look better. There is "glass" in the front and back of the cab.
     
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  2. southernnscale

    southernnscale TrainBoard Supporter

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    I'm not sure if you know this, but you probably do! But Rokuhan has just the motors for sale. I bought them a while back before the shorties came out. They come with drives shaft and gears that can be changed out. I don't remember the cost! Attached photo! but got them from Ztrack and I think that maybe z monster has them to. You Ideal taking the shorties apart was great ideal and gave me and Ideal for my SW1500 A&B unit using the double end gear motor. I think if I cut two of the Shorties in half and place the two drive ends together And place the double end motor I could power the SW1500. I bought both the single and double motors it might be great if some one breaks or burns up a motor and has a replacement for the SW1200. I hope this ok to post this here!
    IMG_7720.JPG IMG_7721.JPG
     
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  3. shortpainter

    shortpainter TrainBoard Member

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    Lookin good! How's she running for you? Only one out of four of my SWs stuttered and stopped often. I had to bend the frame a bit so the dummy truck's electrical wipers would make contact(circuit board was not sitting flat on the frame). After that, it ran smooth and steady. They all run well and move at roughly the same speed. One thing of note is that this loco needs a long break in time. I put 1/2 drop of oil on the gears and run it about an hour to fully break it in.
     
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  4. rvn2001

    rvn2001 TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks, Rudy. Mine runs well. I took the resistor out, though, because the loco was surging. I suspect it was due more to my soldering than the resistor. I planned to run wires from the front truck to the pc board until I realized that was it's only purpose. I'm planning to do another one in the near future. Thanks for designing this product and making it available to the rest of us. I have also changed the traction-tired wheels as you suggested on all of my Shorties. They seem to run better too.
     
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  5. woodworker19

    woodworker19 TrainBoard Member

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    Check the clamping down of the front PCB, Thom. I've been running my chassis while the shell is in the paint shop and also noted some surging. I traced mine back to the front truck connection because my front PCB was moving. The back edge could float up far enough to lose contact with the truck tabs. I had clamped it like in step 9 but, I didn't have it clamped down to the frame tight. I pried at the clamps again and really snugged it down and it made a big improvement on the surging. It did seem to make the front truck tracking a little more sensitive. Running cab first it runs great. In the other direction the front truck sometimes derails at a dip in my track a little more than before. With the weight of the shell on it doesn't seem to be a problem though so I'm not panicking.
     

    Attached Files:

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  6. shortpainter

    shortpainter TrainBoard Member

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    Woodworker brings up and important part of building the SW. When fully assembled, the front truck's copper pickups should be resting on the circuit board at all times. Basically, the circuit board is the "suspension system" for the front truck. As Woodoworker mentioned, if the PCB is not flat on the frame, it may not connect with the truck's pickups. If your truck is not reaching the PCB, try sanding down 1/2 mm of material from the cylinder that holds the screw. The cylinder's length may be hindering the truck from reaching the PCB(the metal casting process can cause this).

    Sand here

    [​IMG]
     
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  7. mdvholland

    mdvholland TrainBoard Member

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    Probably a silly question, but how come you don’t short circuit the loc when clamping this one-piece frame on the two poles of the circuit board? What am I missing?

    Matt
     
  8. rvn2001

    rvn2001 TrainBoard Member

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    The whole thing will short out if you don't paint it first. I tried Kapton tape where I thought it was needed but must have missed something because I kept getting shorts. Painting the chassis solved the problem.
     
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  9. mdvholland

    mdvholland TrainBoard Member

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    Okay, thanks. So is that indeed the intended way to create insulation, through painting, Rudy?

    Btw my shell and chassis came in! Yeehah, what a beaty. The shell has a slight warp but I carefully twisted it until straight again, using needlenose pliers and bare hands, alternating. Also had to do a little sanding on the chassis. Paint will make it probably thcker so I may have to sand it again later on. The brass is almost too pretty to paint :) But I understand painting of the chassis is unavoidable.

    Matt
     
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  10. shortpainter

    shortpainter TrainBoard Member

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    Yes, sir. A coat of primer is the easiest way to insulate the circuit board from the frame. Also, if the shell is not painted on the inside, be sure not leave any solder where it can come into contact with the inner shell. Painting the frame is covered in part 2 of the assembly instructions, seen here.
     
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  11. southernnscale

    southernnscale TrainBoard Supporter

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    I don't think that was a silly question because I was thinking the same thing! If you didn't remove all the solder off the board and you clamped those down tightly they would make contact and I would think something would short out!
     
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  12. mdvholland

    mdvholland TrainBoard Member

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    I am pretty much a newbee at working with brass and building a locomotive this way. I am more familiar with styreen and cardboard. Hence probably more questions.. I am learning little by little…

    For one thing, I didn't have a tap and drill set so I ordered one (Kadee #1059, including 00-90 tap, No 62 tap drill and a clearance drill No 56).

    While that was on its way, I went ahead and sanded the chassis. I found like mentioned earlier be David (TJdreams), the openings for the rear truck mount pin need some sanding to get rid of a little roughness in the cast. This was quite easy with a nail file cut to size.

    [​IMG]

    I went ahead and sprayed the chassis with Vallejo surface primer for metal/plastic (spraycan). This gives a rather thick layer, so after that I had to sand the sides of the chassis again (and then one more time :) )

    I got my tap and drill set in this week and got to work creating a screw hole for the non-motorized truck. I drilled all the way through the chassis which was maybe not a good idea. Tapped by hand until it seemed ok. Since the Kadee manual suggested using oil when drilling and tapping metal, I used a drop of Labelle oil on the tip of both [mental note: rinse once more in detergent before painting]. I think it came out ok, proof of the pudding will of course be to see whether the truck is nicely balanced.

    [​IMG]

    More soon. Still loving it :)

    Matt
     
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  13. shortpainter

    shortpainter TrainBoard Member

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    Not a problem. If the drill goes all the way through, it won't harm anything down the line. Just file down the exit hole so it doesn't keep the circuit board from resting into place.

    On my second SW, I used the wrong sized drill bit. I ended up gluing the screw into place. It may not be the best way but gluing the screw is a viable alternative. :sneaky:
     
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  14. rvn2001

    rvn2001 TrainBoard Member

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    I, carefully, screwed the screw into the hole letting it cut it's own threads. I did this before Rudy posted the tap size. I would have tapped it since I already have the MTL coupler drill and tap set.
     
  15. mdvholland

    mdvholland TrainBoard Member

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    Progess report. Tapping went well. I did end up sanding the cylinder a bit, in fear of the wipers not touching.

    Clamping motor and pcb was pretty much as easy as it looks in Rudy's (again) perfect instructions. I sanded the soldering from the board where the two clamps come and sprayed a wee bit of primer on them (taped the rest of the pcb off). The primer comes off pretty fast from the brass chassis, in my experience.

    Soldering the resistor and wires requires a steady hand but it is doable I thought (did I mention the word newbee?)
    In fear of shorting again, I added some shrink wire wrap, may not be necessary.

    Soldering the leads from the powered truck should have been easy as well, however, I wasn't paying enough attention...

    [​IMG]

    Uh ooh.. I melted the plastic. No way to fit the pin through now…

    So I used a new truck, this time from a Shinkansen shorty. The difference is in the truck sides. Yes, the Shinkansen type is a lot easier to get leveled / sanded.

    [​IMG]

    A bit more careful with soldering this time.

    More later...

    Matt
     
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  16. mdvholland

    mdvholland TrainBoard Member

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    .. and further. The pin wouldn't move in the chassis so next to the sanding I used a small screwdriver and did - as mentioned by Rudy - widen the slid a little.

    [​IMG]

    Looking at the picture, more than a little.. well, it does move smoothly now.

    Ok, next was fitting it all together:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
    Okay, it does look a bit weird with two different trucks, but that will be fixed later.

    I was excited to do a test run.. It runs pretty good! At a nice slow speed. Using traditional Marklin power, it does stall at very slow speed once in a while. I hope that breaking the engine in and keeping track clean will solve that. And using PWM - anyone using that for Rokuhan engines?

    Cheers,
    Matt
     
    Last edited: Jun 28, 2018
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  17. shortpainter

    shortpainter TrainBoard Member

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    So awesome!

    I've been using a PWM throttle on the shorties for a few months without any problems. Recently, I ran an SW for over an hour without any heat up or stalls. It ran that long because I fell asleep while it was running. It didn't burn the house down so I call that a win, heheh. ;)
     
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  18. minzemaennchen

    minzemaennchen TrainBoard Member

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    Here now my version, patched ex MILW unit with SOO markings.
    Model has been super detailed (grab irons, lift rings, cut lever, MU-hoses, horn, louver grills, all weather window, hand rails), custom painted, decals and weathering.

    Thanks, Rudy for offering this great kit! Was always skeptical regarding 3D and Z gauge. The surface quality was the biggest issue for me, also the brittle material, but this model, especially the brace shell and chassis, got me over the line. Will build many more!

    [​IMG]

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  19. zdrada69

    zdrada69 TrainBoard Member

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    Great modeliing !
     
  20. Kurt Moose

    Kurt Moose TrainBoard Member

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    Dang, Gerd!!! That is my dream come true-a Milwaukee Road switcher!!!
    (y)(y)(y)(y)
     
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