Steve: I see whisps of smoke in the distance. BTW, when are you going to start your layout.? Stay cool and run steam....
I have the track, I have an old door I will set some stuff up on that and test things out. I have a friend coming wiht a mini van on Jan 15. edit: she will go to the lumber yard with me. [ 23. December 2004, 16:45: Message edited by: Grey One ]
Steve: I am going to add a small switching yard adjacent to the turntable/engine facility module that I'm in the process of building/completing. It will be 15x48". I picked up the cut lumber from HD yesterday and this morning I bought some Kato #6 and a few #4 turnouts for this yard. This will complete the expansion of the JJJ&E. Stay cool and run steam.....
I intend to try the "marroon and black" including the main line interchange. should be fine. I'll have pics up by Sunday.
Bob or anyone, I bought the Kato insulating rail joiners and power leads. The power leeds have a plug with clip on it. Does Kato make a "power strip" for this plug or is it a generic electronics piece? I'm doing DC so you may have done things differently like going with soldering your own wires..
Kato 24-843 Terminal Adapter Cord Hi, Grey One, If I understand you correctly, you bought some of these: Kato 24-818 Terminal Unijoiners: Or some of these Kato 20-041 power feeder tracks. Both have the same plug on it's male end. To connect these Kato power feeder clip to your powerpack, go to your local hobby shop and buy: Kato 24-843 Terminal Adapter Cord, 35" [1 pc] • Has leads on one end to connect to the screw-terminals on your power pack, on the other end has the proper female clip to mate to the male clip on your Kato track feeder wire. Retail price: $3.25 Here are the extension cords available for this attachment: To fan out the 24-843 and get multiple power feeds, what you use is the 24-827 3-Way Extension Cord, 35" [1 pc] $5.25 Here is the simple DC extension, the 24-825 DC Extension Cord, 35" [1 pc] $3.25 I'll assume that if you have multiple blocks and want to run multiple trains in different blocks, you can adapt the above into the requisite multiple power packs and a block cab wiring design and control panel. There is a Kato Unitrack brochure available for download for free on the http://www.katousa.com website, look under their 'Brochures' section under 'Unitrack'. Hope this helps! It's an understandable question, all of us who have used Kato Unitrack ask this question in the beginning. Feel free to ask for more clarifications if needed. [ 27. December 2004, 23:13: Message edited by: atsf_arizona ]
Thanks, Yes it does help I bought lots of "Kato 24-843 Terminal Adapter Cord" Please Correct me if I'm wrong but it means there is no fancy proprietary "Atlas Like" DPDT switch system designed to use those plugs for block control to 2 controllers. I need to cut the plugs off and connect them to a DPDT toggle / slide / push button switch. Thanks again
Correct, there is no Kato Unitrack multiple cab "Atlas like DPDT switch system". I believe you're correct, you'll need to cut the plugs off the Kato 24-818 Terminal Unijoiners or Kato 20-041 power feeder tracks, and connect the resulting wire to a conventional DPDT toggle/slide/push button switch. It seems, therefore, that you don't need all those Kato 24-843 Terminal Adapter cords. You probably want to return them if you can. Keep us posted how things progress!
Thanks for the confimation. I'll need them for Block control for two cabs and more insulated rail joiners. I know how to do the block wiring, (my father was a EE in analog and power conversiion). My dexterity / vision is pretty poor. Those plugs would have been great if there was some system to plug them into. Maybe there is. Looks like a trip to http://www.youdoitelectronics.com/ They have a world class brick and morter store that is reachable.
Temporary but a very close abstract of eventual. By Popular Demand: Almost full shot Door is 28 x 80. (predates equal access laws) West End: Inner curves are 9 3/4" Middle curve is 11" and 12" Outer curve is mostly 15 with some 11 or 12 East End Inside curves are 9 3/4" Outside curves are 11" and 12" Since this door is 28”s and the final table is 38”, (maybe 36”), and 3”s longer plus the 3’ extension into the L portion it bodes well for the final to come out the way the plans are drawn. [ 13. January 2005, 03:05: Message edited by: Grey One ]
Steve: I didn't use any of the Katopower feeds or terminal cord as I dropped feeders from each section from both rails to a 14 gauge bus line for each rail. I remember the "You Do-It - Yourself Electronics Store very well. In the old days it was right off Route 128 in Needham. I bookmarked their page for future reference. I wish they had a store in WPB Florida. I like your trackplan. It will look great extended onto the second table. Stay cool and run steam....
Bob, Never mind, I figured it out. Mostly I was wondering what kind of curve do I need so the spur of a #4 and #6 turnout become parallel. Is it 15 degrees of any radius? [ 28. December 2004, 23:01: Message edited by: Grey One ]
Thanks guys. Hmm, Hope I got my order in on time. Also ordered some #4s. Any idea why they cost $6 more than the #6s?
The reason the #4s cost a little more, is because there are screws on the bottom of the turnout that allow you to change from power-routing to non-power-routing, and also whether to power the frog or not. The default from the factory for the #4s is power-routing on, and frog powered. The #6s cannot be changed from this above factory default You can see the internal differences at my Community Webshot album pages documenting what the underside internal mechanism of the Kato turnout looks like (the price difference will become apparent when you see what's in there): http://community.webshots.com/album/63811183jlGNcs Note that the #4 turnout points and stock rail will need some tuning to make sure your locos/rolling stock don't pick the points when entering the diverging route. My experience and tips with that is also at the same Community Webshots album. Finally, if you decide to change the #4 turnout power-routing / frog power settings, there is a mis-print on the English factory instruction sheet. The www.katousa.com web site has a correction, I include that here to make it easy for you to find the info: ====== Kato #4 Power Routing correction link Link on Kato's USA website about #4 turnouts correction of the power routing. (Note: I can't post the link directly because Kato's website is designed with a redirector that defaults back to the home page whenever a link is accessed outside of the frameset). 1. Visit Kato's website at http://www.katousa.com/ 2. Click on the "Consumer" button in the top frame 3. Scroll down to "Bulletins & Tech Notes" in the left frame 4. Under "N #4 Turnouts", click the link entitled "Power Routing Correction" ====== The above web page will also explain why the Kato #4 actually has these options - it's for use as a 'spring switch'. (I am told the Japanese instruction sheet for the #4s is correct. In case you read Japanese maybe you can verify that? - smile) Hope this helps! [ 29. December 2004, 23:40: Message edited by: atsf_arizona ]
Steve: The Kato # 4 turnouts cost more because of the choice for power routing & non power routing. The # 6 turnout has the default mechanism. Stay cool and run steam.......
This has turned out to be very true even with the temp layout as it is. I can see a ridge of hills dividing the industrial area from the yard area I can now envision 4 layers of 1/2" foam. I will be able to lay the track, test it, and make adjustments. I will then be able to cut the layers out from under what ever area I want to lower those areas. I can see: The Inner area, (industrial and yard) resting on layer one The Loop resting on layer 3, (an inch above the inner area The Outer line, (starts at bottom left swings around the back), climbing to level 4 and beyond. I am also in the process of minor redesign to make sure the mainline has 15" min radius to accomodate the freaking bullet train. (man the things I do for love) [ 13. January 2005, 02:09: Message edited by: Grey One ]
With some added easements, 15" radii should work fine. Also superelevate your curves by placing styrene strips under the outer rail as a shim. I know. I've been married for 41 years now. Stay cool and run steam....
