Don't worry, I can't pass up a bad pun myself Zug is a old name I use to use playing online games, long before I found out it was also the German word for train. Hence the reason I ended up calling my software ZugDCC..
Just so you know, The Source still sells the same products that Radio Shack in the states does. They just use different packaging.
Thanks, I was just on their website an was a bit surprised to find it. But just because I can't stand the stores, I'll see if I can find it some place else first. Back in my RC car days I use to use a product called Power Shot by Duratraxx, which was contact cleaner too. I have a can on non spray contact clear left over from those day that has never been opened, the idea was you dunked a running motor in it to clean it out completely. And of course, I could just go to a car parts place and get simple contact cleaner.
Of course, if the contacts are just dirty and not oxidized, you could always try using the classic pink pencil eraser.
Instead of a liquid "contact cleaner" which was a typically a chlorinated solvent, you might consider one of the computer keyboard cleaners which is essentially "compressed air." It is gas versus liquid and could blow the dust out of the locomotive. If you can see gunk on contacts isopropyl alcohol on a cotton swab or minibrush may also be an option to remove the gunk.
I've become a big fan of Atlas Conductalube for all manner of moving contacts. I use it on pickup wipers (Kato and Atlas style). Certainly seems to do the trick. For powered axles, the coffee filter on the rails with alcohol works wonders, for idler (tender) wheels the soft buffer attachment in the dremel at medium speed does wonders. The other thing is to get yourself a set of powered test leads with micro alligator clips soldered on them; you can clip them to the frame, contacts, rails, whatever and work out from the motor looking for things that don't work properly. I have a pair of Atlas C80 #6 crossovers on the layout, and that's my pickup torture test with those long insulated frogs. It effectively isolates one truck on either side, alternately, so you can check the effectiveness of a pickup system and determine which side of which truck isn't working. Welcome back, as another Atlas refugee. One thing for sure if you're working in a small space is that slow-speed switching, clean pickups, turnout jumpers, etc. all suddenly become a lot more important!
A product that's better than the typical tuner cleaner is Deoxit D5. I'm a Ham Radio operator that's into refurbishing old radios'. We also deal with oxidized switch contacts and the Deoxit D5 or Gold is the standard that everyone uses. It only takes a few drops, so it goes a very long way. You can get it from Radio shack or Amazon, which you should have access to there. Radio Shack: http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2104746 Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...field-keywords=deoxit+d5&rh=i:aps,k:deoxit+d5 Regards, Mark http://mmg-garden-rr.webs.com/
As an aside from all of the cleaning ideas, good ones all, I wondered if you saw the modular scenery idea in N-scale mag a couple issues ago? Fella got a good idea to build various scenes he could remove and swap out with a new one to both add variety to his layout and allow him to build a bunch of different scenes to fit a set amount of layout. I thought it was a neat idea.
Ken, More then likely the kid was new and didn't have a handle on their product line. They pay them minimum wage and expect them to memorize product data and have a mental, working inventory of what's in the store. Really! I did find the tuner cleaner at our LRS about four months ago, so as George pointed out it's still one of their items. For how long? That is the sixty dollar question. Did you notice, RS is on a new track (phone store) and many of the things we used to depend on them for, are GONE. DSt's I'll explain the initials later. I worked for RS, for a short period of time but it was the last fling, with the old standard and those fine Optimus Stereo Systems along with the new Surround Sound. Nothing, (I mean nothing) beats those sounds. It is what it is.
I've never tried Conductalube, the local shops don't carry it. I have used Tamiya Switch Lube (a left over from my RC cars days) it has worked ok in the bast, but being a grease it collects lint and dust.. even the Labell oil I've heard people on the forums talk about, I don't seem to be able to locate.. I was bit loss to our hobby when Atlas shut their forums down, and people spread out. One of the reason they said they closed it was the man hours to moderate it. I even thought a few times about contacting them and asking to take it over to get it back open. It is still online, just everything locked.
I've heard of that too. I'm also a ham, I was going get some a while back for a shortwave I picked up with a noisy band switch, but tried rubbing alcohol first and that was all it needed. But I'm think my locos are going to need a bit stronger.. So I'll see if I can find it now. 73
Actually the last train magazine I bought was the MRR with Rod Steward in it.. so it's been a while. only can get n-scale magazine at the hobby shop and he gets grumpy if you don't buy a lot, he's one of those guys the will insult you to your face... so i tend not to drop in to just browse being shy on cash.
Here's a link to a very active N scale model railroader, he hangs out in the N scale forum at Railwire. Here is a link to his layout design in a small bedroom in a condo in North Vancouver where I live. He and I belong to the same North Shore Model Railroaders group. He is into BC Rail as you will discover and he has taken many of the photographs of local modeler's here in Vancouver featured in N Scale. I suggest you take a look at what he has done, a lot of RR in a limited space, double decked with a helix. Correction I guess it will be three decks, I only saw two when I was at his place, but looking at the plans I guess he is going to expand. Tim Horton's web page:[not the coffee place] http://www.bcrdawsonsub.ca/
I understand completely we moved in. 2010 and 2011 and now by 2014 we made our final move and finally I too can possibly get involved in a layout . I'm a diehard plastic modeler of armor and ships but have a huge interest in n scale modeling , I emphasize modeling as I know nothing about running trains or modern control systems. I had a HO layout as a kid and always loved trains. Now I have the time so I'm hoping to take the plunge soon.! Good luck with your upcoming endeavors .
I can understand your situation. This is my first post here in a long time, and I've been inactive since 2010 when I lost my job. I put a plastic tarp over my layout because I just didn't have the heart, money, or time to put into it. In fact, I was down in my basement yesterday looking over my mothballed layout wondering when I'll ever get any motivation to take the plastic off. Right now, my time an energies go into writing novels. It's a new direction since I'm one of those long-term unemployed with poor prospects to find work in my old field. I've published three novels so far (and more are in the pipeline) but this tends to use up my creative energies and blunt the MRR bug. Lately, I find it helps to look over other people's work, layouts, and try to catch up on what's new in the hobby. I'm not sure when the plastic will be lifted from my layout, but I suppose every little bit helps. But for now, my word processor beckons. It gets jealous when I'm typing words into something else. :cute: (Ohhh, and new smile icons too)
