A sound card usually sounds great, a bad one can really get on one's nerves!
Arosaish Bahn
- Thread starter grizzmo
- Start date
grizzmo
From NW Tas
Thanks Paul, yeah there's something very relaxing about soft clickety clack.
Henri
refuses to grow up
Just to support you in this minority: exactly my thoughts... most (if not all) I've seen / heard got to my nerves in seconds. To me it is like listening to your favourite music on an iPhone...
Rhinochugger
Retired Oik
I was never into sound, like you, until I bought a quite cheap loco that had a sound facility if you stuck some batteries in the tender.The speed is ok, just a tad quicker would be better. I will try 10 batteries next, as that's all the batteries I have anyway.
I will probably be in the minority, but I don't like the sound on locos. When I watch videos of other peoples railways, I always turn the sound off.
Just the sound of metal wheels on the track is nice and relaxing.
Being bored one day, I did just that, and it produced a mahoosive chuff-chuff sound that had me hooked
I must admit, though, I don't really get the idea of sound for electric locos. Yeah, I get it that they make noises - I was brought up in an area with predominantly EMU suburban services, and the railway line went behind our church, and the overriding sound that I remember is the brake vacuum pump under the carriages - difficult to describe, but even inside the church you could sometimes hear it as the trains trundled down to the nearby station 
grizzmo
From NW Tas
Its a personnel decision, just like the variety of railways on display here.I was never into sound, like you, until I bought a quite cheap loco that had a sound facility if you stuck some batteries in the tender.
Being bored one day, I did just that, and it produced a mahoosive chuff-chuff sound that had me hooked
I could see how steam train sounds could be nice, sometimes.
A electric train thou, extra sounds its not for me and the trains make enough noise for me.
Plus I am splitting my meagre funds enough ways as it is without throwing soundcards into the mix
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playmofire
Registered
Steam sound can be hard on the ears withput you knowing it. For some time I had a MyLocoSound unit in a goods van which I ran with a Playmobil loco, it sounded good but it wasn't until the loco stopped running at the end of a session that you realised how deafening the noise had been.Its a personnel decision, just like the variety of railways on display here.
I could see how steam train sounds could be nice, sometimes.
A electric train thou, extra sounds its not for me and the trains make enough noise for me.
Plus I am splitting my meagre funds enough ways as it is without throwing soundcards into the mix
grizzmo
From NW Tas
I really would not like that, surely the volume can be turned down low?
Yes it can.
Done via a TV remote but easiest option is to get a correctly sorted on as the so called ‘universal’ ones need to be revised to the correct version, not easy in my experience.
casey jones snr
Registered
In the early days of the CFR I used to run a number of LGB Diesel outline locomotives with sound. On one particular occasion the duty signalman at Rothley stuck is head out of the signal box and asked me if I could hear the diesel locomotives passing along the Midland Main Line (which is 5 miles away). When I told him that the noise was from my locomotives he was gob smacked.
playmofire
Registered
Agreed.
Rhinochugger
Retired Oik
Only if you want to
I have some that are suitably adjusted so that you can only hear them when they are within a view yards of you - it's useful if you are weeding close to the line as you get a bit of warning - and I have one which is set to Spinal Tap levels at the moment - I may turn it down if I get bored 
grizzmo
From NW Tas
I got my Ge 4/4ii back together today.
It is running on 10 x AA NIMH Eneloop low loss batteries.
The panto's and lights are run off the motor outputs of the micron 603c receiver, controlled by the original lgb circuit board.
I know its not making the best use of the micron 603c receiver to do it this way. It is quick and easy thou and will do for now.
Also the batteries are in a clip in holder (with 2 cable ties around them), It will interesting to see how that holds up.
The model is 30 odd years old, but I am pretty happy to have it.
Expect to be bored silly with plenty more videos and photo's of it in action, it will be awhile before I can get another loco
It is running on 10 x AA NIMH Eneloop low loss batteries.
The panto's and lights are run off the motor outputs of the micron 603c receiver, controlled by the original lgb circuit board.
I know its not making the best use of the micron 603c receiver to do it this way. It is quick and easy thou and will do for now
.Also the batteries are in a clip in holder (with 2 cable ties around them), It will interesting to see how that holds up.
Expect to be bored silly with plenty more videos and photo's of it in action, it will be awhile before I can get another loco
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casey jones snr
Registered
Stewie, are you going to introduce Catenary to the railway?I got my Ge 4/4ii back together today.
It is running on 10 x AA NIMH Eneloop low loss batteries.
The panto's and lights are run off the motor outputs of the micron 603c receiver, controlled by the original lgb circuit board.
I know its not making the best use of the micron 603c receiver to do it this way. It is quick and easy thou and will do for now
Also the batteries are in a clip in holder (with 2 cable ties around them), It will interesting to see how that holds up.
The model is 30 odd years old, but I am pretty happy to have it.
Expect to be bored silly with plenty more videos and photo's of it in action, it will be awhile before I can get another loco
Rhinochugger
Retired Oik
grizzmo
From NW Tas
Long term, yes I have a plan to have catenary right around.
The lbg one is too pricey for my budget.
I have plenty of left mains wiring cable I can strip the copper wire out to use.
For poles I will use either 10mm or 12mm steel square rod (not sure which size would look better), costs around $30-$40 dollars for 6m.
As for cross supports, I have a bundle of peco o gauge bullhead rail which should look ok.
I know the square rod isn't as good as a i beam, but should look close enough.
There's a awful of work (fun) to get done before I think of doing this thou.
We used round rod on the Ruschbahn to represent a lighter kind of overhead with wire x supports. Problem you may have is expansion and contraction with your high day and colder nights. We made the pan sire so that it coukd move for the same reasons but I never won the argument about having weights at one end to allow for the variations. But on the whole it worked ok.Long term, yes I have a plan to have catenary right around.
The lbg one is too pricey for my budget.
I have plenty of left mains wiring cable I can strip the copper wire out to use.
For poles I will use either 10mm or 12mm steel square rod (not sure which size would look better), costs around $30-$40 dollars for 6m.
As for cross supports, I have a bundle of peco o gauge bullhead rail which should look ok.
I know the square rod isn't as good as a i beam, but should look close enough.
There's a awful of work (fun) to get done before I think of doing this thou.
SevenOfDiamonds
Registered
Do you have a plan for tensioning the copper wire?
On the Whiteleaf Tramway/Whiteleaf Light Railway exhibition layout, we use Peco code 83 rail (inverted) as the "wire" (for the pantograph to bear against). This fits inside the LGB catenary clips (56204 pictured below - which can be strung onto cross-wires, as I note that you want to avoid the considerable expense of LGB masts). Even so, we tend to reduce scissor pantagraphs to a single spring. I suspect your copper wire, whatever the gauge, will just flex too much (unless tensioned in some way) under the pressure of your pantagraphs. Whether you can find a way to use your O Gauge rail (which I believe to be Code 124) for the "wire" (or whether it would be too deep) would require some experimentation.
Just a few thoughts.
David
grizzmo
From NW Tas
I agree the copper wire will have to be tensioned, the copper wire is a reasonable thickness out of 16mm2 building wire, 7/1.7mm
Melbournesparks
has a successful catenary in a very similar climate to here.I probably didn't explain well, the o gauge bullhead rail is for the cross supports and will be drilled into the square posts and the catenary hang off it. If that's not solid enough the next cheap readily available option is 5mm rod.
The steel square posts will be turned round for 100mm at the base and drilled into the 100mm besser block track base, should be very solid.
I would use a ally extrusion I beam like the prototype and lgb, except I have not been able to find any suppliers here. You can get just about every shape except a I beam in the right size. I wonder who makes it for lgb ?
I am sure there will be a lot of trial and error before it works and looks ok.
Software Tools
Registered
You may find using ordinary copper wire disappointing from both a handling and a durability point of view. I strongly suggest that you put up a trial section and see how it survives both climate and critters over a full year before committing to large scale deployment.
grizzmo
From NW Tas
You may find using ordinary copper wire disappointing from both a handling and a durability point of view. I strongly suggest that you put up a trial section and see how it survives both climate and critters over a full year before committing to large scale deployment.
Melbournesparks
uses copper wire catenary on a ground level extensive setup and it seems to stand up well. I have no experience thou so time will tell I guess.