Recent content by DixonRobertson

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    fiber optics for control panel

    Oops, wrong forum Sorry--will repost at tech Q&A.
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    fiber optics for control panel

    Has anyone used fiber optics or cold cathode tubes on control panels? E.g., to show routes instead of just led's for turnout position? On my very small "strip" layout, I only control "routes," vice individual turnouts. It works well for me, but the only way to see which route is selected is to...
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    Using Dcc, How Can I Hook Up Lights To My Turnouts To Signal Which Direction.

    signaling for turnouts Alan's solution, but it requires powering the frogs on all your turnouts: http://www.wiringfordcc.com/signaling.htm Scroll down past the first two schematics.
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    locating 12-18 volt AC transformer

    Unless you like paying Radio Shack prices, check out All Electronics Corp - Parts, Supplies and Components Cat#ACTX-1640 $8.25 (2.5amp@16VAC) or Jameco Electronics Power Supplies & Wall Adapters: AULT INC. : AFU180185G9840 also $8.25 (1.85amp@18VAC)
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    Detail Associates website?????

    Try here: Detail Associates
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    Need help finding loco parts.

    AC 4400 grill material hello charles Did you find perforated grills for the *top* of the radiator? I too have been frustrated in my search. Did you look at Details West (www.detailswest.com)? They have a package for the Kato 4400 but it looks like it would work for most any manufacturer. I...
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    Phone jacks fo wiring

    RJ-12 patch panel for turnout wiring It works!!!! Thanks for all the comments. My cab has a 24 VAC transformer feeding a CDU. Most turnouts are controlled directly by SPST NO momentaries, some of which throw multiple turnouts. The small ladder yard is controlled with a diode matrix (thanks to a...
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    Pine Straw in HO

    Does anyone have a suggestion for modeling pinestraw on the ground in HO? I thought I would use chopped-up WS field grass, but they don't make any in dark brown. Is there some way to dye the field grass? And do I need a "puffer" to spread it on the ground if I don't want it to stand up? Thanks,
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    plaster cloth and hydrocal not sticking to blue foam

    I found the plastic film only on the 1/2" thicknesses from Lowe's; the 1" and 2" sheets did not have the film. Like Jim Krause, my foam was at least a little roughed up before I applied the plaster cloth. I used a rasp--but boy o boy you better be good with a vacuum cleaner.
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    Types of wire

    I used 12/2 house wire for busses and 18/2 "bell wire" for the feeders. Both are solid, both are copper, both came from Lowe's. The house wire is black and white (after you strip the jacket and the ground wire), and the bell wire is red and white. Even as me sight bedims, I can tell the color...
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    Phone jacks fo wiring

    OK, OK, so maybe I cabled my (solo) law office network, and the one that keeps growing at my house as I add replaced computers to it. And hey, if I didn't at least know how to solder what would I be doing in this hobby?
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    Phone jacks fo wiring

    Thanks for the advice. I'm at work now (sigh) so the VOM testing will have to wait. Currently (no pun intended) my longest run from panel to turnout is 5' as the crow flies, maybe 7' with turns in the wire. I hope to add a module in the next year that may include turnouts up to 13' as the wire...
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    Phone jacks fo wiring

    24 AWG telephone wire for turnout control? Has anyone tried telephone cable (including punch blocks and RJ-11/12 connectors) for turnout control wiring? I am about to bring on line a CDU for snapping coil switch motors. Will the 24 AWG wire handle the load? Dixon
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    Recommendation for shelf bracket

    I ended up with 2" foam over home-made webbed girders, but here is another option I considered (from Model Railroader magazine).
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    Scan Help

    I did this recently for my father's 80th birthday. During a 32-year navy career and twenty-odd years of retirement travel, he has collected around 5000 color slides. I called the imaging/copy service I use in my law practice. They agreed to scan the slides to *.jpg, and arrange the scanned...
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