Model Train Journal

I used a 2200 board for Baldwin diesels. That includes sound sets for many other odd ball engines. This has the sound set for the galloping goose which is the only gasoline engine set in that collection. I documented the install here. https://www.ogrforum.com/topic/k-line-plymouth-now-with-blunami P...

This one has Blunami and could even work electro couplers if you wanted to use it in a three rail environment.

https://www.ogrforum.com/video-embed/t/ ... 474/a/true

Pete

Two rail locomotives seemed to go high, lots of rolling stock went dirt cheap. Saw deals on 3 rail engines and passenger cars but just passed. Really don’t need anything.

Pete

The ebay/amazon system looks like a classic plating system with a actual nickel rod. The only downside is I only see these kits for nickel and copper, not for other metals. Wouldn’t matter much for grab irons but if you are trying to match existing parts it might matter. From my post war restoring d...

Caswell plug and plate kits for nickel or tin are 56 bucks and include a power supply. You only need one kit and can order plating solutions separately for about 25 bucks for nickel or tin. Other metals like gold or silver are of course higher. I have used molotow chrome to make headlight reflectors...

Here is Caswell’s website. They have kits that will give professional results. A friend has taken first place trophies for motorcycles he has restored using their products but may be overkill for train parts. https://caswellplating.com/?srsltid=AfmBOorvWTQ_HWlrMATAcuxakGIQ--DTNVyKExY6a7x8I0P7m4WfD6q...

Caswell plating has chrome plating kits but does he actually want chrome or just shiny chrome like finish? Caswell has brush plating kits for most all metals. I have used tin to restore the finish on rods and valve gear on steam engines. This is tin plating on the top rod. Sheen is dependent on how ...

Thats not a KTM part. KTM dynamos are as detailed as the one on the left. I don’t have any Max Gray O scale but that appears to be a turning rather than a casting.

Pete

One thing to note about solder wick. It comes with and without flux. The type with flux is much easier to use. If you have a type without flux its best to add a few drops of your own to the area in contact with the part.

Pete

I would agree if you are going to paint the model, leave the residual solder film. Skip the ferric chloride unless you just want a brass model for display.

Pete

First off you have remove as much as possible with a solder sucker, desoldering wick and a Dremel with a steel wire brush. Then you can use ferric chloride with a brush. You want the ferric chloride used to etch copper PCB boards which is slightly diluted. Ferric chloride also etches copper and bras...

Tang band makes a number of different styles of speakers. Some are conventional looking with a cone and large magnet. Some are in an enclosure, usually flat and rectangular and among those are ducted port and passive radiator where it appears to have two drivers but one is simply a cone that moves i...

Just back from an open house that a local club put on. They have and large HO layout plus N, and two three rail layouts, hi rail and post war. Their HO is all DCC on the rails and all the trains seemed to run without issues. Not sure how many feet their mainline is but one member mentioned it can ta...

As a side note Bluerail preceded Blunami by a few years. While it can be used independently with fewer features than Blunami it can be connected to standard DCC encoders so you can control it with Bluetooth. So rather than ripping out your DCC board you can add a Bluerail board, assuming you have ro...

Blunami boards are the same as Soundtraxx Tsunami but with Bluetooth added. They will operate off DCC on the track as well as through the air with Bluetooth. They share the same CVs as the equivalent Tsunami board. Whats handy is the Free App allows you to manipulate those CVs without something like...