№ 9 ~ Decoder for De Motor

 Installing a Tried and True TCS KAM4-LED Decoder

with built-in Keep Alive, auto-adjusting BEMF (Back Electro-Motive Force) motor control, Quiet Drive, and built-in resistors to power LED lighting, all in a tiny-tiny package.

Alright, № 9 has been running on the layout since 2020 (and is my best runner!). But apparently I neglected to write a post about installing its decoder. I found this out while performing some maintenance on the car and researched this blog to refresh my memory about it, but it wasn't there! So- here I am to right that wrong.

Stanton Drive installed. The two pairs of current collecting wipers can be seen rubbing on the back side of the wheels. One pair is wired to a red wire and the other pair to a black wire.

Grounded. Since I run off the overhead and not 2 rail, all 4 wheels are tied together electrically by simply soldering the red and black wires to the trolley car frame. 

Connected. The orange and grey wires from the Stanton's motor are wired to the decoder. Normally I would use a micro-connector here so that the floor could be disconnected from the body of the car. But I'm not sure that doing that is worth the extra effort. So- we'll see how it goes.

Positive and Negative Power Connections. The red wire from the decoder is soldered to the trolley pole bushing in the ceiling of the car. And the black wire from the decoder is soldered directly to the body of the car that is grounded to the wheels. Back in DC days the trolley pole was the positive (+) and the track was the negative( -) . But DCC is AC so "positive and negative" no longer applies really.

Decodered. The white wire is connected to the front headlight and the yellow wire to the rear headlight and both ground to the blue wire. Those lights I did post about. But the interior lighting I just realized I also neglected to post about! So I'll do a write-up about them when I refamiliarize myself with what the heck it did with them! Then the decoder is tucked up out of the way into the clerestory ceiling and glued into place.

Operation. Between the Stanton Drive and the KAM4, № 9 is a smooth operator.

Yes sir!

A smooth operator!

Dandy

Backesto Block Bldg ~ Windows of Opportunity

Modeling Open Windows

Modifying the Models Closed Windows into Opened Windows.

Modeling the building with opened windows adds a lot of charm and character.

And realism since this was the main factor for regulating the buildings temperature back in them days.

Repeating window patterns.    Here is what I am faced with.  Let's break up that monotonous pattern a bit.

Printed Closed.    Because of the 1mm minimum thickness required for 3D prints at the time, I had to model the windows in the closed position.

Flat File.    Taking advantage of files that have the smooth sides, we can file in one direction in the corners.

De-sashed.    The lower sash is filed away. Then the sides of the sashes are filed up to the desired height of the opening.  The flat side of the file helps us to not file into the window frame.

Sashed.    Then the lower sash is replaced by an equivalent length of styrene.  Because the upper sash would be behind the upper window, I'll add it after the window glass is installed later.

That lived-in look.    The random opened windows resemble musical notes to me (oh dang!- I should have arranged them as a bar of some popular music.).  This will help give the building that lived-in look.

Yes sir!

A lived in look!

Dandy