Katzhagen - Archive - February 2020
The InterCity on its homestretch
The 103 hadn't been in operations much since it was delivered a year ago due to a lack of suitable coaches. Now that the latter had been delivered, there is new life in this matter. In addition there were the LGB panto drives which were left from replacing them with the Massoth panto drives on the RhB Ge 6/6 II. At first glance it looked feasible to mount them beneath the 103's roof...
The mounting points existing inside the loco's body shell had to be removed and new ones had to be implemented for mounting the LGB panto drives. Short sections of a 10mm brass pipe, some epoxy and a thread cutter were used to achieve the goal. The panto's connection lever was elongated by ~8mm using a small plastic pipe.
The picture on the upper left shows the difference between a LGB panto drive's
mounting plate modified for use on the 103 (on the left) and an unmodified one.
The girders on the short sides of the bottom side need to be removed and the
mounting plate needs to be shortened by ~3mm at the cabin side.
The picture above this text shows a panto drive sitting in its new home. 3mm screws were used to fix it. No witchcraft required - enough of space !
The panto drive control shown in the picture on the left is a quite simple circuitry and is connected to the tracks' voltage for operation in analogue mode. It works the same like known from LGB models eversince. Digital operation is possible if the control is connected to the motor's power supply - in case their are no related terminals on the decoder.
The picture above this text shows a panto drive sitting in its new home. 3mm screws were used to fix it. No witchcraft required - enough of space !
The panto drive control shown in the picture on the left is a quite simple circuitry and is connected to the tracks' voltage for operation in analogue mode. It works the same like known from LGB models eversince. Digital operation is possible if the control is connected to the motor's power supply - in case their are no related terminals on the decoder.
The result:
Illumination for the IC coaches
At first glance the Piko IC coaches make for an attractive impression since both their varnish and lettering are immaculate - from a technical POV. A closer look reveals some flaws, though. No small parts at all on the face sides and on the bottom side and a chunky interior which at best can be regarded to be adumbrated. Even 1:32 scale figures don't fit in there without corrective action. An illumination requires the plastic wheels to be replaced with metal ones.
A really crass clanger is the coach's "Avmz" designation. Given the (adumbrated) interior fitting of a saloon coach, the designation would have to be Apmz - which would not match the layout of the windows. In short, Sonneberg have saved themselves the correct and more complex interior of a compartment coach.
The light band was made from a piece of 1.5mm ABS plastic cut to size and 12 SMD
LEDs. The latter were put into 4mm holes and fastened with a drop of glue
provisorily prior to wiring them using a ribbon cable.
The plastic stripe also was used for hiding the wires between the axles at both ends picking up power (yellow and green wires in the pic above).
Two of the coaches got an illumination of their lavatories which is toggled on and off automatically after about 25 seconds in each state. The power supply is shown on the upper left. It makes use of current control instead of voltage control which provides for a constant luminosity of the LEDs at already 4V (and above, of course). The lavotory's automatic lighting is placed on the little board too.
The plastic stripe also was used for hiding the wires between the axles at both ends picking up power (yellow and green wires in the pic above).
Two of the coaches got an illumination of their lavatories which is toggled on and off automatically after about 25 seconds in each state. The power supply is shown on the upper left. It makes use of current control instead of voltage control which provides for a constant luminosity of the LEDs at already 4V (and above, of course). The lavotory's automatic lighting is placed on the little board too.
Light in the dark...
- move your mouse pointer onto the picture...
January 2020 | Archive "Current Affairs" | March 2020
