If you have trouble making a little solder pad on copper then I would recommend giving the area a quick sand so the solder has something to key/adhere too
I would also suggest a little flux on it as the surface most certainly is oxidized a bit which is why that solder was rolling off when it should have been sticking to it.
An easy alternative to kapton tape is heat shrink tubing: just cut a short length of heat shrink tubing, slip it on to one side of the unsoldered joint, then solder the joint as usual. Slide the tubing over the joint and lightly brush the soldering iron over the tubing - it will shrink down and conform to the soldered wires. The tubing provides enough insulation to prevent the soldered joint from coming loose. Additional tip: if you're having trouble tinning a solder pad on the contact plate, try filing a small area of the plate to remove any oxidation. This should help the solder to stick better.
Are you wiring up lights for it too. It looks like you could add tiny tiny leds. Every time I look at one of your videos. There is always a huge surprise. Thanks Jimmy. WHAT FUN and Imagination you bring to model railroading..
Nicely done. Sound isn't out of the question either. simply route the purple speaker wires to the trailing car with a sugar cube speaker. Micro connectors could be employed if you wanted to run the motorized unit solo. Always a nice watch
Looks good! Once you figure out the incline slippage issue, maybe you can add a separate light rail commuter route to get commuters from your upper layout to your lower.... or maybe that's for your next layout. Thanks and happy Presidents Day!
Super helpful! I may have to try this one or two of my pocket line units. Since they are pretty cheap, it might even be worthwhile to get two of them and then combine two powered units together instead of having one dummy and one powered unit and then maybe wiring them together so they share power pickups, so you don't have to install two decoders. I say this, of course, because I have two of those same tram units, plus two of the steeple cabs, so that might be a way to get better performance on grades and would help with any dead spots on the track. However, the pocket line units I have had seem to perform pretty well on turnouts as they are, which is surprising. They do have that little flywheel in there, which helps them coast a bit longer through minor power interruptions.
I did not want to put the name in as our hosts seem to object, but you found the very place that I would have suggested. I am in Portugal so have to go a roundabout route to get the goods to me here.
@@melkitson oops , I didn't think of that ! at least I didn't link to them That must be really awkward with Brexit etc. I've had problems (disappearing never to be seen again) with posting things within the country
Hi I had similar performance issues when I converted the steeple cab electric loco. It turned out that the drive gears were not properly engaged because the motor was not sitting down far enough into the chassis. It was the extra wires that were causing the problem so a bit of re routing and I got the gears to engage properly. It now runs well and will easily pull 6 uk style goods wagons.
Interesting! I soldered the red and black pickup wires back to the original copper tabs instead, but routing the wires through the shell together with the other wires was a bit of a challenge. The steeple cabs are a bit difficult with cable management since the only place for the decoder is in the cab. I've also used a smaller decoder there (the DZ123 is quite big and long after all). What you describe with the tram running sounds like maybe the motor isn't perfectly in place in the chassis; it's rather sensitive to small variations there. At least two or three cars should be possible over small grades.
The Bullfrog Snot is going to inhibit electrical continuity on any wheels that you apply it to. I’d consider adding more weight inside the body, if possible, to add traction.
Thank you Jimmy. I have just bought one of the pocket line trains and am waiting for delivery on Sunday. You have just confirmed that I can easily convert to DCC. Strangely I seem to think that my decoder cost about the same as the train. Thanks once again for a very timely video.
Nice conversion. Thanks for sharing this install. I have both pocket line models the tram and the steeple cab. This is a great idea. I got so use to DCC ready locos that I forgot about the first DCC installs that I did were mostly custom fit.
I always use flux on pickups all you need is a drop of solder then attaching the pre tinned wire. I agree using a heat shrink tube to cover wire connection. Great video by the way I have done a lot of hard wired locos and your explanation was spot on. Thanks for sharing
Great Job, converting this chassis to DCC! I love watching your channel, especially the arduino projects. Another way to connect the track wires from the decoder is using the copper pads you discarded. Solder the red and black wire from the decoder to these pads and put the pads back into their slots in the chassis. It is a bit more fiddly to do because you have to put the wires back through the hole for the motor wires but it looks much neater. It saves you tinning the contactplates and filing gullies for the wire. Edit: Hmm I am a bit late with my solution, Thorsten Kammer already commented on this. I used this chassis (kato 11-108) and its siblings (kato 11-109/11-110) in a few of my 009 narrow gauge loco’s. Regarding the slipping on the slopes you could try adding a bit of weight in the tram body, if space permits that is.
SOMMERFELDT makes functional pantographs in N scale. To run on live overhead, run the red wire to the pantograph. The black wire can then be connected to all wheel contacts. One rail can then be divided into sections for activating signals, etc. Overhead wire can be either phosphor bronze like the prototype or nickel silver.
I just picked up one of these, chassis only, with the intent to turn it into the Neighborhood Trolley as a scratch build for my 4-year-old son. We'll see how that goes, for one, but for two, I don't think I have the guts to attempt dcc for that yet. I have done hard wiring before, just not for something like this. I have the 11-108 powered chassis.
You fast torwareded past the most important part! Removing all of the plastic parts, especially the metal chassis from the plastic frame!I have the wheelsets and contact strips out, but can't seem to get the metal chassis out of the remaining plastic. HELP!
No need to remove the metal chassis from the plastic housing! You can use the method described by MPeetnjes - Another way to connect the track wires from the decoder is using the copper pads you discarded. Solder the red and black wire from the decoder to these pads and put the pads back into their slots in the chassis. It is a bit more fiddly to do because you have to put the wires back through the hole for the motor wires but it looks much neater. or use a piece of 32GA wire, soldered to the power connectors and fed up between the chassis and the plastic frame. I like MPeetnjes method!
If you have trouble making a little solder pad on copper then I would recommend giving the area a quick sand so the solder has something to key/adhere too
I would also suggest a little flux on it as the surface most certainly is oxidized a bit which is why that solder was rolling off when it should have been sticking to it.
An easy alternative to kapton tape is heat shrink tubing: just cut a short length of heat shrink tubing, slip it on to one side of the unsoldered joint, then solder the joint as usual. Slide the tubing over the joint and lightly brush the soldering iron over the tubing - it will shrink down and conform to the soldered wires. The tubing provides enough insulation to prevent the soldered joint from coming loose.
Additional tip: if you're having trouble tinning a solder pad on the contact plate, try filing a small area of the plate to remove any oxidation. This should help the solder to stick better.
Are you wiring up lights for it too. It looks like you could add tiny tiny leds.
Every time I look at one of your videos. There is always a huge surprise. Thanks Jimmy. WHAT FUN and Imagination you bring to model railroading..
I'm thinking about doing this with flexible plastic fiber optic light tubes
@@DIYDigitalRailroad
I can't wait to see this that sounds great. Your the best love all your ideas
Nicely done. Sound isn't out of the question either. simply route the purple speaker wires to the trailing car with a sugar cube speaker. Micro connectors could be employed if you wanted to run the motorized unit solo. Always a nice watch
Looks good! Once you figure out the incline slippage issue, maybe you can add a separate light rail commuter route to get commuters from your upper layout to your lower.... or maybe that's for your next layout. Thanks and happy Presidents Day!
Super helpful! I may have to try this one or two of my pocket line units. Since they are pretty cheap, it might even be worthwhile to get two of them and then combine two powered units together instead of having one dummy and one powered unit and then maybe wiring them together so they share power pickups, so you don't have to install two decoders. I say this, of course, because I have two of those same tram units, plus two of the steeple cabs, so that might be a way to get better performance on grades and would help with any dead spots on the track. However, the pocket line units I have had seem to perform pretty well on turnouts as they are, which is surprising. They do have that little flywheel in there, which helps them coast a bit longer through minor power interruptions.
Kapton tape is quite useful for small rewiring jobs and for keeping wires in place.
I'd add pickups onto the trailer to improve running
As you kept the extra function wires a future project might be lighting.
You made that look really easy , I'll have to look for those in the UK
They are available. I have just bought one in the UK.
@@melkitson thanks for the heads up .... I just had a look at Train Trax and found them
I did not want to put the name in as our hosts seem to object, but you found the very place that I would have suggested. I am in Portugal so have to go a roundabout route to get the goods to me here.
@@melkitson oops , I didn't think of that ! at least I didn't link to them
That must be really awkward with Brexit etc.
I've had problems (disappearing never to be seen again) with posting things within the country
Hi
I had similar performance issues when I converted the steeple cab electric loco. It turned out that the drive gears were not properly engaged because the motor was not sitting down far enough into the chassis. It was the extra wires that were causing the problem so a bit of re routing and I got the gears to engage properly. It now runs well and will easily pull 6 uk style goods wagons.
It's easy to add more functions like front and rear lighting as well as interior lighting.
Spotted that steeplecab in a recent vid, definitely keeping a note of it if I ever consider switching to N scale again!
Brilliant video
Thanks again Jimmy for another great tutorial. I am wanting to add DCC to an old
Bachmann Jeep inspection car. Hope there is room inside.
Interesting! I soldered the red and black pickup wires back to the original copper tabs instead, but routing the wires through the shell together with the other wires was a bit of a challenge. The steeple cabs are a bit difficult with cable management since the only place for the decoder is in the cab. I've also used a smaller decoder there (the DZ123 is quite big and long after all).
What you describe with the tram running sounds like maybe the motor isn't perfectly in place in the chassis; it's rather sensitive to small variations there. At least two or three cars should be possible over small grades.
Thanks for this video Jimmy, it gave me an idea for a project I have begun.
those are some neat little locos
The Bullfrog Snot is going to inhibit electrical continuity on any wheels that you apply it to. I’d consider adding more weight inside the body, if possible, to add traction.
Thank you Jimmy. I have just bought one of the pocket line trains and am waiting for delivery on Sunday. You have just confirmed that I can easily convert to DCC. Strangely I seem to think that my decoder cost about the same as the train. Thanks once again for a very timely video.
Great work! the trains look great! 👍
Nice conversion. Thanks for sharing this install. I have both pocket line models the tram and the steeple cab. This is a great idea. I got so use to DCC ready locos that I forgot about the first DCC installs that I did were mostly custom fit.
I always use flux on pickups all you need is a drop of solder then attaching the pre tinned wire. I agree using a heat shrink tube to cover wire connection. Great video by the way I have done a lot of hard wired locos and your explanation was spot on. Thanks for sharing
Great Job, converting this chassis to DCC!
I love watching your channel, especially the arduino projects.
Another way to connect the track wires from the decoder is using the copper pads you discarded. Solder the red and black wire from the decoder to these pads and put the pads back into their slots in the chassis. It is a bit more fiddly to do because you have to put the wires back through the hole for the motor wires but it looks much neater. It saves you tinning the contactplates and filing gullies for the wire.
Edit: Hmm I am a bit late with my solution, Thorsten Kammer already commented on this.
I used this chassis (kato 11-108) and its siblings (kato 11-109/11-110) in a few of my 009 narrow gauge loco’s.
Regarding the slipping on the slopes you could try adding a bit of weight in the tram body, if space permits that is.
SOMMERFELDT makes functional pantographs in N scale. To run on live overhead, run the red wire to the pantograph. The black wire can then be connected to all wheel contacts. One rail can then be divided into sections for activating signals, etc. Overhead wire can be either phosphor bronze like the prototype or nickel silver.
I just picked up one of these, chassis only, with the intent to turn it into the Neighborhood Trolley as a scratch build for my 4-year-old son. We'll see how that goes, for one, but for two, I don't think I have the guts to attempt dcc for that yet. I have done hard wiring before, just not for something like this. I have the 11-108 powered chassis.
Oh. huh. Didn't realize the newer ones had the wire leads off the motor. I thought it was just the copper tabs. Sound Install Box cab time.
Good video
Cool DCC conversion Jimmy. Love these Kato’s, awesome how they built these things. Curious for how you’re gonna tweak your automated circuit now!
I have the tram, the steam engine, and the steaple cab. I would like to add lights to them.
The steeple can would interest me for use as a mine loco
It would be great if you added a speaker in the other car.
Did you try adding weight to the engine.
How long did it really take from start to running??
Did it have track slippage before the DCC conversion? Oh and were you controlling with store bought controller or dcc Ex++
I'm thinking of making the switch to N scale, What code of track do you use, is there any particular reason why you choose that code?
Track appears to be Kato Unitrack. It is easy to work with and extremely reliable.
Hello
I’m following a dz126. Is it the same?
You fast torwareded past the most important part! Removing all of the plastic parts, especially the metal chassis from the plastic frame!I have the wheelsets and contact strips out, but can't seem to get the metal chassis out of the remaining plastic. HELP!
No need to remove the metal chassis from the plastic housing! You can use the method described by MPeetnjes - Another way to connect the track wires from the decoder is using the copper pads you discarded. Solder the red and black wire from the decoder to these pads and put the pads back into their slots in the chassis. It is a bit more fiddly to do because you have to put the wires back through the hole for the motor wires but it looks much neater. or use a piece of 32GA wire, soldered to the power connectors and fed up between the chassis and the plastic frame. I like MPeetnjes method!