Hi Hamish, Now thats a name I definitely remember. welcome aboard Sir. Glad you decided to dip your toe in the water. I hope your ears have stopped ringing from the ear bashing I gave you yesterday. It was terrific talking with you. Please make yourself at home. Get your feet under the table and come back and share your plans with the rest of the guys. Just a catch up as to what is on your project bench and what your plans are going forward. There are some fantastic layouts and projects on the go on the forum at the moment so feel free to comment or ask any questions that you may have. The members are always happy to chirp away. I hope you enjoy your journey with Platform1 it really is a friendly place to be so settle in and enjoy. cheers Toto
G'day Hamish, Welcome aboard from Sydney. I read that Toto's charm has rubbed off on you ! What a salesman, eh ?? Have a good look around, read up and enjoy what is Platform 1 MRC. Once your settled in, post up some of your modelling. Don't be shy, if you have anything to ask, ask away. Plenty of characters on board here to make you feel welcome. Looking forward to your future posts. Cheers, Gary.
& Hamish to Platform1 Sound like Toto had you in a spin now keep the momentum going settle in and have a look around do the forum check out some of the layouts, tutorials, and general info there's heaps to get into Once your ready pop back here and make your first post and tell us a bit about yourself, your modelling interests. There's even a build a plank comp going check it out. Again a big Platform1 Hamish, from the land way down under http://www.click
Thanks to Toto and all for the kind welcome. Sounds like a fun forum. I have just converted my garage to a railway room, so I have a nice space in which to build my layout. I have a large collection of LMS in OO, and have purchased a Gaugemaster DCC wireless set, so I am committed to DCC, but have yet to chip my first loco. Layout has yet to be built, but I hope to make a start over the coming winter. Not really sure where I am going with it yet, but it will likely see an influence of the West Highland, but I am not going to let reality get in the way, and will probably be quite a mixture of things over the layout. Look forward to reading through the posts, and hopefully contributing in time. Hamish
Hi Hamish, its all coming flooding back now ( its an age thing ) We were discussing the fact that you can pick up all manner of power tools etc to enable you to do just about anything for very reasonable prices. One of our other members " Bittern " has posted some pictures of loco's up just today and one happens to be of the Duchess of Sutherland. he was saying how it is rumoured that it may be getting a livery overhaul back to either LMS or BR maroon next year. Keep your eye open for Hornby or one of the other big boys possibly beinging out something to commemorate it. it wouldn't surprise me. Another winter pastime is the use of any of the electronic track plan software programmes to work on your layout. I use Anyrail which offers a downloadable demo version. Great for playing around with idea's. I am sure the other guys will recommend the alternatives that they have used. Whatever happens, keep us up to speed and by all means ....... scream out for assistance if its required. cheers Toto
A warm Hamish to the fold, glad your ears recovered from Toto's relentless patter . Thats some project your getting started on, and we'll be watching you all the way. For your first loco(s) to DCC convert, post a list of the ones you want to target, and we can offer advice & moral support when you go into surgery. Push to come to shove you're only a few miles away so help is not that far it you need it. Paul
Hi Hamish and to the forum from sunny Spain ... it won't take you long to sort out the wheat from the chav ... some great advice to be gleaned here so any questions ask away ... Ian
paul_l wrote: Paul, I see you are in Dundee, which is great. You may come to regret that offer of help. I will get a list of the loco's together, but I know that some are going to be a bit more difficult than others to convert. Yes Toto, I am OK at carpentry, but power tools are now so reasonably priced, it is just so easy to make straight and accurate cuts. I will post some photos of my conversion to show what the average Joe can achieve. Hamish
Hi Hamish, I'll look forward to that. You'll see a green mist starting to appear with the jealousy factor kicking in. You are at the best part of the build ....... the baseboard and track plan design stage. very exciting. Glad you survived the ear pummelling that I dished out. ....... call it enthusiasm. cheers toto
Hi Hamish. When you start with DCC conversions, I'd suggest you go for the ones with the most internal space. Once you get one or two of the 'easy' ones under your belt, then you can look at the slightly more difficult 'tight fit' ones. These days with very small decoders available, there's almost nothing that can't be achieved with a bit of thought. Surgery may be inevitable with some of the very small loco's, but if all else fails, just cut the plug off the decoder, remove the socket in the loco to make some room, and simply solder the decoder in directly, after all, if 'N' gauge can accommodate a decoder, then relatively speaking there's stacks of room in 00 gauge stuff. I've chipped over 50 loco's (quite a few being NOT DCC ready!) and a dozen or so sound installations, and there are other forum members who've done likewise, so no shortage of help and information on here. Even the dreaded Bachmann 'split chassis' loco's can be chipped with a bit of care, so if you're stuck, just ask, we'll be pleased to help. Keith.
Thanks for your advice Keith. I will start off with a couple of the easier ones, and I am sure I will have many questions. There is such a variety of decoders out there, I am not yet sure what I need. I think I grasp the concept of split chassis. I remember many years ago putting a radio with -ve earth in a car with a +ve earth, and the important bit was to insulate the entire chassis of the radio from the frame of the car, so I imagine the same basic principle will apply, with respect to the electric motor. It has been nice to see welcoming comments from so many, and I have already had a bit of a gander in to some of the other topics, so I am sure this forum will become a primary resource tool for me, as well as a source of inspiration. Hamish
Hi Hamish, Glad you have settled in a bit and find the forum of use. Once you know some of the details behind which specific loco's you are chipping and if they are 6 pin, 8 pin or 21 pin, let us know because as you say, there are such an array of decoders out there that hopefully someone will be able to advise of their specific experience. cheers toto
