Just thought I'd post an update... the flood from a couple weeks ago made a muddy mess of the basement floor, and after much work... it's not done yet. You'd be surprised how many moppings it takes to really get a floor clean! And, how many little nooks there are under the layout, behind & under cabinets, etc.
I can say I now know how to replace a sump (extractor) pump. And my wife discovered how you can pull the padding out from under carpeting, w/o completely removing said carpeting.
Anyway, in the meantime I've continued some DCC work, installing a decoder in a second locomotive, and starting work on a third. And, working through some older (pending) updates to the website.
I could start some weathering projects, but it's been too humid to attempt any spraying work outside.
Aug 7, 2011
Jul 23, 2011
Flood!
Chicago had terrible rain last night, 7" in just 4 hours or so in our area, and 8.2" in the last 24 hrs.
For the layout, it meant flooding the basement, to 2-3" deep mostly. Our main sump failed while we bailed through the night, and then the backup also failed, but after the rain stopped (for now). And this after finally tracking down the last of the DCC shorts I've been working on lately! Oh well.
The layout is ok, but it'll be a huge mess to clean. I _think_ the drywall (elevated a bit on treated footers) is OK; not sure.
Could be worse, but this is bad enough.
For the layout, it meant flooding the basement, to 2-3" deep mostly. Our main sump failed while we bailed through the night, and then the backup also failed, but after the rain stopped (for now). And this after finally tracking down the last of the DCC shorts I've been working on lately! Oh well.
The layout is ok, but it'll be a huge mess to clean. I _think_ the drywall (elevated a bit on treated footers) is OK; not sure.
Could be worse, but this is bad enough.
Jul 16, 2011
Struggling with the DCC install
So - we're back from vacation, and the DCC install on the layout is nearly complete, but the PSX breakers are detecting a short - in ALL power districts! - whenever I have both boosters powered up.
It's become very frustrating trying to find the problem. Each booster feeds 2-4 PSXs, which in turn feed the power districts. Given the way I've wired each town w/ independent panels, it was pretty easy to rewire such that the towns are now powered by a PSX.
There was some re-wiring to break the old buss which feed all the towns, but that's done. The problem is that there's a connectio between the old common (rail B now) of two towns, each on different booster. I'm guessing that's what is causing the 'short' - the boosters are talking to each other. I already know there's no short in the trackwork itself, so there's a back-door connection between these somehow.
But, it's so frustrating to spend hours trying checking odd connections to try to isolate this. And in the meantime, no trains of course.
Sigh.
It's become very frustrating trying to find the problem. Each booster feeds 2-4 PSXs, which in turn feed the power districts. Given the way I've wired each town w/ independent panels, it was pretty easy to rewire such that the towns are now powered by a PSX.
There was some re-wiring to break the old buss which feed all the towns, but that's done. The problem is that there's a connectio between the old common (rail B now) of two towns, each on different booster. I'm guessing that's what is causing the 'short' - the boosters are talking to each other. I already know there's no short in the trackwork itself, so there's a back-door connection between these somehow.
But, it's so frustrating to spend hours trying checking odd connections to try to isolate this. And in the meantime, no trains of course.
Sigh.
Jun 22, 2011
A new soldering hazard
So - we had really bad storms in the Chicago area last night. Shortly before they hit, I was under the layout, holding a soldering iron in a kinda tricky position, finishing up a DCC system connection. The power flickered several times just then, leaving me in the dark, twisted under the layout, w/ a hot iron delicately positioned between other wiring, etc. It was, er, an interesting moment.
Thankfully, the flickers stabilized long enough for me to finish the connection and shut everything down. The whole family was back in the basement soon after, while 80+ gusts and bright green lightning flashed outside. Lots of huge branches / tree parts down afterward.
Thankfully, the flickers stabilized long enough for me to finish the connection and shut everything down. The whole family was back in the basement soon after, while 80+ gusts and bright green lightning flashed outside. Lots of huge branches / tree parts down afterward.
Jun 19, 2011
A new photo resource, and cutting umbilical cords
So, a friend has introduced me to yet another wonderful photo resource - Telluride Historical Museum's new photo collection. Of particular interest is about 1500 RGS photos, all available for viewing (w/ some searching, mind you), and all available for sale.
And - there's a second resource that's coming online (literally) - which is Richard Dorman's massive photo collection. There were some initial birth pains with bringing this online, but it's a well-cataloged index to hundreds - maybe thousands - of RGS photos. All of these are also for sale.
I haven't really had time to explore either of these collections deeply yet; I'm very far behind on misc. updates to the website, and still haven't even finished the URL updates for the Denver Public Library's photo collection - but there seems to be a rich treasure-trove of history here.
On another front, I have been making progress on the layout's conversion to DCC, and finally - just this weekend - finished all the detection circuit and other wiring changes I needed to make, and yesterday finally cut the umbilical cord, as it were (ie, the old Keller Onboard power buss). So now I'm committed, eh? The layout no longer runs until I finish the new connections. It shouldn't take that long, as all this prep work has made the old buss ready to switch to the new power districts, etc. Should be fun!
And - there's a second resource that's coming online (literally) - which is Richard Dorman's massive photo collection. There were some initial birth pains with bringing this online, but it's a well-cataloged index to hundreds - maybe thousands - of RGS photos. All of these are also for sale.
I haven't really had time to explore either of these collections deeply yet; I'm very far behind on misc. updates to the website, and still haven't even finished the URL updates for the Denver Public Library's photo collection - but there seems to be a rich treasure-trove of history here.
On another front, I have been making progress on the layout's conversion to DCC, and finally - just this weekend - finished all the detection circuit and other wiring changes I needed to make, and yesterday finally cut the umbilical cord, as it were (ie, the old Keller Onboard power buss). So now I'm committed, eh? The layout no longer runs until I finish the new connections. It shouldn't take that long, as all this prep work has made the old buss ready to switch to the new power districts, etc. Should be fun!
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