davidzq

Eurobricks Vassals
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About davidzq

  • Birthday 10/16/1991

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    train
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    Crocodile Locomotive

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  1. Battery is not charged by track, I haven't had a need to incorporate that. I use the AA battery box with Eneloops, which provides a decent run time (~3 hours) on a heavy train with two 9v motors. I found that when running without battery that a single 9v motor could create connectivity issues with momentary power losses at weak track connections, but having a second 9v motor eliminated this issue. Current limitations have never been an issue for me, but I could see it being an issue with long slow freight trains.
  2. I did something similar. I added a PF cable to a 9v motor, separating the power pickup from the motor. With just this, the train can be controlled by any PF controller (Fx Brick, S-Brick, etc) running off track power. But I also added a battery box, connected through a diode (so train will run off 9v track power, and only switch to the 7.2v battery if track power is lost). It then runs through a Voltage regulator, keeping a constant 9v to the controller, so train doesn't slow down with track distance or battery drain. Best of both worlds.
  3. davidzq

    In anticipation of 910002 Studgate Station

    Sorry you had such a negative experience. Unfortunately missing bags do sometimes happen, in any set. I've experienced it twice. Both times Lego had the missing parts shipped to me quickly. My Studgate had all of its parts. As for a review...here's an honest one. I too experience the dead link of the instruction card, telling me to download a non-existent (at least on Android) app. Similar official apps returned the QR code and set number as invalid. But I knew instructions were available on BrickLink. As for the build itself....I'll start off by saying my expectations were low. I did not like the anesthetic of this set, it's like four separate architecture style buildings smashed together, plagued by gaudy over-detailing (real buildings, even Gothic, do not have this many random decorations!). As for the build...I was very unimpressed by the trains. Train base, with basic studs-up walls, overly simplistic. I was also dismayed by the use of three 1x2 plates instead of the ALREADY USED 1x6, and 1x2x3 panels instead of the ALREADY USED 1x4x3. Unfortunately this trend of Parts-Out-Of-Other-Parts continued throughout the build (artificial increase of piece count?). There were also odd choices such as a single black 1x4 Brick with groove with three grey ones, which I assume was an accidental color selection error during the design that didn't get caught. The instructions are terrible. Those twenty four technic arches? You build them ONE AT A TIME! The glass? Add five, add five, add five, add two, do this on eight separate occasions! Four identical lamp posts? Build X2, then build X2 again! Add 3 of a piece, next add the other 3 of that piece. The instructions could have very easily been 30% shorter. The resulting build experience was me following a few pages, then skipping ahead for the next ten pages to see that I'm doing the exact same thing all over again. Many layers of bricks/plates are not staggered, so there are many weak spots in the structure which could have been easily corrected by rearranging rows of plates/bricks. It felt like I was building a very large 4+ set. The track layout places the tracks 14 and 18 studs to center, far from the established standard of 8 stud intervals. The 4x4 tile with 4 studs on the crossing will block any train motors. There is a track signal placed directly behind a stairway. The platforms are built up to the edge of the track, so any non-6 wide trains cannot pass. Curiously, the platforms are hinged and fold down, granting an additional half plate of clearance (not enough to make any difference). So again, I'll say I did not expect to enjoy this set based purely on looks. But I am a train collector, I needed it for my collection. But this has been the most negative build experience I've had in several years.
  4. davidzq

    Question about U.P. locomotive

    ACE3000 comes to mind, though that wasn't UP. Chessie (who also ran yellow locomotives) were interested in the project, so there are several drawings in their scheme.
  5. davidzq

    [moc] New Haven Railroad Y4-A 0-8-0

    Hmmm looks like that thing could use an axillary tender. 🤔 Great looking model though! Love seeing unusual prototypes.
  6. There are 4 stud pieces available for PF from BrickTracks (injection molded), TrixBrix (3D printed), or 4D Brix (3D printed) which can be adapted to 9v with copper tape. At least until a FX releases their own. Or you can try reaching out to Andy Mollmann (OKBrickWorks) who sells 3D printed 9v track (HO Code 100 rail inserted) and see if he can produce 4 long.
  7. http://l-gauge.org/wiki/index.php?title=Reference_Track_Configurations
  8. davidzq

    Thyssenkrupp multi elevator

    "Not unnaturally, many elevators imbued with intelligence and precognition became terribly frustrated with the mindless business of going up and down, up and down, experimented briefly with the notion of going sideways, as a sort of existential protest, demanded participation in the decision-making process and finally took to squatting in basements sulking. An impoverished hitchhiker visiting any planets in the Sirius star system these days can pick up easy money working as a counselor for neurotic elevators." -Douglas Adams Will be interesting to see this once you've expanded the system.
  9. You would want two separate transformers, to have independent control of each loop. For the switches, you could use copper tape to run power through the straight section rather easily. Powering both the straight and diverging routes with tape would present some issues, namely the need to have a separation isolating each loop. There's also the durability factor of the tape. Why not simply use the FX P40 switch which is soon to be released? It's a 9v R104 switch.
  10. davidzq

    Motor Specifications for 9V Train Motor (#530)

    One minor bit of information about swapping PF/PU motors into 9v, which I haven't seen addressed in any of the videos. There are actually two versions of 9v motor. The older, far more common motor produced from 91-05, which are shown in all the guides and is certainty what OP has. And the newer 05-06 motor, which used the same exact motor as the PF/PU motors but with the 9v contacts soldered on. These newer motors have a slightly larger tip, so require modifications for use in the older 9v shells. Photo of motors As for identifying what type of motor your 9v shell uses, there is a quality control code on one end of the bottom. The older style 9v usually have a four digit code, the newer two digit code.
  11. davidzq

    Tracks available on Pick & Build

    I have very fond memory of the first year that cows were available on LUGBulk. Order 10 cows, and 20 horns to go with them. Receive 10 cows prepackaged with 2 horns each. Receive 20 horns prepackaged with another horn and a cow!!! Result, 30 cows, complete with horns. Now imagine the fates of the people who ordered 100+ 😛 As for the thread topic....definitely a great price! Too bad I already got my fill of plastic track off LUGBulk years ago... in addition to my several hundred 9v straights...
  12. This is great news! Glad they were able to overcome anticipated supply issues on the controller.
  13. davidzq

    9V train development

    While FX brick can be a little slow on their updates on the website (as they generally only post when there's new releases), Michael Gale does fairly regular development updates On his Flickr page. The latest being only a month ago. All of those functions are currently possible using the FX Brick or a DCC encoder, if you're willing to modify a 9v motor (add a PF cable to it).
  14. Opened up one of my 9v motors for you. Full markings are: BZW 04P 15B C605 So...TVS Diode BZW04-15B I also opened up a PU train motor. The capacitor is a surface mount, with no label 🙁. It's labeled as C2 on the board. I don't have any equipment to test it's value. Traces to each motor lead. But it also implies there's a C1 somewhere.... internal to the motor, maybe? But I can't open the shell without removing the pressed on gears. One of the motor leads passes through a 509R resistor (labelled R1).
  15. Oops, you're right, the disk is the over-current thermal protection. The black component is a TVS diode for over-voltage protection. Been a few years since I've opened up my motors and my memory got mixed up 😛 Anyways it should be easy to add a capacitor. Simply solder it to the bussing on the motor.