dlp4341

The DC3 was the frist aircraft to have it all together. It had feather adjustable props,to change the pitch, allowing the engine RPM to be optimized. Retractible landing gear. Tho... it left about half the wheel exposed, and the axel bottomed ona air frame , just in case ... and flaps to trim it in flight. Three major keys . Durring WWII thay were made at Willow Run , a converted GM plant Near Detroit , and they turned out one every hour. After a breif checkout they were filled with gas and flown to England by a brave group of young ladies.

I picked up a new pr of switches and measured the force to operate them . I measured about 800 grams horizontal force to operate them. It feels like they require less force as they break in. These will need a much larger motor, if used unmodified. Don

Thank you all for your input All my switches are modified for low torque. Maybe some one could measure the force to change a standard switch with a fish scale to see how much force we are talking about. Don

Not that I am aware of. That is why I have pursued a wired solution. Any idea what are the worst case clearances ,both height and distance , for the track to structures next to the track? The RC Switch engine LED and power switch are wide protrusions . Also the passenger train has a wide sweep. Don

Lego RR electric motor switch control Hi All I agree with all of you that the solenoid switch control was crude (see the beginning of this thread). I learned a lot with your help and now have a micro motor control solution. It only draws power when actually switching. It runs off 3 Volts , two AAs, that should last forever. It draws about 200 ma when the motor is running. The motor only turns a quarter turn, when power is applied , and is stopped in a stall mode. The torque developed is about 16 gram – cm. Since this torque is very low, the Lego train switches must be modified to remove the bumps on the switching arm. The Lego box that houses the motor is a friction fit , and measures : 3 bricks high (H), by 4x5 (WxD) lego bumps footprint. The control is a DPDT Toggle switch , the action is spring return to center, momentary on , center off, momentary on. The center poles are wired to the switch motor , with the outer poles criss crossed, and wired to the batteries . In operation the toggle is moved left or right and the motor responds by moving CW or CCW. The toggle’s spring returns the toggle to off when released. The first three motors I tried, were removed from a dead DVD player. They measure about 1 inch dia x 0.5 inch deep, the shaft is 2 mm dia. Here is a source for new motors: cost $3. 50 USA. Switches cost about the same. http://catalog.miniscience.com/catalog/motors/RF300CA.html Remove the yellow switch arm. The bent wire below replaces it.The bent wire is coupled to the motor shaft with a short length of rubber tubing. The bent wire is made from a three inch (76 mm) length of # 14 awg solid bare copper A 90 deg bend at 1” from the end forms the shaft. Two loops are bent into the wire forming the manual over ride, and the actuation levers. The loops are formed by bending the wire around a 1/4 “ drill bit and a 1/8” bit. The height of the smaller loop (from the shaft to bottom of the loop) should match the yellow switch arm shaft to bottom dimension. The coupling tubing is about 1/2” long with a 1/16” hole. As an alternate ; drill a 1/16 inch (1.6mm) hole through a pencil rubber eraser.

Jopiek Very clever. If the train runs backwards through a closed switch is there enough give in the cable to avoid a derail ? Looking at the last photo, that would be traveling right to left against the closed sliding section of rail. Keep up the good work Don

Thank you for your response I am happy you are pleased Don

OK 400 of you saw the Post. Did anyone try fixing some switches? How did it go? Let us know your comments.. Don

Heat the tip , jaws , of long nose pliers on your gas stove, or use a large candle, to heat the pliers. When they are quite warm, grab the part to be bent with the hot jaws, and they will soften the plastic. Shape the re railer like the one on the new track, and allow the plastic to cool . Heat the pliers , not the track. Don

Goldenmasamune Have you tried modifying your old switches as I outlined? How did they work out? Don

I had the same problem, my smaller cars, e.g.: the caboose, that have only four wheels went bump, bump through the old switches. Cars with full trucks did not have a problem. Here is how to fix it: ONE Locate the straight rail segment, second from the top ( and bottom ) in the photo . It measures 9cm on new track or 9.4cm on old track. With an Exacto knife or single edge razor blade cut off 0.4cm of the switch end of that rail and shape the end of the rail as it was. TWO Locate the rerailer on the outside curved rail ( top and bottom rails in the photo) On old track it is straight ; on new track the switch end is curved. To fix this, one must heat the plastic , hold it in the new position and let it cool. I used a pr of long nose pliers, and heated the end by holding on to a hot soldering iron for one minute. Bend the switch end of the rerailer, to open the gap, and hold it until it cools That fixed the bump bump Don

aprendiendo I love your motor solution. It looks like you added a new connection to the moving trrack Kolaf I got a HS 55 servo, but it came without instructions or a wiring diagram. I can not get it to operate with just 6 VDC. Any hints? Don

Kolaf Congrats... very elegant. Are all the parts Lego ? Micro servo ? Please provide us a list of parts ( Legos too ) Don

What would like to see ? The solenoid mod ? The switch mod ? The Lego base for the solenoid ? Don