Spaceman Spiff Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Hi, since I will be ordering a some overhead station stuff from Japan it would be a shame to waste the shipping opportunity nad not get a train at the same time I am thinking of going regional/commuter train this time around. The trains I am looking at are one of the following: JR Series 113- Kato 10-807, JR Series 115-1000 Niigata Color- Kato 10-584, JR Series E531 Joban Commuter Train 5 Kato 10-283 I was wondering if anyone on the forum has them and if you can comment on them. Are they easy for DCC installs? Spiff Link to comment
David Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 The E531 is a very new Kato tooling: Flywheel drive, LED lights, blackened wheels, body mounted realistic close couplers. And it is 100% DCC ready (drop in Kato EM13 and FL12 decoders). Detail parts are the antennas and destination stickers. There are a number of people on the forums who will tell you it is a great model (I have the 10 car formation). The 113 and 115-1000 are both based on basically the same older tooling. Bulbs for the cab cars and truck mounted rapido couplers. Both require hardwired DCC installation. Detail parts are the destination stickers (not 100% sure if the 113 has any plastic parts to attach). Link to comment
Spaceman Spiff Posted March 29, 2011 Author Share Posted March 29, 2011 Thanks for ther\ quick reply David. Does the Series 455- Kato 10-189 fall under the same category as the 113 & 115 series? Spiff Link to comment
scott Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 I think it does--it's been around a while. FWIW, we have the 10-583 set* (same as the 10-584, but the green-stripe livery) and the 10-189. I know they're fairly basic sets, but I like them, and they reliably run well. *(Well, sets, I should say. I wanted one for the longest time, but now we have three.) Link to comment
David Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Thanks for ther\ quick reply David. Does the Series 455- Kato 10-189 fall under the same category as the 113 & 115 series? Spiff Yes, the shell is obviously different but you can see the same cab car 'box' cover for the bulbs, same truck mounted rapidos, and presumably the same motor. As scott said the sets are basic, but being Kato they still work fairly well (no spring drive like the old Tomix). For me it's mainly the headlights don't come on at low speeds (and really need to be at mainline speed to reach full brightness), and the lack of flywheel means that you can't do a completely smooth an acceleration from a full stop - the lowest speeds are only possible by slowing down after jump starting past the motors stall speed. http://img824.imageshack.us/i/2my.mp4/ Link to comment
Spaceman Spiff Posted March 29, 2011 Author Share Posted March 29, 2011 Thanks for the replies and video. Does the E531 set also accept decoders for the directional light fir the front and rear units? Spiff Link to comment
rankodd Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Thanks for the replies and video. Does the E531 set also accept decoders for the directional light fir the front and rear units? Spiff And it is 100% DCC ready (drop in Kato EM13 and FL12 decoders). FL12 are the light decoders. Link to comment
Spaceman Spiff Posted March 29, 2011 Author Share Posted March 29, 2011 Thanks Rankodd, the FL12 just pop in also? Spiff Link to comment
David Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Yes, in theory everything just pops in. In practice it varies from person to person. I found the EM13 (motor decoders) to be very easy to install, while others have had to adjust them several times to make good contact. On the other hand some people have reported no difficulty with the FL12 decoders, while I found it took more force then I liked to insert them completely (both lights won't work until the decoder is inserted to the correct depth). In both cases you want to make sure you insert the decoder with the right side up. Link to comment
KenS Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 David's already said pretty much what I'd have said about the E531. I have it, and despite the old number it is the new DCC-friendly tooling. I think they re-did it when the 10-570 came out (which I also have). I've found the FL12 to be a bit finicky as well. In some trains the placement is a bit sensitive. That said, I haven't converted this train yet, and in general I've had more problems with the EM13 motor decoder. Sometimes it just works, sometimes it doesn't. For more about decoder install on this model, see my page on my E231 install (the two are essentially the same train except for minor body details). Link to comment
Spaceman Spiff Posted April 1, 2011 Author Share Posted April 1, 2011 I imagine if I was to go with the non dcc friendly sets such as the 113 Kato 10-807 or 115- Kato 10-584 the Digitrax DZ125 would fit ok? Spiff Link to comment
David Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 Yes, I've installed a DZ125 in one before, wasn't very hard. You can sort of see the decoder through the window (with some skill you might be able to modify the frame, but I was doing a non-destructive install), but not really. The cab cars are more interesting, it seems a function decoder that can handle the peak amperage of the existing bulbs would be best (LEDs with stiff legs pose some challenges), there is a good bit of space to hide a small decoder in there. Link to comment
Spaceman Spiff Posted April 9, 2011 Author Share Posted April 9, 2011 Just ordered the 113. Does any one know which train is one that is a 113 series but with grey & tan color? Spiff Link to comment
David Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 If it's tan and blue that's Yokosuka I think. Ok, other so color is grey. I'm stumped. Link to comment
Spaceman Spiff Posted April 10, 2011 Author Share Posted April 10, 2011 I thought it was grey but now I can't find it either. Maybe it was white and tan? lol Spiff Link to comment
bikkuri bahn Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 I thought it was grey but now I can't find it either. Maybe it was white and tan? lol Spiff Perhaps it was this?: http://www.1999.co.jp/10061630 Link to comment
Spaceman Spiff Posted April 10, 2011 Author Share Posted April 10, 2011 Thank you bikkuri bahn, that is it. I can't read Japanese but it would appear to be sold out. Does any one know where to get it or if Kato/Tomix makes this train? Spiff Link to comment
keitaro Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 What really grinds my gears is Kato's way of selling trains you have to buy the 4 then the a and b set i really hate this. also they don't allow for buying of a single car from what i can tell. I want the e531 and the cassiopeia but i want to custom it. Not follow the normal set. Link to comment
spacecadet Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 What really grinds my gears is Kato's way of selling trains you have to buy the 4 then the a and b set i really hate this. I don't know about other trains but it does make sense for the E531, at least. You can buy the 4, which I think is probably the minimum someone would want, then you buy another 4 so now you have a full standard-size book case (which is how most Japanese would store their trains, on a bookshelf, with other trains in the same size case). Then you buy another 2 if you want to have a prototypical train as it runs on part of its route. Then you can buy the "+5" if you want to have the full train as it runs on the other part of its route. also they don't allow for buying of a single car from what i can tell. No... probably just not profitable enough. I want the e531 and the cassiopeia but i want to custom it. Not follow the normal set. You can still customize the E531 to some extent. You just have to buy cars in 2's, and I don't think you can get the bi-level cars separately. Link to comment
keitaro Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 Thats the thing i want to havethe basic as standard front and back cars and the rest bi-level. If you buy the Basic and a + b you only get the 2 bi-level cars. Tomix when there set was available allowed for this. Same for their cassiopeia set. Both very hard to find these days unless used. Link to comment
KenS Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 Kato's set structure seems to be designed to make the price look low, and force you into buying at least one more set. The recent E5 only came with three cars, the motor and both cabs. Run like that, it looks distinctly odd. And the way they split double-decker cars on the commuter trains that use them really annoys me. It they really want to make a low-cost starter set for someone with limited space, they could do it much better. A four or five-car starter set would make more sense. The extra cost of one (or two) body-and-truck assemblies, without lights or motors, can't really be all that large. And someone who only has room for four cars doesn't need to run the fifth. Link to comment
keitaro Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 i was thinking the same thing Kens they force you to buy both sets or even 3 and actauly get more money then the way they used to sell or tomix sells theirs. Link to comment
Spaceman Spiff Posted May 9, 2011 Author Share Posted May 9, 2011 Finally got around to throwing a DZ 125 in my 113. It runs really well. Looking forward to getting more in the future. Spiff Link to comment
David Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Did you install decoders in the cab cars (I'm not sure I'd run them on DCC without a decoder, the bulbs could heat up with the polarity switching back and forth). Or are you running on DC - I've wondered a bit about just installing motor decoders in everything, even the DC stuff to get better performance - the decoder can run the motor slower, and the raised starting voltage lets the lights (non-DCC) turn on at slower speeds. Link to comment
Spaceman Spiff Posted May 9, 2011 Author Share Posted May 9, 2011 Hi David, I just soldered the DZ125 to the motor car. I haven't done anything with cab lights. When the time comes I will probably use TCS Fl4 for that. Spiff Link to comment
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