Hello from Singapore

[mmutasim]

Hello! My name is Mu'tasim and I hail from Singapore!

 

I am a product & industrial design student, and love all sorts of transportation. Since young, I have been an ardent fan of the Shinkansen bullet trains. Their sleek and almost timeless designs, not to mention impressive performance figures, really attract me. For a long time now, I have only dabbled with Takara Tomy's Plarail line of model trains. While they may not be realistic-looking, they provide loads of fun. It's safe to say that Plarail was the main catalyst to my love for all things railway. I upgraded to Plarail Advance, and just recently, received my first proper set, the Kato N-Scale Series 0 Shinkansen Starter Set. I am astounded by the fine details squeezed into these small products.

 

I look forward to upgrading it slowly with more cars and diorama pieces! Cost might be an issue though (it's really pricey!), as well as availability. I do not know of any shop that provides model trains except for a lone one in The Adelphi, and they do not seem to carry any Shinkansen sets.

 

I hope that my time here will be a fruitful one, meeting fellow like-minded enthusiasts from all over the world, and getting to see all sorts of trains, layouts, and collections!

 

-M. Mu'tasim

 

 

(Help needed:

I recently plugged in the Kato AC adaptor (100V) of the Power Pack to the power socket (that is around 230V) without checking. Unsurprisingly, it blew up in smoke. Is there any way for me to repair it without having to source for a replacement? And is there a possibility of the Power Pack being damaged too? Your help is greatly appreciated!)

Edited February 16, 2015 by mmutasim

[cteno4]

M Mu'tasim,

 

Welcome! I think you found a hobby that will last you a lifetime!

 

Sorry to hear about the transformer. Was it the wall transformer that went poof? If so you might check with Nariichi San at Modeltrainplus http://www.modeltrainplus.net as he had sourced a 240v transformer that worked with the kato power pack.

 

You'll also find a few other folks here on the list from singapor!

 

Cheers

 

Jeff

[JR 500系]

Hello M. Mu'tasim!

 

Nice to see another member from Singapore! Welcome!

 

Sorry about the power pack... The Kato can only take in 110v from the mains, and require another step-down transformer to step down our current from 230v to 110v for the power pack to receive. That was one of the reasons why I switched to Tomix as Tomix can plug in directly to our mains as they can receive power from 110-230v without the need for any step-down transformers.

 

To try to rectify the power pack, is it still working now? It might still work if you try to push the red 'reset' button at the side of the power pack. Happened to me once and luckily I found this simple solution to rectify it, thanks to Jeff! :) 

[cteno4]

Doh! The red button! Forgot to mention the red button (wouldn't be grand if everything in life had a red button?! ) Hopefully this resettable circuit breaker will have saved the power pack itself.

 

Check with Nariichi, hopefully if just the wall wart transformer blew you can replace it maybe with a 220v version. The wall wart transformers unfortunately rarely have resettable breakers in them they usually just go pop and destroy themselves and hopefully kill the internal connections so as to not start a fire.

 

Jeff

[mmutasim]

Thank you for the warm welcome, cteno4 and JR500 のぞみ !

 

I appreciate your suggestions, and have visited the site. Looks like a replacement transformer is the only way for now. Thank you for your help! :)

[HantuBlauLOL]

Assalamualaikum, Mu'tasim, welcome from your neighbor, Indonesia! :D

 

i suggest you to buy a step down transformer, AFAIK kato doesnt have a 200+V version of their powerpacks..

could you open your current one and post the photo here? we could help you find what's actually damaged inside it.

[cteno4]

Did Nariichi have one that does 220?

 

Step downs work fine as well, just good to unplug them when not in use, they sometimes go poof. Here in the states many fire insurace policies specifically prohibit them so if there is a fire and you were using them you bet they will strive to make that the cause!

 

Jeff

[mmutasim]

@ HantuBlauLOL

 

Waalaikumsalam! I will take that into consideration, thank you!

 

@cteno

 

Ah okay! This is the one I found on the site, and it might just work.  "http://www.modeltrainplus.net/collections/n-scale-parts-new/products/ac-adapter-15v-1-6a"

Is Mr Nariichi a well-known dealer around here? Sorry, I'm still unfamiliar!

[cteno4]

Mu'tasim,

 

Great, glad you were able to replace the transformer. Hopefully the resettable red button breaker on the throttle worked and protected it!

 

Yes Modeltrainplus.net and loco1hobby.net are two small mail order shopsin japan that specialize in doing overseas orders for the international japan railways hobbyists. They have only been around the last couple of years. Both give fantastic service and will do special roses and other buying services for those overseas! Really great chaps to work with! You will see they each have a vendor thread in the suppliers forum.

 

http://www.jnsforum.com/community/topic/7995-modeltrainplus/page-9?do=findComment&comment=110079

 

http://www.jnsforum.com/community/topic/7129-loco1hobby/page-22?do=findComment&comment=110098

 

The other main supplier oversea supplier for many folks is the hobby shop Hobby Search http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/rail/. They have an English speaking staff. There a number of other shops (most japanese hobby shops don't ship overseas nor yahoo auctions, but you can use buying services to do this for you for an extra fee) that will also ship overseas, but the can be a bit harder at times as sites are not in English and payment methods vary. Check out the suppliers forum for more suppliers and ways to order from them.

 

Jeff