What did you order or the post deliver? (Japanese N Gauge)

[Wolf]

Finally received my 6 Units of DE29x3K2 replacement DCC Boards for the Kato EH200/EH500 (wich I am too stupid to solder myself XD) from snjpn.

Yay more DCC Trains. XD

[gavino200]

1 hour ago, Wolf said:

Finally received my 6 Units of DE29x3K2 replacement DCC Boards for the Kato EH200/EH500 (wich I am too stupid to solder myself XD) from snjpn.

Yay more DCC Trains. XD

 

Soldering is a bit of a dark art that just takes some practice and persistence. If you have and iron and want to learn I can share some good learning resources. Let me know. It definately makes DCC much easier if you get comfortable with soldering.

[Wolf]

Just now, gavino200 said:

Soldering is a bit of a dark art that just takes some practice and persistence. If you have and iron and want to learn I can share some good learning resources. Let me know. It definately makes DCC much easier if you get comfortable with soldering.

I take any resource you may offer, I do (try to) solder, just not successfull all the time, but it gets better I guess.

[railsquid]

It's doable, I have two left hands, yet once managed to solder wires to this tiny tiny LED:

 

 

(that's a 1 yen coin on the left for reference, about the size of a 2 eurocent coin)

[gavino200]

This is a good basic but comprehensive guide.

 

This and the branching links are also good. In fact the wiki itself is massively helpful for DCC I wish I knew about it earlier.

 

There are also lots of great guides on YouTube. Any questions and there are lots of people here who can help. Doing your own soldering will set you free!!

 

22 minutes ago, Wolf said:

I take any resource you may offer, I do (try to) solder, just not successfull all the time, but it gets better I guess.

 

Don't worry. We've all been there. It gets better, I promise. Using magnification really helps too.

 

[Wolf]

Just now, gavino200 said:

Using magnification really helps too.

Yeah, a lens is on my to-buy list a while now, should get to that.

[disturbman]

I was thought soldiering in 6th or 7th grade, I totally forgot how to do it, and now I have issues stomaching the smell.

Edited February 17, 2022 by disturbman

[gavino200]

4 minutes ago, disturbman said:

I was thought soldiering in 6th or 7th grade, I totally forgot how to do it, and now I have issues stomaching the smell.

 

That's probably a good thing. Those fumes are quite toxic. A fan and even a mask are a good idea.

[cteno4]

Actually small amount of soldering fumes isn’t horrible. There’s a lot of hype around it, and a number of years back I dug down to find some actual studies. Much of the work on it was from occupational studies where folks are doing big time soldering all day long, so exposure is orders of magnitude past hobby soldering. Of course inhaling any smoke is not great for you, but in this case the smallest of fans can get rid of the problem from simple dilution. You can even trap a lot of the fumes by putting a piece of activated charcoal filter (fiber filter mesh covered in activated charcoal) on the fan. They sell little table fans or ones on swing arms to position close to the work to suck all the fumes away from your very effectively. You can buy one premade or make your own with a computer fan and walk wart and a piece of filter material and some cardboard for a frame, hot glue gun is your friend. I have one on a swing arm. I also have a little tiny computer flow fan (5v) that I just put right behind what I’m soldering. Thing is tiny like 3cm on a side and it just sucks all the fumes back away from me and the sing arm sucks all that up.

 

https://smile.amazon.com/Houseables-Extractor-Acrylonitrile-Ventilator-Ventilation/dp/B097JBGNGJ/ref=sr_1_4_sspa?crid=IBJ7WE4LE1D6&keywords=soldering+fan&qid=1645140693&sprefix=soldering+fans%2Caps%2C53&sr=8-4-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzR0tHSEc4TDZaOTEwJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNTQwODkyMUM3RFE4OVhYNTBINyZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMTA5ODUzT1Q5SUI4R0hNUEhUJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

https://smile.amazon.com/Adjustable-Absorber-Extractor-Soldering-Eliminate/dp/B077Q99PPV/ref=sr_1_14?crid=IBJ7WE4LE1D6&keywords=soldering+fan&qid=1645140693&sprefix=soldering+fans%2Caps%2C53&sr=8-14

 

funny you found the fumes nauseating, I barely smell it at all usually. Maybe I’ve just burned those receptors out! But it may have been the particular resin you were using.

 

it’s all about just learning the basics and then getting to Carnegie hall—practice, practice, practice. Tons of great videos on YouTube to watch and lear quickly from then just strip a bunch of wires and practice. I’ve taught 5 year olds through folks in their 80s to solder over the years, all we’re doing well in like 15 minutes to the surprise of many!

 

cheers,

 

jeff

[Tony Galiani]

I will always remember my missed Carnegie Hall opportunity.

True story:  Many, many years ago, I was walking by Carnegie Hall on my way to my music teacher's studio nearby.  I was approached by a musician carrying a violin case who asked me how to get to Carnegie Hall.  I just pointed to the entrance - and have always wished that I said:  practice, practice, practice.

Oh well - I always think of my best comebacks after the fact.

Tony

[railsquid]

For anyone else wondering, Carnegie Hall is a concert hall in New York, USA and "one of the most prestigious venues in the world for both classical music and popular music.", so from the context I am guessing performing there is a simile for reaching the top. Though I doubt they have soldering performances ;).

 

Edit: aha - see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnegie_Hall#Famous_joke

Edited February 18, 2022 by railsquid

[disturbman]

8 hours ago, cteno4 said:

funny you found the fumes nauseating, I barely smell it at all usually. Maybe I’ve just burned those receptors out! But it may have been the particular resin you were using.

Possible. I don't think I ever liked it. But maybe it's one of those smells, like gasoline, nail polish remover or fresh asphalt. Love the smell of fresh asphalt being laid in, the smell of gazoline gives me nausea.

[cteno4]

Yes these odors are very personal. Gasoline doesn’t bother me but diesel fuel and exhaust does! Asphalt I kind of like along with skunk, which makes most retch…

 

butna tad of ventilation might make the soldering tolerable (and safe).

 

cheers,

 

jeff

[Martijn Meerts]

Also depends on which solder you use. The old stuff with lead tends to smell a lot worse than the more recent stuff.

 

When I'm soldering a kit, I tend to just blow the smoke away if it bothers me, I don't have a fan or anything.

 

[JR 500系]

Some items picked off Ami's sale bin, plus some pre-order items

 

 

The usual postcard, different every season

 

 

Yes you saw some non train related items

 

 

Small parcel with pre-orders and some bargin items

 

 

 

Picked this up since it was in the bargains bin, even though there is no motor. One cannot get enough of Kintetsu commuter trains 

 

 

This has been pre-ordered and finally arrived. Now we have some 'NERV' presence in our town ~

 

 

This is REALLY nice.... Have always been a sucker for mini cars, even more so better coupled with mini bikes ~

[JR 500系]

Another beautiful order from Rail Rokko... ~

 

 

 

 

Beautifully packed as usual. The items are going NOWHERE when packed with such care 

 

 

Also beautifully bubbled-wrapped 

 

 

Buses, as usual. Never miss a set 

 

 

Some more delivery guys to up-size the town as more online orders are made daily in the town 

 

 

WOW even an empty case is shrinked wrapped!

 

 

 

 

 

Been eyeing the 683 series for a while, but they cost an arm and a liver for the Renewal thunderbird colour... instead, a nice 681 series in Shirasagi livery would do nice!

[KaiDon]

 

Received my third DF50 today , !

Edited February 18, 2022 by disturbman
missing line jump w/ picture

[mags_minibuilds]

More little bits and bobs from Plaza Japan to add to my diorama. Been eyeing those Kato mini trucks/vans for a while, so happy to finally receive them!

[chadbag]

14 hours ago, railsquid said:

For anyone else wondering, Carnegie Hall is a concert hall in New York, USA and "one of the most prestigious venues in the world for both classical music and popular music.", so from the context I am guessing performing there is a simile for reaching the top. Though I doubt they have soldering performances ;).

 

Edit: aha - see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnegie_Hall#Famous_joke

 

 

Probably similar to the Royal Albert Hall in the UK in terms of prestige

[chadbag]

The biggest thing about soldering is having the right tools.  I was using simple analog 15w and 25w want pencil type irons and always had issues.  Once I invested in a good digitally controleld (temperature controlled) HAKKO station (about $100 on Amazon) and a set or so of different sized tips (it takes replaceable tips) it got a lot easier to get good results.

 

There are other brands of digitally controlled temperature controlled soldering stations.  I chose HAKKO on recommendation  from a guitar making forum for a reasonably priced one that worked well.

[cteno4]

Even a cheapo temp controlled iron is a big step up from a fixed stick soldering iron! That being said I have taught lots of folks to solder simple wiring well with a simple 15w stick iron. Would not want to do 402 leds, but will solder regular wires fine for most train stuff. The nicer the equipment the easier the soldering but it’s still getting to Carnegie hall…

 

but I do loves me my hakko! They are super well done and really a commercial iron, usually being used for production work. I went for a midline model at about $250 (I figure it should last me my last few decades here and I love to solder) that has easily swappable tips/elements (the tip and element is one unit in the hakko to allow the best control of heating but does increase your tip price but they last a long time being very high quality) and heats up to temp in like 10 seconds and keeps spot on temp while using. Even had a sensor in the iron holder that you can set to cool the iron to a “warm” temp after a set delay that then gets back to heat by the time you pull the iron out and get the tip on a joint. Keeping the tip at the high temp for longer periods is what ruins the tips faster.

 

jeff

[Cat]

18 hours ago, railsquid said:

For anyone else wondering, Carnegie Hall is a concert hall in New York, USA and "one of the most prestigious venues in the world for both classical music and popular music.", so from the context I am guessing performing there is a simile for reaching the top. Though I doubt they have soldering performances ;).

 

Edit: aha - see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnegie_Hall#Famous_joke

The line was a classic joke reference.
 
Someone asks for directions: "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?"
 
Answer: "Practice!"
 
: 3

[gavino200]

No mail involved. I actually went to a physical train store today. I don't have a local store where I live. I visited Obie's in Phoenix today - a real treasure trove. Very little Japanese stuff but it was fun talking with the owner, who was super knowledgeable. I went with my son and hours went by without noticing. I picked up some supplies for our upcoming layout build.

 

 

 

[Szdfan]

Received my first structure. I had preordered this from Hobby Search and paid the cheapest shipping on it, so it took three months to get here.

 

Probably not the most effective use of shipping costs to order this on its own, but it’s also a the next threshold in a slowly growing collection.

 

 

[Szdfan]

12 minutes ago, Szdfan said:

Received my first structure. I had preordered this from Hobby Search and paid the cheapest shipping on it, so it took three months to get here.

 

Probably not the most effective use of shipping costs to order this on its own, but it’s also a the next threshold in a slowly growing collection.

 

 

According to the packaging, I should not try to add lighting…has anyone successfully added lighting?