Model Power F unit DCC conversion ?

[trainforfun]

Anybody ever done that one ?

[daniel_leavitt2000]

It's a hard wire job. There is a cut out in the rear of the frame for a decoder. Wiring is color coded with the rail wire Soldered to the motor wires. Simply remove the heat shrink tubing, unsolder the motor and headlight wires and attach them to the corresponding decoder wire.

[peteski]

Hmm. . . looking at Spookshow's website ( http://spookshow.net/locos.html ), Model Power never made "F-units". Only ones I saw ware "FP-" units.  The photos  in the write-up ( http://spookshow.net/loco/mpf7.html ) show that there is ample space for a hardwired decoder.

[trainforfun]

Yes it's an FP7 . Must be a good puller since the cab is all metal . Good détails on it .
Everything went well , lot of space .
Had to remove the motor to reach the lower brush cap .
There is 2 shafts at each end of motor with a kind of universal at each end .
Would be great to have 4 hands to replace motor and hold the 2 shafts at same time .
Job done .
It worked but had a big vibration , one the shaft broke in 2 .....
Model power is out of business .
Can't find parts to replace the broken shaft .

 

 

[peteski]

MRC is now producing Model  Power locos. See the write-up I pointed you to earlier.  If your model is the later design then MRC might have replacement parts available. If not, you can try to find a used one cheap on eBay or elsewhere, or try to repair the broken shaft.

[trainforfun]

Thanks I sent and e mail to them , will see .

I did that for a friend ...
Lesson learned :
Don't waste your time trying to do something nice with an old Junk !
Life is too short !!!!!!

[peteski]

Thanks I sent and e mail to them , will see .

I did that for a friend ...
Lesson learned :
Don't waste your time trying to do something nice with an old Junk !
Life is too short !!!!!!

Hopefully they do sell replacement parts.
As far as junk locos are concerned, we all seem to have different things we enjoy in our common hobby of model railroading.  For example I actually enjoy bringing the old junk back to life, and improving the models (both old and even new models).  That is my fun.  Even without my own layout I still have lots of fun doing my thing. 

[Steveruger45]

May be possible to find drive shaft / universals from another make of loco that would work or could be made to work.
I also enjoy the challenge to “improve the breed” ,  in my case, mostly on the electro-mechanical aspect.  I tend to collect bits and pieces, like most of us I guess, for that very reason so I can try to engineer a solution.   Example, I have a few Atlas B40-8’s that are well known growlers that I’m working on at the moment.   

[trainforfun]

Hopefully they do sell replacement parts.
As far as junk locos are concerned, we all seem to have different things we enjoy in our common hobby of model railroading.  For example I actually enjoy bringing the old junk back to life, and improving the models (both old and even new models).  That is my fun.  Even without my own layout I still have lots of fun doing my thing. 

At one point in our life we kind of get bored by things ( plug and play ) allready made that are "near" perfect . I understand your point , I do that too and then I don't want to re-do the same thing another time specially when it works at the first try !!!!

[trainforfun]

May be possible to find drive shaft / universals from another make of loco that would work or could be made to work.
I also enjoy the challenge to “improve the breed” ,  in my case, mostly on the electro-mechanical aspect.  I tend to collect bits and pieces, like most of us I guess, for that very reason so I can try to engineer a solution.   Example, I have a few Atlas B40-8’s that are well known growlers that I’m working on at the moment.   

If I can't find a suitable replacement , I was thinking of doing one with a piece of piano wire with a cross bar soldered at each end ?!?!

[narrowminded]

If I can't find a suitable replacement , I was thinking of doing one with a piece of piano wire with a cross bar soldered at each end ?!?!

If I had the parts I could probably repair or remake the broken bits without too much trouble.  Do you have any pics of the problem parts?

[trainforfun]

Hi
thanks for the offer .
I did a replacement shaft with a piece of # 18 solid wire with a crossbar at each end .
I was thinking of using piano wire ( stiffer ) but it's like impossible to solder with regular solder .
The # 18 wire seems ok , at least it worked !
And it's still working . 

[peteski]

I was thinking of using piano wire ( stiffer ) but it's like impossible to solder with regular solder .

It is not the solder - it is the flux.    Music wire can be soldered as easily as copper or brass, but you have to use acid-based flux.  Tix Flux (zinc chloride based) is a good choice.  If you do use acid-based flux, make sure to clean the tip well after use. Acid remaining on the hot tip for a long time will reduce its usable life.

[MK]

Or if you have a soldering station with easily changeable tips, e.g., Hakko, get two sets and use one for acid flux.  Yes, you still have to clean them off afterwards to extend their lives but you don't have to be paranoid about it as you won't be contaminating any delicate electronics with mixed use.

[trainforfun]

thanks for the tip guys !