Trouble-shooting a balky loco/turnout combination

[chuck geiger]

I noticed it's not as flush as the others. I need turnout control, pondering which to use.

[chuck geiger]

When I painted the backdrop I forgot the track bundles on the layout. Some of the turnouts (and this one) have drops of overspray. I'm leaning on this turnout being pulled and cleaned thoroughly. Even thought it was cleaned after this.

[porkypine52]

You are guessing here.  Go to HARBOR FREIGHT TOOLS and buy a Multimeter.  HFT sells a pretty decent one for around $7-8.  EVERY model railroader needs one of these.  This way you will know where you are losing track power.  Get this if nothing else:  https://www.harborfreight.com/electrical/electrician-s-tools/7-function-digital-multimeter-63759.html

[John]

You are guessing here.  Go to HARBOR FREIGHT TOOLS and buy a Multimeter.  HFT sells a pretty decent one for around $7-8.  EVERY model railroader needs one of these.  This way you will know where you are losing track power.  Get this if nothing else:  https://www.harborfreight.com/electrical/electrician-s-tools/7-function-digital-multimeter-63759.html

Pretty much the same at WalMart

[Steveruger45]

You are guessing here.  Go to HARBOR FREIGHT TOOLS and buy a Multimeter.  HFT sells a pretty decent one for around $7-8.  EVERY model railroader needs one of these.  This way you will know where you are losing track power.  Get this if nothing else:  https://www.harborfreight.com/electrical/electrician-s-tools/7-function-digital-multimeter-63759.html

These used to be offered free with purchase a year or so ago, before HFT changed their business model.  I use mine all the time.

[MK]

If you have Amazon Prime and don't want to waste gas going to HF, this one is $10 and has back lit digits and a hold function.

https://www.amazon.com/Plusivo-Digital-Multimeter-Measuring-Resistance/dp/B086Q4PKYT

Can't vouch for it's quality but seems to have many high ratings.  I do so much electrical work that I bit the bullet and got a mid level Fluke many many years ago.  One and done.

Once you have a multimeter around you will find yourself using it more and more.

[woodchip]

It’s not a big issue but in the posted image one of the rail joiners could be adjusted.

     Chers from Canada

[nkalanaga]

True, and if there's a paint spatter in just the wrong spot, the weight of the loco could be enough to cause it to lose contact.  I've seen stranger issues!

How about trying to troubleshoot a turnout where the lead truck of the third unit of a 4-unit set of Kato Fs, the first run version, derails at the points, but only when taking the curved route?  ABBA set, and it's always that truck.  Obvious solution, replace the unit.  I turned it around.  The (new) lead truck derailed.  The (old) lead truck, now trailing, worked fine.  I swapped the 2nd and 3rd units.  The lead truck of the (new) 3rd unit derailed.  The (old) 3rd unit, now 2nd, ran fine.  I removed the trailing a unit, leaving ABB.  All three units ran fine.  I turned the entire set around, and put the (old) trailing unit on the front.  The lead truck of what was now the 3rd unit derailed.

I got four different Fs, and replaced the entire set.  The lead truck of THAT 3rd unit derailed.

Finally, I solved the problem, after about a month.  The early ME turnouts had problems with the frogs sitting too high.  When the 2nd unit's lead truck was on the frog, it leaned to the curved side.  The early Kato Fs had very little "rocking" motion in the trucks, so the entire unit leaned.  I was using Unimate couplers between the Fs, and the 3rd unit would lean a little, leading to the lead trucks flanges going over the points.  With the original larger flanges it wouldn't have been a problem, but I'd had all of the flanges turned down.

Removing the 4th unit changed the stresses just enough that everything worked.  Filing down the high frog solved the problem.

That was as I was laying my track, and I found that four Kato Fs, pulling a passenger train, was the most likely combination to derail.  I kept a passenger train made up in the staging yard for months.

[alhoop]

You are guessing here.  Go to HARBOR FREIGHT TOOLS and buy a Multimeter.  HFT sells a pretty decent one for around $7-8.  EVERY model railroader needs one of these.  This way you will know where you are losing track power.  Get this if nothing else:  https://www.harborfreight.com/electrical/electrician-s-tools/7-function-digital-multimeter-63759.html

Sometimes you will be guessing with a digital multimeter. If you going to own 1 multimeter, get an analog model. some are on the bay for under 10 dollars.
One of each kind would be nice but if you're only going to own 1, go analog.
Al

[peteski]

In a  typical TRW fashion, this thread took a sharp left turn at Albuquerque. 

I used to use this meter at work, along with some digital Flukes.
Now, at home I have an old Radio Shack analog meter, and several digital ones.  Some more expensive digital metes have fast-acting bar-graph display which behave similar to the analog meter movements.

[ednadolski]

In a  typical TRW fashion, this thread took a sharp left turn at Albuquerque. 

Taking it even further -- do you know of any good, small digital oscilloscope, that could be used to view the DCC waveform?  (Something simple - I don't think I will ever need to look at a PCI bus.)

(I was thinking even maybe a DIY kit would be fun.  And not the beast that I had in my school lab - an HP vacuum tube job that weighed about 100 lbs and was older than some electrons)

Ed

[alhoop]

In a  typical TRW fashion, this thread took a sharp left turn at Albuquerque. 

.  Some more expensive digital metes have fast-acting bar-graph

" expensive" - I think under $10 is the goal here
Analog is the way to go when tuning an IR pair for maximum coupling or when
tuning for a sharp dip - not MRR related. Never leave an analog multimeter set
to the ohms function even with a off/transit switch unless you are ready to measure resistance.

[chuck geiger]

[peteski]

Taking it even further -- do you know of any good, small digital oscilloscope, that could be used to view the DCC waveform?  (Something simple - I don't think I will ever need to look at a PCI bus.)

(I was thinking even maybe a DIY kit would be fun.  And not the beast that I had in my school lab - an HP vacuum tube job that weighed about 100 lbs and was older than some electrons)

Ed

I own the good old trusty Tektronix 465B analog scope, and several years ago I bought a small Rigol Digital Storage Scope/logic analyzer. I also own an old palm-size portable analog scope. I have not kept up to date on the current oscilloscope market.  But I know that you buy a small adapters which turn your smart phone into an oscilloscope. I'm sure there are different versions with various capabilities (and prices).

A quick Duck Duck Go search came up with this: https://www.amazon.com/Oscilloscope-OSC482M-Channels-Bandwidth-Resolution/dp/B07TB8V2X1/ref=sr_1_1_sspa

[woodchip]

Enough already.  The next time you’re close to Redd’s Ace Hardware in beautiful downtown Page Arizona they have at least 2 analog old school multi meters for under $20. It’s perfect for diagnosing this and less than what most people spend on bought coffee in a week.

    Thanks for sharing your work with us