Hardwire Kato, Atlas truck pickups

[Lackawannae8]

I wouldn't even consider that.  The existing pickup system works well (and has been for decades) and makes the model easy to service.  I was disappointed when Atlas modified this well-working system by hardwiring the trucks in their new models.

Those springy pickup strips are always under tension,so they are in contact with the trucks at all times (even running over uneven track).  What I do to maximize their reliability is to polish the contact areas on the strips and on the metal "fingers" protruding from the trucks. Smooth clean surfaces result in good contact. 



I first use this emery board (alll 4 grits) to polish the metal fingers on the trucks.  Just the contact area.



The strips are smooth enough, so they do nto need the emery board treatment. Then I mount a polishing wheel in my Dremel tool and using a metal polish I buff both, the tip of the metal finger, and the contact area on the strips to a mirror-like finish.

I do not apply any lubricant to the contact area - I leave it dry.  Oils/grease are sticky and can attract crud which can interfere with the electrical contact.  The polished areas stay clean for a long time.

I also make sure to take the trucks apart and clean the axle points, and the metal bearing/pickup cups. Before reassembly I add soem light oil iinto the bearing cups. Not fill them with lubricant - just moisten the cup's inside.

We now have problem-free electrical pickup. Look Ma, no wires!

 fiberglass pen brush works even better. I understand the OPs issues sometimes you get that funny engine that will not tune right. the new wired  atlas jobs are decent when they work. I would like to source those little crimp pins they use though...

[Lackawannae8]

also I clean the wheel wiper cups out then add some NO OX inside. esp on the new Atlas Geeps which have been problematic.

[peteski]

fiberglass pen brush works even better. I understand the OPs issues sometimes you get that funny engine that will not tune right. the new wired  atlas jobs are decent when they work. I would like to source those little crimp pins they use though...

Not a fan of fiberglass pens on the flat strips, and not sure how one would work on the very small surface of the edge of the metal finger of the trucks. They scratch the surface like sandpaper.   My goal is to make the metal surface as smooth as possible. Metal polish on a buffing wheel in a Dremel tool produced a mirror-smooth image on those pickup strips.

The wired trucks work as well as strips but with constant flexing and no strain relief on the truck side, metal fatigue can eventually break the wire. I'm just not a fan of using wires, especially when another wire-free solution is already available.

[OldEastRR]

I'm trying a short shrink-wrap over the metal contact end where the wire is soldered and the end of the wire. This forms a stiff connection of wire to solder and any flexing occurs only on the wire where it exists the shrink-wrap, which can withstand it better.

[u18b]

Has anyone hardwired Kato and Atlas truck pick-ups to eliminate the side slide pickup strips.

I added traditional pickup strips to my GP15.
Works great.

[randgust]

Yeah, that GP15 pickup issue is why I decided NOT to use them on my CF7 kits, despite the fact that the wheelbase was spot on.

They stalled.  A lot.   I'd done one and messed and messed with it, finally gave up and sold it.  Any dip in the track, or superelevation spiral, was enough to stall it out, the truck sideframe to frame contact just wasn't enough.

I had a similar problem with the original Kato GP38.  I made tiny spring wipers inside the trucks to try to fix it, never did work as well, ended up doing a hard-wire MU with an Atlas GP30. Because the GP38 pulls like a mule, that's the most powerful B-B set I own, and no more pickup issues.

[GGNInNScale]

I hard wire a number of diesels.  But, I use the existing contact axle cup wipers.  I solder a wire to the upper part of the bronze strip, then to a good contact point on the decoder, or the top bronze strip (i.e., Kato, Atlas, Arnold, Athearn, InterMountain).  It is really hard to show this in a picture...

[peteski]

I hard wire a number of diesels.  But, I use the existing contact axle cup wipers.  I solder a wire to the upper part of the bronze strip, then to a good contact point on the decoder, or the top bronze strip (i.e., Kato, Atlas, Arnold, Athearn, InterMountain).  It is really hard to show this in a picture...

Since the wire is not directly connected to the truck, I would call that "semi-hardwired".   
I never noticed poor electrical connectivity between the strip and the chassis, but the contact between the decoder board and the chassis can be iffy with certain decoder and loco combinations.  I guess this type of wiring solves the decoder-to-chassis contact problems.

[nscaler711]

I added traditional pickup strips to my GP15.
Works great.

I'm from the Show Me state, could you show me how you did that? 
Just picked up a GP15, and I've already noticed how it stalls on Kato #6 turnouts while creeping so a better pick up system would help tremendously, especially since I want to add a sound decoder to it.

[Tad_T]

I'm from the Show Me state, could you show me how you did that? 
Just picked up a GP15, and I've already noticed how it stalls on Kato #6 turnouts while creeping so a better pick up system would help tremendously, especially since I want to add a sound decoder to it.

https://u18b.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/GP15-Review-revised.pdf

[wm3798]

Those look like some pretty fancy and expensive substitutes for a pointy toothpick for cleaning the axle cups.  I'll blunt the end just a bit so there's some open wood fibers to do the scrubbing.  A couple of quick twists with some contact cleaner and off you go.  And for $1.29 you get a thousand year supply of them.

Lee

[_trainski]

I have had great success with hardwiring my trucks with Daburn 2671 28 gauge hookup wire and phosphor bronze 00-90 ring terminals. I use 00-90 flat pan head screws and connect directly to the split-frames for each wheel wiper. The hookup wire gets soldered to the inside edge of each wheel wiper, roughly 26mm in length. In terms of maintenance I don’t have any issues with disassembling when I need to clean or make any repairs. So far I have had the best performance by hard wiring my trucks, and I hope my experience is helpful. 🚂

[BAZ-man]

AZL (American Z Lines) has used sheer-end axles from the onset. The flat end of the axle goes through a punch-hole on the multi-bend pickup behind the trucks inner, rather than pointed axle in a cup. The axles roll within the hole with minimal slop, but enough by weight of total locomotive keep them pretty well in full contact as they roll over track deviations.

The upward round-end on the truck makes contact via the tension of the typical horizontal body strips. But over the 30 years and 3+ manufacturers, those side frame pick-up schemes varied quite a bit. Some of them were multi-crimp shaped, then placed into key locations on the side of the chassis. These had somewhat higher issues with contacts of multiple chemistry, leaving some poor, running characteristics of any direction. Other tension or schemes work quite well pretty much flawless for years near zero maintenance.

For my experience, the wheels have not been a problem nor the axles. It’s pretty much 90%  contact to the varied frame leaf picups.