Club Activities Rule this Weekend

Saturday was Club Meeting day. So I headed over to the Club after watching my son play his soccer game. They were down 2-0 after a few minutes but came back to win 5-2 in the end. These kids certainly don't run out of steam like most other teams in their comp.

When I got to the Club just after midday, I spent some time talking to the club's resident Electronic gurus about my headphone intercom system. They said that the transformer amplifier system I was going to use would not work. I had no idea if it would or not, so I guessed they saved me from blowing up a few things. But they said my amplifier method would probably work. Upon closer inspection, as I started the assembly of the components while at the Club down in the workshop area, I had a 100micro farad capacitor instead of a 10micro farad capacitor. So I had to fix that. Also I never know what lead on a transistor is the Base, Emitter and Collector. The guys said it depends. So I needed to check the schematics on the web. Last night I checked that out and today I purchased the correct capacitor on the way to the Club again so hopefully later tonight I will complete the build and give it a test. If you don't here from me next week you will know that it didn't work and I blew myself up.

Yesterday at the Club after the normal meeting activities completed and afternoon tea was enjoyed while loosing money on the monthly raffle again, we adjourned to the HO shed to have some good discussions about the new HO layout again. Some good and sensible suggestions were made to the concept plan that I sketched previously. I think they will make for a better layout. We plan to lay out a 2' grid on the floor of the shed on the meeting day in June. Two weeks before then we will be painting the walls of the shed to which the layout will be attached on a working bee day. There is still some enthusiastic discussion about how far the layout will come out into the shed. Some say it should not extend past 20' or half way. Others say it can come out to 23 and even 24 feet particularly for the return loop blobs. Initially I thought the most members wanted double track on the bottom deck and single track with crossing loops on the top. That meant that helix and spiral at each end of the layout, that allowed transition from top to bottom deck, could be built as single track. This had a number of benefits like reduced cost in track etc., but at operational complexity - how to co-ordinate trains onto the single track and between crossing loops on the top deck. I know I have done this, but this is a club environment so it needs to be agreed by the majority. However, there were rumblings that 'if it was to be double track it should be double track all the way'. In reality I can't fault that logic, however, it just added about 2" - 3" radius to the helix for the second track and caused lots of issues with the spiral at the other endof the layout as the second track will add lots of space - actually 6 additional tracks at over a foot in extra space needed. This additional space may need to be countered by having one or even two circles of the spiral be converted to a helix with a spiral still being built on top for teh remaining circles so the we do not narrow our entry passagway into the layout area.

Sunday was a Buy and Sell at the Club. When I got there about 20 minutes before book in time, everyone but two or three sellers were already booked in. I set up and and put some Club stuff on the other half of my table. Today had to be the most money I've ever walked away with at a Buy and Sell. That was even though I also purchased a HOn3.5 CLX wagon for $40 and few other bits and pieces for the home layout, including some buffers, some cheap Peco point motors and some LED's (that's all I'll say). I did have some nibbles on about 10 NSWGR grain wagons that don't fit my area, even though I do remember seeing some standard gauge grain wagons being unloaded by auger at South Brisbane Station into a truck when I was young. I also had some nibbles on my old Lima B and S class locos and some XPT coaches, but no dosh exchanged hands - at least not yet.

I've also found out that some other Club members want to come over for a visit.  I might have to set aside a date in late June for that activity.  This coming Saturday is a running day at Cassino and I still need to do lots of work on my wagons cards.  It looks like these will not be ready for this weekend.