The First 73 is Almost Ready for the Roster

This week I can’t admit to doing too much productive modelling work.  During the week Geoff answered an SOS and dropped over a couple of surface mount White LED’s.  When I saw them, I thought that they looked familiar.  So I went to my stash of surface mount LED’s and checked them.  Sure enough there were two different types in my bag labeled ‘Red’.  I separated the two types, tested the smaller ones probably 0603’s and they definitely were red.  (I understand that the 0603 refers to the size of the LED in hundred’s of an inch – thus it is .06” x .03” or 0.060” x 0.030” in thousandths of an inch which is the same as we measure styrene and brass dimensions in.  I checked the larger ones in my possession, probably 0804’s and they were indeed white.  I already had 40 of them after asking Geoff to go to all the trouble of dropping off a few in my letter box the during the week.  Sorry Mate.  I’m just a dork.  I have now separated my LED’s into two packets and have labelled them – white and red.  I had previously gone to the bag labelled red and tested a few and they were all red.  I guess I was just unlucky.

 

On Friday after coming home from work early, I went down to the shed with the aim of trying to replace the white LED that went twange last week from my 73 class light board with one of the newly found white ones.  However, upon closer inspection the ones on the Auscision 73 class light board must be something like 0402’s.  Bugger.  Anyway I tried, but the new ones were so large I could not get them to fit on the circuit board and attached to the two solder pads.  So what to do? The next task was to head down to the other end of the shed (Clapham Yard) and solder up a small section of narrow gauge track that I need to feed into a section of dual gauge track.  I used PC board sleepers to keep the two lengths of track in gauge.  Anyway I did that and am happy with the result.  I still have to solder the third rail to almost two complete sidings in Clapham Yard, but that is a task for another time.

 

Yesterday I went to Jaycar and shouted myself a new soldering iron.  One with a very fine point.  With the fine point I will be better armed to solder (or unsolder) those troublesome surface mount LED's from the 73 class light boards.  This soldering iron also had a variable temperature control. Well I did get around to the 73 class light boards in the afternoon.  I decided that I would look at two of my spare light boards and on the B board turn around the white LED’s and the white headlight around, and on the A board, just turn around the red LED’s around.  So I successfully did it to two other light boards.  So I then installed the light board into the front of the 73 class.  Took it to the test track and gave it a run.  I had the headlight on F0F, the number boards of F1 and the white marker lights on F2 and the red marker lights on F3.

 

Today I went down to the shed and removed my FL4 function only decoder for the #2 end of the 73 Class and took it to the test track.  I used alligator clips to attach it to the programming track on my Powercab.  I then coded it up to my loco number 7314, and set the first function to F0R, the second function for the rear marker lights to be F4, the rear white marker lights to F5 and the read red marker lights to F6.  I then soldered the FL4 back to the N14SR decoder I had in the 73 class and soldered the various function leads to the lights board.  I took it back to the test track and fired it up and everything worked.  I think it Amazing!  All 8 functions worked.

 

Now my only problem is to fit the shell back on.  I have done it but it is sitting a bit high with all the wires.  I will have a think about what I can do to get it lowered.  However I did give the loco a run around South Brisbane Interstate.  I ran it into the Loco Siding and around the yard.  I think it and its sister 7315 will work fin in the yard as the resident shunters.

 

Following that work on the 73 class loco, I then spent a bit of time working on a set of dual gauge points, back up at Clapham Yard.  I had issues last running day with some old Lima wagons running through the points.  I ended up replacing the cookie cutter Lima wheels with some K&M ones I had sitting around.  They even fitted straight into the bogie, the wagon seemed to be sitting at couplet height when I measured it and then I gave the wagon a few pushes at speed through the troublesome dual gauge points. So now the Motor Rail wagon runs very well.

 

Who knows what next week will bring?