THE QS-3000 SOUND and control board is the newest update for locomotives with MTH ProtoSound, Weaver-installed QSI systems, and earlier QSI units. The QS-3000 board also is designed to work with Lionel’s TrainMaster system in conventional mode (some older ProtoSound systems don’t work properly with TrainMaster) and with TrainAmerica Studio’s Universal Command Upgrade Board (UCUB). […]
IN THE WORLD OF TODAY’S souped-up, turbocharged O gauge trains, electronics rule. And where electronics rule, a steady flow of electricity is king. In conventional-control operation, most sound systems require a backup battery to avoid those irritating audio drop-outs when cycling a reverse unit or passing through switches with electrical gaps. In the case of […]
OKAY, SO YOU’VE invested in a few European-style metal trains by Ace, Bassett-Lowke, or ETS. All your pals, though, are running their O gauge Mammoth Train Co. steam locomotives with Magma-Sounds, or their Electro-Lines diesels with Vibra-Tronics. And you don’t even have a lousy whistle to toot. So what do you do? Well, in Merrie […]
SCOTT’S ODDS-N-ENDS has come up with a bright idea – mate modern LED technology with old-fashioned screw- and bayonet-base bulbs. The result is as successful as mixing chocolate with peanut butter. LEDs are “light-emitting diodes.” As electricity flows through these specialized semiconductors, photons are released and focused through a lens, creating light. LEDs don’t have […]
This wooden column supports the control center. Leads have been neatly attached to it. Marc Horovitz Small trains give the illusion of traveling long distances in a garden railway. Marc Horovitz With our trackwork complete, we could now turn our thoughts toward wiring the Colorado & Pacific. Since ours was a small railroad, wiring would […]
Marc Horovitz Marc Horovitz Marc Horovitz There are several ways of connecting a lead wire to the rail. Perhaps the most positive is soldering it. The wire can also be connected mechanically. Screw-on connectors are not too reliable outdoors. However, a wire can be screwed to a clamp-on rail joiner. Split Jaw Rail Clamps offers […]
Marc Horovitz Marc Horovitz Marc Horovitz There are several ways of connecting a lead wire to the rail. Perhaps the most positive is soldering it. The wire can also be connected mechanically. Screw-on connectors are not too reliable outdoors. However, a wire can be screwed to a clamp-on rail joiner. Split Jaw Rail Clamps offers […]
Marc Horovitz Marc Horovitz Marc Horovitz There are several ways of connecting a lead wire to the rail. Perhaps the most positive is soldering it. The wire can also be connected mechanically. Screw-on connectors are not too reliable outdoors. However, a wire can be screwed to a clamp-on rail joiner. Split Jaw Rail Clamps offers […]
Märklin’s Central Station Märklin’s new digital Central Station, which combines a rich menu of features with a clear and intuitive interface, is not only an excellent piece of work, but also a look into what I hope will be the future of digital control systems. While most digital systems force the user to choose between […]
Nary a modeler remains alive who can remember a time before Atlas Controllers, Selectors, and Connectors. Though sometimes scorned by electrical purists, Atlas electrical components have allowed many modelers to wire complex layouts following a sort of paint-by-numbers approach. Thus Atlas’ leap into DCC (Digital Command Control) with the Atlas Master DCC System represents both […]
USP DCC decoder Lenz is now offering Digital Command Control (DCC) decoders with a technology called Uninterruptible Signal Processing (USP) that substantially improves DCC performance. Manufactured by Lenz, the new decoder and power module produce an electronic flywheel effect that helps DCC models overcome dirty track. The production versions of the decoder and power module […]
Atlas Quantum Engineer controller The Quantum Engineer is an add-on DC controller that operates the QSI Quantum System sound and programming features that were formerly available only to modelers operating with Digital Command control (DCC). It’s designed to operate dual-mode sound locomotives that include the latest QSI Quantum Analog Remote Control (QARC) system. This QARC […]
