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  @agonquin15 күн бұрын

  My thinking/wondering; would someone be able to use two different/separate controllers? One for one side of track and another controller for the other side of the track, since its isolated in the middle of the cross over track, so to control the trains differently if not using DCC? and remembering to keep polarity correct or would that cause a short when train engine crosses the two power supplies at isolation point? That would be so cool if possible. Would that thinking work?

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  @N-Scale15 күн бұрын

  It certainly will. Mike

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  @agonquin13 күн бұрын

  @@N-Scale thank u ... Bachmann controller on one side and kato controller on other ... any issues with that?

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  @PeterCescaАй бұрын

  I don't understand what you mean by insulating the turn out tracks because while the black joiners are insulated, the rails would connect and possibly cause issues. Do you have a way to provent the track making a connection with say paint on insulation on the ends of the track? Or, can you get a short plastic rail as an insert?

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  @N-ScaleАй бұрын

  Not sure why you do not understand , THE BLACK JOINERS DO INSULATE.

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  @BitwiseMobileАй бұрын

  I'm new to this hobby. My dad had a train for years and I would watch him work on it. I'm sure I got into programming as a result of watching him. Plus I read Hackers by Steven Levy when I was in high school and I knew what I wanted to do with my life. Dad was an engineer and machinist, so I know it rubbed off on me. Anyway, he collected HO and I just don't have room for a compelling HO layout. I have recently started on N Scale and I love these little trains! The detail is sometimes better than HO scale! Okay, my question is this - when trying to identify track could you just use an ohm meter and check for continuity? Since one rail holds positive and the other rail holds negative (in an analog layout) there shouldn't be continuity between the rails, so if the rail isn't energized (IMPORTANT!!) you should be able to check continuity right? I suppose if you are trying to check across a 30 foot layout it might be a challenge finding leads for my Fluke that long ;) , but theoretically it should be possible right? In a simple oval it's not such a problem and can be easily visualized, but when you have sidings and inner tracks (like my pops had) it could be more challenging to visualize it.

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  @bernardsaucier2062Ай бұрын

  WoW!! I was 'coupler confused' however thanks to your excellent video & description....I am happily educated!!

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  @N-ScaleАй бұрын

  Thanks Bern !!!

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  @Mike-rt3mwАй бұрын

  I was hoping to see you doing the wash of the Black.

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  @williamluther72512 ай бұрын

  thank you so much that was next delima in my set up I've just started

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  @N-Scale2 ай бұрын

  Thanks ! It works every time !!!

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  @jaygrimm38182 ай бұрын

  Nice

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  @N-Scale2 ай бұрын

  Thanks Jay !!

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  @angelmoratroncoso94312 ай бұрын

  Hi Mike, how are you? Great video. I would like to ask if you have had problems with the couplings of BLI locomotives and Kato freight cars. That combination has not worked for me, and every time the locomotive reaches a curve, the car that is coupled to it derails... Do you know how to change this??? Can you suggest me some hook?

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  @N-Scale2 ай бұрын

  If it is at one spot , I would think more ,Track Work, or too sharp of curve for the couplers. I would need much more info.

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  @angelmoratroncoso94312 ай бұрын

  @@N-Scale Hi Mike, thank you very much for the response. Yes, it is a curve area with double track, a curved inner ring with 4 unitrack tracks with a radius of 30cm and the outer one to which a short straight segment is added to be able to extend the turn. The curious thing is that Kato, Tomix, ATlas or any other locomotives were used with the cars, they did not present a problem. However, when using the BLI and Scale Train locomotives that use the same type of brown knuckle, they take the truck connected to the locomotive off the track. I tried installing a long arm knuckle on a car to test, but the same problem persists, which makes me conclude that it is the hitch that comes by default on these brands that causes the problem. I would like to know what alternatives there are. I consulted Scale Trains, telling them what happened, but I have not had a response.

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  @N-Scale2 ай бұрын

  @@angelmoratroncoso9431 If that is the case , it seems the BLI and Scale trains couplers do not have enough swing. You might see if the swing can be increased on the locos. No coupler will help the lack of swing and I would not know what would be a replacement. It also may have something to do with the length of the loco. Is the track superelevated?

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  @angelmoratroncoso94312 ай бұрын

  @@N-Scale Hi Mike, thank you very much again. No, the track has no slope in that area. Sorry for the question, but what do you mean by lack of swing? Is it associated with the knuckle's ability to move horizontally?The area is right in front of the main station.... You can see it in the video curtain. I have longer locomotives that have no problems....kzread.info/dron/Tu1t8YO3N9ZM1BuocJ3SDg.html

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  @N-Scale2 ай бұрын

  @@angelmoratroncoso9431 Yes horizontal swing

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  @MysteryMeatS102 ай бұрын

  super informative for a new n scale guy like me!

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  @N-Scale2 ай бұрын

  Thanks so much Roland !!

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  @larrybaughman6182 ай бұрын

  🤠🚂🖐

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  @N-Scale2 ай бұрын

  😁😁

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  @mikesimmons87622 ай бұрын

  Good ideas never go out of style. Its been 6 years since you posted this. It is still the good information that I was looking for. Now to mount my recessed push - pull controls.

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  @N-Scale2 ай бұрын

  Thanks Mike !!

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  @joanneboutin79042 ай бұрын

  Thanks Mike Great informative video!

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  @N-Scale2 ай бұрын

  No Problem !!!

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  @Stew-jz8dz3 ай бұрын

  Mike, great video…I have a question though and that is: how to you handle a Crossover Switch for feeders and insulation?

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  @N-Scale3 ай бұрын

  All the Pre-Made Kato crossovers are insulated in the center so they only need to be fed INTO the turnout from the single track side !

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  @freescopesdad3 ай бұрын

  MRC's direction sheet show the yellow wires connected to the rails inside the loop, and the red wires to the track bus - the opposite of your video.

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  @tomasgimenez45923 ай бұрын

  Thank you very much. Just what I needed!

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  @N-Scale3 ай бұрын

  Thanks Thomas !!

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  @TrainBandit3 ай бұрын

  And this should work if you want to run o gauge conventional locomotives or something like lionel legacy?

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  @tomasgimenez45923 ай бұрын

  If there are no gaps, you can connect the power 186000 miles away, and it will make no difference

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  @michaelmorgan78933 ай бұрын

  I had a friend who used to use Goo Gone, but theres two drawbacks to that: sometimes when handling the Goo Gone, if it gets on the fingers. It will find its way onto the sides of your rolling stock, and it will mar the paint. Second issue, it can melt the little "spike heads" on the track, and eventually destroy the track, or at least, cause the rails to go out of gage. I used to use Testor's airbrush thinner on a piece of napkin.

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  3 ай бұрын

  Good video. I did not know there are multiple options.

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  @larrybaughman6183 ай бұрын

  🤠🖐🚂🫵👍

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  @Stussmeister4 ай бұрын

  Very interesting and informative. I'm looking to do something similar for my HO scale Unitrack turnouts, and just wanted to clarify that one should file behind where the mark was made on the point's end.

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  @N-Scale4 ай бұрын

  Yes

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  @Stussmeister4 ай бұрын

  @@N-Scale OK, thank you for clarifying :).

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  @1621billw4 ай бұрын

  Does anyone know if these feeders will successfully feed power to a kato double crossover for the second loop?

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  @MikeRamsdell4 ай бұрын

  You are a genius Mike Fifer!

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  @N-Scale4 ай бұрын

  No , just passing on ifo !!

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  @richardwebster47624 ай бұрын

  The box is the valve box to load and unload the car. I unloaded and loaded many of these cars over the years. So I had to buy some of these.

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  @N-Scale4 ай бұрын

  Cool , Literally !!

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  @averageguy71364 ай бұрын

  Great tip on using powdered graphite in turnouts. Powdered graphite also works wonders on rolling stock wheelsets. Remove the wheels, rub some on the tips/hubs of the wheels and replace them. You'll be amazed at how much easier/faster the cars roll over the track. It makes a very noticable difference in how many cars your loco's will pull, especially up a grade.

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  @N-Scale4 ай бұрын

  I Agree !!

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  @crasher3034 ай бұрын

  Thanks, useful tips. I use an old suede shoe brass wire brush.

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  @N-Scale4 ай бұрын

  That works as well !!!

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  @robertsimpkins65714 ай бұрын

  Thankyou Mike....my wife is an expert in digital ❤💥🩵🧩♾️💍♾️ thankyou bubbie 💙🔥🔥❤️ Robbie

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  @Hyperbole774 ай бұрын

  This is a slight apple and orange comparison. The wire joiners are good for people with permanent set ups. The small section feeder tracks are for people who are setting up on things like dining room tables where drilling holes is not really an option. Each has its use.

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  @N-Scale4 ай бұрын

  We all understand that but this video is geared to home layouts that are permanent. Thanks , Mike

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  @MrPedroramos89114 ай бұрын

  Great idea

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  @N-Scale4 ай бұрын

  Thanks , They work !!

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  @unkownuser86455 ай бұрын

  I like this tar paper material method more than the spackle and sand it smooth method. Looks nice and less messy also faster results. I have yet to try either method but I’m looking forward to making roads for my future layout.

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  @N-Scale5 ай бұрын

  Thanks Unknown !!!

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  @apitheous1945 ай бұрын

  Thank you for the video.

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  @N-Scale5 ай бұрын

  You are more than welcome !!

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  @mgamga94765 ай бұрын

  Thanks for all your help. One question nobody seems to answer in all the feeder wire videos is, What guage wire is sufficient for N scale?

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  @N-Scale5 ай бұрын

  Kato feeders are 24 but almost anything is OK. I prefered smaller when I was using Peco track.

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  @taxpayer65555 ай бұрын

  AWSOME, as good today as the day it was published! I have a well established DC layout. This will let me ease into DCC instead of a giant leap.

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  @N-Scale5 ай бұрын

  Thanks , Mike

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  @bertjesklotepino3 ай бұрын

  I have a stupid question. If i only have a DC layout, will a DCC loc still run on it? I have bought 2 locs that were converted to DCC by the people i bought them from. I tested them both. One of em is a very tiny little steam engine, Der Glaskasten. The other is a steamloc and tender. The tender being the motor vehicle with 2 axles powered. Both were converted. The tiny one runs, but not like i expected it to run. I thought it would zoom along the track like mad, but it goes slow. Not too slow, but not that fast. The big one, the fleischmann 4170, i thought the loc was powered as well, but seems it only has free spinning wheels. The tender is powered. But this one is also converted. And it runs even slower. Even when applying max power, it runs too slow in my opinion. Does this have to do with the fact that they were converted? Would they run normally on dc track if i were to cut out the conversion bit? @@N-Scale PS: Would you cut out the conversion bit? I got dc track layout, and all the rest of the stuff i got is dc stuff. These 2 are the only ones i got that have been converted (it said so in the text. They originally were not dcc) I think it costs me a lot more trouble to convert everything to dcc than to convert these 2 back to dc.

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  @N-Scale3 ай бұрын

  @@bertjesklotepino Tiny locos , as you have mentioned NEVER run well , IMHO but Yes DCC locos will run on DC track but either way, Not Well

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  @bertjesklotepino3 ай бұрын

  Well, i have seen Der Glaskasten tiny loc running at a friend of mine and it ran like crazy. Like Speedy Gonzales. But he had a dc version on a dc track. Hence why i expected to see something similar. But mine is converted. So, if i understand you correctly, a dcc loc on a dc track runs but not well. So, if i were to re convert them back to dc, as they originally were, it would run better you think? @@N-Scale

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  @N-Scale3 ай бұрын

  Yes , as a decoder rob's power from the DC version.@@bertjesklotepino

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  @bruceyoung13435 ай бұрын

  Mike. Just saw this video. THANK YOU for great information 🙏

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  @N-Scale5 ай бұрын

  Thanks Bruce !!!

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  @bruceyoung13435 ай бұрын

  @@N-Scale your quite welcome. CHEERS

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  @bruceyoung13435 ай бұрын

  @@N-Scale Your Welcom

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  @mgamga94765 ай бұрын

  Thanks for all the help on youtube. When you say sandpaper. What grit is safe for N scale track?

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  @N-Scale5 ай бұрын

  Can you be more spacific in the video???

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  @uptownphotography5 ай бұрын

  Great information and also enjoyable to watch. (First time Watcher here) I am getting ready soon to install the buss wire and feeders to a fairly large home HO layout with about 400 feet of main line projected. The full main line is not installed yet, (about 250 feet installed so far) and I would like to get some scenery in where the track is installed and doing the wiring now is a lot easier before scenery goes in. * My main concern with the buss wiring on my mountain layout was can my low elevation river line and the high elevation mountain high line share the same buss wire. The river line and high line basically run side by side only at much different heights, (They're about 15" to 20" in height separation). It looks like they can share the same buss as long the polarity on the feeders is correctly wired to the rails. Otherwise, I would have to run two buss wires side by side to the same location on the bench work (one for the river line and one for the high line) and that seems like a waste of wire. Any advice is welcome and thanks for doing the video and sharing the information. Phil Jersey Shore Area

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  @N-Scale5 ай бұрын

  They can use the same buss. I guess you are doing DCC.

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  @uptownphotography5 ай бұрын

  @@N-Scale Yes, that is correct. DCC...Thanks for the reply and information. Appreciated. Phil

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  @larrybaughman6185 ай бұрын

  🤠🖐🚂

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  @jerrystone75215 ай бұрын

  I don't know if you still make videos, but I have a question about AR units. I watched your video on them, but I am not sure about a Figure 8 layout..which I have. Here's my question: do I need an AR unit for both ends of the "8"??

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  @N-Scale5 ай бұрын

  Nope No Auto reverse. Mike

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  @larrybaughman6186 ай бұрын

  Thank you mike

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  @N-Scale6 ай бұрын

  You are welcome

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  @ford91256 ай бұрын

  Very simple and informative. This video is by far the easiest to follow for wiring a DCC layout!

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  @N-Scale6 ай бұрын

  Thanks , Mike

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  @kamilisildak2136 ай бұрын

  Dear mike can we do this loop with kato ho scale unitrack

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  @N-Scale6 ай бұрын

  Sure !!

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  @Quince8286 ай бұрын

  Originally I built a control panel for two cabs as designed by Lynn Westcott. I believe i can connect the NCE power cab to the second cab and then throw the mini spdtco toggles when I want to use DCC. The DC throttle would be turned off in this situation and turnouts powered by a separate different power supply. I hope this is okay and I don’t have to run a whole new separate bus wire.

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  @PilotoMAF6 ай бұрын

  Great video! But all in all, I solved my problems by cutting and insulating the outer rails at each half, parallel to the frogs. The cons are that I need more feed tracks. I'm with DC only locos, and my current research/project is an auto-reverse loop with sensors. Thaks for your tips

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  @candymoutain6 ай бұрын

  you just saved me alot of money...thank you sir.

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  @N-Scale6 ай бұрын

  It totally works !!!!!

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  @BillCooperrider-gu6wn6 ай бұрын

  Mike thanks for the video, I had dc back in the 70’s I started dc n gauge back up. My question is I have a reversing loop with toggle switches, I want to make it a auto reversing loop with the digitrac ar1, can I leave my toggle switches in place, and still use the ar1 for the Dcc engines? I want to switch between dc and Dcc the way you did in this video, but I’m not sure about the toggles switches how that will effect dcc, thanks

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  @N-Scale6 ай бұрын

  I would think it would be OK

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  @billbruff96136 ай бұрын

  Thanks Mike answers many more questions than the Kato video. Pretty exciting that it is simple and self contained.

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  @N-Scale6 ай бұрын

  Thanks Bill Mike

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  @glennirwin47106 ай бұрын

  Very informative.

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  @N-Scale6 ай бұрын

  Thanks Glenn

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  @dundasjunctionmodelr.r-jam82676 ай бұрын

  If you have a NCE 5 amp system there is program track terminals

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  @christopherahlgreen99606 ай бұрын

  Looks like he's running his railroad crossing gates on an ho scale the way his train cars and the track itself looks.

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  @larrybaughman6186 ай бұрын

  I knew it this thank you