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Post by Rob Albritton on Aug 28, 2014 20:44:39 GMT -5
The new motors are rated for 12V, so the Warranty should covert it. The old 8V motors should be long out of warranty already. No, we do have the 8v faulhber equipped locomotives new, in stock, and for sale. And yes, they do come with a warranty, which will be valid so long as you don't apply more than 8 volts of power to them. Please also note that several manufactures make DCC power supplies in excess of 12 volts, such as the popular NCE P114 and Digitrax PS314 (Both at 13.5 volts) most DCC boosters will rectify that down to about 12 volts, so they should not be a problem - but it is easy to make a mistake and feed them 15 to 20 volts. The locomotives will "work" but your really straining the motor by pulsing it beyond 12 volts I'm not trying to scare anyone. Our locomotives work great out of the box, but we have received some warranty claims in the past we had to deny because of over-voltage problems (we tear them apart for quality control - it's pretty easy to spot on the motor when someone has thrown 15 or more volts to the poor devil) And yes, I've seen one come back where somebody put 120vac to the rails. Rob Kluz renamed that locomotive "melty"
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Post by Rob Albritton on Aug 28, 2014 17:09:08 GMT -5
Mark, my suggestion is not to buy a voltage reducer, but buy a short protection. A simple auto brake lamp works well and its cheap. Big warning here: If you do not use a voltage reducer, make sure the power supply to your DCC system is less than 12 volts (or 8 volts in the case of our older 4 digit part number locos) you *could* cause damage to your locomotive that is outside the scope of our warranty. Of course, short circuit protection is a darn good idea too, and short circuits cause more problems than over voltages.
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Post by Rob Albritton on Aug 25, 2014 22:38:35 GMT -5
You could also contact Andy over at Z-Panzer directly and offer suggestions for products. I've no idea his schedule but his work is so good... it's worth a shot. Here's a short piece I did on Z-Panzer awhile back: www.raildig.com/blog/z-panzer-k5-railgun/John Raildig.com I need that to keep my 3 year old daughter's hands off the trains.
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Post by Rob Albritton on Aug 25, 2014 22:37:26 GMT -5
Hej Hans Tak for svaret:) Jeg forstår dit Norske fint:) It's all Greek to me! ...or Monty Python I think the things I am able to do with this scale with the space I will be having available in my new apartment is quite something. There is one thing I have tried to find out, but for some reasons seems confusing to me. The plywood board that will be the base for the layout will have a width of 81 cm, 31,9 inches. I will be running AZL locomotives, I prefer them compared to Micro Trains. How can it be that almost all windows on Micro Trains locomotives are black and not transparent plastic like on AZL locomotives ? To me it makes a big difference, makes them a lot more realistic. Now my question is how sharp a 360* turn can I make with AZL locomotives running on Rokuhan track ? I suggest 195mm radius, so say 40 cm circle with a little extra room to spare. Plenty of room for 81 cm width. But, I always find that my plans grow to be 15% larger than the allocated space - whatever that happens to be. And a few questions about sound decoders: Are there any dummy cars where sound decoders can be installed ? If not is it possible to fit a sound decoder in a locomotive ? This all depends on which locomotive you want to use for sound. RDC has significant room inside, but hood units (like GP30) are more difficult. Sound in a dummy car is a very good idea, but there is another way: If your layout is not very large, have you considered much larger speakers underneath the layout? Run a second sound only decoder to the speakers and give it the same CV3 ID number. Now you have SERIOUS sound! I do not think the human ear can determine much of a difference in location of the sound, but you will hear a huge difference in quality. Most people do not like this solution because they mistaken believe that it will sound wrong if the sound does not actually come from the locomotive. Then they hear it, and they change their mind very quickly. Enjoy Z scale and let us know how we can help.
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Post by Rob Albritton on Aug 25, 2014 22:22:45 GMT -5
Hi, will you be serving international customers? Just in case I'd be interested in an upcoming exclusive run. Regards Steve Hi Steve, Yes we will. I honestly do not know what the status is regarding international shipments on the AZLdirect web site, but if there are any difficulties, please contact rob kluz directly on ztrack@aol.com. Thanks!
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Post by Rob Albritton on Aug 24, 2014 22:47:55 GMT -5
FYI folks: this loco will be super rare. I have re-checked our inventory and we actually only have 25 of each road number, and they are selling quickly.
Long live the Suzzie-Q!
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Post by Rob Albritton on Aug 24, 2014 3:53:02 GMT -5
Hi Larry,
With the Digitrax voltage reducer, you are good to go. Set VMAX at 255 (or just leave it alone - it is already st properly from Digitrax)
Best, -Robert
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Post by Rob Albritton on Aug 23, 2014 16:15:51 GMT -5
Thanks for your info re starting voltage. Is there any worry about leaving Max CV at the top setting? Will this put too much voltage to the motor? LarryO Hi Larry, Best practice is to leave MAX CV at the top setting, but make sure the voltage going into your DCC system is no more than the max rated for your locomotive. Which locos are you running with DCC?
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Post by Rob Albritton on Aug 16, 2014 9:58:05 GMT -5
Looks nice!
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Post by Rob Albritton on Aug 16, 2014 9:02:29 GMT -5
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Post by Rob Albritton on Aug 8, 2014 22:35:58 GMT -5
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Post by Rob Albritton on Aug 8, 2014 6:24:39 GMT -5
No worries. I have a digital voltmeter right by the tracks and I measure the applied voltage constantly. I even have my Marklin Z scale power controller (pale grey version) marked with labels as to exactly what voltage is being applied at all times. I know exactly what is being applied. Warning: Many power controllers will produce pulse power that can confuse a digital voltmeter. What you see may not be what you are getting. While a digital voltmeter is a good move, the only way to know for sure is to use an oscilloscope. The same is true for DCC - a digital volt meter will not show the actual voltage that DCC is producing because of the variable timing AC waveform. If your digital voltmeter is very steady with no locomotives on the tracks, chances are good that it is reading the voltage correctly. If it jumps around a bit, you probably have some pulse power going on. Good news is that most pulse power packs only produce the pulses at the low end of the voltage range (to improve low speed performance) and then go to something closer to pure DC power at the top end of the range, so for the purposes of making sure you don't over-volt you locomotive, the digital voltmeter is probably doing a good job. It's all complex. Nothing in life is easy! Have you ever had to remove and adjust the PCB board on any of your AZL locos? It's not too bad. I was rather fearful of damaging board while removing it but I think I could do it again now without a problem. Slides out after lifting one end. Those photos tell the story. Thanks - glad to see the design is working as planned! Best, -Rob(A) AZL
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Post by Rob Albritton on Aug 4, 2014 23:11:34 GMT -5
I'm do in the Powhatan arrow passenger train. I've got quite a few 2 bay hoppers. I've painted a few n&w diesels and I'm working on a class j. My layout is called the appalachian model railroad. I have always loved the "J" and I think it would look great with Powhatan Arrow passenger cars, but it would have to be a brass project. Hans has a good record at picking Brass winners (Big Boy, Challenger, AC12, GS3/4) so he takes the lead in picking the next brass project. You should fill up his inbox with Class "J" pre-orders. That usually gets his attention!
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Post by Rob Albritton on Aug 4, 2014 13:47:27 GMT -5
I seem to be the only one who is actively modeling the n&w. Surely this can't be true. Had anyone else custom painted their own n&w pieces? I know it's a popular railroad but it's slim Pickings with Z. Maybe, just maybe I've inspired Rob and Hans to start making some n&w lol. Actually, we *do* have some N&W products in the works!
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Post by Rob Albritton on Aug 3, 2014 14:45:52 GMT -5
Attached is a sample from the AVEN scope - shows the quality of the print outlining on our up-coming Milwaukee Road heavyweight release. Attachments:
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