Akihabara Station

Hiatus

Don Goodman-Wilson — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 18:25:05 +0000

I’m taking a hiatus from this site for a while, perhaps a few months. I’ll return maybe during the summer time. Thanks to my loyal readers, the two of you! For other good things to read, just hit the sidebar over there on the right.

New Page: Sources!

Don Goodman-Wilson — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 20:52:31 +0000

I’ve heard from a few people now that they like my wishlist if only because it has a small list of places to buy Japanese model trains. With these comments as inspiration, I have created a dedicated page (linked to in the menu up above) to indexing all the sources I have found. Right now [...]

End of Shōgatsu Season

Don Goodman-Wilson — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 19:05:21 +0000

My family’s Christmas, er, New Year’s layout, Shogatsu, has been retired for the year. We haul it out of the basement for only a couple months each year, around New Year’s, to work on it and display it. This year’s time is up. We made some small progress on it, especially in forestation and village [...]

LED Driver: Test-Type Complete

Don Goodman-Wilson — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 02:52:10 +0000

Test-type in Cylon training school.

A couple of nights ago, I hooked my custom LED Driver up to an Arduino running some custom software, and 16 LEDs. And, who’d have thunk it: Worked on the first try! So many things could have gone wrong between the circuit design, the hand-soldering (jumpers, burn-outs), and the programming. [...]

LED Driver: First Test-Type Assembled

Don Goodman-Wilson — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:04:34 +0000

LED Driver prototype 1, fully populated.

Having recevied my PCBs, all that remained was to assemble the parts onto one and test it. Assembly took a couple of hours, but that’s because I was being careful at each step. I can now say that I am pretty comfortable soldering SMD components; having a good iron [...]

Installing Truck-Mount TN Couplers

Don Goodman-Wilson — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 23:00:58 +0000

オロネ25-901 (with body-mount TN coupler) and オハネ25-100 (with truck-mount TN coupler)

Not every Tomix or Micro Ace train accepts the fancy-pants body-mount TN couplers. Sometimes you have to make do with compromises. Which is what Tomix’s truck-mount TN couplers are: A compromise. They work, but they’re not nearly as cool, and don’t look quite as [...]

LED Driver: Custom Circuit Boards

Don Goodman-Wilson — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:36:40 +0000

The boards I received in the mail, about two inches long by one-and-a-half wide.

I built a prototype. Then I designed a PCB. This weekend I received a set of my very first custom-designed circuit boards. It’s quite a thrill to hold an item manufactured to your own specifications. Best of all, I ordered two, [...]

Kato 651系 DCC Pt 1.5: Interior Lights Nearly Done

Don Goodman-Wilson — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 04:10:33 +0000

Just an update on this project. I managed three more cars in one evening, for a total of four out of seven. It’s tedious going, but I’ve got the hang of it now. What’s slowing me down is cleaning the trucks: They’re filthy! Spent the evening with a bowl of rubbing alcohol and a supply [...]

Kato 651系 DCC Pt 1: Upgrading Interior Lights

Don Goodman-Wilson — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 20:06:26 +0000

Kato 10-173 651系 'Super Hitachi'

So, you have just purchaed Kato 10-173 651系 (651-series) “Super Hitachi”, and want to know how to convert it to DCC. I’ve just begun this process myself; here is part one (of many!) of my report.

The 651系 is factory-fitted with interior lighting, a nice touch. But, being bulbs, those lights [...]

Next DCC Conquest: Kato 651-series

Don Goodman-Wilson — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 18:48:54 +0000

The EF81 done, I’ve been trying to decide what DCC project to tackle next. I’ve settled on my Kato 651-series for several reasons. First, the set is being re-released next month, which means a new wave(let) of interest. It also means a new wave of spare parts if I mess up. Too, the pre-fitted interior [...]