I have built an A1 Models Bogie Boxcab kit No 9 which sits on a Kato 11-107 chassis. The chassis only seems to pick up power from the driven bogie. When I apply power to the wheels of the other bogie, it sometimes makes the motor turn and sometimes not. I cannot see how the power gets from the wheels to the motor. Can anyone help?
Tony Clarke
Are you saying that when you apply power to the UNPOWERED bogie you get an occasional response from the motor?
If so it proves that this bogie is picking up power
In a lot of cases with the single powered bogie in a Bo Bo chassis the powere transfer form unpowered bogie to motor or PCB is by means of brass strips which in some cases are hidden by the interior ( this is the case in Farish N & Bachmann 00 EMU & DMUs)
The power from the actual wheels is usually transferred to the brass stips by brass contacts on the bogies which are vertical (pointin upwards!) which press on the strips. The strips at the point of contact are usually slightly springy to aid good contact as well
It has been found that contact can be erratic , and the fix has been to add weight to the non powered end such as a lump of lead
to make the downward pressure on the contact points better
I am not saying this is a solution but it is worth investigating
Steve
The Kato chassis has strips the length of the chassis as a power bus as has been described. These chassis are very reliable in my opinion even though the power only goes through one bogie.
I would agree with Steve that you need to add a reasonable amount of lead to the loco using this chassis, especially if you are using a 3D printed body.
I have to agree re the Kato reliability, in my opinion still the best 9mm products in the world ( except for the sometimes difficulty in digitising them!!)
I have been a Kato N gauge Japanese outline user since the early days when it was first imported by MGSharp in Sheffield (long gone)
These days excellent prices from 'Train-Tracks'
I would say though that I have never encountered anything with a B0 B0 mechanism which did not collect power from all wheels.
If I recall correctly, the actual pickup from the wheels is the metal bearings the axle pin-points fit in. These can fill up with gunk (especially hairs/fibres). I have had trouble getting the non-powered end to pick up current.
Thank you for the responses. I agree that Kato chassis are very good especially for the price. I have a fair amount of lead on top of the chassis but will see whether I can bend the brass strips slightly
Tony Clarke