Resister wheelsets?

[Tom Haythornthwaite]

Thank you all!

I now have two sorts of wheels on order and I'm now investigating resistors and conductive paint, as well as resistant paint.  If I also get my multimeter and ceremonial First Wagon in September I will begin my experiments and continue my dreaming.  But my Digitrax equipment, not to mention my SetTrack 'train set' will only arrive in December.  Layout construction is not expected until 2018, very sadly.

[Ozymandius]

I use conductive glue (Wire Glue) with SMD resistors glued at 45 degrees between the back of the wheel and the axle. 

The circuit is completed by "painting" the glue with a pin from the resistor along the axle to the other wheel. 

In order to get a good circuit, you need to clean the wheels on the axle(s) with the resistors.  I fit one axle with resistors on a 4 wheeled vehicle, two axles on bogie vehicles.

The advantage of all this (for non students of DCC) is that it improves "track circuit" detection for a train.  A locomotive, while detected. may not carry its signature due to dirty wheels or track.

Hope this helps

Tony

[Tom Haythornthwaite]

My first Peco two wagons, my replacement Graham Farish metal wheelsets, and some bits of SetTrack have finally met up here in Afghanistan.  I didn't really know whether to believe the wheelsets would fit but they did like a dream - and they roll much better than the original Peco wheels!  Once I re-wheeled the first wagon I compared how far each wagon would roll down my re-railer and along some track.  The wagon with the Graham Farish wheels consistently rolled more than twice as far. (And when I re-wheeled the other wagon it did just as well.)

Next experiment:  Adding resisters and conductive paint to the wheelsets to eventually enable occupancy detection.  (Not that I yet have anything to occupy.)