Kato 103 chassis DCC conversion

[Ken Remmer]

As a newbie to the hobby I am in need of a little help.
I have laid my track and am in the process assembling my first loco, nothing special a Chris Ward Saddle Tank on the Kato chassis.
I read an article some time ago showing how to add a DCC decoder to the chassis. Can anyone remember the article? and which magazine it was in.

I have read a lot about adding additional weight to the loco's and rolling stock, are there any target weights for locos and  stock?

[JulienW]

I have a feeling that a DCC conversion of a kato chassis appeared in 009 News, but off the top of my head I can't recall which chassis it was ('shorty' or the 4 w tram chassis) nor which issue of 009 news. As the chasis is quite popular though I suspect that there are other sources for the information, some of which may be on the internet (try Googleing "Kato tram chassis DCC" or something along those lines).

Assuming that it is the 4 wheel tram chassis you have (103 or 104) there are 2 long copper-coloured strips running along the top of the chassis held in place by some plastic clips.  These are the pick ups - they bend through a right angle at each end to contact with the backs of the wheels. Above the motor (towards one end of it) there will be a plastic clip which holds down the two long strips so that they make contact with the motor's contacts which run at right angles to the long strips down into the chassis.

I've not done such a conversion myself but I assume that for the DCC conversion you will need to connect the red and black wires from the chip to the long pick ups ("red and black to the track"), isolate the long pick ups from the motor contacts (very thin plasticard or insulation tape slipped between the metal strips should do the job) and then connect the orange and grey wires ("orange and Grey go the other way") to the motor's contacts.  You may be happier cutting the motor contacts back so there is no chance of getting a short between these and the long pick ups (AC current to the motor will not do it any favours, and such a short may damage the chip too), or taking the orange & grey wires direct to the motor, but I suspect that there are also more elegant ways to wire the chip in.

Another point about the chassis is that if the contact between the pick ups and the backs of the wheels isn't good the chassis will be a poor runner, so it's worth checking these (undo the screws at either end and drop out the metal base plate - the axles should stay in their pin-point axle boxes) if the running is a bit lumpy.

As to the amount of weight to add that's a bit like asking how long is a bit of string!  There are some NMRA guidelines aimed at the HOn30 guys out on the internet (certainly for stock) but I have found that roughly 5g per axle is about right - though that's only because I have used self adhesive weights sold for balancing tyres and wheels on cars! That being said though I have recently had cause to weight one of the Roco 0-6-0 steam locos which came out at 44g and is probably not far off the same size as your saddle tank.

Another issue is that it is possible to add too much weight, which results in a premature wearing out of parts of the chassis as it's carrying more weight than the designers intended - critical with the Kato tram chassis that relies on pin point axle bearings. It's probably worth experimenting a bit by adding weight gradually (easier if you are not using one of the 'liquid lead' or similar mist-shot materials) and seeing how it runs, but at a guess if you weight the chassis, body and any added details (like crew in the cab) then add weight until the scales get to the 30-40g mark that should be about right.

One pointer about using lead mist shot ("liquid lead") as ballast is not to stick it in with PVA (white) glue. As the glue cures it releases small amounts of acetic acid which reacts with the lead and dramatically increase it's volume as it forms lead acetate.  Whilst this is not too much of a problem in an open space in an enclosed area - like a loco boiler or tank - the material can swell to the point that it bursts out of the container and wrecking all the hard work you have put into your model.  I tend to use superglue (cyanoacrylate) to stick lead strips in place but have heard of occasional problems with that in combination with liquid lead so it mat be safest to use one of the epoxy resin adhesives (like Araldite).

Hope that helps Ken.

[Ken Remmer]

Thanks Julien will have a go on those lines.

Ken

[Brian Mosby]

see link to a 09 loco I did using the kato chassis

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/24288-mozzers-o165-on30-workbench-plus-o-9/?p=1760240

[Brian Mosby]

un clip the brass strip from the motor that's under the pickup on both sides bending them up this isolates the motor from the wheel then then solder the wires from the DCC chip to the pick ups & motor

001 by Mozzer models, on Flickr

[jimowers]

As a newbie to the hobby I am in need of a little help.
I have laid my track and am in the process assembling my first loco, nothing special a Chris Ward Saddle Tank on the Kato chassis.
I read an article some time ago showing how to add a DCC decoder to the chassis. Can anyone remember the article? and which magazine it was in.

I have read a lot about adding additional weight to the loco's and rolling stock, are there any target weights for locos and  stock?

I am guilty as charged for it was wot wrote the article for OO9 News.

If you PM I can send you a link to a copy

[Ken Remmer]

Hi Jim

The link would be very useful.

Not quite sure about "If you PM I can send you a link to a copy"

How do I do that

Ken

[JulienW]

PM = private message.

Click on the little speech bubble under the photograph of Jim's loco which will open up a window much like the one used to add a post but the message will only go to Jim.

Useful for sharing e-mail addresses and other contact information with individuals rather than all the members of this forum.