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Offline aswap5  
#1 Posted : 14 October 2014 19:37:25(UTC)
aswap5

India   
Joined: 14/10/2013(UTC)
Posts: 32
Hello everyone,

Back posting another question after a long time spent reading this forum. With any layout I can set up being strictly temporary - and on long weekends - online is the only way to get my model railway and Marklin fix frequently!

I was halfway through converting my first ever M loco, the 3021, with a TAMS decoder, when I dropped one of the brushes and now that conversion and testing has to wait till I get a new set of brushes. So I looked at the rest of my meagre collection of locos and found this one:

Many years ago, someone gifted us a Lima Rc/3 loco. It is a plain dc model, but looks quite nice. I had managed to put in a slider and a diode and ran it a few times on analogue AC - with the transformer set to a low voltage. I now want to make it run on Marklin Digital (MS2).

My question is whether the 18V of the psu is too high for what I am pretty sure is a 12V motor? Do I need to add some kind of voltage drop circuit or can I just solder in a decoder?

Any advice is most welcome.

Thank you

Ashok

Offline Webmaster  
#2 Posted : 14 October 2014 20:05:34(UTC)
Webmaster


Joined: 25/07/2001(UTC)
Posts: 11,161
Since the motor in the model is a DC motor, it really should be as easy as to put a decoder into it.
Decoders put a chopped (ok, PWM - Pulse Width Modulated) 12V DC to the motor... Modern decoders can run even the old Lima "pancake" motor rather smoothly...
If the motor is of a more modern kind, no problems.
Juhan - "Webmaster", at your service...
He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes. He who does not ask a question remains a fool forever. [Old Chinese Proverb]
thanks 4 users liked this useful post by Webmaster
Offline pab-windmills  
#3 Posted : 16 October 2014 16:02:40(UTC)
pab-windmills

United States   
Joined: 02/03/2007(UTC)
Posts: 79
Location: Haverhill, MA
Hi Ashok,

I completely agree with Webmaster. This summer, I converted a Lima Great Western Railway (English) railcar. Similar to what you did, I added a slider for the + pickup and a little phosphor bronze wiper to the other set of wheels for the - (ground) pickup. The dekoder I used was a very simple ESU 52690. It runs great - very smooth operation. The Lima pancake motors seem to be pretty rugged. My layout and collection is Scandinavian. I am familiar with the Lima Rc lok you have, and I'm sure it will be a great addition to your layout.

UserPostedImage

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Offline aswap5  
#4 Posted : 20 October 2014 05:00:07(UTC)
aswap5

India   
Joined: 14/10/2013(UTC)
Posts: 32
Thank you both very much.

I have ordered a basic decoder and, with any luck, won't mess up the soldering!

That GWR Railcar looks gorgeous!

Ashok
Offline Webmaster  
#5 Posted : 20 October 2014 19:43:20(UTC)
Webmaster


Joined: 25/07/2001(UTC)
Posts: 11,161
Good luck with this, and please report the outcome too.. Smile

As Paul mentioned, it's a good idea to ensure rail contact with both sides of the wheel axles.

Your original question was if the 18V PSU used for MS2 would be too high, but that is the track feed - the motor itself is fed electronically by the decoder power output stage and not directly from the track voltage. Just to clear any possible confusion about running it with the MS2.
Juhan - "Webmaster", at your service...
He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes. He who does not ask a question remains a fool forever. [Old Chinese Proverb]
Offline Hackcell  
#6 Posted : 20 October 2014 20:24:14(UTC)
Hackcell

Costa Rica   
Joined: 21/11/2013(UTC)
Posts: 521
Hello,

Don't you have issues with the wheels (derailments, issues on turnouts) once the 3-rail conversion was made?
Danilo Jiménez
Union Pacific and DB Cargo H0 models.
Märklin, Brawa, MTH and some Walthers cars (nobody is perfect!)
Pinball machines, jukeboxes and Horses.
Costa Rica, pura vida!!
Offline jvuye  
#7 Posted : 20 October 2014 20:49:22(UTC)
jvuye

Belgium   
Joined: 01/03/2008(UTC)
Posts: 2,881
Location: South Western France
Originally Posted by: Hackcell Go to Quoted Post
Hello,

Don't you have issues with the wheels (derailments, issues on turnouts) once the 3-rail conversion was made?


That is a matter of checking the wheel spacing and to a lesser extent the flange depth
For 3 rail operation 13.8 to 14.00 seem to produce the best results
For example I just finished converting a 1970's Hornby loco ( a SNCF CC 7121) produced while the brand Hornby was owned by Tri-Ang
I checked the original spacing to be 14.00 mm, so I decided to go ahead and leave it alone for the moment .

Final test proved it was the right call...

For a long time I have advocated to strictly adhere to 13.8 mm...(still valid on M-track layout ) but today I have to admit that C-track is much more tolerant (including running NMRA RP 25 entire 30 cars consists unaltered!!


Hope this helps




Jacques Vuye aka Dr.Eisenbahn
Once a vandal, learned to be better and had great success!
Offline Webmaster  
#8 Posted : 20 October 2014 20:49:43(UTC)
Webmaster


Joined: 25/07/2001(UTC)
Posts: 11,161
Older Lima loks will run great even on M tracks, no bigger issue actually...
As I understand this is a "simple" layout, at least to start with, so it should all be fine as I see it...
Juhan - "Webmaster", at your service...
He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes. He who does not ask a question remains a fool forever. [Old Chinese Proverb]
Offline pab-windmills  
#9 Posted : 29 December 2014 04:53:31(UTC)
pab-windmills

United States   
Joined: 02/03/2007(UTC)
Posts: 79
Location: Haverhill, MA
Hi Hacksell,

Sorry - i only saw your question now.

My layout is Marklin c-track. I run a lot of DC cars by several different manufacturers, and rarely do I have problems. The Lima railcar runs great on the layout, and it has the original, unmodified DC wheelsets.
thanks 1 user liked this useful post by pab-windmills
Offline aswap5  
#10 Posted : 29 December 2014 07:55:35(UTC)
aswap5

India   
Joined: 14/10/2013(UTC)
Posts: 32
Thank you everyone.

Did the conversion over the weekend (just couldn't find an uninterrupted day before this!) and tried it out. I think I did the lights wrong, but it is found by the MS2 as a dcc loco and runs fine on a stretch of straight C-track, with V max and min as well as acc & dec working just fine. Just need to fix the lights next weekend!

A very happy 2015 to everyone!

Ashok
thanks 3 users liked this useful post by aswap5
Offline pab-windmills  
#11 Posted : 06 January 2015 04:06:54(UTC)
pab-windmills

United States   
Joined: 02/03/2007(UTC)
Posts: 79
Location: Haverhill, MA
Hey Ashok,

That's great news. When you get a chance, please post a foto of the lok!

Paul B
Offline Tower  
#12 Posted : 21 January 2015 17:56:40(UTC)
Tower


Joined: 12/02/2010(UTC)
Posts: 169
Location: Pretoria, South Africa
Originally Posted by: pab-windmills Go to Quoted Post
Hi Hacksell,

Sorry - i only saw your question now.

My layout is Marklin c-track. I run a lot of DC cars by several different manufacturers, and rarely do I have problems. The Lima railcar runs great on the layout, and it has the original, unmodified DC wheelsets.


Sorry, I dont mean to hijack this thread, but the only wagon I have that constantly derails is a trix reefer wagon, anyone that can tell me why?
Online H0  
#13 Posted : 21 January 2015 18:45:13(UTC)
H0


Joined: 16/02/2004(UTC)
Posts: 15,251
Location: DE-NW
Hi!
Originally Posted by: Tower Go to Quoted Post
the only wagon I have that constantly derails is a trix reefer wagon, anyone that can tell me why?
Did it come with RP-25 wheelsets?
Are the trucks able to turn freely? I had a Märklin box car where the truck piece still had grates and didn't turn easily.
Did you check the wheel spacing? I had a Märklin car that always derailed - the wheel spacing was not correct.

Regards
Tom
---
"In all of the gauges, we particularly emphasize a high level of quality, the best possible fidelity to the prototype, and absolute precision. You will see that in all of our products." (from Märklin New Items Brochure 2015, page 1) ROFLBTCUTS
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