Fixing broken pantograph on new 39170

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Fixing broken pantograph on new 39170

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johnpatrickwack		#1 Posted : 06 December 2017 13:10:38(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 13/12/2016(UTC) Posts: 147 Location: Silver Spring, MD, USA		Hi all - Most likely because I did something wrong when setting up some catenary, one of my 39170's pantographs got unexpectedly tangled in the wires last night and now isn't working, i.e., it wants to stay extended and only retracts a small amount. There is a thread right now on ill-fitting windows on the 39170 and some people have complained about the difficulty of opening up the 39170, so perhaps I should just let things be... however I'm wondering if anyone has any advice on how to go about fixing this? From what I can tell, springs hold the pantograph in the extended position and to retract it, there must be some mechanism inside the loco that effectively winds up the small length of fishing line connected to the pantograph, perhaps onto a small spool. This is where I think the problem is but of course I won't know till I open it. Otherwise, the pantograph is fine, nothing was bent or is out of place. Has anyone dealt with a similar problem and has some words of wisdom to offer? Or should I just say to myself, hey, I don't need to press the button anymore to raise it, it's already raised! :-) Thank you, John
		--- John P. Wack Silver Spring, MD

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owidgie		#2 Posted : 07 December 2017 18:14:38(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 03/06/2007(UTC) Posts: 167		Hi John, I had to "adjust" mine after a train show, it didn't go down all the way. Someone must have pulled it up or something. The spring holds the pantograph up but the mono-filament wire pulls it down with a motor inside the body. It was a simple process of just pulling the end of the mono-filament until I had it adjusted correctly - it will slide through the clip that holds it. It might be an easy fix for you too. Rick

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johnpatrickwack		#3 Posted : 07 December 2017 18:52:53(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 13/12/2016(UTC) Posts: 147 Location: Silver Spring, MD, USA		Thank you Rick - this sounds doable - I'll give it a try tonight! Cheers, John
		--- John P. Wack Silver Spring, MD

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mike c		#4 Posted : 07 December 2017 19:52:51(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 28/11/2007(UTC) Posts: 8,216 Location: Montreal, QC		If this is anything like the earlier 39579, it relies on a piezo motor which releases or coils the cord which is used to raise and lower the pantographs. This is probably a rather delicate device and may be subject to damage if overexerted. Modellers who buy this model might want to look into the possibility of buying at least one replacement motor, as the parts for the 39579 became impossible to find very shortly after the model was released and are now faced with having to come up with do-it-yourself solutions when facing problems with their models. Regards Mike C

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cookee_nz		#5 Posted : 08 December 2017 06:51:15(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 31/12/2010(UTC) Views messages in topic : 3,991 Location: Paremata, Wellington		This may give you some idea how it works on the earlier model and might be the same... I have the Catenary Maintenance Railcar and the Pantograph control is much the same. Mine had the nylon line broken and had to go back to Göppingen to be repaired. Edited by user 08 December 2017 17:39:45(UTC) \| Reason: Not specified
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johnpatrickwack		#6 Posted : 08 December 2017 13:07:31(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 13/12/2016(UTC) Posts: 147 Location: Silver Spring, MD, USA		Originally Posted by: cookee_nz This may give you some idea how it works on the earlier model and might be the same... https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6bd9Ky_mqrc I have the Catenary Maintenance Railcar and the Pantograph control is much the same. Mine had the nylon line broken and had to go back to Göppingen to be repaired. Thank you for all the helpful replies! Wow - an interesting video This makes me think that the motor and parts are quite delicate indeed. Rick, I am lucky today, my situation is like yours was and I was able to pull more of the fishline through the hole in the pantograph arm and take up the slack - it took some patience but finally it worked. What did you do to secure the line once you'd taken up the slack? Retying it is something I very much doubt I could do, and the only easy thing that came to mind was superglue. For now, I pushed a straight pin into the hole fairly tightly so as to wedge the line into the hole and keep it from moving - it sticks in very tightly and I am considering clipping off the rest of the pin. While I don't like having a bit of the pin there, it is only about 5mm in length and not so visible, and if the pantograph had to be repaired again, I could just push the bit of the pin back out again. Were you able to come up with something easier and better looking than what I'm thinking about doing? Thanks very much for all of your help, John
		--- John P. Wack Silver Spring, MD

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kiwiAlan		#7 Posted : 09 December 2017 17:19:54(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 23/07/2014(UTC) Posts: 8,454 Location: ENGLAND, Didcot		Originally Posted by: mike c If this is anything like the earlier 39579, it relies on a piezo motor which releases or coils the cord which is used to raise and lower the pantographs. This is probably a rather delicate device and may be subject to damage if overexerted. Modellers who buy this model might want to look into the possibility of buying at least one replacement motor, as the parts for the 39579 became impossible to find very shortly after the model was released and are now faced with having to come up with do-it-yourself solutions when facing problems with their models. Regards Mike C I haven't taken mine apart to check, but my understanding is that this new model does not use the piezo motor, but uses a system based on the same R/C servo motors as used to flip the drivers when the loco is reversed.

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owidgie		#8 Posted : 12 December 2017 00:32:29(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 03/06/2007(UTC) Posts: 167		Hi John, I just did what you described. From what I remember, the fishing line went through a hole and then there was a "plug" type cap that wedged in the hole holding the line. I never took out the plug, I just gently pulled the line until it was adjusted. I didn't want to glue anything in case some "little hands" mess something up at a show and I needed to repair it again. If you are still stuck, I can take mine apart and look closer at it. Rick

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johnpatrickwack		#9 Posted : 12 December 2017 01:59:09(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 13/12/2016(UTC) Posts: 147 Location: Silver Spring, MD, USA		Originally Posted by: owidgie Hi John, I just did what you described. From what I remember, the fishing line went through a hole and then there was a "plug" type cap that wedged in the hole holding the line. I never took out the plug, I just gently pulled the line until it was adjusted. I didn't want to glue anything in case some "little hands" mess something up at a show and I needed to repair it again. If you are still stuck, I can take mine apart and look closer at it. Rick Hi Rick, yours had a plug, that is interesting... mine has no plugs, the line was pulled through the hole in the pantograph mast and then tied. I figured that re-tying it was beyond my capabilities, so I ended up plugging it with the pin and then snipping off the rest of it. I guess a person looking for it would see what I did, but otherwise not too noticeable. I never would have fixed it without your posting, many thanks! Cheers, John
		--- John P. Wack Silver Spring, MD

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