Re: [CBQ] E Unit Headlights

["Bott, Eric H." <eric.h.bott@outlook.com>]

All:

I thoroughly endorse Bill’s advice on the current keeper!  Especially on locos with few pick-up wheels, short wheelbase, or likely to run on dirty track or over dead frogs.  Railbuses, Geese, 2-truck geared locos, RDC’s, inspection locos, tank locos, etc, especially benefit.  A current keeper will smoothly bridge operation of locos through such problems.  It will add ~$25 to the cost of the DCC install, and require extra internal loco volume for the capacitor bank involved, but the operational (and lighting, and sound) improvement on most models is stunning.  TCS makes a decoder that has an integral current keeper (also called “keep alive”, and I believe that ESU has a different trade name for it.)  The ESU version is a bit trickier to use, depending on which series of decoder you are applying.

 

To me, current keepers and the adjustable accel/decal rates of modern decoders make flywheels completely unnecessary.  This means that many steam locos that formerly had OF motors and/or flywheels in the cabs can now be equipped with smoother, lower current, more powerful can or coreless or square motors that, without flywheels, do NOT protrude into the cab, allowing installation of cab floors and backheads (though the latter sometimes also requires addition of a boiler extension, to put the backhead in the correct position in the cab.)

 

The other advice that I would offer is to never “cheap out” and install a DCC-only decoder.  Pay the little bit extra, and get a dual mode DC/DCC decoder, if there’s ANY chance your model might run on a “foreign road” that isn’t DCC-equipped.

 

Regards,

 

-Eric

 

Sent from Mail for Windows

 

From: William Hirt
Sent: Tuesday, June 14, 2022 9:36 AM
To: CBQ@groups.io
Subject: Re: [CBQ] E Unit Headlights

 

Rich,

The decoder will create the desired effect with either the LED or bulb you use. It is just setting the effect type in the decoder for that function. You only need one. This is one of the many good things that Proto 2000 did with their E units.

With them being brass units, I would seriously consider adding a current keeper to the decoder install.

I did this with my old Hallmark delrin chain drive Silver Charger I bought from Mike Spoor. The change in running performance now makes it equal to the best running plastic locomotives.

Bill Hirt

On 6/13/2022 11:58 AM, Richard Gortowski via groups.io wrote:

We're starting to install sound decoders into my brass E units, and at the same time, we need to install the headlights.  After looking at Bulletins 10 and 57, it appears that the E-5, E-7. and at least the 1949/50 orders of E-8's were delivered with a Mars light on the top and a single beam headlamp in the lower casing.  As far as I can tell, they weren't changed to the dual beams until sometime in the 50's/60's.  Is that correct?

 

I know that we have had discussions about the Mars lights, but I can't recall the details.  Were these two separate bulbs, side by side that alternated to create the "triple eight" pattern?  If so. both white bulbs?  In a vertical or horizontal position, as delivered?

 

Thanks for any clarification,

 

Rich G

 

 

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