Hello,
I live in Richmond , VA . I am new to this hobby and looking for some help.
I bought HO steam and locomotives, Atlas HO code 83 tracks, Tortoise Switch and Digitrax Zephyr.
Is there any place in and around Richmond, VA where they give some kind of training to solder wires, help with turnout wirings, connecting tortoise switch etc.
I am dumb in electronics and never soldered in my life.
I love this hobby and don’t mind to pay and learn the above skills.
Regards
Raj
besides spending big bucks and enrolling in a trade school, your best bet is to go to www.kalmbach.com and purchase some books on layout wiring and practice the soldering until you get it down…the book "Easy Wiring for your Model Railroad " by Andy S. (I still can’t say his last name right much less spell it) is an excellent book on wiring and covers some DCC…there are also books on model railroading electronics…Peter Thorne has a few good one’s if they are still in print…now, soldering is easy…you’ll need a solder gun or soldering iron (a 30 watt iron works well) some thin but not too thin rosin core solder wire, and some acid free soldering flux (paste) (it comes in tubes or a can similar to a shoe polish can)…let the iron heat up, daub a small amount of soldering flux to the work, then touch the soldering wire and the iron or gun to the work just fast enough so that the solder wire flows onto the work…another hint…do the work as quickly as possible and keep the tip of the iron or gun clean…(you can clean the tip with a wet sponge)…please check out the pictures here at my photo album…there are pictures with explanations to the right of the pictures to show you how to solder rail in a step by step procedure …just click the next button to proceed to the next picture http://community.webshots.com/photo/137793353/200142080vaBTvT hope this helps…chuck
First off, [#welcome] [#welcome] [#welcome] to the forum! As cwclark has said, you don’t really need to go back to school to learn to solder. His advise is right on. It is quite easily learned with some practice. The trick is to use the right sized soldering iron (don’t be sucked into the new fangled “cool” ones, they don’t really work well). For most of my layout work I use a 25w Weller iron. Most people recommend an iron between 25w and 40w as ideal for layout work. Make sure the iron is hot before you begin. The trick is to have the iron and wires “tinned” (that is put a little solder on them before you join them together) get in, make the connection and get out. As soon as the solder “flows” into the joint, remove the iron. Practice a bit and you will find it is not a difficult task. Have fun with your trains!
Raj,
What part of town do you live in? I live in Hanover County. There is a RR club up in Ashland, and I am sure there are fellows there that can teach you most anything about model railroading. How much space do you have for a layout? Did you buy your stuff at a hobby store? The only one I know of around here is in Chesterfield, and that is a bit of a drive for me. I have been unhappy since the store on Parham Road closed. I liked the RR guy, Smith, there. Good Luck
Thanks for all the suggestions !! I tried reading about the turnout 's , wiring etc. and it’s not helping me.
Cablebridge,
I live in Glen Allen, Henrico County. I have started with 4X8 layout. I bought everything online. I am not sure how to reach RR club in Ashland.
Regards
Raj
raj…don’t try to put the circuits together in your head all at one time…trace each and every wire in the circuit one at a time until all the wires are traced…I know it’s time consuming and looks like a bowl of spagetti, but if you do each wire one at a time, you’ll find it’s really not that hard after you’re done…remember that each circuit is like a big circle…it starts at the + (positive) terminal of the power pack, has to go through an electrical load, (i.e. a train motor which is just one side of the rail thru the locomotive motor and back to the other rail, a light bulb, a tortoise machine motor, ect…) and then back to the - negative side of the power pack…there may be other components in the circuit like a switch, but you will still find that that particular wire still completes the same circle to and from the power pack …if you keep this concept in mind when tracing the wires in an electical circuit it will make it a lot easier for you…be sure you determine if the load runs on A/C or D/C because some equipment can’t function on one or the other while some equipment can function on both (like a light bulb) and any symbol that shows “Ground” is actually the wire going back to the -(negative) side of the power pack…chuck
There are some very nice people at Chesterfield Hobbies near Richmond. I’ve been in the store a couple of times and they are railroaders. They might be able to give you some guidance.
Thanks tcf511
!! I will try my luck. I have a list of questions needs to be answered.
Is there any HO group in Richmond, VA , I google’d and did not find any.
Dude you jumped in deeeeeep, but the one good thing is you can find out most of what you need to know here. You will need a basic understanding of electronics or electricity… Mostly DC Direct Current. Post your questions and you find the answer, a lot of people here with a lot of knowledge.