Cell Phone Photos ok?

I have done simple DCC decoder and sound installs and some more complex with batteries and receivers along with speakers concealed. 

And what type of installs are

And what type of installs are you looking for? "N" scale or HO?  Are we talking old school where you need to wire and solder everything in, grind out frames and make room for the decoders or are you looking for the more modern plug and play stuff?

It is a rather open ended question,  You looking for a specific item or a spark?   Just wondering what you are looking for? Most everything today comes with a decoder and the ones that do not are plug and play.  If we are talking brass,  I'm not sure that there would be a huge following wanting to watch a decoder install on brass. 

Or are you looking for tricks like using photo overlays of an assembled model then the same photos of it disassembled much like a double exposure to see where components are and you can grind waight out without  interfering with vital mechanisms of the model.  Used when working out available space when fitting a decoder, keep alive and speakers etc. into a very small space.

I know a Guy...with those skills.

Any and all kinds of installs

So that is a basically a no

So that is a basically a no for "N" scale too small to see on camera.  But I do know a guy that does both HO installs too besides "N" scale.  Has many years dealing with microminuter repair in a solder shop.  But has noticed a little shake in the hands maybe do to getting old.

Only for live studio video -- fine for workbench stills and vid

Only for live in-studio video. For an article, stills will be fine for N scale as long as they're well lit and in focus. Same for video -- done at the workbench pre-staged using a macro lens on the video camera so you can see what's going on will work, but it's still a little tricky.

Without a proper Trinocular

Without a proper Trinocular stereo type magnification station with camera mount. It is rather hard to do work on "N" scale and show it on video at the same times.  If your hands are bigger than the model it is easy to lose the model behind the hands.

Either way It can be done low tech too. 

Still can be done satisfactory on video granted this video is 720P and not 1080P

N scale?

I think it would be fine to show N scale with stills. Show the model up close at various stages and tell what was done. Maybe show how some specific tasks were accomplished but no need to see the whole thing in live video. I find the methods and ideas clearly explained are the most useful parts of most instructional videos, not the banter and live action. Given N scale's smaller size and difficulty getting the parts inside the shell I hope some N scale experts will try to author something....DaveB

I have an Idea for my next install

So yes I am interested.  Now to figure out the best way to do this.  

My next project

My next project is to convert an HO Precistion Scale Co Southern Pacific Brass AC-9 to DCC and sound, I'll make sure to take lots of pictures and maybe a video.  I can also send in some pictures I took of a recent F3A installation I did and see if there is enough to do an article.

TCS site

Has some photo HO installs at their site. Motor and WOW installs. Best I have seen so far. You can substitute a different brand of decoder sometimes.

RIch

Totally agree

Totally agree, it can be done ... but the video example you give is not live ... it’s “lone presenter mock live” shot “at the workbench” with deliberately staged shots. Shooting the process this way takes a lot longer than actually doing the install. For N, that’s the best way to do an install video — but you do need to check the video as you go to make sure you are in focus.

For TMTV, we do live video in studio. With live video, if you miss the shot because hands were in the way, etc, you just missed the shot — going back and redoing the same step again isn’t going to work most of the time. With N scale, it’s a lot easier on live video to loose focus or have the talent fumble the process because things are so tiny. With N, you need a very confident guest who isn’t at all camera shy — because with live video, the pressure is on.

To those who are interested

willing to document dcc installs

I have experience installing DCC into non-DCC friendly chassis in HO and in N. Please keep me in mind.

Regards,

Mark

Proposed video of decoder installs

I disagree with the statement that there would not be much interest in brass installs, particularly in steam.  Obviously, not as much as in diesels and/or anything modern.   But there are a lot of older brass out there, the owners of which are needing decoders. In many cases, the waiting period of installers is pretty long.   Nothing wrong with any of that but...….it would be nice and of some self-satisfaction to learn how to install your own.  Just saying.  

Texas-steam

Lots of old bass is not the same, They are entirely different from model to model,  So what is done on one model no way applies to anything else.  From rerouting pickup shoes to running with floating grounds and just many other oddities that go along with brass. Brass is all about isolation and separation.  

The reason for long waits sometimes, brass can very time consuming to install DCC,  It can take from 15 minutes to an hour on modern for an instal on some older plastic models,  But on a big articulated with dual motors it can sometimes become 1 or multiple day job dependent on what it is.  1 day for tear down and disassembly,  2nd day for decoder instal 3rd day reassembly and QA checks. etc. etc. mileage will vary based on the model and manufacture of the brass.  

Joe How about RailPro? Lee

Joe

How about RailPro?

Lee

Yes RailPro also

Sure, Lee, we'll take some RailPro installs as well.

My feeling is all install articles may contain “get it to fit” tricks you can use for any vendor's install, RailPro or DCC.

So yes!

Brass steam install

Installing decoders in brass steam can be tricky, I know a few people who still run DC because they don't want to deal with taking a brass engine apart or paying someone to do it for them.

I have done several brass steam installs, as mentioned above, it can be different for each engine depending on how the engine picks up power to how to isolate the motor.

Some of my installs I have been able to slip the decoders and speakers into the boiler now that the decoders are smaller and these little cube speakers are available.

If the decoder needs to go into the tender, I sometimes use a FL4 function only decoder in the smoke box to control all the headlight, marker lights, number board lights, cab light and firebox light. Then I then set the FL4 decoder to the same address as the primary decoder. This cuts down on the number of wires between the engine and tender. TCS has some nice pin connectors that I have been using to connect the wires between the engine and tender.

The biggest obstacle I find to installing decoders in brass is being able to take the engine apart and get everything back together, which sounds like it should be simple, but sometimes those little screws are glued in or painted in and will not come out. A trick is to touch them with the tip of a soldering iron for a few seconds to heat them up, this will normally free them. Plus screws that come out want to go back into the exact same hole. Brass can be soft so the screws will sometime self tap.

I am in the process of packing up my house for a move, so I am not in the position to write an article at this time. When I get to the new house and get everything unpacked I will work on writing an article on installing a decoder in brass steam.

Bill.

Thanks!

Bill.

Thanks, Bill. We appreciate it.

Good luck on the move. I've never liked moving -- I'm still finding stuff from the last move 25+ years ago, sheesh!

I have done many

DCC & Rail Pro.  I assume your talking about sound as well.  I like to examine the impact of the install relative to the engine on straight DC  & against a data base of similar engine tests.

Stewart AS16 install

I have a Stewart AS16 next up on the workbench for a Tsunami decoder install, replace the stock motor with a Kato HM-5, and install SMD LED for headlights and ground light.

Interested?   If so, I'll document and photograph as I progress through it.

Always interested.

Yes, we're very interested.

Sorted https://tcsdcc.com/ind

Sorted

https://tcsdcc.com/index.php/installation/ho-scale/1034

https://tcsdcc.com/index.php/installation/ho-scale/1057

https://tcsdcc.com/index.php/installation/ho-scale/1073

Phil