Modules Acquired & Wiring Updates
Back in October last year, I purchased the modules of somebody who since left our group, giving me another 90° and 9′ of track. These fitted into the car quite snuggly, as they were already crated for transport. Bear in mind that I already have 180° and 6′ of modules of my own, but I’ve also bought a newer, hopefully bigger, car!
As can be seen on the underside of the corners above, these boards have our original specification flying leads for connecting boards. These have been known to be ripped off in transit, so we’ve moved to brackets and sockets. Today’s project was to update the boards that we’re taking to Amberley in July.
The Grainge & Hodder boards only have reinforcement at the corners, where the legs bolt through, so a shim was required to prevent a meaty enough screw from poking through. The brackets also needed to be modified, as I’d failed to buy the same banana sockets as last time, these having a thicker barrel! A step drill in the pillar drill quickly enlarged these to the required ½”.
The Tim Horn boards have a thicker end plate, so only required a thin shim. This cruel close-up shows that I didn’t glue the shim on straight! Still, you can see the fully insulated connection below using blade connectors. I’ve used these as my soldering can be a bit hit and miss, which has partially melting a socket due to the metal insert getting too hot. Making the leads up separately, and soldering the cable to the blade connector to ensure continuity, I’ve acheived a much neater installation, at least in my opinion.