An Update: Layout, Snow, Books, and Wireless DCC

It's been over a month since I've posted any real update about modelling projects or any kind of progress.  For starters, I have been making some progress on the layout room.  The challenge is that being a father of 2 now it's harder to find time to squeeze this kind of thing in.  As a result a lot of the work gets done in bursts with no work happening for long distances in between.  That's not a preferable scenario but sometimes you just gotta make it work with life.

I now have the track light setup enough to cover the interchange/storage track above the workbench and going down the long wall of the layout room.

The big big biggest accomplishment (really, it was a ton of work), was getting the backdrop piece over the window.  The backdrop is mounted to the benchwork and is an almost perfect fit, within 1/32"!  The backdrop is 1/8" MDF with 1/2" plywood vertical supports, similar to how I did the Texas City Terminal backdrop, but this time it's just screwed in and not removable.  The "perfect fit" part of it was achieved by pre-drilling the holes for the mounting screws two r three times as big as necessary.  I used 1 inch fender washers with the screws and screwed in the backdrop.  Once I put the benchwork in place on the shelf brackets I loosened the screws on the backdrop and the over-sized hole gave me enough wiggle room to move the sheet into perfect position.  It sounds easy but it took me a few tries to figure out a system that worked and then get it into place.

You might have noticed I set my test scenery module up on the left of the photo, and you might also have noticed it has some white stuff all over it.  I've been doing some experiments with snow.  Snow is hard to model, but I feel I'm getting a bit closer.  I did a little project to attempt footprints in the snow down the middle of the track.  It actually came out I think.

However, I got a slight dose of reality with some of this.  Baking soda has been one of my key ingredients and it apparently causes corrosion to metal... I learned after the fact.  Well that's why you do stuff on an experimental module and not the layout, right?  I've been looking at Woodland Scenic's snowflakes and I think they might be a good non-corrosive substitute, though maybe a bit more expensive.

I also finally picked up a copy of New York Harbor Railroads in Color, Volume 2.  I founded it at a fair price on eBay.  This is a book I've been thinking of getting for years and so far it's really great.  Thomas Flagg has documented above and beyond what many railroad books do.  I read in some of the reviews people complaining about too much coverage of boats and ferries.  There is a lot of that but overall I think the book is great.

Lastly, it was my birthday a few days ago and my wife got me a much-needed upgrade for my DCC system: NCE's RB02!  If you aren't familiar with NCE's lineup, the RB02 lets you take the entry-level PowerCab (which I have) and upgrade it to allow wireless throttles.  Of course, what's a transmitter without a new Cab06R?  Since I was monkeying with the system I figured I'd upgrade to v1.65 of the software as well.  This is a chip you order from NCE and it just drops in the PowerCab unit.

First off, the most important thing and probably what everyone does when they get this system is see how far away they can be and still drive a train.  I'm here to report this system does *not* work in a completely different room.  Hah.  Good news is it pretty much works everywhere in my 11x16 room so long as your back isn't turned to the antenna (more on this later).

One thing I noticed quickly is that the height the RB02's transmitter is at makes a big difference in the chance of a command succeeding and the speed at which it the engine responds.  I ended up setting the RB02 at around 36" off the floor which is just slightly lower than the height I'm holding the throttle at.

I'll need to play around with the positioning a bit more.  The starting location will probably be in the center of the room.  I might also try sticking it on the ceiling to see if that helps.  NCE does sell a repeater so if push comes to shove I can always have the RB02 in one corner and a repeater in the opposite corner making it impossible to never be facing an antenna.