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HO MOD SIG MONTHLY MTG. MINUTES, Feb 9, 2008, Black Bear Diner in Redmond
by Norm Curtis, Chairman
COMMENTS:
1. Meeting Date: The next meeting is March 8th ‘08, 8:30 a.m., Black Bear Diner in Redmond
PAST SHOWS:
2.
PSC Jan 19-21, 08, Norm C
People seemed to have enjoyed this show, the 34th year. We were in bldg 3, down near
the South Entrance. This site is pretty nice as loading and unloading are close by and no elevators are required. Also, we
can entertain the visitors as they line up to buy tickets. People requested that we ask for the same space next year. The
kiddy layout was extremely well received and made a lot of kids smile. We still need a solution to the high speeds and fragile
commercial power packs for this age. Manpower was minimal on Saturday and Sunday, but Monday was very good. Thanks to those
who pitched in and watched over the kiddy layout and gave Tom some relief for an hour shift. Extra thanks for two shifts.
3. UNW Feb 2-3, Bob B coordinator
Friday setup went very well with sufficient people and lots
of time. The final stages of setup were a little hectic with new modules tweak and a no-show requiring moving modules to fill
holes at the last minute. Several guys went out and enjoyed dinner together Friday evening to avoid the heavy traffic. The
crowds were good and I’m sure that most people had a good time. The layout was very large, having 44 modules in the
loop plus the yard. This must be near our maximum size as we used every skirt and one black one, all that we have. (We do
have some additional special short ones for specific modules.)
Now the juicy part. The extra large size, new modules, and
presence of kids seems to have caused Murphy’s Law to join us and cause stress on equipment and people alike. Most of
breakfast was spent discussing how to deal with these issues so sit back and here goes:
A. Backboards:
With nearly all the modules there, one can easily see that many backboards are not in compliance with our "uniform" paint
scheme. This summer, we’ll have some work parties to correct this.
B. Tables: With so much room,
could we have more tables? Actually we just need to be a little tidier. In this case, we were dominated with problems and
too drained to deal with much else. In general though, each person should make an effort to stow stuff that’s not being
used. This looks good to the public, provides room for sit-down repairs, even helps find things during the show, and facilitates
takedown.
C. Westin Yards: We are making considerable use of the Westin yards although they were not designed
for that. We concluded that they needed to be improved with new subroadbed, ballast, sceniced, and backboards. This probably
should be done over the summer. As an after thought, some person could take on one or more of these and do said improvements.
D.
Dispatcher/ops opportunity: The large
size and presence of many of operators should have provided an ops opportunity. Unfortunately, we were overwhelmed with problems
and couldn’t take this on. Next year! In fact, we have requested the site next to the north wall where a dispatcher
could be located. As a sidelight, it seems that total involvement ops may not work for us. Instead, a limited ops with individuals
who want to operate prototypically is more likely to work. Think about how you could operate prototypically with others running
circles.
E. Rude takedown procedure with truck: After the show, the show host came over and described
to me how one of our people "barged" in, ignored the directions from their loading attendant, and all in spite of several
other vehicles trying to leave. As this is an isolated case, we don’t need to dwell on it; but I urge each of you to
be courteous during after-show traffic. Everyone wants to get home and is tired.
F. UTP Panel/Cab damage:
We experienced more than usual damage to cabs and UTP panels. This is just a reminder that this equipment is fragile and needs
to be treated with TLC. The cab damage consists of broken off antennas (bumped or used as handles), broken pots (the "off"
stop is extremely weak), and broken insides (When changing batteries, do not remove the battery holder. It breaks the electrical
components when reinstalling it.) Please consider removing the antenna if you use the UTP panels. Some of this damage is no
doubt from kids. More on that later.
G. Concerns about getting set up on Friday evening and not ready when the
show opens: Over the years, many people have expressed the desire to complete setup on Friday evenings before larger
shows. While desirable, there is just no way to force people to come on Fridays, and may be expecting too much when they live
far away or work. So, several things we can do:
a. If you plan on coming on Saturday morning, please be there when the
doors open.
b. If you are finished getting your modules up to the complete, clamped and joiners in stage, help someone
else do that!
c. Although we didn’t discuss it, if all the modules are not there yet, consider building the layout
as a partial loop having only one hole instead of leaving several openings.
d. I want to remind everyone, that the number
1 setup priority is to get the track complete and a locomotive run around cleaning testing the layout. Please do not, NOT,
do scenery, Plexiglas, and backboards until a train is running.
H. Ops board too low and too hard to see:
This is true. I’ll see what can be done. There is also the issue of not enough magnetic nametags. What happened is that
many people didn’t turn in names for tags when we made them. Then I discovered that people have many more locos and
trains that we anticipated. We are going to try having name tags with a name only on them, one per person. (We’ll keep
those already made.) Then when you run, add your train and road to that tag and post.
I. First time Modules:
When new modules are in the lineup, there will be bugs. I encourage owners to try to fix them if possible and not get
defensive or angry and others need to be extra patient. We want to have fun. There’s no value in being negative.
J.
No shows: The occurrence of no-shows is rare but in this case added to the frustration. We developed a policy for
this. If a person is not there (or called in) by two hours before showtime, then the hole needs to be closed. Also we need
to have phone numbers on hand to try to make contact. (Note: there is a phone list in one of the equipment bins. It is hard
to keep it up to date.)
K. Cab Bus issues: By far one of the biggest issues of the show was the cab bus
issue. Allan, Dave, Bob, and I have been working hard to solve this. NCE thinks that it is a power issue, with insufficient
power to run the cabs. There may be other issues as well. Solution:
1. We hope to power each permanent UTP panel in the
layout from the 12-volt bus. (If there are two panels on one module or adjacent modules, only one needs power. This will be
done by providing said module owners with a UTP panel plug and have the owner connect it via a wire to the 12v bus. We’ll
provide instructions and plugs. (Note: the plugs will provide for easy exchange if the panel is broken.)
2. We hope to
obtain a "storage scope" to enable us to see what is happening to the signals. Allen is putting together a scope that works
on a computer.
L. Size: Is there a maximum size and still have fun? As you can see in the above issues,
big layouts can bring big problems. It was generally felt that big is OK if we have enough people for setup and takedown.
We are going to have to solve our DCC issues before trying this big again.
M. Kids: The presence of kids
added to the frustration and enjoyment. As this is another page, I am going to deal with this later in the month.
NEXT
SHOWS:
4. TTMT 4/26-7/2008, Puyallup, Mike S
This is the other official 4D train show, and
hopefully will be the mother of all shows. The organizers are trying hard to correct all the known deficiencies of the last
two attempts. At present, TTMT will supplement the PSC show as the only current fundraiser for the 4D, so it deserves our
utmost support. You can help by doing the usual modular layout stuff, AND volunteering to help out (about 2 hours) or at least
just participating as a spectator. More late from Mike, the coordinator.
5. Rollin’ Rails, May 10, Norm
Confirmed
The date has finally been set for May 10. Mark it on your calendars. This is our breakfast/ops day,
so we’ll probably move them one week earlier to May 3rd. More on this later.
NEW BUSINESS:
6.
Module handling system: Paul
Paul has designed a neat little system that is a compromise between a cart and the
endboards that should make it easy to move multiple modules around. He showed drawings and we asked questions. He will make
plans available after a prototype is constructed and tested.
OLD BUSINESS:
7. Ops at Cherry
Valley, Norm C
There will be an ops session following breakfast for the foreseeable future. Tom needs more people
to fully "operate" his layout to it’s potential.
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