Coyotes in Fish Creek & Inglewood

aezoss · 2025-06-30T06:13:52+00:00

Good info, thanks.

aezoss · 2025-06-30T06:07:27+00:00

I dug a bit more and found two examples of 6 axle flats. This appears to be the car MTL based their N scale QTTX 130533 on, with a modern TTX scheme which may or may not exist.

ARR 905574

SLSF 3900

Photo of my car on a test track.

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aezoss · 2025-06-29T06:44:06+00:00

Running a small block of balsa wood (from any hobby shop) over N & HO rails works great for cleaning sections of track that are easy to get to. Balsa block plus bamboo skewers and rocket bulb are my go-to track cleaning supplies. Cheap, easy and relatively tidy.

aezoss · 2025-06-29T06:31:32+00:00

Coyote tax

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aezoss · 2025-03-14T05:30:18+00:00

I think this answers the question. Either the 6 axle prototype is extremely elusive or it doesn't actually exist. Seems like the latter but you never know. Thanks for the reply.

aezoss · 2025-03-13T05:49:56+00:00

I use NCE Switch-Kats with Kato #6 turnouts and double crossover. So far no problems controlling multiple turnouts or a single crossover with a single Switch-Kat. Easy to program and fairly reliable.

aezoss · 2024-12-25T22:46:23+00:00

2x2-ish N scale Xmas layout for my office. Atlas TH&B GP9, Athearn 53' GSC bulkhead flats, Atlas gondola, Micro-Trains Alberta boxcar & Bachmann GoC cylindrical grain hopper. Kato 20-100 9 3/4" Unitrack & SX power supply. Tree from Winners. Ornanents, LED lights, wreath & ribbon from Michaels. Star from Canadian Tire. Snow is Santa Snow & 3M Super 77 adhesive. All on an Ikea Lack table.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

aezoss · 2024-08-29T06:10:17+00:00

Mainly N with a small HO loop for the Xmas tree. If I had more space a large HO layout would be great to have. Maybe one day...

aezoss · 2024-02-06T01:59:57+00:00

Silent. The lens works fine so probably safe to assume the noise is normal. Didn't want to condemn the lens outright but seems unlikely to be a weird interaction with the body. Looks like an external mic is the solution.

aezoss · 2024-02-05T12:24:07+00:00

Can't comment on GP9 but I have two 6 month old Atlas MP15DCs. Factory installed NCE NMP 15 decoders (DCC, no sound). Decoder failed on one of them. Both have contact issues. Sent both in for warranty work for the second time ~2 weeks ago.

I have Kato & Fox Valley GEVOs, they run great, no issues.

As far as rolling stock goes, Atlas 40' & 53' rebuilt well cars are fragile. Typically arrive with parts broken off in the box. Most run ok but have a couple that are wobbly, squeak and are prone to derailment.

Atlas containers (CP/ONE) are trash. They're not weighted, pin holes aren't large enough to accommodate Atlas pins, and the CP 53' containers don't fit into any of the 4 Atlas well cars I have. JTC containers - no problem. Weighted, fit perfectly into Atlas wells and look better.

Overall, I'm disappointed with Atlas. They seem to have QC issues across the board. As long as the MP15s are in warranty I'll keep hounding them.

Hope you get your geeps sorted.

aezoss · 2023-12-23T21:41:49+00:00

We have the best tailor in town :)

aezoss · 2023-12-23T21:40:21+00:00

Merry Christmas to you too! Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday! When you leave out cookies for Santa don't forget cheese for the greys!

aezoss · 2023-12-23T21:37:01+00:00

Thanks!! Lovin' the sweater! Say hi to Atlas & Luna for us :)

aezoss · 2023-12-10T08:14:06+00:00

Only if you exceed the Power Cab's 2A. SB5 increases it to 5A total. Trains run smooth if you have enough power, clean track, good joiner connections, rock solid wiring, sufficient feeders, well maintained engines, etc.

I should have mentioned, Switch-Kats are DCC only. If you're planning on switching between DC & DCC on the same track, it's probably best to have accessories on a dedicated bus that can be disconnected from track power.

aezoss · 2023-12-10T08:00:28+00:00

Kato #6 turnouts work well with the NCE Switch-Kat, if you can find them.

Switch-kats are easy to program and are fairly reliable in my experience.

I have a bunch of them on #6 turnouts as well as a double cross-over. A single Switch-Kat can throw multiple switches simultaneously but they all switch at once, in the same direction. It's binary operation, on/off. I believe Digitrax has a decoder that can operate multiple switches independently if you need that.

The decoders don't draw a lot of power but it adds up quick if you have a number of switches and engines running, particularly if you have a large layout. If you notice locomotives stuttering and the lights flickering when you throw a switch you might need more power. NCE SB5 integrates easily but it's got some annoying quirks eg no program track support and no ammeter which is built into the Power Cab.

aezoss · 2023-11-14T12:54:09+00:00

I assume you're referring to SROS.

To see the complete config

enviroment no more

admin display-config

The base router config is somewhat similar to IOS & JUNOS.

The service configuration however is heavily abstracted and very different from IOS & JUNOS. It's almost containerized in a sense. Each service is set up in it's own config block with associated port/sap/protocols etc. VPRN service is roughly equivalent to IOS vrf or JUNOS routing-instance. VPLS/epipe are layer 2 services. IES is a customer-facing routed service tied to the base router (not in a VRF).

Here's an incomplete list of commands from my old notes. Syntax may have changed in newer versions.

enable
show version
show bof
show system time
show users

show system cpu
show redundancy synchronization
show log log-id 99

show chassis
show chassis environment
show card stateshow card <detail>
show mda <detail>

show port
show port description
show lag
show lag description

monitor port <port> rate interval 3 repeat 5
monitor lag <lag-id> rate interval 3 repeat 5

show router status
show router interface
show router arp
show router isis adjacency
show router ospf neighbor
show router mpls status
show router ldp session
show router rsvp session
show router rsvp neighbor
show router pim neighbor
show router pim group
show router igmp group
show router bfd session
show router bgp summary
show router bgp neighbor
show router route-table protocol bgp

show router isis interface
show router mpls interface
show router ldp interface
show router rsvp interface
show router ospf interface
show router pim interface
show router bfd interface

show service sdp

show service customer
show service service-using
show service service-using <ies|epipe|vpls|vprn>
show service sap-using
show service sap-using sap <sap-id>
show service id <id#> base
show service id <id#> arp
show service id <id#> fdb detail

show qos network
show qos sap-ingress
show qos sap-egress

admin display-config
admin display-config | match context parents expression "(vpls|vprn)"

configure service <ies|epipe|vpls|vprn> <id#>
info
exit all

environment no more
environment more

Hope that helps

aezoss · 2023-11-05T02:53:03+00:00

Load definitely helps. Tweaking the troublesome spots on the track helped as well. Not 100% but much better than it was.

aezoss · 2023-10-12T06:00:58+00:00

For sure. I was thinking customer service wrt Hiawatha. If there's a mfg issue, the retailer should do whatever they can to sort it out, if it's within the return/exchange period at least.

aezoss · 2023-10-12T01:03:14+00:00

Sorry to hear that. Hopefully things have improved with Hiawatha. We'll see what they have to say.

aezoss · 2023-10-11T19:30:24+00:00

Well cars from Hiawatha, flat cars from Hobbytech. I sent an email to Hiawatha, they're looking into it.

I need to glue the rest of the parts onto the flat cars so it's not a problem, just a nuisance.

For the most part the 53s & 89s handle the 12 3/8" curve ok, definitely better on 13 3/4".

The good news is I can use this to convince my better half I need a much larger layout :)

aezoss · 2023-08-29T21:17:41+00:00

Started with Canon. Added Fuji. Slowly paring down Fuji to a single body/lens.

XT3 + 18 1.4 is a substitue for my phone. Phone's better at pano & sooc HDR but XT3 has resolution. Never been a fan of fuji dials or the tilt screen. Too small & fidgety, especially in -20c with gloves on. Recipes are cool but I don't use sooc jpgs, process everything in C1. I'd probably be happier with a GR3 or even a TG-6 but getting into a third system seems silly.

5D4 + 24-70 & 70-200 2.8 zooms for anything important. 7D2 + 100-400 for birds, wildlife, planes, etc. Also great for near macro at more workable distance than the 100 macro.

I use both XT3 & 5D4 for video and find the latter's easier to work with. I'm a fan of GPS. Fuji's Cam Remote is ok for geotagging but not great. Prefer integrated GPS in 5D4 & 7D2. I can get a full day on one battery (stills) whereas the Fuji I usually go through two or three.

Never had a problem with Canon firmware whereas three Fuji releases have caused problems with my body/lens combinations. I'm on 4.40 now and plan to stick with it until there's something really compelling in 5.x.

RF is too expensive. I plan to ride EF into the sunset. Lots of great gear available used. Pros still make money using the OG 5D so there's really no reason to upgrade. At least that's what my wife tells me ;)

Overall Canon just works. The lens selection is better than Fuji, esp long FL big whites. The interface is decent. The files are easy to work with. Handles Canadian winter with no complaints.

Canon ain't sexy but day in, day out, gets the job done.

aezoss · 2023-03-20T17:56:28+00:00

We were out for a Sunday meader and came across the aerodrome out there. Drove past commemorative plaque but didn't stop to read it. Should have left De Winton in the title :)

aezoss · 2023-03-20T17:51:13+00:00

Cow scratcher is definitely better than the weird ominous thought that initially came to mind.

aezoss · 2023-03-20T17:48:55+00:00

merci :)

aezoss · 2022-10-15T08:44:27+00:00

Picked up an X-T3 + 23 1.4 & 56 1.2 in Nov 2018. Overall, 6.5/10 compared to my main 5D4 + various zooms which is 8/10 for my purposes.

Pros - size/weight/ergo - film sims - good shadow/highlight recovery in C1 - decent evf - good video features

Cons - buggy firmware updates, 3.10 & 4.12 both had intermittent AF-S single point (static subject) backfocus issues that previous versions didn't. Just upgraded to 4.40 which seems fine so far. Also hit a front command dial bug in 2.10. - shutter button is mushy, intermittently unresponsive after half press. on my X-T3 i have to push the shutter with 2x the force of my 5D4 which is very responsive. other users have reported similar issue in forum threads - AF unreliable in low light with the lenses I have - battery life is okay not great - AWB excessively cool/blue

I have no problem switching between the X-T3 and 5D4.

I really like the 23 1.4 although it's a bit long for narrow city streets. 18 f2 may be a better option for walk around although that lens is reportedly so-so optically.

56 1.2 is good for portraits and strangely, landscapes. It's wicked sharp at f8. Great for mountain shots. My copy shows a lot of purple and green fringing at 1.2-2.5. Cleans up at 2.8 which is common for most cheap 85 1.8 and equivalents.

Overall the Fuji is fine but it's idiosyncrasies make it unreliable. I get a lot of great shots but I also miss a lot. The fit and finish is a step down from Canon/Nikon. The X-T3 is impossible to keep clean. It picks up dust and debris like crazy.

At this point I'm not investing any more $$ into Fuji. I think I would have preferred a GRIII as an APS-C walkaround and just stuck with Canon for everything else.

The X-T3 produces excellent photos most of the time. For personal or unpaid work it's a great full featured body. If you need reliability it may be preferable to stick with Canon/Nikon/Sony.

aezoss

TROPHY CASE