Recent Posts

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61
General Discussion / Re: Coffee Grounds/Walnut Shells for Ballast
« Last post by LVRR1856 on October 14, 2025, 03:18:39 PM »
I would advise not using coffee grinds based on the probability of them getting soggy from humidity and then turning moldy - yuk, then you have a mess on your hands. Walnut shells - probably a better option. But beware anything organic will eventually breakdown and decompose. Saw dust for ground cover would probably last a long time, especially if dyed/painted and glued.
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General Discussion / Re: Coffee Grounds/Walnut Shells for Ballast
« Last post by gregeusa on October 14, 2025, 10:39:42 AM »
Well, this is a forum for the RailPro products, not a general discussion on scenery...

usually close to neutral in PH, so no corrosive effect.

being organic, I'd worry about it eventually decomposing.

Here's a discussion on them:;

https://forum.trains.com/t/coffee-grounds-as-a-scenery-material/274065

63
General Discussion / Re: WTB Rail Pro Products ?
« Last post by carpediem4570 on October 13, 2025, 08:03:26 PM »
I realize I’m a little late to the parade.  I just wanted to mention looking for used product. 

I just purchased 15 lm3s chips for my winter projects.  The added benefit is they are a bit less expensive, and they came with extra wiring, which also costs money.

Being in Canada our dollar isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on so, cost is a factor.

Also, being in Canada and ordering railpro from the U.S.A. isn’t an issue UNLESS your package gets flagged for further examination.  Railpro does not have Canadian telecommunications approvals.  This could result in seizure.  I ordered my starter kit from yankee dabbler three years ago and there was no problem receiving my order.

I went with railpro because of the easy to use hand controller.  That made all the difference for me. That touch screen is wonderful.

Kind regards,
Max
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General Discussion / Re: Coffee Grounds/Walnut Shells for Ballast
« Last post by carpediem4570 on October 13, 2025, 07:44:45 PM »
Wow, so many views and no comments…

I did some research and it says make sure your coffee grounds are dry, otherwise they will go moldy.

Something else that was suggested was ground walnut shells.  I have several five gallon pails full of ground walnut shells.  And of course, if you need a finer grind, throw them in a coffee grinder.  Anyone use walnut shells?

Kind regards,
Max
65
Finished RailPro Installation Examples / Re: Athearn SW1500 Install
« Last post by Espeelark on October 13, 2025, 11:26:57 AM »
Howdy Rob - thanks for asking!
Nope. It's still sitting on my workbench waiting for the weather to turn. I've been very busy with outdoor activities: travel, yardwork, deck stripping and re-staining, exterior house painting, golf, yada, yada, yada....
When I get back to it, I will definitely post updates.
Yeah - starting out with an SW1500 as your first install was probably not the best choice. Good luck trying to shoehorn a PBM in there as well! I want to see how you accomplish that!
Paul Mac
66
Finished RailPro Installation Examples / Re: Athearn SW1500 Install
« Last post by sieggs1 on October 13, 2025, 06:18:10 AM »
Hey Espeelark,

Did you ever finish this install?

I spent many hours on installing a LM-3S-21 and later, a LM-3S in my BN SW1500. It's still not right.

I am trying to shoehorn a PBM-2 in there as well. I keep having to shorten the wires, file the chassis and reconsider other ways to do it. Probably NOT a good candidate for my first install. Then my HC-3 failed and I had to return it to RE.

Now that I have done some other installs in larger locomotives (Two GP35's and a GP38), I am going to revisit the SW1500 and try again.

I think I might replace all the Athearn bulbs for LEDs and that might simplify the wiring a bit.

Let us know your status, if you would. Thanks.

Rob S. "sieggs"
67
RailPro Specific Help & Discussion / Re: Problems with speaker pins on LM-3S
« Last post by CPRail on October 07, 2025, 01:28:50 PM »
No, I cascaded one down to use to power my turntable (no sound needed there!) The other had further issues, so it's now my "space" tester module for planning installs. I bought them used for a good price, so it wasn't worth it to ship them to Ring (I'm in Canada).
68
RailPro Specific Help & Discussion / Re: Problems with speaker pins on LM-3S
« Last post by sieggs1 on October 07, 2025, 12:59:26 PM »
Hey Ian,

Thanks for the response.

I'll take a reading with my multimeter and get back to you. It's discouraging to hear that the older modules can blow out speakers. In this case, it seems as though the pins are dead.

Did you end up returning your modules to Ring Engineering for replacements?

Rob S.
69
RailPro Specific Help & Discussion / Re: Problems with speaker pins on LM-3S
« Last post by CPRail on October 07, 2025, 08:30:39 AM »
Hey Rob,

I've had two of the older LM-2Ss have bad pins, so bad they blew out speakers - twice! All because I thought I did something wrong with the hook-up, not that the module was bad. Expensive mistake.

Have you connected a multi-meter to the pins to see if they are putting out any juice?

Pics of the install can help us diagnose the issue, so if you have any, please attach. The gurus on here are super helpful in these kinds of issues!!
70
RailPro Specific Help & Discussion / Problems with speaker pins on LM-3S
« Last post by sieggs1 on October 07, 2025, 05:12:40 AM »
Hey all,

I have installed a used LM-3S in my old Athearn blue box GP-35 diesel. I have all the light functions working including a PBM-2.

The one thing I cannot seem to get working is the speaker. I have a single, wired speaker that will NOT work when plugged into pins 1 and 2 of the 6-pin connection on the LM-3S. I have another GP-35 with the SAME speaker plugged into another LM-3S module that functions beautifully.

Has anyone ever had specific pins on an LM-3S fail? Doesn't sound right. I tried another speaker and it still didn't work.

I changed up the sound files on the buttons on the HC-3 for the locomotive and I can't get it to play any sounds.

I did have to flash new firmware for this module and the new version was confirmed in the controller.

Is there some kind of reset I need to do to get this to work? I don't see any physical damage to the pins and I have confirmed the speaker works with another module.

Any ideas?

Thank you,

Rob
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