Measuring Track Power at Chadwick Model Railway | 101. 

What an amazing little tip for fixing fish plates. Thanks Charlie. _ i be caught up soon I promise

The home-made fish-plate tool, one of those 'light-bulb' moments :-)

Thanks for the link to the heat shrink tubing printer...which I found a day after buying the printer you linked after an earlier video!! #facepalm, lesson learned!

Great tip for the fishplates :)

What on earth could those two people have found to swear and curse about? Your channel is one of the most relaxing, uncontroversial and gentles channels out there. I can't imagine how I could even become "a bit cross", let alone descend into a full, foul-mouthed rant against you!

For 40+ years I've cursed about sore fingers caused by fishplates, but now; never again. Thanks Charlie this must be the best tip I've ever been given!

Tool Station have the Brother printer under £50. Great, informative video. Thanks.

Another great and helpful video Charlie. I have an Alphameter and would not be without it now. You have also prodded my conscience into reviewing the snake pit that is my wiring! PS to hell with the keyboard warriors!

Great idea as for fishplates Charlie.

I like your fishplate tool, cunning wee idea.

Another great video. For about the price of one or two cups of coffee, supporting your channel is a worthwhile investment. You have prevented lots of derailments, short circuits, glued fingers, spoiled tee shirts and lots frustration and wasted time and materials. Thanks again.

Hi Charlie 👋 I really like this particular video and I shared it with the gentleman that built our panel for the club. I think I will actually use every thing that you shared on my layout too. And particularly the rail clamp installer. Couldn't remember your name for it, sorry. LOL

I have seen this device used before and I think it is a "must-have" for anyone with or making a DCC layout. I have looked through DCC Concepts Website and they do also cater for those, like me with DC layouts or the building of one. I have just read the comment below mine. There are now 11 Thumbs Down, but they never leave a comment to say why? Please do not think it is you, Charlie, I have seen the same on other Model railway RU-vidrs. Martin. (Thailand)

Hi Charlie, A Cool little tool for fitting fish plates,😊 I would fold a loop on the end you hold to stop potential stab injury. The DCC concepts Alpha meter looks a great product for monitoring the voltage and current drawn on a layout. I have a Lenz system and monitor my voltage and current at the transformer before it enters the DCC unit, this monitors all current drawn. Keep up the superb videos. Regards, David.

Charlie, you are a lifesaver - fitting fishplates (joiners) has been the most frustrating torture I have experienced since my eyes started playing up. What a simple idea. Tank you for featuring it today.

It would have been nice to hear you say it was me who gave you the rail joiner tip, but hey at least its getting the tips out there for modellers to use and that is mainly what its all about.

I just keep commenting about your shirt, nice clean one this time!

I'm late to the party but I feel the need to correct you, respectfully, on something. AC stands for alternating current, which DCC is (above and below 0v means current flows both ways). It is a square wave, but waveform has no effect on if something is AC or DC, only which way the current is flowing. Think back to your brake van. If DCC were DC rather than AC and you were on an isolated track, say a programming track, the brake van would not need a bridge rectifier as one wheel would always be positive and the other always negative but as it's AC you have to have the rectifier to change the current from AC on the rails to DC to the lights, complete with correct polarity on the LEDs. Other than this one thing, you're bang on with how you are describing things and please keep up the excellent work. You've taught me much and are my favorite model railroad RU-vidr out there. Second favorite once I post my own video but I wouldn't expect different from you were things reversed. :-D Even so, I doubt I'll stop looking up to you. Source: Former electronics tech.

Thanks Charlie for taking the time to create these videos. Much appreciated.

Thanks Charlie - very informative, clear and entertaining as ever. I'm between layouts at the moment, having moved from a spare bedroom (no longer 'spare' with the arrival of grandsons), to a limited space in a partitioned part of the garage, to a nice long run in the attic, which I now have difficulty accessing - so I have ordered a 12' X 10' insulated garden shed which will arrive in the new year. That will probably be 'it' - the final project that will see me off the planet. So in the meantime I am catching up on your videos to ensure that I have a running start when I start making the new layout - many thanks for your inspirational advice! A parting tip for those who don't have access to a printer - I use short sections of white electric cable sheathing with the inner wires removed to group and identify my wiring, written on with an indelible pen. Cheers!

(Time stamp 28 Minutes) Hi Charlie, that was an interesting way to tag-text cables. Me and my friends also put tag text on our cables but at a fraction of what your marking machine costs, how do we do it? Well, we do the following: A; Buys transparent/clear shrink hose. B; Prints the text that the cable will have with a standard printer with office paper. C; Cuts the text from the paper. D; Puts the rest of the paper back in the printer. E; Cuts the transparent/clear shrink hose to cover the paper strip. F; Lay the paper along the cable and pull over the transparent/clear shrink hose over the paper with the text. H; Heat up a little and we're done with the markings. Cost to mark a cable in 4 places will be ~0.17GBP

#1 Absolutely Brilliant with putting on the fishplates.

Once again Charlie I would like to thank you for sharing the hobby, more great ideals.

Attention to detail will give you a relatively reliable & enjoyable time running your trains. But if there is a problem, then all your work will allow you to problem solve quickly hence allowing you more time to run your trains and provide us more videos so we might learn now from all of your life’s knowledge.

I have the DCCconcepts Alpha Panel with my NCE PowerCab and have been thinking of getting the Alpha Meter, so thank you for your thoughts and showing us the meter working.

Charlie. Look forward to your videos each week. The fish plate tool is absolutely brilliant. Thanks for sharing with us 👍🏼

Another very useful and articulate article - thank you Charlie. As almost an aside, but pertinent, the "DC"/"DCC" dyslexia, which most of us suffer from time to time, can be effectively minimized by using the simple, unconfusing, original terms, "Analog(ue)" and "Digital".

Well the detail just gets better with every video. Honestly Charlie, the professionalism & detail you show & explain to us is fantastic. With the electronics, you don't give an in-depth lecture, but you show us what is basically going on & how it relates to the project you're dealing with. That would be enough to give a working knowledge which is exactly what is needed. I never feel daunted by the way you explain things & thoroughly enjoy the way you take us through the progress on Chadwick. Looking forward to seeing your next video. Stay safe & take care.

I love mine , Richard was kind enough to send me one out also doing a review on it 👍🏻 I too was surprised how little locos draw great video 👍🏻

Cracking video Charlie. Love the fishplate tip. Loved the blooper with the points set wrong.

That’s a Nice old British made controller (Hammant and Morgan) and I have a fixed output model which powered my AIRFIX scale model slot car racing……. When we used to make things here in England😇

Absolutely brilliant idea about the fishplates as I suffer from severe arthritis in my hands this will really help he also really wanted to know about the power readout unit thank you for this video from pete

Hi Charlie, I’ve been watching your channel for a relatively small time, but really enjoy your videos. I’ve just ventured back into the hobby after 40 or so years, but this time I’m building my layout in N Gauge, compared with OO from my childhood. I find it hard to believe that there are people out there that want to knock you, as I personally enjoy your presenting style and sense of humour. I think the fact that you leave in some of the mistakes makes things so much more enjoyable and that you can laugh at them, makes you very endearing. If it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t have discovered squires, or the RS wire stripper, your reviews / tests of various products always interests me and I totally value your opinion. Thank you for taking the time to present such informative material, keep up the great work.. Regards Derek

Well done Charlie! The quality of your video content really sets you apart from the rest.

Hi Charlie, re: the heat shrink labels... I just print onto plain paper, cut to appropriate size, pop the label onto the wire and use clear heat shrink to hold in place. Very simple, everyone with a computer and printer can do it and normal heat shrink tubing is so much cheaper than that stuff needed for your Brother label printer.

Wow, Apologies Charlie, only just seen this. The idea with the fishplates is pure genius !!!! Even more useful when people are working in N gauge !!!!! Great stuff !!!!

Hi Charlie, although my layout is DCC I have never thought of measuring the current. Your programme this week has certainly set me thinking. Thanks for that. Throughly enjoyed it as usual.

Greetings and Salutations from the colonies down under. I really enjoy your videos. So many ideas and methods that I've learned from your channel. The easier method of fitting fishplates is brilliant.Makes the fitting of N gauge so much frustrationless ( if that's a word)

Hello Charlie ! Fishplate tool = genius !! I'm making one immediately ! Thanks for the tip !

Damn! I saw one of those Brother printers (used) on Gumtree about 6 months ago for AUD$20 (about £11). It was complete in carry case with battery and tapes. I was toying with the idea of getting it, but didn’t. Had no idea they could print on heatshrink tubing. Kicking myself now!

G'Day Charlie Matey thanks so much for the á meter review. This has been an item on my to do list that I just haven't gotten around to yet and I wasn't a 100% sure if I'd want one..........do now :D The only small wee lil bug bear I have is I wish they made a flat black faced panel version as well. It would make the screen really pop out at you. Well I can always paint it I suppose.

Absolutely Brilliant why did i not see this Channel when I first started mine and my Wife's Layout in December i have watched all of them Now numerous times I Now have 8 Sheets of 6x2 9 mm boards running round our Loft. I was just ripping up a 6x4 board to replace the track to create more gentler curves so my Class 42 and 37 can get round without de-railing whilst playing this video. Love the Fishplate Fitting Tool absolutely Inspired no more shredded thumbs Keep Up the Good Work

Great video and very well explained 😎😎😎

Charlie, thanks for producing so much great content!

Charlie, After fitting 100's of fishplates the old way I am left with very sore fingers. Next time I will use your tip. many thanks for another great video.

Well done Charlie, I put a Circle of track on my loft floor the other day, I had forgotten how difficult it was to put the track together, and as for the fish plates a whole new thing, 50 years you just put Hornby track together so easy lol. The whole loft is now boarded out so one step closer.

Hi Charlie, Always a pleasure to watch your videos, love the fishplate tool, Alpha Meter review and especially the self-deprecation. ;) Big Thumbs UP!

Quite right to explain "subscriptions". I'm the first to admit I wasn't subscribed to any channels until my daughter told me it was free! Sounds great to a Scottish dinosaur!!! ;-) Brilliant tip on fitting fishplates too. I have never seen that before but I won't forget it now. Cheers. I do love the feeling of impending doom (Private Fraser) when you're about to switch stuff on despite your skill and the unlikelihood of it happening - ever the optimist! ;-)

Loved your comments on the word subscribe, reminded me of my wife a few years ago who told me she'd like to watch some videos but didn't want to pay to do it I had to explain that you don't pay to subscribe and she sensibly asked why the heck they call them subscribes then. A concise and unbiased review by the way more companies should use you to review their products especially woodland scenics lol.

Et La Charlie, point against! thanks for the tips. I enjoyed this very much. Learned a lot from this.

that printer for heat shrink or just on normal label tape would also be great for people into computers that end up with a lot of cables going all over and they can be a bugger to trace if you forget which one is from or to what piece of your setup like in a server rack or a coms rack where you have lots of power cables or Ethernet cables which all look the same .

Thank you for the ideas in this week's video. Cheers take care

Nice vid. I'd also like to see something about your test track setup.

Hi Charlie, What a great and enjoyable video it was last week. I am sure it was fun for everyone, me too. But not long after I finished whactng the vide I received very bad news. I have been awaiting this video to cheer me up. Hope you are well Charlie, Regards dan.

Another interesting and informative video Charlie. I love the idea of the tool for fitting fish plates. What a simple but effective idea. I really look forward to Friday lunchtimes and sitting down with a cup of tea to watch your video. Thanks for a great channel.

Another fantastic and inspiring video Charlie. Thank you.

I also agree with the comment below and cannot see why you would get a thumbs down, I think the work you do is excellent, I wonder how good the thumbs down people would get on with doing these videos

Hi Charlie, During lockdown I have been watching your videos & they have inspired me to have a go at a small DC layout with a Hornby Hogwarts loco that we already owned. Once finished I think I might have a go at a DCC layout after following your excellent channel.

As always very informative. Something to look forward to on a Friday! Love the 'Fish Plate Tool'. I going to have a crack at this over the weekend - Thanks again!

Thanks so much for all your updates - always enjoy them! You're a fantastic asset to the modelling community. Without wishing to be "that guy", one little nitpick just in case others bring it up - DCC *is* actually AC, as anything that crosses 0V into the negative cycle is an AC signal. It's just that DCC is a ~8Khz square wave ~16V, possibly asymmetrical AC signal which is of course nothing like 50Hz ~230V sinusoidal AC, which is of course UK mains voltage AC. It's a real nitpick though I fully admit - and absolutely bang on with everything else! A fantastic video as always, thank you.

Hello Charlie, you are brilliant. The fish-plate tool has save my sanity. I am in the middle of building a new layout and your tool is going to be a great addition to my tool kit. I have watched most of you videos and they continue to be a great source of both information and inspiration. I am one of those modelers who have limited space so I am making the most of what I have by building a U shaped layout. Thanks you for the great videos.

Stephen J.Price. A great piece of kit. Thanks for covering it on you’re channel.

Very interesting Charlie and a great tip for fish plates i'm going to try that it dose look like it saves a lot of fumbling around.thank you.

What an excellent vid Charlie as usual! You've convinced me to get the alpha meter. It's good to see a manufacturer supplying a useful product for a genuine review. Stay safe Charlie

Great video Charlie, particularly liked the wire labeling bit. Looking forward to the next one on the scenery 👍

Well Charlie, I've seen other fishplates tools but yours is much easier to me, thanks. As far as the matter, we use them on t th e San Diego museum layout, and I too was very surprised at how little power draw is with dcc decoder draw we can have up to 20 to 30 or more running and never reach our capacity of the system. You make a great point for labeling the wires. Just love seeing your videos, and had some great laughs at last weeks out takes takes video and with RU-vid videos are a great views....as always thanks for sharing....Jack 👍👍👍👍👍

Hello Charlie, great tip on the fishplate tool. Also a nice, honest review for DCC concepts. See ya next time. Take care.

Simply watching your videos with easy style is great. Then add in about model railway getting better. Although my own layout is at the adding detail stage there is always a tip of two to pick up. Could not be better!

Hi charlie, l am going to make a fish plate tool this morning. I mark or label cables using printed paper covered with clear heat shrink. Thanks for another great video. Sam

Hi Charlie, just managed to catch up on the last two excellent videos. I've now become a Patron as I realise the enormous amount of time and effort that you put into the videos. The standard of your presentation is always very high and I love the fact that you leave the little mistakes in. Keep up the good work. Cheers.

Thank you for yet another great video. I love the tip about the fish plate tool. Simplicity itself. I have acquired a set of the Boot lace ferrules and recently used them to rewire my Hi Fi system. Much better than just twisting wires. Looking forward to more videos.

Hi Charlie, many thanks for a great video. You really do pour your heart into sharing this hobby with us. You're keeping me focused on getting my layout up and running too which is great! Many thanks again and looking forward to the next installment.

Again Charlie very interesting.I am not shall we say electrically gifted but managed to put in a volt meter and an ammeter on each of the two cabs of my DC system.They never really worked well nor did they impart info in the manner I was hoping for.Well like a lot of people when I encountered DCC and sound I was hooked and although I can run DC I don’t.I mean why would you? my walk around NCE system is so much better.All that to say that this little product is just what I have been looking for on the dcc side.Thanks for bringing it to our attention.

You are always so clear in your explanations, thank you for your time.👍

Thanks Charlie, certainly will look to make use of the product from DCC Concepts 😊

Once again Friday lunch and your latest offering very useful again my wiring not as confident as yours but it works and looks neat and easy to follow do get good ideas from you and can’t wait till the next one keep up the good work.

A lot of great info in this video Charlie. Besides aging eyesight one of the other reasons for getting out of N scale was the fishplates jamming into my big fingers more often than not. Just got to be too painful. One could drill out a wood dowel and glue the longer end of your fishplate tool into it. Paint it a bright color and it will never get lost on the railroad. I am looking into the Alpha meter too. I probably will want to connect it with my programming track as well. I have some locos I have stored away. I have the Nano lubricants to tune those up with. I can see testing the amperage draw before tuning the loco and then testing afterwards with the Nano lubricants applied. I wonder if it will show a drop in the amperage draw? I will have to order the Alpha Meter from the UK. I have not found a dealer here in the U.S. for it. I also took a look at the Brother label makers for electric cable labeling. There are a few newer models that are smaller than yours that are for electric cable labeling. Models E105 and E110. I know I have the office version of one around the house somewhere. I read the comments by your followers about using the clear heat shrink. Now i wonder where that label maker got to.....

Watchin his again a third time ! It really is great watching someone so passionate about something and able to articulate it so well ! Could listen to Charlie all day long , might I suggest he is the next James may ? Both fantastic . One of the joys of lockdown ( and they are far and few between) really has been finding this channel 👌👌☺️☺️

Wow charlie this week has flown in !!!! Great to se u again , great episode lol ❤️❤️❤️😍😂😍

Have been eyeing off these meters for a little while now. I think you've sold me one. Another great vid mate- Sean

Marcus Bailey thank you for the information on fish plates

Speaking as an electrician ,. Your wiring looks good & neat well done 👍

Hi Charlie, another very interesting video. Thanks for posting. Cheers Greg

Hi Charlie yet again another informative and amusing video, love em. Regarding the fish-plate tool, as I am into N gauge you can imagine how difficult that is. Some while ago I saw this tool, very professional it was aswell but it was homemade, so I made a copy. I cut the plastic off a electrical connector leaving the two screws exposed and making it a lot smaller. I then placed this onto a short section of N gauge track. Tightening the screws when I got to the amount of fish-plate I wanted to slide onto the track. After the connector I bent the track and placed a nice handle that I got from Squires onto it. This tool for me at my age and eyesight is fantastic. I will show it on my site when I finally get around to laying track. So yes Charlie an excellent tip. Have to say I do like the idea of the Alpha Meter. Regards Chris

Thanks Charlie, nice review and some good tips! See you next time

Thanks for another great video. Based on this video, I have bought a DCC Concepts Alpha Meter. I have gone down the road of using ESU command station, and DCC concepts points and signalling gear. I am also going to use point rodding with the DCC Concepts ss surface mount point motors. So far, very happy with what I have. I'll post a video once I have things set up.

good advice thank you for help

Hi charlie Another great video and yes for me it will be a must have to see at a glance what my layout could be doing. Keep these great videos going. And thank you for reading my question out last week. Your friend and Faithfull subscriber. Peter from Birmingham

Another great video. Your “tool” came just a few days late as my track crew struggled to put on rail joiners last Thursday night. However there’s always more track to lay and I will surprise them with your high tech design. I have found that filing the bottom of the rail approximately 45 degrees makes it easier to slide the joiner/fish plate on. This is particularly true when doing narrow gauge track and their tiny rail joiners. Thanks,Joe

I wanted to add my 2 cents' worth (2 pence): I agree with the earlier comment about smiling when I get notified that you've made another video. I always find them interesting and helpful, and you are really quite good with your presentation--appropriately casual and friendly. How anyone can object is a complete mystery to me. Today's suggestion about a tool for installing fish plates had me going until I figured out what fish plates are--we Yanks call them rail joiners, but fish plates is a much more clever term. The tool is quite clever as well--I'll make one. I've damaged fingers and generally experienced frustration when installing fish plates, so the tool will help. Keep up the good work, and illegitimus non carborundum!

Hi Charlie, Just wanted to say a big thank you for your video last week. I found it really useful for my own channel. Had a bit of an understanding about it before but a couple of the points you raised I wasn’t aware of and as such found them really useful. Thank you sir and a big thumbs up from me! All the best and keep up the great work, Paul

If you also file the bottom and sides of the fishplate tool a little so it doesn't grip the fishplate very well it will stay on the track not come back with the tool. Then there's no need to grip the fishplate with pliers. Also if you slip a bit of paper behind the track it give far better contrast so if your sight isn't 20:20 it makes it easier to line it up and get the fishplate to go on on the third attempt instead of tenth time lucky!

Hi Charle, another great video. I use a similar meter for DC to check current and voltage on locos before adding a DCC decoder. The alpha meter looks very interesting. Thanks for the tip on fishplate tool, so simple yet highly effective.

Hi Charlie, great update.. really liked the review of the dccconcepts Alfa Meter. I’m going to have to invest in two of them to monitor my layouts power consumption. Until next time cheers

Thanks again Charlie. The fish plate tool is a brilliant idea. I think of all those times I have stuck fish plates into my fingers because it has resisted going onto the piece of track. I ended up using long nose pliers and a pair of forceps. This is so much simpler. I find an essential piece of equipment is Spencer Wells Artery forceps. They come in various lengths and in both straight and curved and have a pair of scissor handles. Because they lock while holding items, I find them really useful and use them in preference to reverse forceps.

Thanks Charlie, the only reason I can see for getting one these units for 12 v DC would be if you have a fleet of Triang or Hornby Dublo loco's and you wanted check that you're not about to max out your controller

The low amps are part of the "miracle" of using electricity to create horsepower on rails. That same economy of A/V is what makes (p-word) diesel locomotives so economical. There's a club in southern California with some absurd amount of HO track (like 300m worth) exactly modeling parts of the Union Pacific that runs (p-word) waybills between the 100+ "industries" upon that road. They pull something like 5 amps total running the thing (the laptops and such running the signals and the simulated dispatch orders pull more than the locos do). Once you get the rotor spinning in relation to the stator in an electric motore, Newton's 2nd kicks in and your A = W/V equation settles right down.

Great informative video Charlie ,i not one for reviews normally because i can tell who the reviewer is in bed with but you are as everyone knows a dead genuine kind of guy your review i take onboard as your honest opinion . Regards Dave

Good hat, good shorts, great legs :-) Another helpful and informative one Mr Bishop. I have 3 H&M Duettes, wouldn't be without them. Take care mate.