Crossing Gates/Flashers, 30-11012 Repair

dkdkrd posted:

...The only modification I needed to make to NWSL's gear was to ream out the I.D. a bit to get to a light press fit....an easy task.

Out of curiosity, did you literally mean using a reamer with its ever-so-slight tapering of the thickness of the gear...or did you use a #XX drill-bit (or whatever) to make a fixed diameter hole?

Thank you very much for the feed back.  I will make sure our production guys look into these improvements.  By the way this is the perfect category for your post.  Your post will help us and a lot of folks out there.  THANKS!

stan2004 posted:

dkdkrd posted:

...The only modification I needed to make to NWSL's gear was to ream out the I.D. a bit to get to a light press fit....an easy task.

Out of curiosity, did you literally mean using a reamer with its ever-so-slight tapering of the thickness of the gear...or did you use a #XX drill-bit (or whatever) to make a fixed diameter hole? 

Excellent question. 

I tried both ways....rat-tail file and a numbered set of drill bits.  They both worked.  But I favor the numbered bits...just easier for me.

KD

I just pulled a new set out of the box that I had bought at last October York.  I found that one wouldn't work, and after some analysis figured that the large screws were limit switches and started finagling with them, until it now works.  I concluded that the lower screw is for down limit, and the upper is for upper, and that screwing them out increases arc.  Correct?

I want to activate them from an insulated rail, so I guess I'll have to rig up a relay.

dkdkrd posted:

Not sure if this is in the right category, but....

Like so many of our (LHS) customers, I have a set of these wonderful scale gates/flashers on my layout.  After a couple years one....then the other...of the gates seemed to be balky in its up and down motion.  Then they seemed to have no motion at all.  But you could hear the small motor spinning away happily inside.

Since they were well past warranty, I decided to investigate....and found the common split nylon gear problem....the small gear at the end of the motor shaft which engages the ring gear.  

So I checked with Dave at Northwest Shortline....gave him the measured specs on the 10-tooth gear....and they have a brass one that is nearly perfect...p/n 37410-6.  The only modification I needed to make to NWSL's gear was to ream out the I.D. a bit to get to a light press fit....an easy task.

Well, cutting to the chase, I've repaired not only both of my gates....which have continued to work flawlessly....but I have rounded up a bunch of these that were set aside by other service folks, and been able to repair about 60% using this part/technique.  (In fact, I suspect if this accessory's most common problem were better understood....i.e., not 'messing' with the limit switch screws on the gate axle box...this repair would solve most of the service problems.

So, I offer this to you; first, believing you probably already know about this solution.  But also to encourage you to change the OE design of this small gear to a metal gear (preferable) or a more press-fit-robust polymer such as Delrin, NWSL's choice for replacement of split nylon gears....a seemingly never-ending source of misery in this hobby for decades past and to this day.

BTW....for those 30-11012 gates/flashers that had been altered or adjusted to far greater problems, I found that the flashing LEDs/circuit still operate very nicely.  Sooooo.....carefully removing everything related to the gates, only, and capping the post cavity with a piece of plastic tubing/paint......Voila!.....a decent operating crossing flasher!!

FWIW, always....

Ken Deming, Davison, MI

 

Ken,

i read your post with interest as I just installed two of these gates. Perhaps you can answer the question that I can’t find on the MTH site and the LHS can’t answer. Is it possible to control the gates from both directions? Without any helpful schematics to go by I tried wiring a second ITAD in parallel without success. 😩

You need an external relay to "arbitrate" the situation where the 2 ITADs give conflicting instructions to the gate.  Refer to this thread. 

https://ogrforum.com/...s-in-both-directions

Say $5-$20 depending on how much DIY wiring you can tolerate and if you "do" eBay (from Asia).

Thanks for the reply Stan.