removing my account

[mf5117]

dear mr simkon I'm removing my account .there is way to much arrogance here for the not so knowledgeable . #2 I thought this was a bachmann site not a every other product site but bachmann site . I'm tired of getting hammered everytime I post something . I will continue to read but not post my opinion due to people like you .and some others . on this site there are some people who really know their trains and history . and some people who make you want to walk away from something that give's you a peace of mind .

some good people I don't see on here anymore and it kind of makes you wonder . and a few have stuck around . because they have the know how and the ability to teach guide and lead someone in the right direction . my trains get along fine .this is the product I started out with so I figured I could come here and get some help .But as I said, I usually figured out my own problems . I just wanted to be a part of something other than work .
so have fun and run someone else off who has an interest in what we do .
thanks everyone who has helped me . yampa bob ,joe satnik,jim banner,rich g ,jward ,palthenbridge  ,rustyrails,jonathen,sante fe buff ,  peace to all and   it's my railroad

Thanks

[pdlethbridge]

You are right about the know it alls. They need a double dose of modesty and humility. But if you go, then they win, not you. So don't be afraid to ask a question. Most of us are here to help, not hurt. If someone is rude to you, report it to the moderator.
Hang in there!

[simkon]

Dear Mark,
I was not trying to be mean to you or offend you, and my comments weren't even directed toward you. I was just saying that often times, if one would just slow down just a tad bit then there would be less "guessing" and "interpreting." If the problem is a bit more clear to everyone, then one would be able to get better advice. I'm not saying a lack of clarity due to a lack of technical knowledge, but due to rushing to post the problem that is being experienced as quickly as possible. I don't know all the model railroad jargon or terminology, nor do I expect someone else to know it. Often times, if one would just take the time to include a couple more pieces of information, the problem would go from insolvable (due to a lack of information) to easily solved. If you feel that I said anything that was inappropriate, I sincerely apologize, and if anyone else was offended by my previous post or this post, I apologize to you as well. Mark, I hope you and others continue to enjoy the hobby and learn more about the hobby. So, hopefully all you guys out there continue to help the hobby progress to greater heights. Remember, model railroading will be a lifetime of fun for generations to come. Thank you Bachmann Industries LLC for providing this forum for model railroaders around the world to communicate and share their experiences. If you see the need to delete this post, then by all means go ahead, if you think it is inappropriate. I appreciate all the advice I received on this forum, and would like to thank Jim Banner personally for all the assistance he has provided on the forum. Jim, you are wealth of knowledge and a great asset to the hobby, and wish you all the best. Happy Model Railroading! Adieu

[pdlethbridge]

    I think, at the very least, that was well said.
    If any of us need help, then the best way to do it would be to provide as much information as you can, such as scale, particular engine / car, analog or DCC, Control system, etc.
    If a person says, my train doesn't run, you can see that a lot of information is needed before the question is answered.

[jward]

as i see it, the main problem is that when we are stumped by a problem, oftentimes the information that would allow others to solve the problem or at least point us in the right direction is something that never occurs to us. in many cases, we simply don't know enough about the problem to even look for its symptoms.

take for example my recent thread on decoders losing their address. while that is a work in progress, the fact that somebody more knowledgable than i am suggested static as a possible cause because he was patient enough to work through the possible scenarios of my problem, and i was able to eliminate the causes and supply a little more information each time i replied.
i've gone to tech school for electronics and i never would have thought of that. thanks jim......

the point i am trying to make here is that we all come to the hobby from various backgrounds, we all have been in the hobby for varying lengths of time, and we've all done some unique things with it. the body of knowledge waiting to be tapped into here is far too valuable to let a few people drive you away. what we've got here is far better than any magazine on the market as far as answers and iinspiration are concerned. if i am not mistaken, we even have at least one member of john allen's old crew posting regularly here. oh to have been in the shadow of such greatness......

one thing i would like to suggest is that people post replies based upon their personal experiences rather than on what is "common knowledge" because in this way we can avoid the "urban myths" that even this hobby has, and concentrate on real and innovative solutions.....

[pdlethbridge]

Sounds like a problem I had at my brothers with a brass mogul I had put DCC in. It ran fine at my house but wouldn't run on his layout. It wasn't the engine but the controller. It sometimes takes time to solve some problems.

[RAM]

Yes this is a Bachmann site, but I am sure that over 90% of the members have equipment that is not Bachmann.  I see nothing wrong with asking for help with other companies products as long as we do not run down any company.  I have heard of one site that if you mention another company's product, you are deleted.  I know on the Atlas site, there are a few who think that Bachmann's products are junk.  I thought that for a long time too.  I know now that Most of Bachmann's products are good to great.  Is there room to improve. Yes.  I don't spend much time on Atlas any more.  It has a lot of people that know it all, and want you to know that they do.  I would hate to see  Bach man say you can talk about other companies products.  How ever people should be nice to others.   

[Jim Banner]

You betcha we have a good thing going here.  A place to meet, discuss our problems, show our progress, and sometimes have some disagreements.  I feel that every one of us has something to contribute.  Usually it is in some part of our hobby that we particularly enjoy and often the area that we are best at.  So when someone asks a question, it is only natural that we want to help by answering it.  And that is good.

But several things can go wrong.  One is that several people answer the same question, and each gives a valuable answer about what works best for him.  Being human, we all think our answer is the best because it works for us, but really, the person asking needs all those different opinions so that he can work out for himself what is best for him.  Fighting over who is "most right" is not only counter productive but also very annoying.

Another trap that is easy to fall into is casually dismissing the questions from newbies.  "I've answered that question already."  "I see others have answered it too."  "So why do you keep asking the same dumb question?"  Well, there is a continuous stream of people entering the hobby.  And often they have similar concerns.  For example, "Can I run my DCC engine on my dc layout?"  We have all seen that one .  Many of us have asked it.  Some of us have answered it.  But this is a question that just won't stay answered, nor should it.  How many of us, who have dealt with VHS vs. Beta or MAC vs. PC would intuitively think that two very different train control systems could in any way be interchangeable?  There are two possible ways of reacting to such questions - ignore them or answer them.  If these questions annoy you, by all means ignore them - someone will still answer them, hopefully someone who recently joined our hobby, has asked the question, and is now willing to help by answering it.

That leads us to a third problem that can occur - "a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing" syndrome.  I see that most often in discussions about DCC (not surprising, as it is the electrical/technical part of model railroading that interests me most.)  Having learned a bit about one system, the writer assumes he knows everything about all systems.  The more I learn about DCC, the more I admire the engineers working on new developments.  But no one, not even those engineers, would ever claim that they knew everything about DCC.  Sometimes the misconceptions are harmless.  Other times, they are almost like a virus, spreading here from other websites in the form of urban legends (could we call those "technical legends??)  If I may digress for a moment, I will tell you about how things morph as they spread, almost like the old campfire game of telling a story around a circle.  The original "fix" for installing decoders in Bachmann locomotives was worked out by Stan Ames, with his vast experience in DCC, and me, with some knowledge of electronics, right here on this website.  What we came up with is that you need to cut one leg of the capacitors on the decoder adapter board.  By the time this had spread to other websites, and then from website to website until it finally made it back here, it had morphed into what we still sometimes hear today - that you have to remove (some claim you have to "unsolder") the capacitors AND the choke coils, and then replace the coils with pieces of wire.  When pressed for details, the usual claim is that the coils are inductive and might interfere with the motor pulses - a harmless delusion when you look at the small inductance of the coils compared to the much larger inductance of the motors.

But that does bring up a fourth problem that occurs.  Sometimes an answer is not just a little bit off, it is just plain wrong.  It is bad enough when the advice endangers someones toys, like suggesting something that will both damage them and void the warranty.  But when the advice entails danger to someones health, or even life, then we have to react.  In my opinion, we have no other choice.  The important thing is to inform everybody who may have seen the bad answers that they are dangerous and why.  This is the one time that it is excusable to ignore the feelings of the person giving the bad answers.  It is much more important to state in no uncertain terms whatever needs to be done or not done.  Fortunately, this rarely has come up this forum.

I am sure there are other things that can go wrong, problems that we have to watch out for in order to keep this board operating on an even keel, I hope others will post them.  It has already been mentioned that we need to treat one another with kindness and respect.  My feeling is that by knowing the problems that can arise, we can do just that.

Jim

[jonathan]

You put it well, Jim.

One of the reasons I joined this site, is most folks tend to be more polite here.  I'm sure we can keep that trend going. 

We are human, so sometimes we misunderstand each other.  We can get past that.  I believe we all have good intentions, or we wouldn't take time out of our beauty sleep to share with each other.

Regards,

Jonathan

[Robertj668]

I really enjoy the people on this forum.  There is a lot of great people on here too.  I belong to a few other for HO and Slot car forums and boy the arrogance from some people.

I do agree with Jim on that that I do see some of the same question get asked by new members.  I wish that some of the most popular questions like Jim Mentioned "Can I run my DCC engine on a my DC layout" in FAQ's section.  Or some forums have a thing that allows popular question to always be on top. I think it's called "Pinned."  I try to search first before I ask a question and if I cannot find it then I ask.

My Local Hobby shop has people that visit (They do purchase from time to time) there and judge everything you do there and has a comment on what you are purchasing.  They stand around and its hard to get help sometimes. I do love the Owner though I think I will have to chat with him on it.

Sorry but the article made me think of my last few Hobby Shop experiences and my experiences of the other forums.

Robert