Same here.
Ton, also The Netherlands.

They look nice.
But 60 bucks for a lot off enclosed air is a bit steep in my humble opinion.
Are these the last 0n30 twitches from Mr. B.?

Ton

When totally out of flux you can try a little bit of candle wax.
It work fine to keep the oxygen away from the soldering process and doesn't corrode the metal.

Ton

I had a look at Jim's site, interesting, if you know what he is talking about and you have a basic knowledge of electronics and computers.
It is still to technical and to complicated for Joe the User.
Joe isn't that much interested in how it works as long as i does the job.
It is nice to know.
That's why i tried to keep my explanation KISS.

Ton

CW is obsolete.
In the Netherlands all C amateurs were given a full licence after CW was abolished.
So i can use HF.
No interest, i specialize in TV and satellites and USA narrow gauge. 
PA3 and PA0 amateurs are the one's with CW.

Ton

full licence radio ham.

Ton

This is a small movie i made of the pizza layout.
The porter runs on 500Hz PWM , no noise at all.
The controller is incorporated in the lampshade and the knob on top.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kG5ryPGOFAs

Ton

My Lenz equipment can also run a dc locomotive using address zero.
Makes a lot of high frequency noise and run in the opposite direction as is normal.
I can't be good for the life of the dc motor.
That said, i use a PWM controller i bought in China on a pizza layout and it works very nice.
It uses 500Hz and makes a lot less noise.

Ton

I stand corrected.

Ton

I get the impression, frequenting this forum,that a lot of beginners don't have a clue what DCC is and what the difference is between DC and DCC.
Here is an attempt.

The difference between DC and DCC the simple way.

First DC.
The controller produces a voltage between 0 and lets say 12V Direct Current.
When turning the control knob you give the motor of the locomotive an increasing amount of electrons causing the motor to turn faster and faster.
When turning the knob the other way the locomotive will go slower and stop in the end.
Some controllers have a knob that turn to the right and to the left of a zero point.
There are others that have a toggle switch.
Both change the polarity of the controller from +/- to -/+ causing the locomotive to run the other way.
There are also controllers that simulate acceleration and deceleration.
But that's a different story
Simple so far?

Now to DCC.
Better known as Digital Command and Control.
A controller with DCC will send a digital signal comprised off 1's and 0's ( on or off's) also known as binary to a receiver on the locomotive.
The receiver/decoder in the locomotive will convert these into understandable commands.
The carrier with DCC commands looks like AC, not DC.
Every locomotive on track has a specific name or address.
Every signal send from the controller first sends that address and then the information what the locomotive has to do.
So only the locomotive with the right address will react.
An advantage of DCC in comparison with DC is that you can run several locomotives on one track completely independent of each other.
For example; If you want an head on collision, not recommanded but no problem.
You can also program the decoder specifically for that locomotive.

This is what I understand DC is with an extra C.

I hope this is simple enough explanation for anyone who wants to start with DCC.

Ton

The arm is called a drive shaft.
Try a little bit of super glue after cleaning the shaft.

Ton

Standard for a dcc decoder is i believe always the same.
Correct me if i'm wrong.

Black and red for right and left track.
orange and grey for the motor - and +.
white and blue for head light.
Yellow and blue for back light.
brown and blue for extra function F5.
green and blue for extra function F6.
Purple is used for speaker.
Tan for cam (steam)

For led lighting add 1K resistor in white, yellow, brown and green wire.

Ton

I also made a T version using the spare front wheels as back wheels.
The one i made looks a bit like the Uintah Mallets only much smaller.

Ton

I had a spare 2-6-6-2, so i converted it into the one and only ever made by Baldwin.

https://youtu.be/Ehh3D5RMcGM

Ton

As my nickname may give you an indication.
I live in the Netherlands.
So, for me, importing from the UK is no problem at all, for the moment.

Ton