Odd, safari doesn’t “see” the iceverything link above here for me. Guess it doesn’t like my iPhone or something!
So who is going to be the first to start an actual Wiki article?
Well, my thread on adding a Revo to a Gen-2 Bachmann 2-6-0 is probably worth keeping where it can be found?
Edit: so I copied it over to the Wiki. Explain to me again what is the advantage compared to being able to find it in the Forum?
Bob,
That is a very easy answer for me!
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BILL HINES
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Peter, I’d like to try an edit on your page. I’ve noticed that Wikipedia sites have reference page links and a link to an official web page. May I have link to the original post on LSC and if your railway has a webpage, that too?
Edit… but how does one access the wiki?
Bill, the Wiki is now a category, like Modelling. On the home page, it is top of the list.
The post is in the Electronics/Power& Sound forum:
I have no webpage, nor a railroad. Old enough to live in a condo, but I have running rights on other layouts.
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Wait, how old do you have to be to live in a condo cause I’m 55 and AARP wants me in bad. However I need to make sure I’m of age cause I wanna be legal and all so right now I’m just living in a victorian townhouse.
BTW …“you” are more than welcome to have running rights on my layout as well but it might take you about 45minutes for your prototypical models to make it around.
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I appreciate Peter placing the first wiki and allowing us to have something to refer and add to.
I am having trouble on the Wiki page itself, and I’m not sure that it’s not Bill’s Fault 
I can only reply to the Peter’s wiki; there is no edit option. Reading the original posts, It seems to me that if we can reply to a wiki on the wiki page, we haven’t created a wiki, we have created another discussion thread.
If I have the wiki concept correct, Peter’s original post should remain as a separate thread, so we can comment and ask Peter questions. Then in keeping with the Wiki concept, Peter’s wiki post needs:
- the ability to be edited by anyone, who might have something to add to Peter’s Wiki.
- avoid the option to reply to a wiki other than by editing it. (If that is correct the bottom of the wiki page should also be an edit button rather than a reply button).
- to provide link to Peter’s original post, to allow anyone to see how his project to evolved in Peter’s own words…
This would approach provides 2 important things.
Peter’s original post is preserved unadulterated and in the format he created it as a thread, complete with comments and replies. Peter’s original work is not diminished, and the Wiki page Peter created can evolve over time as members add to the knowledge base.
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i’ll take your post as trigger for ranting a bit.
yep. good point.
but:
rant on:
knowing, that this is the wiki-philosophy i am not so sure about this idea.
in our hobby there are so many different ways to skin a cat, that after two or three edits the idea of the original poster could be turned into its opposite. or, even worse:
poster: use a pointy knife to skin that cat.
1.editor: use a knife with a rounded point.
poster: use a pointed knife to reach better the skin of the legs.
1.editor: use a knife with rounded point to evade holes in the leather.
2.editor: dont use a knife, use scissors to open the belly, then draw the cat out of this hole, like with rabbits.
and so on…
the most stubborn “wins”.
results: all three feel somewhat pissed off. the original poster will think twice, before he posts another thing.
just the opposite.
agree and disagree buttons and the possibility to ask questions(not opinions)
to come back to Peter’s “artikle” (that could have more details) and your desire to edit it:
doubting, that you had just the same problem on the same loco with the same soundboard fixed, but something “similar” - may i suggest, that you write your own wiki-article about that?
our hobby has so many different branches that i think, it might be a good idea, to categorize the wiki.
just from the top of my head: steam, DC, DCC, clockwork (the last could include drawstrings)
Edit: i did forget “battery” - so very sorry…
modelling: locos, rolling stock, buildings(in- & outdoors) landscape, vegetation, track.
electronics: soundcarts etc., lighting buildings & trains, switches,
last not least : info about sellers, repair etc.
aaand another idea: who is to decide, what belongs into the wiki to keep it informative and serious?
how about, if readers of the normal forum can suggest, that this or that thing should be for the wiki and one or two others have to second that suggestion?
the advantage would be, that not only the bold, but the timid with good ideas would be “motivated” to post their ideas/deeds.
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Thanks Korm. To your point:
- editor: please don’t skin actual cats. This was an early nautical term, referring to removing a “cat-o’-nine-tails” from its bag, preparatory to punishing an errant sailor. There might not have been room to “skin” or swing the “cat” for said punishment.
four things come to mind:
1 “Cliff_Jennings” can not be a single person. much modelling, many fields of interest, working(?)
is Cliff Jennings just the call sign of a Borg collective?
2 should i edit the “3.editor” into the post above, to stress the point even more, that editing by others would destroy the texts?
3 the only cats i ever skinned were, what mennonites here call a “shtink-kat” (the black and white striped), mountain lions and a jaguar.
4 luckily i was too young to hire on ships that still had nine-tailed-cats on board.
Rooster, you do have a habit of taking a thread in a different direction. You can move to a condo when you can’t maintain/upgrade the Victorian any longer! OK?
In our case, we got flooded in 2003 (I was 55) and the house was a total loss. We moved to a Townhouse/condo, with 4 floors, an elevator, and a garage. No where to put a layout, but I had 3 workbenches!
However, we also bought a condo in Florida on the beach in 2007, and the advantage of the Townhouse was that we could lock up and go, and there was a staff to call if we needed to know why the alarm went off.
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No-one has answered my question - what was wrong with the original thread? Is the objective of the wiki to create something that others can (or want to) modify? Why would they? Did I post the wrong kind of article?
On my boat group wiki, we add comments to clarify the wiki entries, but very few people edit the posts. Its main objective is to capture info that was posted on Facebook and would be difficult to find.
I don’t see that as a problem here. I can search LSC for a thread, and if I can’t find it, I google “site:largescalecentral.com Peter Revo mogul” or similar. Google has read all these pages and can find things the site search can’t.
with the original thread? nothing, if i remember right.
with this “wiki entry” :
I notice the chuff in the video isn’t synchronized. At 50% throttle on the TX, it is perfectly 4 chuffs per revolution of the wheels. Any other speed is a little off.
The motherboard has the functions brought out on solder pads at the side - I used the spkr pads. You will note the first pad is Chuff sw and there is also a Chuff Sensor. (I’ll have to read the manual . . ) Obviously not p-n-p as it does not detect the chuff sensor. But could I wire the Revo chuff to the motherboard, as I did the speaker? I suspect so.
20250609_172720_resized-LSC-chuff
20250609_172720_resized-LSC-chuff994×649 173 KB
The Revo card comes with a cable for the external switches, like the chuff sensor. Seems like an easy thing to test.
Edit: Manual says connect your sound board to Chuff Sensor and GND. I think that’s how the Revo works so maybe a test is called for.
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a wiki entry should be a stand-alone affair.
so: what video? what motherboard? what loco?
what is a"20250609_172720_resized-LSC-chuff" ?
is the information complete? “I think that’s how the Revo works so maybe a test is called for.”
maybe it would be a good idea for a “stand-alone” information to start with some basics:
(if not separated in categories - about what is it? )
which level is it? beginner, experienced, three-cross-engineer?
link(s) to further information. (the original thread etc)
in my opinion : NO
another example: mountain building. in this forum alone i have read about a dozen of different ways to do that.
if we work with editing and consenting, the final result would be:
How to build a mountain.
- best build it behind the foreground buildings and build it upwards. - (the only two features everybody could consent to)
i, again personally, would prefer not to have one castrated and abused post per category, but a dozen specific explanations, how it was done.
to come back to cats: edited "how-to"s are ike trying to skin Schrödinger’s cat.
better, if each and every one describes how he skinned his own cat. (with all gory details…)
Yes - because you posted the first article. (it is sooo much easier to criticise the first article, than to write it)
maybe we shouldn’t call it wiki, but “How-to lexicon” or similar?
ps: as we have some specialists in derailing threads (myself included!)
for this new section it might be good, if no comments would be allowed. just question to be answered by the original poster.
pps: i feel like a grave digger or an archeologist in this 18 year od thread.
That’s an image in the original that didn’t get carried over to the Wiki.
So why didn’t it copy to the Wiki?
Are you saying the little pencil [=edit] on the bottom is not showing for you?
I’ll throw this out there…
I have been quite hesitant to post a reply, as I don’t want to come across as very knowledgeable in the “Ways of the Wiki” and I hope I’m not stepping on any peoples toes. I have no idea how to host a wiki, but here is a loose scenario of the potential value associating running a Wiki category on the LSC site. I could have provided a pro & con list, but as per usual, I got distracted by the potential fun of a narrative.
So without further ado, apologies for the following trailer…
A long time ago on a forum not so far away…
It is a time of scattered knowledge. Veteran modellers, striking from dusty workbenches and curated backyards, had built empires of experience — wiring systems, battery conversions, and scratch-built water towers that defy age and weather.
The forum buzzes with chatter. Dover recently posted pictures of his new Heckled Mine addition. Bantam argued the case against planting problematic camellia bushes near the Amtrak ROW. Ridge told tales of his long awaited trestle-build. The forum was full of stories, questions, advice, and good-natured banter.
But chaos reigns, and the elders of the forum noticed a disturbance:
- Every spring, someone would ask, “What battery should I use for a 1:20.3 Shay?”
- Every summer, “How do I weatherproof a shingled roof?”
- And every autumn, “What’s the best way to clean track of leaf fall?”
The same brilliant answers lie buried in ancient threads, scattered across years of posts. Photos have vanished. Dead links abound. New modellers arrive with questions long answered — yet the wisdom lies deep, hidden in the archives.
From this confusion in 2007, a New Hope emerged: (O)B-Chand announced A NEW WIKI.
Forged not to replace the forum, but to augment it — the wiki is to be a living guide, a force, drawing from the forum’s greatest webpage hits:
- How to waterproof your buildings for a harsh winter
- Which transmitters play nicely with legacy receivers
- Tricks for hiding speaker grills in a coal load
- Unusual building techniques (plexiglass walls and wedding cakes plinths being a top read)
Unlike the forum, where conversation is king and every post reflects its author’s voice, the wiki is collaborative, concise, and organised. It offers the distilled knowledge, free from thread drift and derailments.
Concerned potential contributors rightly voiced concerns about the Wiki Category — “What if someone edits my post? ”
- But the wiki is not a battleground.
- It keeps a full record of every change. Nothing is lost. Edits are logged. Ideas evolve, just like layouts.
- It is place for concise shared knowledge ; lasting value. A growing not-so secret rebel alliance of modellers contribute quietly to its pages.
The real challenge is recruitment to the Cause. Questions are asked. Could you, would you be able to write a Wiki post and be happy that at some point someone might edit your contribution? At the same time might you get excited envisioning that your document will have a chance evolve, remain relevant in the distant future, knowing you too, can clarify the edit down the line?
Would you be happy to:
- “Treat it like track-work” .
- “Lay down something useful — knowing others may help super-elevate the curves, and add scenery.”
So everybody, I might challenge all of us to think about something of which you are a master that could shared as a Wiki reference page.
It could be:
- How to avoid common pond building mistakes
- Glues, strengths and weaknesses
- Critters, how to discourage them
- What to consider in a choosing a CNC, 3D printer
- Using a lathe to create scale veranda posts and telephone poles.
Returning to our story about the very first LSC wiki edit…
Soon Ridge added a diagram. Bantam contributed a list of safe battery chemistries for summer heat. Someone else corrected a dead link. Instead of concerns about ownership, they treated it like ballasting a shared mainline — collaborative, respectful, and transparent.
The forum remains the Cantina (which also sort of explains why there’s a “talking rooster” in the group🤪)— full of characters, stories, and spirited debate. The wiki is the archives of the BD Temple — curated, resilient, ready to guide future generations.
Together, they are stronger.
So when the next newcomer asks, “What’s the best way to do something?”, you’ll smile, link them to the wiki, and say: “Here are the basics; start here, my build is linked there too, and let’s talk. We’ve been there. You’re not alone.”
Bill’s post sent me thinking.
from one point of view i can not believe, that there are many persons, who look at the article’s history, whenever looking something up in a wiki.
modelling seems to me similar to cooking: with more than one cook involved, the meal has either no salt, or too much salt.
but on the other hand…
i am dismantling my layout, to make room for a better one to be built.
looking back, i don’t think, that i would have much to put up into a wiki. (save, maybe, how not to do things)
so, if my work isn’t even good enough for me, why should it be for others?
one should think, that i am old enough to have learnt, that pessimistic outlooks to new enterprises are very seldom welcome.
so, if there are enough members of this forum, who want an editable wiki, it is not my place, to hold them back.
WTF is a WIKI? (%$*& added to make 20 characters)
John;
WTF is a WIKI?
The best answer I can give to your Whiskey Tango Foxtrot question is that it is kinda’ like an online encyclopedia where folks can search for answers to nagging problems in their vocation or hobby.
Hope that helps, David Meashey