Where to start?

Didn't manage to get any more decoders done today, but I did have a look at my Peckett locos instructions. It says that "the jaws that accept the decoder are cast from metal, so we recommend that you insulate the decoder with insulation tape before inserting".

I have some yellow 20mm electrical tape, would this be suitable?

Personally, I find that the glue used on standard electrical tape turns to a sticky messy gunge when subjected to heat over an extended period of time.

But others use it.

Whatever you use, the key thing is to not completely exclude air flow. Air flow is needed to keep the decoder as cool as it can be, thus a relatively loose fitting sleeve is best.

I also had the same thought about the electrical tape going sticky from the heat.

I saw a video where someone had wrapped their decoder in an orange/yellowish transparent tape material, but I can’t seem to find what it was. It almost looked like a sweet wrapper. Anyone have any idea what this could be?

Edit: After some more digging, the tape I saw in the video is Kapton tape. Have ordered a roll and will use that instead of electrical tape.

A popular alternative is heat shrink, but shrunk only enough to just grip the decoder so that air can still flow.

There is always an exception to common sense.

Not what I would normally do but this is a TTS tightly shrink wrapped in a confined space. Not been a problem so far.

I’d never heard of insulating the decoders until I fitted one to my Peckett where you slot them in vertically and they’re held upright by two little arms. The instructions say to insulate the decoder.

I did look around for info on this and it seems to be a no right answer, personal preference thing. Some say never insulate them and others say always insulate them.

To a certain degree, I would say it is a use 'common sense' decision to insulate or not. If the decoder is physically isolated from any other metallic of electrical surface, then no need to insulate. But if there is any risk of the decoder PCB touching on metal or other bared electrical surface, then insulate.

Insulate has two meanings.

1. isolate electrically
2. protect from heat (or cold) transfer.

In our case we need to ensure 1. without invoking 2.

The best way to achieve this is to isolate all metal parts of the loco likely to touch the decoder with a suitable tape (say Kapton), thus leaving the decoder open to air and preventing any chance of overheating.

That’s very true 96RAF. After doing some more reading and the info on here, I’ve decided to insulate the parts of the loco the decoder will touch, rather than try to wrap the decoders in anything. The idea of just putting a cut of shrink tubing over it is still something I like, but I think I’ll approach it loco by loco and see what works best.

I saw a video about laying track with cork underlay, and presenter said that putting a nail in the middle pre-drilled hole can cause the track to bend in slightly, so he drilled a hole on the outside of the track through the sleepers. I’ve watched a lot of videos on laying track and never seen this technique. It does make sense to me, but is it necessary? If you only tap the track pin in the middle just to a snug fit, it won’t cause the track to bend inwards, right?

I’m sure everyone’s tired of this thread by now, there is so much to learn in this hobby, so for those of you that still hop in and share some knowledge, I’m very grateful.

I also had the same thought about the electrical tape going sticky from the heat.

I saw a video where someone had wrapped their decoder in an orange/yellowish transparent tape material, but I can’t seem to find what it was. It almost looked like a sweet wrapper. Anyone have any idea what this could be?

Edit: After some more digging, the tape I saw in the video is Kapton tape. Have ordered a roll and will use that instead of electrical tape.

Thirty-eight locomotives currently in use at one time or another.

All wrapped in this...