In Thursday’s meeting, the membership approved the adoption of a new wiring harness standard. The new wiring harness will provide improved performance especially for large layouts, such as the upcoming Spring 2014 York TCA meet.
The purpose of this email is to inform the membership that participant modules at the TCA York Meet in April are required to have the new wiring harness.
All modules signed up to participate must have the new harness installed prior to arriving in York for setup on the morning of Wednesday April 23. There will not be extra harnesses available at York, nor will there be time to do retrofits on site. If you do not have the new wiring harness installed prior to arrival we cannot install your module in the layout. The complexity and size of the layout will require all of the time we have, collectively as a club, to assemble the layout and test it for proper operation. The club’s electrical experts will be occupied with issues related to the setup of the layout.
HARNESS ORDERING
The club is going to place an order for harnesses from a commercial supplier on January 2, 2014. As discussed in the meeting, and in the email sent by Jack dated November 22, 2013, the cost of each harness is $42 (one harness is needed per module), and is payable to the National Capital Trackers, c/o Joe Helsing, Treasurer (see Jack’s email for complete details). Orders are due no later than December 31, 2013. If you are going to have modules in York, you MUST order the necessary number of harnesses before the deadline to make sure you receive them in time to install before York.
HARNESS INSTALLATION
As discussed in the meeting on Thursday, there will be several scheduled dates where modules can be brought to someone’s house for new harness installation. Those dates and locations will be announced in the near future. Those members opting to install the club supplied harness themselves, must have the work inspected by a club appointed inspector. Harness installation is estimated to take 15 – 30 minutes per module.
Additionally, if there are any members with modules in need of other work (track replacement, etc…) that you are unable to do yourself, please contact Justin Krause or George Tsakiris, and we will do our best to get you in contact with someone who is able and willing to assist.
We are putting on a show for our peers, not the general public. The level of expectation is elevated, and our modules will be in top condition. Preparation and careful setup allows us to put on a show that we can be proud and have fun.
Thank you for your cooperation;
Justin Krause and George Tsakiris
Spring 2014 York TCA Trackmasters