Maybe I was expecting too much for a measly $85 plus shipping
But, the Atlas O scale operating pump I recently bought is quite a disappointment.
First: Delicate beyond belief. When I opened the box, I could see that this thing was delicate, and tried to handle it accordingly, but was unsuccessful. By the time I lifted it out, set it down on my train table, and gently turned it on its side to look a the wiring underneath, two of the extremely thin cross rails at the top of the chain link fence snapped in half. Worse yet, the super thin wires underneath had been soldered to the circuit board contacts, near the edge of the platform, with the wire lengths extending in the direction going directly outside the edge (into the open), instead of extending laterally back underneath the platform. I attempted to gently curve the two wires back underneath the platform, and surprise, the solder points were so tiny that they both snapped off. It was a real chore to re-solder the wires, onto that tiny plastic circuit board, without melting the board.
Second: Electronics. There were virtually no electronic specs or instructions in the package. They only say "Operates on DC or AC, 12 Volts." Oh really? How many amps? 1, 2, 3, 12? The wires are so tiny that I can't even tell what gauge they are. 24? 26? I checked in the online description of specs, and surprise, it says "Operates on DC or AC power 8 to 22 volts."
Third: I know that this is a toy (or is it?), but when the pump runs, it sounds like a garbage disposal, an unpleasant grinding sound, loud enough to be plainly heard across a large train table whenever the train is stopped. (I hooked a little 9 volt radio battery to it for a minute or so, and it does at least run.)
So there you have it. Too delicate for a standard 3-rail O-Gauge layout, and too loud I think for a devoted 3-rail Scale devotee.
Oh, but it does have these tiny paper Caution signs, that the instructions say you are suppose to glue onto the plastic fence with white glue. Really? White glue on plastic?
Having said all of that, does anybody know what gauge of wires this thing has, or how many amps or watts it will take?
Thanks,
Mannyrock
