Here is a video of the super magnets in action. The tuft of grass lets me know where the uncoupler is located. The cars in the video Have stiffer draft gear springs to disable Kadee's delayed action feature. The Kadee 811 ramps will soon be replaced..
Works great Ed, can't even tell they're there unless you know 
Dave & Ed, Thanks for the posts. The pictures, the video and the details in the posts, make this project easier to follow.
Fascinating Ed.
Try as I may I cannot see the actual uncoupling take place. Watching for the air hoses to swing away. No matter, it works!
Bob,
If your magnets are too strong try separating them farther apart. Moving them to the outside of the rails will reduce the strength of the field. The stronger magnets would also have a more effective uncoupler length. Perhaps only one pair would be needed.
Being outside the rails would mean you don't need to carve out the ties.
Jan
Chris
The reason you don't see the big swing of the glad hand (simulated air hose) in the video is that the knuckle can only only swings a few degrees. The stiff draft gear springs I'm using are just strong enough to prevent the additional glad hand swing that would occur if the coupler head moved sideways. When I pulled a cut of cars with soft Kadee delayed action draft gear springs over the magnets I did get a big swing of the glad hands. The good news for those that do AND do not use delayed action is that the small super magnet uncoupler actually works better than the more expensive Kadee 811 uncoupler. IMO the biggest plus is that the are easy to hide under a thin layer of ballast. I expect the small super magnets will work equally well for 3RS Kadee users but you will probably have to position the drywall screws higher due to the taller rail. I 've found that positioning the top of the drywall screws 1/4" below the rails head works nicely. With code 125 rail the 8mm x 3mm magnets sit just below tie height - good for hiding the magnets below a thin layer of cinders.
As I have dozens of existing Kadee 811 magnets to replace and several new uncoupling locations to equip I made a drill guide to provide consistent drywall screw positioning. I made the fixture using the steel plate from a Kadee 811 uncoupling magnet. The holes were spotted so that when the plate is centered between the rails the drywall mountain screws will be 5/16" inside the rails and on 3/8" centers. Below are photos of how I used the guide to install magnets on an interchange track. In this area I'm using 2 rows of 4 magnets for a slightly longer uncoupling zone. A depth gauge was handy in adjusting the height of the drywall screws to 1/4" below the rail head. When my "bulk" buy of 8mm x 3mm magnets arrives I'll super glue 4 additional magnets to the screw heads and put down cinder ballast to hide the magnets.
My bulk order of super magnets arrived from HongKong (under 2 weeks) and with help from the guys in our Monday Night Train Group we installed 20 super magnet uncouplers in one night - they worked great! In most locations we used two rows of four 8mm x 3mm magnets. In a few difficult to view areas we used two rows five for a larger uncoupling zone.
To complete the railroad I ordered 200 additional super magnets on line at a price of $9.37/100 (free shipping). That brings the cost per uncoupler down to around $.75. If you order them on line go for the N50 vice the N35 strength ones. The added strength lets you mount them lower below the rail head which in turn facilitates hiding them under ballast.
I want to again recognize Dan Dawdy and his O Scale Resource on line magazine for sharing with us how he used super magnets - mounting them on drywall screws was a very cleaver idea.
Fantastic Thread Ed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Great video of operation too.
Butch
The most difficult part in installing the magnets is that they must be polarized the right way - and the little buggers want to snap out of your finger when they get near a magnet of the opposite polarity. One trick we found to get the polarity right was to use a felt tip to mark the same pole of each magnet before you install them - then peal them off the polarized "stack" one at a time as you put them on the drywall screws . As you can see in the photo one of the parallel rows has been marked black, the opposite row is unmarked. We didn't bother super gluing the magnets to the screw heads as the magnetic attraction and diluted white ballast glue holds them in place. I've included photos of the interchange tracks after ballasting over the magnets. The train crew found it easy to positioning cars over the magnets using the weed as a locator.
I've been following this thread and I have to say that's a great expansion on Dan's technique. Kudos to you and Dan.
I’m obviously missing something, what is the reasoning for using the Kadee couplers in the first place. Just trying to understand. Thanks in advance.
Adam,
They are more realistic.
...and they operate better than most other couplers...and they mate with most other brands...and they're made in the US...Oregon to be exact...and...😁
Mark (also) in Oregon
Adam, It's also posted in the 2 rail category.
So your posted question may have different answers depending on who's reading it.
@Adam ND posted:I’m obviously missing something, what is the reasoning for using the Kadee couplers in the first place. Just trying to understand. Thanks in advance.
To add to the answers above:
If you're a 2 rail person, there are better scale choices. The KDs work great and attempt to get a scale look.
If you're a 3 rail person, changing out all your couplers may seem crazy. I would suggest looking around at what different posters are doing with each RR they build. Some just plop trains on the track and have their fun. Some are after a better looking RR that captures more realism.
Both are great and both are correct!
Edit: you may also wish to look up the definition of the 3RS movement. That may help you understand what is happening in O.
Thank You all for the replies!
If you want the most accurate coupler, get Protocraft.
The Protocraft couplers are great but I will stick with my Kadee's. Thanks Ed for the great article! I love the way these magnets work out for you, I'll do the same. From an operational point of view there is simply this decision wether or not you are willing to reach in and use your hands to uncouple. I don't like that concept, I think it's nice to have a clever concept of where to place the magnets and decouple there.
@Sarah posted:The Protocraft couplers are great but I will stick with my Kadee's. Thanks Ed for the great article! I love the way these magnets work out for you, I'll do the same. From an operational point of view there is simply this decision wether or not you are willing to reach in and use your hands to uncouple. I don't like that concept, I think it's nice to have a clever concept of where to place the magnets and decouple there.
Actually you use a wand with a magnet on the end to uncouple the Protocrafts. What turns me off with the Kadee is their trip pins, which look as much like an air hose as a garbage truck looks like a Ferrari.
It's all what you like!
Simon
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