tramcar trev
all manner of mechanical apparatus...
Yeah pull the other one. ??? No I jest not. 
I used an ultrasonic toothbrush (Colgate about AU$8) not the type with a semi rotating bush.
Ok so to prove my hypothesis that a vibrating pad of abrasive rubber would clean brass I superglued a thin slice to the back of one of these devices and let it gently run along a bit of dirty brass rail. A couple of passes and the results speak for themselves; there is grunge all over the rubber pad.
Next step was to surgically excise the “ultrasonic” module from the tooth brush. I you bend the brush down near the head the module becomes visible through the plastic and a delicate cut with a sharp blade exposes it. Further exploratory cuts we then made to see if the connecting wires could be “got at” unfortunately they are so fine I did not see them till too late but it’s a relatively simple matter to solder on some more wires. They run on 1.5V DC, I propose to remove another (when I buy another brush) and connect them in series and hope they can be run of 3.3 V via an LM1117 3.3V regulator. Now that’s going to tax my expertise, they are SMD… see: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/M3AO-100Pcs-AMS1117-3-3-LM1117-3-3V-1A-SOT-223-Voltage-Regulator-/291027343600?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item43c294d8f0&_uhb=1
My plan is now to fix these to metal skates between the wheels on the new LGB tram (still on a slow boat from the USA) with a slice of abrasive rubber on the underside of the skate. There is enough slack in the mounting screws to let the skates vibrate. The actual amount of movement is minuscule. They measure 23mm X 6MM.
My initial experiments disclosed that
1. This an entirely worthwhile exercise unlike the other methods of track cleaning I have tried tried.
2. Minimal pressure is needed to get good results. Ergo the fine springs used to hold the skates on the rails will do the job nicely.
3. The contact area has to be kept reasonably small. These “ultrasonic” modules are not that powerful (my bet is that these contain a small motor with an eccentric weight on one end).
4. The process is best done dry.
You can use any fine abrasive rubber, obviously I used a slice from a rubber cleaning tip but a slither of track cleaning block or a slice off one of these would also work; http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Rub-Away-Abrasive-Rubber-Cleaning-Block-Really-Useful-Ideal-For-Scalextric-Track-/130923255959?pt=UK_Toys_Games_Scalextrics_Slot_Cars_ET&hash=item1e7ba25897&_uhb=1
How do I clean the dirty pads? Not sure, maybe simply replace them with new slices of abrasive rubber. How long will they last? Not sure. Only time and use will tell.
I used an ultrasonic toothbrush (Colgate about AU$8) not the type with a semi rotating bush.Ok so to prove my hypothesis that a vibrating pad of abrasive rubber would clean brass I superglued a thin slice to the back of one of these devices and let it gently run along a bit of dirty brass rail. A couple of passes and the results speak for themselves; there is grunge all over the rubber pad.
Next step was to surgically excise the “ultrasonic” module from the tooth brush. I you bend the brush down near the head the module becomes visible through the plastic and a delicate cut with a sharp blade exposes it. Further exploratory cuts we then made to see if the connecting wires could be “got at” unfortunately they are so fine I did not see them till too late but it’s a relatively simple matter to solder on some more wires. They run on 1.5V DC, I propose to remove another (when I buy another brush) and connect them in series and hope they can be run of 3.3 V via an LM1117 3.3V regulator. Now that’s going to tax my expertise, they are SMD… see: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/M3AO-100Pcs-AMS1117-3-3-LM1117-3-3V-1A-SOT-223-Voltage-Regulator-/291027343600?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item43c294d8f0&_uhb=1
My plan is now to fix these to metal skates between the wheels on the new LGB tram (still on a slow boat from the USA) with a slice of abrasive rubber on the underside of the skate. There is enough slack in the mounting screws to let the skates vibrate. The actual amount of movement is minuscule. They measure 23mm X 6MM.
My initial experiments disclosed that
1. This an entirely worthwhile exercise unlike the other methods of track cleaning I have tried tried.
2. Minimal pressure is needed to get good results. Ergo the fine springs used to hold the skates on the rails will do the job nicely.
3. The contact area has to be kept reasonably small. These “ultrasonic” modules are not that powerful (my bet is that these contain a small motor with an eccentric weight on one end).
4. The process is best done dry.
You can use any fine abrasive rubber, obviously I used a slice from a rubber cleaning tip but a slither of track cleaning block or a slice off one of these would also work; http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Rub-Away-Abrasive-Rubber-Cleaning-Block-Really-Useful-Ideal-For-Scalextric-Track-/130923255959?pt=UK_Toys_Games_Scalextrics_Slot_Cars_ET&hash=item1e7ba25897&_uhb=1
How do I clean the dirty pads? Not sure, maybe simply replace them with new slices of abrasive rubber. How long will they last? Not sure. Only time and use will tell.
