As I see it...
1. KD#802 has a wider gathering range, fits most recent brass imports,
costs what it costs, has too much sprung slack action for some, and is a tad
oversized for S. Many folks dislike the herky-jerky motion that is common
with these couplers. One NYC fellow up in the Seattle area solved that
problem by inserting a small cylindrical object into the middle of the
centering spring which greatly restricts the slack action he found
objectionable. The small cylindrical object is from a Kadee coupler set
(#4?) and is available as a separate piece (I think). The KD#802 is too
large to fit the popular ACE adaptors which were created long before the
#802 coupler was born. This is probably the most commonly used coupler in S
scale today.
2. KD#5 (and #3, the RTR version) is the HO standard and works very well if
you install them correctly and take care to eliminate the side slop between
axles and sideframes. Many S models have excessive side slop which enables
the couplers to be off center a bit too much. Side slop can be eliminated
with small washers on the axle ends. These couplers fit the ACE AF
adaptors, older wooden kits, and nearly all narrow gauge models. The KD#5
easily permits exact 36" spacing between cars and comes with all sorts of
variations such as long shank, short shank, upper mount knuckles, lower
mounted knuckles, different size/shaped draft gear boxes, etc. One of the
many variations can be made to work with darn near any S model ever made. I
have some in the front pilots of brass steam engines. These couplers are
less expensive than the Kadee S couplers and mate with them well. This
used to be the most commonly used coupler in S scale in yesteryear and is
still liked and used by many.
3. Modified KD#5 (longer glad hand) couplers have a problem with the glad
hand working loose from the coupler casting itself. It swivels when it
shouldn't and then the magnetic uncoupling system does not work well since
the glad hand swings outward, but the knuckle does not. UNmodified Kadee's
do not have this problem. Modified KD#5 couplers are no longer made
commercially.
4. Walther's new HO couplers are a tad larger than KD#5 and work well. One
noticeable difference, however, is that the Walther's coupler has more slack
action between closed/coupled knuckles than does the Kadee product. While
the Walter's couplers are not springy like the KD#802s, the large slack
action between closed knuckles creates a similar effect.
5. American Models makes a reasonable dummy plastic coupler that is good
for unit trains and the like. I use them between A and B diesel units for
positive coupling unaffected by magnets and the like.
6. SHS makes a Kadee-compatible coupler that is about the same size as the
KD#802. It was created to enable close coupling between diesel units, but
can be used on freight and passenger cars. Works well as far as I know.
Hope all this helps.
Cheers..Ed L.
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