Haymarket47

Hi John P It’s a Zimo rebadged as a Bachmann. I’ve managed to get the lights working now - all I did was put the blanking plug back in ran it on DC again to check the lights were still working and then popped the decoder back on. It’s still not great going slow in one direction but better when up at speed. It does seem to run better on DC as send to DCC for some reason.

Having bought this model and decoder a year ago I finally got round to installing the Next 18 chip. The lights at one end will not display and the motion going one way is not as smooth as the other. I am using a black Z21. The loco has been run in on a DC test track and the lights work both ways and it travels both ways with no issues. I believe the decoder can only go in one way so I followed the instructions and direction that the blanking plug took. Not sure if I’m doing something wrong or if the decoder is faulty. I don’t have any other locos that require this type of decoder so I can’t even do a cross check. One thing I have noticed is that there is a black sponge like material protecting the circuit board from the decoder. In the attached pic you can see this with the blanking plug. Can anyone help with this issue? Thanks in advance Alan

So which decoder type are you recommending?

Thanks John P and Iain. That makes sense re the blades. So if I have a digikeijs 4024 servo decoder and the accompanying relay unit dr4102 does that mean I simply connect a wire from the latter to the preinstalled wire at the frog end of the n gauge peco turnout?

Hi Forgive me for being a bit daft here. Can you explain why you need frog polarity switching if you didn’t modify the point?

Sorry, that’s not what I was thinking Phil. I was merely lamenting the fact that my 2 sons didn’t get the “bug” for model railways. I hope the new range is a success.

Both of mine too I’m afraid. I hope this new system will encourage kids in but I’m not convinced. When I think back they loved the Brio trains and making different track layouts. For a while they liked the basic oval and a railroad hauling toy soldiers in wagons but the novelty wore off sadly. Now it’s PlayStation all the way

We could but let's not waste our energy on it. It was only a question after all....

No need to swear!

Why not? It might have an impact on my future purchases?

Wow, I can imagine there has been a substantial time investment in this project alone. It’s a long time since I used variables in programming but I’m sure (hope) it will flood back if needed. Thanks for the detailed reply, much appreciated.

Thanks for posting. I think the automation brings a lot to the “authenticity” of the scene, particularly with announcements (how did you incorporate these?) etc. Looking forward to the next instalment.

Fair enough, you might have to contact A and H Models then. There’s also a chap on YouTube called Hovermotion. He has an excellent European HO layout and regularly tears down models including Roco/Fleischmann. He might be able to offer some advice?

Hi, do you have any other locos to rule out issues with the system? Have you tried programming via the Z21 on its own? Sorry, don’t know much about RR & Co so can’t help you with that. You could try giving A and H models in Northhampton a ring, I’m sure they sell Fleischmann. They may have reduced hours at the moment though, check their website.

Oops, missed that, too much Guinness . Sorry