ATME

Will there be another run of 00 Carolines in green? They are going for stupid money on ebay. (Have done lots of track inspections in the real thing hence the interest)

Has been returned and refunded. Now on the lookout for a Z21 or ECoS.

Thanks for that, I’m often in Ipswich.

So you are not getting the advertised track voltage either. I spoke to Gaugemaster again and the very helpful chap indicated that there have been supply issues with the power supplies but the Prodigy Advance would still work. However, I am not convinced the new generation of decoders from some manufacturers are operating to design due to the lower voltage supplied by some DCC systems, primarily in controlling built in keep-alives and speed performance (yes I know we don't all operate TGVs 😁) and I would like to know if the this is actually true and wanted the higher track voltage to rule out any loco/decoder issues? Anyhow, the retailer was happy to give a refund and I am now considering either a Z21 or an ESU ECoS.

Yes it was new.

This is the power supply and what it says on the box…

Thanks, I might give GM another ring next week and see if I get a different answer to why I have a 13.8v power supply?

Question is related to another post in the Gaugemaster forum. If you have an Alphameter, oscilloscope or similar, what track voltage are you getting as it might be lower than you think? thanks

Yep, just hope the retailer is not going to be out of pocket. The base station is actually labelled “input 16v” so still wondering if the GM chap thought I was talking about an “Express” unit rather than “Advance”?

I bought a new Prodigy Advance yesterday based on the specs on the GM website showing a track voltage of 15 volts. Sadly the power supply is labelled 13.8v giving a track voltage of 13.3v (Alphameter) I spoke to GM this morning and was told that the power supply is indeed the correct unit and the base station components would not permit a higher voltage. I have suggested they amend their website specs for the Prodigy Advance. You may be asking why the voltage is that much of an issue when I can still run stuff and the voltage is nominally NMRA compliant? Well I have been having some issues with Loksound v5 and stayalives where the suggested voltage is min14v so I thought time to upgrade from a Prodigy Express to the Prodigy Advance to checkout the voltage query and get some more amps for more locos plus other functionality. Sadly the Advance is not as advertised now. Would be interested to hear if the voltage drop is recent or not.

Replacement motor mounts are now available again for the T9. Super service from Hornby who sent me a new set to replace my Mazak affected loco. Thanks Hornby.

Lovely looking model (Engineer's loco), but it looks like I am going to have to hardwire in a wired decoder as the direct pin Zen Blue I fitted proved to be too much of a squeeze and despite careful refitting of the body managed to sever two of the socket pins, dammit. The 48DS chip fitting was a breeze compared to the 88!

Same reason I got one! Picked up today from Great Eastern Models, Did they ever have one in Redbridge PW Depot I wonder?

I can remember redesigning the track layout in the BOC sidings when I was in the Permanent Way Design Office at Norwich. A cheap job that involved re-jigging the existing bullhead layout for a longer run round. This was about 1986ish. Also did a lot of the setting out work for the new S&C layouts from Halifax jct to East Suffolk Junction prior to electrification. Anyone know how the “Foundout “ sidings got their name?

I posted here a month or so ago about having a less than stellar experience with my two Accurascale locos. As they say, this changes everything and I applaud Accurascale for their commitment to their product. The terms and conditions seem to reasonably cover what could go wrong over time. Well done.