Torper

Best modellers show in Scotland - really looking forward to this!

Darling Pretty - Mark Knopfler

What I rather fear is some kindly and well-meaning relative thinking "He likes trains, he'd like one of these" and presenting me with one. One such relative did once hint along these lines and had to be rapidly (and as politely as possible) disabused of any such option.

Roll Away the Stone - Mott the Hoople

One Thing - Runrig

Come Outside - Mike Sarne and Wendy Richards

Woman - The Anti-Nowhere League

Get Lost - Tom Waits

There are lots of things I might not buy because of their or their country's misdeeds - for example, I used to apply a strict embargo on South African goods, but once apartheid was consigned to the history books I was quite happy to purchase South African. Lais decoders are now sold all over the world, including in countries that take a pretty dim view of Chinese counterfeit goods - indeed, I understand that there was a ban on their being imported into the UK at one stage. As they are now so generally available, including in the USA, I can only only assume that any dispute with TCS has now been settled, and certainly the current generation of Lais decoders are very much their own products and they are sold by retailers whom I'm sure would not countenance selling them if there was an ongoing dispute about piracy. Presumably you wouldn't buy Lais Stay-Alives either?

Walking On The Waves - Skipinnish

So do the Lais and they're only £13.50. However, neither of these have F2 braking which I feel adds considerably to the fun of driving one's loco. And as Bob points out and a little rearch confirms (thanks Bob) many Zimo non-sound decoders have this facility, but it does require a bit of fiddling around with CVs . It's a pity they don't mention it - I've just had a look at Digitrain's selection of Zimo non-sound decoders and there's no mention of F2 braking but there are articles on this site that show how it can be done..

I'm not sure what you mean by the "circular file", but if you intend to bin all four that you bought I'd first test another one on your loco just to ensure that the first one wasn't faulty. In any event, if you've bought faulty products for £50 you shouldn't just accept it - take it up with DGElectech. Did you buy the decoders from them at Warley? If you did you have additional rights against them as the retailer as decoders that don't work are not fit for purpose. All too often railway modellers are not very good at asserting their consumer rights. I've just had another thought. DGElectech sell their ANE manufactured decoders at £20.99 each, five for £99. At £50 for four, you got ypour for £12.50 each. I wonder if they're fakes?

It would appear from Bachmann's website that their latest 21-pin decoder is the 36-557A which is made by ESU. They retail it at £39.95 which seems expensive for a non-sound decoder, but it apparently offers F2 braking - I have to confess that I wasn't aware that any non-sound decoders had that facility. On that basis I'd be very tempted to go for it, but I wouldn't buy it from Bachmann as you can get it for about £31 from some retailers, e.g. Rails.

As you say, a considerable difference as to what matters. I have no desire for my locos to operate uniformly, but there again I only have a branch terminus which I can operate as being in either the early 1950s or the early 60s, and there are no duplicate locos - oops, I tell a lie, I've got two class 24s. What I want my locos to do is to run well and as most of them are kit built that's sometimes a problem, which is down to me , not any decoder. For my 1960s diesel era my locos are fitted with Zimo ActiveDrive sound decoders, and they really add a new dimension to driving a loco which I find most satisfying. Unfortunately, at £115+ each I can't afford them for my more numerous steam fleet and for them all I need is a decoder that runs well.

I can only report what I found when I personally used a Lais 21-pin decoder on a standard Bachmann loco. I'm not fussed about adjusting motor control, etc, as I expect decent decoders to work straight out of the box. It's obviously a useful thing to have, however, and the Lais I have apparently has fully adjustable motor control but I didn't need to use it as the decoder worked stright away - if I had the knowledge and equipment I'd post a video showing just how smoothly the loco operates from a crawl upwards. As to what it can do, I regard Digitrains as a highly reputable retailer who would not willingly stock rubbish (apart from anything else they wouldn't want to deal with a load of returns), and the specifications of the Lais 80019 21-pin decoder are here: https://www.digitrains.co.uk/860019.html. (I see they've sold 11 since I looked yesterday). For some other reviews, google "Lais 21-pin review" or just have a look here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/urw/Laisdcc-860019-Motor-4-Function-DCC-Decoder-Onboard-MTC-21-pin-Plug-UK-Stock/product-reviews/1364785147?_itm=192663560339. They can't all be wrong. Other cheap decoders may not be so good. I've also fitted a Lais Kung-Fu decoder to a kit-built steam loco and it too worked fine.

Looks Like I'm Up Sh*t Creek Again - Tom Waits

Well no, the OP actually asked both a general question and a specific question, the latter being "If there is one that's markedly better, feel free to point it out for me!" which is what I endeavoured to do. A lot of decoders have far too many functions etc for my requirements, and in these circumstances a cheaper one works perfectly well. Otherwise, I do sometimes wonder if the unique excellence of Zimo is something of a myth, and I expect that users of Lenz, ESU, Digitrax and various others may think so too. Having said that, most of my locos have Zimo decoders, but they haven't all been perfect and I've still got one loco whose speed will not get any faster once it gets to speed step 75 or so. That's got a Zimo MX600 - I think I might swap it for a Lais to see it it's any different. (I should maybe insert an emoticon at this point). What the OP asked was if the cheapest is good enough. I may be wrong, but I gained the impression that he doesn't want anything complicated and, like me, wants a decoder that doesn't break the bank and will basically just run his trains without any adjustment once it's fitted, and I don't think you need to spend £34 on a Zimo for that. I'm rather reminded of the fact that during and after covid the price of Lurpak butter shot up and although the Lidl equivalent (Danpac) was and is virtually indistinguishable and was half the price people continued to go into Lidl and buy Lurpak in the belief that it was the best whileas I'm pretty sure that most wouldn't have been able to tell the difference. Thus with my Lais 21-pin - it works and it works well, controlling my class 24 smoothly and quietly from a nearly imperceptible crawl upwards. It didn't need to be fettled, it just worked, but there again I don't want it do anything complicated and in this case the cheapest was certainly good enough.

Sand - Clear Light

I've got an old Bachmann class 24 that throughout the years I've had it has been subjected to some abuse including some experimentation with electrics that I knew nothing about, as a reult of which it effectively destroyed a sound decoder. But it's a good runner and I wanted to get it working again, but I didn't want to risk blowing another expensive decoder. So to simplfy matters the pcb now only has connections only to motor and track - as far as I'm aware there is no longer any lighting wiring or connections. To see if it would work again under DCC I bought a Lais 6-function 21-pin decoder for £13.50 and I have to say that I've been pleasantly surprised by its performance. Slow speed control is excellent, and motor control generally seems very good and quiet - on that basis I can't really distinguish it from my Zimos. The fact it's Chinese doesn't mean its bad - after all, most people here will be operating their expensive decoders in Chinese built locos - and nor, it seems, does the fact that it's cheap. OK, it may lack the functions and sophistications that some people may want, but for me it does just what I want it to. I feel that the fact that it is sold by DigiTrains among others suggests that it's not rubbish.

Book of Golden Stories - Runrig

Midnight Lullaby - Tom Waits

I've got airbrushes from Sparmax (2) and Harder & Steenbeck. None of them required any "fettling" to get them to work properly.

Have just placed and received my first order from Railtec. Escellent and speedy service delivering the apecific loco numbers and details requested by me - highly recommended.

Mr Skin - Spirit

You Drive Me Nervous. - Alice Cooper