jpendle

No but when you have a loco crossing you'll need to have BOTH DC controllers set to the same speed so that the loco makes it across the gap. Regards, John P

Short answer, yes. But all the other long answers are correct as well. John P

More likely that the sound project includes momentum settings that cause the loco to move off and brake at a realistic rate. BTW my DCC sound equipped N Gauge Pendolino doesn't have an exhaust beat, more of a door closing beep, but it still takes time to accelerate and decelerate. Hat,coat, I'm off. John P

If you are modelling a modern prototype then crossovers have also been getting the heave-ho. The 6 track line south of Wigan NorthWestern doesn't have any crossovers as it gradually reduces back to a 2 track main at Golborne Junction. Lots and lots of ladders to cross between Up and Down, Freight, Fast, & Slow lines and at the very end a nice long ladder to reduce the 6 lines back down to two. Regards, John P

Apparently there is already a 1:150 scale White Sonic from Kato, and the concern expressed on the N Gauge forum is that Kato will stick with that tooling rather than retool 'as the UK market is so small'. BUT that doesn't gel with Ben A's quote about compromising Scale/Gauge ratio's or Kato partnering with Peco in 009 or, hopefully, the fact that as Revs have sold 1000 Pendos and are now doing a re-run that must indictae that the UK market would support a 1:148 800/801/802 (especially the 802 in TPE livery pretty please). Mr Kato will be at TINGS, there's the opportunity to put the scale thing to bed, or not! Regards, John P

Driving a sound equipped train is VERY hard. I have a sound equipped Revolution Pendolino, starting from a stop is dead easy, select a speed and it does it's stuff, beeping, starting up, etc, etc and then it moves away and gradually accelerates up to the selected speed. Stopping it in line with platforms at a station is a learning experience, and an art I have yet to master fully. I can fully understand someone who is used to the immediate effect on a non sound loco (be it DCC or DC) of throttle actions. We can very unrealistically stop a very heavy train going well in excess of scale 80mph in less than a foot. Kind of like doing 70 on the slip road of a motorway and then trying to come to a stop before you kill yourself and any other poor unfortunate that gets in the way. Complex sound projects map directly into 'complex' interactions with the DCC throttle repsonse and that may be too tricky for some to master. Regards, John P

Yeah I know. I had to take mine out of the boxes first as well. John P

Farish 60, 66, then other Farish locos Dapol are generally less able. In your other post the Rev TEA's are a special case, hauling 22 Farish or Dapol bogie wagons shouldn't be an issue, anything long wheelbase without bogies, Rev IZA Twins, VGA's etc, will have considerable resistance going round smaller radius curves. Regards, John P

My Farish 66's can pull 18 TEA's, mine are very free running, better than any other rolling stock that I own. I would check that each wagon can make it down a longish gradient without help and check that the wheelsets are true in the bogies. Regards, John P

First this isn't a 'joke' reply. I had a similar issue configuring a slip on the Z21. The orientation of the slip on the Z21 app versus that on the layout was different and led to confusion. I spent about 2 hours getting my head around it (literally looking at it from different angles). Try looking at the point from the back rather than the front, or left rather than right hand side, and then configuring the motors in the app. Worth a try? Regards, John P

The rear lights are connected to function outputs 1 and 2, so as long as F1 on your DCC system is non latching you can use F0 for the front (directional) lights and F1 and F2 to select head or tail lights at the back. You need CV programming to get the rear lights controlled by a single function key. a,d that is decoder dependant (I can tell you how to do it on a Zimo decoder, but that's not much use to anyone using another brand) On the CL68 you have the option of correct lights for light engine (lit up at both ends), pulling a train, (headlights only) and propelling a train (tail lights only) . On the CL142 you can now select the correct lights for when the Pacer is running in multiple or on its own. Regards, Johnp

Ah! I misunderstood the use of 'modern'. I took it to be newly designed models, rather than models of modern protoypes. So as others have said, modern protoypes have less bits hanging off them that need to be modelled, one notable exception being buffer beam and front end details. A very striking, but not quite so modern prototype example is that of air conditioned BR MK2 and MK3 carriages. Lots of stuff visible underneath the MK2's, next to nothing visible on the MK3's except the valances (is that the correct term?). Regards, John P

Intel, along with all the other electronics manufacturers, get the names from the random codename generator fairy. Actually a lot of electronics manufacturers use many codenames for the same product, depending on who they are talking to. That way when a 'sneak preview' occurs referring to codename "G" they have a pretty good idea where the leak came from. With that many codenames in play, the resultant names are not surprising. Regards, John P

I fell out with Peco motors when I tried to get an N Gauge Electrofrog single slip working with frog polarity switching. I used the Peco Microswitch as recommended and after a week or so I gave up. I then bought 2 Tortoise motors and had the whole thing working in about 1 hour. It also helps that here in the US a Peco motor plus accessory switch is almost as expensive as a Tortoise, which has 2 accessory switches. BUT rather than rest on their laurels, Circuitron really should look at making a more compact version for European prototype modellers, it is a 35 year old design after all. Regards, John P

As an N Gauge modeller I am intrigued. Are you saying that Hornby don't just stick a blanking panel in their DCC loco and call it DC? They actually use a different PCB in the DC loco? Thanks, John P

One school of thought is that modern models are TOO detailed and hence very expensive. One example in N Gauge that continually comes up on forums is how good Union Mills steam loco models are compared to Dapol and Farish. "UM have little detail and never attempt to do outside pistons, but they are built like tanks and have tremendous haulage capacity, they are also relatively low cost, Farish & Dapol on the other hand have too many fiddly bits which can break and can't pull the skin off a rice pudding." I'm not aware of a OO comparison but I'd rather have detail and accuracy rather than compromise. (BTW I do N Gauge diesels and electrics) John P

It's been a while but I seem to recall that there is a metal clip under the bogie, if it isn't lying flat then the coupling droops. The metal clip can be carefully pushed into place so that it is flat and that should fix the problem. I have 18 and they don't uncouple any more. If all else fails a drop of Aircraft canopy glue or Tacky Wax will make a semi permanent bond to keep couplings together. Regards, John P

Looks like you can still order on the website. Regards, John P

Convert them back to buses. John P

The vast majority of US manufactured decoders for US outline loco's are drop in replacement PCBs that are swapped with the manufacturer's DC PCB. You should still be able to read back the manufacturer ID from CV8. Regards, John P

The N Gauge ones weigh next to nothing by comparison. John P

Just to derail the thread a little, and, as I may well end up with an e ticket on my next trip back to the UK. Why do people keep banging on about the availablility of Wifi on the train so that an eticket can be used????? My airline e- boarding pass is downloaded to my phone by the airline app when I check in. From that point on I do NOT need Wifi or a cell signal or any form of connectivity to the internet in order to display my boarding pass to airline or security staff. Is this not the case with an e-ticket for a train journey? Thanks, John P

The white label was most likely the faded label with the programmed firmware version on it, not some feeble attempt to disguise the IC. The ST62T60C6 is a programmable Micro controller, buying the IC alone wouldn't work, you also need the firmware that goes with it. Regards, John P

Once an eticket is on your phone you don’t need a connection to show it to the ticket inspector John P

OK I am thinking of using Cobalts instead of Tortoises in some confined spaces on my layout and have found the technical bits of this thread intriguing. (The non technical bits have been fun as well ) I am unclear as to the benefits of self centering using addresses 198 & 199. Can the Cobalt not be centered by pushing the mechanism like on a Tortoise? And why does it need to be centered other than to make alignment easier? Also, as I use a Z21 then I think that the use of address 197 to change the direction of operation would be redundant, I can change the direction of operation on the Z21 screen by changing the logic associated with the turnout settings. I understand hat other DCC systems may not allow this. Did I miss anything or make any bad assumptions here? Thanks, John P