RMweb Gold Geep7 Posted September 22, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 22, 2015 Geep, Once you get your sound-fitted Thumper be interesting to hear what you think of the sounds particularly the horns - mine sound ghastly. As also mentioned in one of my earlier postings the sounds on the video are quite different to the sounds that come out of my units but that, could of course, be down to different speakers or speaker housings. Kernow are aware of the rather strange sounding horns but when I spoke to them all they could say is what I hear is what they got from their supplier. They don't seem very concerned about it which rather surprises me. Keith Saw your post and meant to speak to Biff and Charlie at the REC show a couple of weeks ago (i'm pretty sure I was in front of their stand when I read it), but they we're quite busy, and so was I (manning the competition layout stand), so didn't get a chance to have a word. I've seen the video of them recording the sounds for the project, so I doubt they would have got them wrong, maybe something to do with the frequency of the sound and the speaker used? I'll see how it sounds when I get it. I seem to recall that some of the real horns could sound rather off if they were on their last legs, but not sure if we want that on a model. Anyway, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Perhaps there is a reason I've not got mine yet? (apart from being late to pre-order) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cromptonnut Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 Perhaps there is a reason I've not got mine yet? (apart from being late to pre-order) I ordered mine in October 2014 and haven't received mine yet - apparently there is quite a bunch still to be done, they are managing to fit about 4 an evening from my last conversation with them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Geep7 Posted September 22, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 22, 2015 I ordered mine in October 2014 and haven't received mine yet - apparently there is quite a bunch still to be done, they are managing to fit about 4 an evening from my last conversation with them. I kinda thought there might be a long order list. The fact they haven't got to Oct 2014 orders yet will make SWMBO happy..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cromptonnut Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 In other news, my new release Hornby Class 50 "Ajax" is supposed to be in stock tomorrow at Hattons, so my local model shop should have it within a week. That needs a sound chip too... along with the four other hoovers I've already got. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
charliepetty Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 Hi 47606odin To fill the gap give the Britannia Pacific Models 207 ago. Cheers, Darren NSE DAZ That's the DCKits model built up and sold Ready to Run by BPM. Charlie 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
charliepetty Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 (edited) Just been playing with my two new sound-fitted Thumpers and must say that I am disappointed with the F3 Playable low horn - not that I've heard a chicken being strangled but its what I would expect a chicken to sound like if it was being strangled. Have tried lowering the sound level but no improvement - it still sounds ghastly. Have no problem with any of the other sounds - in fact really like the "dung, dung, dung" of the compressor on F7. Have been on the phone to Kernow MRC and they are aware of the weird sound - its as supplied to them. Seems as though they can do nothing about it. Bearing in mind the provenance of the recording I'm disappointed. Regret that am not into doing you-tube videos you can't post a recording of the sound on here. Be interesting to hear was other purchasers of the sound-fitted new Thumpers think of the F3 sound. Keith PS: When speaking to Kernow I did mention that I would be posting on here. The Thumper we recorded sounded exactly like that, that is why we put on the 'Real Sounds' from a real Thumper. We can reblow the horns if you wish. Charlie (Legomanbiffo Land!) Edited September 22, 2015 by charliepetty Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Gwiwer Posted September 22, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 22, 2015 SR unit horns could sound like a "strangled chicken" in real life and not only on Thumpers. Most electric types also had horn issues from time to time. I've definitely heard thumpers producing a "PAAAAARRRRPPPP - peep" sound (low good, high strangled) and the reverse with a "PEEEEEEEEEP - wheeze cough" effect. Was the chip file recorded at Okehampton? I believe their original unit (1132?) suffered horn issues. Not sure what the current one sounds like. The actual sound produced should be the same, within the parameters of normal day to day variation, as anything of the same age meaning if there's a decent Hastings / CIG / BIG / CEP / HAP or similar sound capture it should be more than good enough. Warning horn oddities existed in all manner of strange ways. I've seen more than one unit with one of the horns bent up at a daft angle usually half way along. One electric unit was terminated at Worthing with horn failure (it's considered unsafe to have no audible warning available) and was found to have dead birds firmly embedded in both horns!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
legomanbiffo Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 (edited) More than one of the Thumper horns I've recorded had a 'strangled chicken' tone but from experience all the tones are more honk-y than other loco horns. I've also been told that strangled tones were quite typical of them and SR horns in general, so I decided to include one for authenticity. Gwiwer's comment and observations above seem to justify that decision. It's only on one tone, in one direction on the chip, the other three tones are 'normal'. If you're really not happy with it though Keith, please get in touch with Charlie or myself; the last thing I want is a customer who's not happy with something :-) As an aside, when writing the above I was surprised to find that the automatic forum police wouldn't let me write the word honk-y without the hypen! Bif Edited September 23, 2015 by legomanbiffo 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gridwatcher Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 (edited) Anyone had issues with the electrics to the trailer coach on their new Thumper. I am getting interior light in one direction and not the other.?! Tail light on one way not the other. The circuitry does seem a litle obtuse?! AM I right in thinking all the contacts have to be made with roof board etc etc for any of this lot to work? .... Edited September 23, 2015 by gridwatcher Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium ColinK Posted October 6, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 6, 2015 Does anyone know how deliveries of the sound fitted ones are progressing? I have one on order but don't want to distract Kernow if they are busy fitting the sound chips. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Geep7 Posted October 6, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 6, 2015 Does anyone know how deliveries of the sound fitted ones are progressing? I have one on order but don't want to distract Kernow if they are busy fitting the sound chips. Dropped Kernow a mail yesterday, and Greg replied that they should all be done by the end of the month..... 31st October is looking to be a long way away at the moment.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cromptonnut Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Can't believe mine is so far down the list when I ordered it a year ago. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisB Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 I've had mine about a fortnight but I ordered it about 4 years ago !!!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mevaman Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 It's a big job fitting the decoders and speakers to the Thumpers and is not as straightforward as you think. I know that Greg is busting a gut to get these done. The shop is so busy that he is doing them at home and testing each one on his layout. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kintbury jon Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Well having been on the shelf with the NSE one, I couldn't resist one that appeared on ebay as an unwanted present. It does look nice but the crispness of the paint between the dark blue and white isn't as good as it could be. I'd be interested to know if any others have this minor issue. It may well join my Connex one but at the moment is DC only. Here it is with the Connex one at the back: Also it is interesting to see the difference in blues used on the NSE EPB. An NSE HAP would involve the repainting of one of the coaches! 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium dale159 Posted October 15, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 15, 2015 (edited) Further to my attempts documented in this thread back in Januray to extend a 2H to a 3H using a Bachmann 4CEP trailer - link here - http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/12317-class-205-in-conjunction-with-kernow-model-shop/?p=1736514 It was found that the interior lights in the 4CEP car only worked in the forwards direction due to the CEP model not featuring directional lighting like the Thumper does. Last week, having not looked at the project since my last post here, I thought I'd give it another look and I believe I have reached a solution. I'm not 100% sure how the factory set up works but I believe each coach uses the track voltage from the pick-ups as a common positive and the two wires coming in through the coupling to determine which direction the train is going to move. The PCB in the CEP car roof with the LEDs has 4 copper contacts (2 positive and 2 negative) I have found that this board also has resistors built into it and that applying 9 volts from a battery to just 2 of those contacts (so long as 1 is positive and 1 negative and the polarity from the battery is correct way round it doesn't seem to matter which 2 are used) the LEDs all light up. So I thought I'd chance my luck and try applying straight DCC track voltage in the same fashion however this just caused a short on my Dynamis. Then I introduced a bridge rectifier diode into the circuit and applied this to the PCB and hey presto this works. So on that basis the bottom PCB can be removed and discarded and the 2 couplings wired straight through the coach, the top PCB can then be wired via the bridge rectifier to the pick-ups. The only thing with this set up is that these lights will not be switch-able short of grafting a small switch into the chassis. Hope this helps anyone looking to extend their 2H to a 3H Dale Edited October 15, 2015 by dale159 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium zarniwhoop Posted October 15, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 15, 2015 Then I introduced a bridge rectifier diode into the circuit and applied this to the PCB and hey presto this works. So on that basis the bottom PCB can be removed and discarded and the 2 couplings wired straight through the coach, the top PCB can then be wired via the bridge rectifier to the pick-ups. The only thing with this set up is that these lights will not be switch-able short of grafting a small switch into the chassis. Hope this helps anyone looking to extend their 2H to a 3H Dale Interesting. I found out quite a long while ago (page 9, post #225) that CEP trailers only light in one direction when used as potential donors for a 3H. And reversing the trailer made it light in the other direction. For me, thinking of simulating 1966 with d.c. control, that is enough - I haven't made much progress on the trailer body (or anything else in modelling), beyond removing the roof from a Replica body and hacking away at a Bachmann Mk1 roof, but I still hope to eventually build a continuous run layout, where up (to Brighton) trains have the motor, and tail light, at the rear, and vice versa for down trains (to Horsham - in a West Coastway context that is down). And headcodes at the front, red blinds at the rear. For 1966, daytime, in the absence of tunnels interior lights are a bit OTT (fortunately - it will save a fortune for the BILs and HALs). ken Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Geep7 Posted November 17, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 17, 2015 I'm very happy to report I am now the receipient of a Blue sound fitted Thumper. And very nice it is too. Outstanding job by Greg @ Kernow for getting all the sound chips fitted. And superb service from Kernow as always. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold RFS Posted November 17, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 17, 2015 Bear in mind that with the 4-CEP you can operate the interior lights and head codes independently with F0 and F1. So one of these wires on the 4CEP trailer is carrying the current for the head codes and is of course not used on this vehicle - it merely passes through. That's why there's no directional lighting on the 4CEP. On the Thumper you cannot operate the two separately. If you want just head codes and not interior lighting then there's an on/off switch for the latter in the underframe. One way of augmenting 2H units into 3H might to create on of the 4 3T units, where the extra coach was an ex-2EPB trailer - something you might be able to pick up off Ebay. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NXEA! Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 Received an email today that my sound NSE one has finally arrived! Worth the wait. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cromptonnut Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 Received an email today that my sound NSE one has finally arrived! Worth the wait. I hope you are as impressed with yours as I was with mine - although I'm still not convinced about the horn even though it is prototypically correct. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Geep7 Posted November 23, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 23, 2015 I hope you are as impressed with yours as I was with mine - although I'm still not convinced about the horn even though it is prototypically correct. I actually like the "broken" horn sound, especially when I remember hearing horns like that on SR EMUs.... at least it doesn't do it everytime the horn sounds. But putting that aside, the sound on it is most impressive, and Blackwater once again resounds to the sound of Thumper units. However, I may have to get a bigger / better speaker to up the sound level for exhibitions.... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NXEA! Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 I hope you are as impressed with yours as I was with mine - although I'm still not convinced about the horn even though it is prototypically correct. Haven't been able to play with it yet Cromptonnut. I'll report back once I'm able to though! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthernMafia Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 With the news that Bachmann are to produce a 2-HAP my spare EPB that was to be converted is now redundant. However, rather than selling I noticed the centre car trailer is very similar to the inner ends of EPB stock. Is it feasible that a 205 centre coach could be created by cutting and shutting the two inner ends, and then adding a correct roof (of which I also have from MJT)? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kintbury jon Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 I think so and I have the bodies and EPB trailer chassis to do the same. However, there is the issue of getting the lighting to work correctly. Do share your work if you give it a try. We'd all like to see! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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