J94 Lord Phil

[Hroth]

Got one today.

 

Hornby advertise it as DCC Ready.  It isn't.

 

After disembowelling, there's no decoder socket so the only way to DCC it (like all previous Hornby J94s) is to hard wire it.

 

I'm not very pleased.....

 

[tomparryharry]

Have you confused the Hornby model, with the DJM version? I got caught out like that one.

 

I don't 'do' DCC, so I expected to take out a plug, but I was spared that job.

 

The DJM models have a neat little decoder socket facility in the smokebox. slide it to one side, and you're there.

 

Ian.

[br2975]

Well, if you scroll down the link, one or t'other of the current Austerity / J94 models is described as "DCC Ready"

 

https://www.Hornby.com/uk-en/0-6-0st-lord-phil-j94-class.html

 

This claim is not replicated by Hattons, Rails or Olivia's - the latter do offer a DCC fitting service for the model.

.

You may wish to speak with Hornby ?

[Phil Bullock]

So could be tempted by this one. The loco was tested between Oxford and Kingham in 1962 so although out of era probably came up to Worcester too...

 

And look at the name.....!!!!

 

Phil

[Hroth]

Have you confused the Hornby model, with the DJM version? I got caught out like that one.

 

I don't 'do' DCC, so I expected to take out a plug, but I was spared that job.

 

The DJM models have a neat little decoder socket facility in the smokebox. slide it to one side, and you're there.

 

Ian.

No.  I do know the difference between the DJM and Hornby offerings, I'd preordered R3533 from a retailer who was offering it £20 less than the Hornby list price, £35 less than DJM list their models for and because Hornby was advertising it as DCC Ready, I thought they'd done some improvements over the previous issue of the model for 2017.  And to make quite clear what I thought was being offered, here's a screenshot of the Hornby web page for the model, captured about 10 minutes ago , showing the "technical details":

 

 

It might have been better to get the DJM one, recently offered by Hattons for £69, but by that point, the die was cast....

 

For the £65 I paid, I suppose it's not bad, its got sprung buffers, but the couplings aren't in NEM pockets.  Like a number of other recent models, it should be in the Railroad range, at Railroad prices (ie, what I had paid in the first place), especially as its not DCC Ready after all.

 

It won't be too difficult to solder in a DCC decoder, and probably saw off a bit of the boiler weight to ensure there's enough room, but I'm annoyed that I have to go to those lengths in the first place!

 

edit for minor typo

Edited September 2, 2017 by Hroth

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

...because Hornby was advertising it as DCC Ready, I thought they'd done some improvements over the previous issue of the model for 2017.  And to make quite clear what I thought was being offered, here's a screenshot of the Hornby web page for the model, captured about 10 minutes ago , showing the "technical details"...

Do we suppose that the office junior has been told to create these neat looking poopsheets from a standard 'boilerplate' document with 'DCC Ready' as the default option? Hornby have quite recently updated their even older in design origin N2 with a decoder socket, so it's perfectly reasonable to expect that this had been done on the J94. I think I'd send it to Hornby service, asking for the full spec item as advertised on their own site...

Edited September 4, 2017 by 34theletterbetweenB&D

[Hroth]

Well, I asked Hornby about the DCC misrepresentation.

 

No response, but the "technical details" on the model information page have been amended this morning to remove any mention of DCC.  I'm glad I got a screen-grab.....

 

(Correct one typo and another slips through...)

Edited September 4, 2017 by Hroth

[Brit70053]

Out of interest, is DCC Ready mentioned on the box or instruction leaflet ?

[MGR Hooper!]

[JSpencer]

FWIW Bachmann did a similar error with their 45xx a few years back.

[MGR Hooper!]

I think now this topic can be closed, we can credit Hornby for swiftly correcting their error.

[No Decorum]

FWIW Bachmann did a similar error with their 45xx a few years back.

Yes, except that the model was supposed to have an eight-pin socket. When they arrived from the factory, Bachmann was surprised that they didn’t. The next batch was correctly DCC fitted.