Planet Industrials - Kerr Stuart Victory RTR in OO...

[cornelius]

10 hours ago, Paperlad said:

Is there any update on delivery schedule for the sound fitted models? I appreciate that there are difficulties with decoder supply but any info would be appreciated.

 

9 hours ago, Les1952 said:

With Zimo sound chips being available might it be better to re-jig the sound onto a Zimo?

 

 

The sound project has been configured for a Zimo chip from the beginning. We are starting to hear encouraging noises in terms of supply but until we know the decoders are in hand we don't want to commit to a date. Sorry to keep everyone waiting!

 

Pre-orders for non-sound DCC fitted locos were dispatched this week.

[No Decorum]

2 hours ago, cornelius said:

 

 

The sound project has been configured for a Zimo chip from the beginning. We are starting to hear encouraging noises in terms of supply but until we know the decoders are in hand we don't want to commit to a date. Sorry to keep everyone waiting!

 

Pre-orders for non-sound DCC fitted locos were dispatched this week.

You have my sympathy and you are not alone. I had to wait for my Dapol Manor, my Rapido Austerity is on its way and I’m still waiting for my Sonic 9N/A5. It gives my neighbours’ ears a rest, I suppose. It’s nice to know that there are “encouraging noises”.

[black and decker boy]

Our Victory made its show debut on Inchyra Paper Mill last weekend and was really pleased with its smooth running.
 

As a big bulky loco, it looks great moving the heavy coal rake to / from the power station unloading pit.

 

 

[Captain Kernow]

21 hours ago, VIA185 said:

I'd go for Victor and Vulcan if only because I once drove Victor at Longbridge. Well, you know, I held the regulator.! They were big, powerful beasts and moved trains of car flats and 16-ton mineral wagons full of metal swarf. The machine oil on the swarf kept the wagons in better nick than coal did, so most of them ended up at the GCR in the windcutter rake. There was also some smaller 0-6-0STs named Austin 1 etc, which would also make nice models. (CJL)

I was the first fireman on Vulcan after restoration to working order on the WSR in 1977. Wonderful times.

 

[BVMR21]

I do like how these models just react with a “meh” for nearly any load, just sits there and pulls it anyway. Definitely inspires confidence for the next project.

 

[VIA185]

21 hours ago, Captain Kernow said:

I was the first fireman on Vulcan after restoration to working order on the WSR in 1977. Wonderful times.

 

I suppose it was necessary to suit its new role but I always thought that cutting back the buffer beams changed the appearance of them and lost some of their character. (CJL)

[Paperlad]

On 22/02/2023 at 08:12, cornelius said:

 

 

The sound project has been configured for a Zimo chip from the beginning. We are starting to hear encouraging noises in terms of supply but until we know the decoders are in hand we don't want to commit to a date. Sorry to keep everyone waiting!

 

Pre-orders for non-sound DCC fitted locos were dispatched this week.

Many thanks for the update.

 

PL.

[Captain Kernow]

2 hours ago, VIA185 said:

I suppose it was necessary to suit its new role but I always thought that cutting back the buffer beams changed the appearance of them and lost some of their character. (CJL)

Perhaps so, but they were still interesting machines, although not at all suited to working passenger trains, even at 25 mph, due to the loco oscillations arising from the short wheelbase.

 

When were the buffer beams modified, was that not prior to the WSR acquiring them?

 

[PaulRhB]

I was beta testing some files on the previous model Zimo mx659n18’s. 
 

First job was to fit the chip, two screws then wiggle the body out as the instructions and you will have no problems. Don’t forget to unplug the brake cylinder, at the right end here, between the step and chassis. 

 

Remove the blanking plug and I used a Lais 870007 from DCC supplied soldered to the +ve and ground pads on the chassis pcb (note the newer ms decoders have pads on the decoder but I’d still use these as there is less risk of damaging the chip and the pads are larger too)

Top marks for access and the pads on the pcb to Planet Industrials. 
 

 

 

I put insulation tape over the pcb pads and the wires as the decoder sits right on top and any stray strands could short out. I simply used selotape, worth adding that to the DCC fitting instructions guys to avoid any problems. 
Then I clicked the decoder into place, loads of room with a nice big cut out in the body, no squeezing it in risking trapped wires needed for simple dcc. 

 

The stay alive fits easily in the opposite tank, secured on a sticky foam pad. It does need a bit of extra wire but there’s plenty of room if you turn the body round twice to loop it up and pop it in above the speaker as you slide the body on. 
 

Re-assemble and check on the program track to ensure no shorts before putting on powered track. 
 

All good and a nice easy DCC fit 👍, video to follow.

[PaulRhB]

This video features the two Victory tanks, the green one ‘Tom’ is in good order while ‘Jerry’, in red, is testing a slightly worn and tired loco with leaking glands sound set. 

Both options will be included on the ‘factory’ supplied sound decoder, just a simple CV change is needed to alter the loco’s characteristics.

Although this version is a beta test for Paul Chetter to ‘field test’ some new features which he kindly used the Victory files to test as intended for these, this video demonstrates standard sounds and features of the R-T-R sound project and that file will only be available from Pi not from Paul. This exact one won’t be available because it includes development work but gives a very accurate idea of how good the R-T-R Planet Industrials Kerr Stuart will sound and how easily the model deals with a large rake of vehicles. 
 

 

 

[AY Mod]

13 minutes ago, PaulRhB said:

testing a slightly worn and tired loco with leaking glands sound set. 

 

I do like that; a lot!

[woodenhead]

Such a good idea to do a sound project around a worn loco, especially for an industrial setting.

[PaulRhB]

50 minutes ago, AY Mod said:

 

I do like that; a lot!

It’s very playable and I ran the two for about three hours without getting tired of it and very similar to driving sounds from the big sit in MVR 7 1/4 locos I used to drive. Sounded just like a real loco when you play with the regulator and reverser to get the best ‘performance’ out of it without thrashing it to death and it sounds so good 😀

 

[No Decorum]

I’ve dribbled all down my front! (Still waiting for my sound- and crew-fitted pair.) Very nice indeed.

[brumtb]

Does anyone have experience of a Rails Connect Next 18 decoder fitted to Victory?

Mine runs fine on DC but barely moves on DCC with the above decoder although power is clearly getting to the motor.

Thanks in advance.

Tony

[Ian Hargrave]

I don’t ( normally) do sound.  I hear on this thread about various options and sound files.Which makes me smile and trying to grasp a memory of what these were and did in their final years under NCB ownership. The sound of them working down the valley from our house punctuated their swansong until the closure of Aberaman Colliery and other pits in the Aman  Valley . Until a few weeks ago when  I was smitten by this Pi model at Doncaster,it had almost disappeared from my conscious memory.The experience and subsequent purchase and performance of it has awakened memories of walking close to the colliery with my grandfather who knew all those who worked the colliery lines . One visual image ,late on in my life,still remains in memory. It’s of a Kerr Stuart “face “. My grandfather simply identified it as “ Enos’ engine” . I don’t need a sound version. The performance of this model is such that,as I watch it closely slowly under control the sounds replicate themselves silently in my head. This model is that good.IMHO

 

 

[KymN]

On 22/02/2023 at 21:01, No Decorum said:

You have my sympathy and you are not alone. I had to wait for my Dapol Manor, my Rapido Austerity is on its way and I’m still waiting for my Sonic 9N/A5. It gives my neighbours’ ears a rest, I suppose. It’s nice to know that there are “encouraging noises”.

I have tried to be sympathetic, but I gave in yesterday and asked the question of Light Railway Stores.  Recent orders from the UK have taken up to seven weeks to get to Australia, so it is hard to tell where a delay is from.

[No Decorum]

4 hours ago, KymN said:

I have tried to be sympathetic, but I gave in yesterday and asked the question of Light Railway Stores.  Recent orders from the UK have taken up to seven weeks to get to Australia, so it is hard to tell where a delay is from.

It’ll only be three weeks on Wednesday although it seems longer. That’s probably because the Rapido Austerity and Sonic 9N/A5, which I mentioned, have arrived as has Bachmann’s WD. They and Dapol’s Manor have kept my mind off the Victories.

For what it’s worth:

Dapol’s Manor is superb.

Rapido’s Austerity is good once the grease has been cleaned out of its bearings.

The Sonic 9N/A5 is a bit meh. It’s inclined to stall on points and the sound is a bit weak.

The Bachmann WD is beautiful and the sound project is superb. There are just a few reminders that it is an older tooling, such as moulded on smokebox door handles.

[BVMR21]

On 28/02/2023 at 18:07, brumtb said:

Does anyone have experience of a Rails Connect Next 18 decoder fitted to Victory?

Mine runs fine on DC but barely moves on DCC with the above decoder although power is clearly getting to the motor.

Thanks in advance.

Tony

Was considering fitting the Rails Next18 I’ve got but if there are issues with them and these I might just leave it and get a more expensive decoder at some point 

[brumtb]

5 hours ago, BVMR21 said:

Was considering fitting the Rails Next18 I’ve got but if there are issues with them and these I might just leave it and get a more expensive decoder at some point 

I did eventually get it to work reasonably satisfactorily by trial and error experimentation with CVs  29 (to change the direction of travel, why that was wrong out of the box, I don't know) and then 2, 5 and 6 to build up a speed profile, mostly relying on 2, and 3 and 4 for acceleration and deceleration,

I didn't find the downloadable CV instruction guide very useful for someone (like me) with only basic DCC knowledge but searching the internet helped point me in the right direction (literally!).

Knowing what I now know I think I'll be reluctant to use a Rails Next 18 again although they may be fine with other locos.

Tony

[Ruston]

On 28/02/2023 at 18:07, brumtb said:

Does anyone have experience of a Rails Connect Next 18 decoder fitted to Victory?

Mine runs fine on DC but barely moves on DCC with the above decoder although power is clearly getting to the motor.

Thanks in advance.

Tony

This may seem like a silly question but you have put some tape over the decoder interface, haven't you? Nothing is mentioned about this in the instructions but I found that when I fitted a decoder to my Victory it would only move in forward gear. It drove in both directions on DC, so I suspected a faulty decoder but it turned out that part of the decoder was touching part of the PCB that it shouldn't have and so would only run in one direction. Putting tape over the PCB cured it.

[PaulRhB]

14 minutes ago, Ruston said:

Putting tape over the PCB cured it.

I mentioned it too in my post about sound fitting above. 

 

 

 

[brumtb]

Thanks both @Ruston and @PaulRhB, I hadn't picked up on the need for tape.

Although my Victory seems to be running fine at the moment I'll certainly add the tape as suggested to be on the safe side.

Tony

[cornelius]

The Rails Connect decoders we used for our non-sound DCC pre-orders had heat shrink around them so insulating tape was not necessary - we also flipped CV29 during installation so they go in the right direction out of the box. The wiring layout is apparently a common foible of our manufacturing partner.

 

At the time the model notes were written we weren't aware that the decoder and circuit board could potentially touch - when the sound models go out they will have additional user notes to this effect along with details of the functions available etc. Paul C has also preset the direction setting on the sound project but we will check in case any models are wired the "right" way around.

 

I'm still not willing to commit to a definite ETA on the sound decoders but it does look like the end is in sight, thank you everyone for your patience!

[Les1952]

13 hours ago, cornelius said:

The Rails Connect decoders we used for our non-sound DCC pre-orders had heat shrink around them so insulating tape was not necessary - we also flipped CV29 during installation so they go in the right direction out of the box. The wiring layout is apparently a common foible of our manufacturing partner.

 

At the time the model notes were written we weren't aware that the decoder and circuit board could potentially touch - when the sound models go out they will have additional user notes to this effect along with details of the functions available etc. Paul C has also preset the direction setting on the sound project but we will check in case any models are wired the "right" way around.

 

I'm still not willing to commit to a definite ETA on the sound decoders but it does look like the end is in sight, thank you everyone for your patience!

 

Oh good.  The Victory will most likely miss NO PLACE's next outing at South Notts show on April 1st and 2nd, but it will have arrived by the following outing in October......

 

Les