Chris-K Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 Hi, I've recently had a class 31 Hornby R357 converted to DCC, it is 1975 model with obviously an older motor requiring a better decoder as it needed more amps etc, also my Hornby select upgraded to 1.6 from Hornby, the problem is the train when trying to programme it sometimes jumps a couple times half way through programming and sometimes doesn't but once programmed it sometimes let's me move the train in both directions once and that's it, it will not do anything else, if I take the train off and back on the track it doesn't then recognise the controller I just can't get them to work, factory fitted dcc trains I have from Hornby all work fine, the decoder is a laiscc kung fu with stay alive I was told by the shop that did that the laisdcc decoders are not compatible with the Hornby controllers Any help on this would be great Thanks Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigelcliffe Posted April 18, 2022 Share Posted April 18, 2022 The shop is incorrect. If its DCC it should work on any DCC system: that's the point of having a DCC standard. However, the problem is you have one cheap system with limited support and limited capabilities (Select), a cheap decoder with limited support (Lais), and an ancient old model with a poor motor of 50 years ago. And its possible the stay-alive is confusing things further. To solve this you need to spend more money. Possibly a better control system, and almost certainly a better decoder. Its the awkward models which really benefit from the best decoders that are able to control them. It may be simpler to get a newer class 31, or re-motor the model you own with a better motor. - Nigel Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAF96 Posted April 18, 2022 Share Posted April 18, 2022 Many folk report using cheap Liais decoders with Hornby controllers without problems. I would point the finger at the stay alive interfering with programming. If it is detachable then unplug it for programming and see if it makes life easier. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris-K Posted April 18, 2022 Author Share Posted April 18, 2022 Hi, just an update on this, I ran the train using a Digitrax DCS52 and it working fine so obviously there is some kind compatability issue with the select etc Thanks Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyman7 Posted April 18, 2022 Share Posted April 18, 2022 The Triang R357 does not have a 'poor' motor; it is a robust and reliable design. The problem is that its older design means that the current draw is somewhat higher than modern motors and this needs to be accommodated if it is to be converted to DCC operation. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris-K Posted April 18, 2022 Author Share Posted April 18, 2022 Yep it does, the laisdcc fitted is the kungfu decoder with stayalive, which was fitted to cope with the higher draw amps it ran brilliantly at all speeds Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamThomas Posted April 18, 2022 Share Posted April 18, 2022 AFAIK the Hornby Select does not meet the NRMA specifications & there were issues with it when it first came out. Personally, I have had programming issues with various types of "stay alives" connected so I do my setting up with them disconnected & reconnect them once the locomotive is set up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris-K Posted April 18, 2022 Author Share Posted April 18, 2022 Interesting, so what your saying is there is a chance if i disconnected the stay alive there is a chance it might behave properly, it obviously does let me programme it with the stay a live connected though? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAF96 Posted April 20, 2022 Share Posted April 20, 2022 As the NMRA compliant Select effectively programs on the main at full potential there is not the usual stay alive problem of it drowning the normal low energy programming signal. Disconnecting a stay alive will help when your controller has a separate programming output. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokebox Posted April 20, 2022 Share Posted April 20, 2022 The Select is not listed as having been given a warrant of conformance. https://www.nmra.org/nmra-conformance-warrants Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Phil Bullock Posted April 20, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 20, 2022 Might also be worth removing suppression from the motor if not already done… Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamThomas Posted April 20, 2022 Share Posted April 20, 2022 On 18/04/2022 at 21:51, Chris-K said: Interesting, so what your saying is there is a chance if i disconnected the stay alive there is a chance it might behave properly, it obviously does let me programme it with the stay a live connected though? i have found that setting up decoders tends to be easier with any for of stay alive disconnected. Once set up I then reconnect the stay alives. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAF96 Posted April 23, 2022 Share Posted April 23, 2022 (edited) On 20/04/2022 at 10:31, smokebox said: The Select is not listed as having been given a warrant of conformance. https://www.nmra.org/nmra-conformance-warrants No-one said it was warranted - only conformant, which is a manufacturers declaration it was made to meet the standards. I wouldn’t place much faith in that list anyhow as it lists the old R8215 decoder which definitely wasn't warranted and omits the R8249 decoder which definitely is warranted. Edit - and only one Zimo decoder, when the whole range of which we know are good quality. Edited April 23, 2022 by RAF96 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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