Hornby 2023 - Bluetooth decoders and control system

[RAF96]

3 hours ago, Ighten said:

Could a secondPower Hornby power bank be added to those then RAF

 

Is 10 seconds running time with motor. Lights and sound not enough, or is there a different reason you would need 2.

Edit - charging time. The decoders have been updated to charge while static after a couple of seconds delay. This is to prevent a surge on start up and to cater for the DCC programming track case. A programming burst is over before the power bank gets its timer running.

Edited March 22 by RAF96

[newbryford]

On 18/03/2024 at 17:53, RAF96 said:

The dongle is a simple relay device. It passes along what the app coomands but if the controller is restricted in ability to send those instructions they are ignored. You cannot expect the dongle to magically enable a basic controller to work outwith its spec.

 

As the LZV100 is not a basic controller and based upon the findings of @Tony Walker and myself, is there any possibility that the 4-digit addressing issues might be looked at please??

 

[RAF96]

29 minutes ago, newbryford said:

 

As the LZV100 is not a basic controller and based upon the findings of @Tony Walker and myself, is there any possibility that the 4-digit addressing issues might be looked at please??

 

 

I use 4 digit addressing from an Elite without problems.
A couple of glitches that have been seen with long addressing. If you load a new or reload an existing profile you have to over-type your long address again in loco settings even if the address is showing correctly, then refresh CVs in the app editor and check CVs 17 and 18 have written the correct numbers for your chosen address. Some have been translating wrongly, in either case the decoder will not respond.

The other glitch currently under fettle is CV 19 (consist) address can shift from default zero to any number (often 16), meaning although sound works independently the loco thinks it is in a consist and will not work on the decoder home address.

If you can confirm those possibilities are not in play then I can escalate the LZV100 case up the ladder for investigation.

[newbryford]

28 minutes ago, RAF96 said:

 

I use 4 digit addressing from an Elite without problems.
A couple of glitches that have been seen with long addressing. If you load a new or reload an existing profile you have to over-type your long address again in loco settings even if the address is showing correctly, then refresh CVs in the app editor and check CVs 17 and 18 have written the correct numbers for your chosen address. Some have been translating wrongly, in either case the decoder will not respond.

The other glitch currently under fettle is CV 19 (consist) address can shift from default zero to any number (often 16), meaning although sound works independently the loco thinks it is in a consist and will not work on the decoder home address.

If you can confirm those possibilities are not in play then I can escalate the LZV100 case up the ladder for investigation.

 

I'll try and have a play later and report back - thanks!

[RAF96]

On 22/03/2024 at 13:23, RAF96 said:

If you can confirm those possibilities are not in play then I can escalate the LZV100 case up the ladder for investigation.

Hornby are asking what revision state your LZV100s are running. Their units are very old but they intend to have one updated (to v3.6?). They think this affects availability of functions over F12. Can anyone confirm this please versus revision states.

[NoggintheNog]

Software Version 3.6 was introduced at least 15 years ago.

 

It introduced F0 to F28 not just to lenz, but to everyone, it is the standard for functions all others followed. 

[RAF96]

1 hour ago, NoggintheNog said:

Software Version 3.6 was introduced at least 15 years ago.

 

It introduced F0 to F28 not just to lenz, but to everyone, it is the standard for functions all others followed. 

V3.6R ?

[leonk]

On 22/03/2024 at 20:32, JSpencer said:

 

However I do get why someone would want to fit an alternative  (they might want smaller or have their own preference).

 

It would be easier to solder to those points in some locos I have. 

Because the speaker connector is out the side there's not much room to plug into some hood units where the decoder takes up the full width.

[Northerngirl]

It seems like my e link has lost its ability to program anything, and the hm7k seems to be here to stay.

I'm planning on getting a select or elite & the dongle, from what I can tell most of the difference comes down to ease of use, which which the app does really matter. Is there any other reason to avoid the select, all I need it to do is occasional cv editing on a couple of non txs sound locos, the rest is via the app. 

At a quick look, good ones seem to be going for about £90, and the elite £170 on ebay, would it be worth spending more for the additional features?

[spamcan61]

6 hours ago, Northerngirl said:

It seems like my e link has lost its ability to program anything, and the hm7k seems to be here to stay.

I'm planning on getting a select or elite & the dongle, from what I can tell most of the difference comes down to ease of use, which which the app does really matter. Is there any other reason to avoid the select, all I need it to do is occasional cv editing on a couple of non txs sound locos, the rest is via the app. 

At a quick look, good ones seem to be going for about £90, and the elite £170 on ebay, would it be worth spending more for the additional features?

I'd check the address range as I suspect the Select is more limited than the Elite.

[Bob83a]

6 hours ago, Northerngirl said:

It seems like my e link has lost its ability to program anything, and the hm7k seems to be here to stay.

I'm planning on getting a select or elite & the dongle, from what I can tell most of the difference comes down to ease of use, which which the app does really matter. Is there any other reason to avoid the select, all I need it to do is occasional cv editing on a couple of non txs sound locos, the rest is via the app. 

At a quick look, good ones seem to be going for about £90, and the elite £170 on ebay, would it be worth spending more for the additional features?

The firmware version of a select is important, you need the later version, not a big deal as you can return the unit to Hornby who can update it at a cost of about £15 plus postage (25-30 total). So factor this into the total cost.

 

[Kris]

6 hours ago, Northerngirl said:

It seems like my e link has lost its ability to program anything, and the hm7k seems to be here to stay.

I'm planning on getting a select or elite & the dongle, from what I can tell most of the difference comes down to ease of use, which which the app does really matter. Is there any other reason to avoid the select, all I need it to do is occasional cv editing on a couple of non txs sound locos, the rest is via the app. 

At a quick look, good ones seem to be going for about £90, and the elite £170 on ebay, would it be worth spending more for the additional features?

If you want a Select I would suggest looking on Facebook Marketplace. You can pick up a decent one for about £60. Even the oldest ones can be upgraded by sending them to Hornby which only cost £15 I believe. 

[Northerngirl]

Thanks everyone, I'll see what deals I can find 

[carlo]

Looking for some advice. Has anyone fitted a Hornby 8 pin HM7000 sound decoder to a Bachmann 08? Will it fit with smallest sound box without issue? Any tips greatly appreciated 

[cravensdmufan]

38 minutes ago, carlo said:

Looking for some advice. Has anyone fitted a Hornby 8 pin HM7000 sound decoder to a Bachmann 08? Will it fit with smallest sound box without issue? Any tips greatly appreciated 

Yes, did one last night.  My Bachmann 08 is an early one so I had to hard wire red, black, orange and grey (no lights on the model). Fitted decoder and smallest speaker behind the radiator.  Also a power pack in the cab (drilled a hole through the plastic bulkhead for the plug and cable).  The loco runs and sounds great, and I'm delighted with it.

[carlo]

16 minutes ago, cravensdmufan said:

Fitted decoder and smallest speaker behind the radiator. 

Did you fit speaker into the smallest box enclosure?

[cravensdmufan]

Just now, carlo said:

Did you fit speaker into the smallest box enclosure?

Yes.  Even with the smallest box it sounds good. Also, I didn't have to alter any CVs for motor control.  Performance is really good, right up there with more expensive decoders. ☺️

[carlo]

5 minutes ago, cravensdmufan said:

Even with the smallest box it sounds good

Thanks very much. Gonna be tight fit tho 🤣

[scottrains29]

19 hours ago, Northerngirl said:

It seems like my e link has lost its ability to program anything, and the hm7k seems to be here to stay.

I'm planning on getting a select or elite & the dongle, from what I can tell most of the difference comes down to ease of use, which which the app does really matter. Is there any other reason to avoid the select, all I need it to do is occasional cv editing on a couple of non txs sound locos, the rest is via the app. 

At a quick look, good ones seem to be going for about £90, and the elite £170 on ebay, would it be worth spending more for the additional features?

I'm in the same position as you, although my e-link is still working. I've decided to hold off and hope Hornby release an updated dcc controller/ elink type device.

Their previous dcc controllers are getting quite dated now and with the popularity of HM7000 I think it's inevitable they'll bring out a new controller that doesn't require a dongle to work with the app. Saying that I've been waiting over a decade for their Railmaster Loco Detection system they announced but it never materialised, yet...

[Tom D]

Just thought I would post my recent experience with HM7000 TXS 8 Pin decoder, and a Bachmann Class 55. After installing the Hornby DCC App, fitting the Decoder & speaker to the loco (ensuring loco body was insulated in the area I was installing the decoder), loading the appropriate loco profile and function map, loco worked right away, but I did detect a brief shorting sound when putting the loco on the program track. (Initially I thought I had touched the coupling to the track). Loco ran well, and sound was great, overall very impressed.

 

I use an NCE Power Cab, so I was keen to move from Blutooth mode to DCC mode, I had read that there were some issues when switching between the modes that the loco long address was "lost". This was the case for me, but I had pre-recorded the CV values for 7, 8, 17, 18 & 19. I was able to re-enter these values into the NCE Power Cab, and I could then successfully switch between Bluetooth & DCC mode. So far so good.....

 

As I kept on hearing the brief shorting sound every time I placed the loco on the program track, I decided to see if I could find the fault. Using a multi meter, I could see that I was reading a small resistance value from the driving wheels. Tracing the pickup wires back to the decoder, I disconnected the TXS and reconnected the old DCC decoder, this got rid of the shorting problem.

 

Looking at the TXS chip, I could see small burn marks around the black pickup wire on the decoder (I have attached picture below, red line shows burn), even though the loco and decoder were working, I did not wish to chance the decoder burning out completely. I have sent the TXS decoder back for refund.

 

I would like to point out, that I was very happy with the TXS sound decoder, and will order a replacement when I receive a refund. I would like to ask if anyone else has experienced this problem, and while I am very confident that I did nothing during the installation of the decoder, that may have caused a short, maybe someone reading this, could suggest something that could have caused a short.

 

Tom D

 

 

 

[RAF96]

13 hours ago, Tom D said:

Just thought I would post my recent experience with HM7000 TXS 8 Pin decoder, and a Bachmann Class 55. After installing the Hornby DCC App, fitting the Decoder & speaker to the loco (ensuring loco body was insulated in the area I was installing the decoder), loading the appropriate loco profile and function map, loco worked right away, but I did detect a brief shorting sound when putting the loco on the program track. (Initially I thought I had touched the coupling to the track). Loco ran well, and sound was great, overall very impressed.

 

I use an NCE Power Cab, so I was keen to move from Blutooth mode to DCC mode, I had read that there were some issues when switching between the modes that the loco long address was "lost". This was the case for me, but I had pre-recorded the CV values for 7, 8, 17, 18 & 19. I was able to re-enter these values into the NCE Power Cab, and I could then successfully switch between Bluetooth & DCC mode. So far so good.....

 

As I kept on hearing the brief shorting sound every time I placed the loco on the program track, I decided to see if I could find the fault. Using a multi meter, I could see that I was reading a small resistance value from the driving wheels. Tracing the pickup wires back to the decoder, I disconnected the TXS and reconnected the old DCC decoder, this got rid of the shorting problem.

 

Looking at the TXS chip, I could see small burn marks around the black pickup wire on the decoder (I have attached picture below, red line shows burn), even though the loco and decoder were working, I did not wish to chance the decoder burning out completely. I have sent the TXS decoder back for refund.

 

I would like to point out, that I was very happy with the TXS sound decoder, and will order a replacement when I receive a refund. I would like to ask if anyone else has experienced this problem, and while I am very confident that I did nothing during the installation of the decoder, that may have caused a short, maybe someone reading this, could suggest something that could have caused a short.

 

Tom D

 

 

 

Surely they would just send you a straight replacement. No need for refunds and repurchase.

[Tom D]

51 minutes ago, RAF96 said:

Surely they would just send you a straight replacement. No need for refunds and repurchase.

I am sure Hornby would offer a replacement Decoder, however, I purchased through Amazon UK, whose service this far has been very good.

[carlo]

This maybe a daft question as I only bought a chip the other day and just getting up and running. I prefer to control my loco using my elite controller rather than via the app. There's two settings in the app, dcc or Bluetooth. If I select dcc but leave the Bluetooth on in the app will I still be able to operate all sound options from the app or if not, what will I get? Its an 8 pin decoder for info.

[ColinB]

4 hours ago, carlo said:

This maybe a daft question as I only bought a chip the other day and just getting up and running. I prefer to control my loco using my elite controller rather than via the app. There's two settings in the app, dcc or Bluetooth. If I select dcc but leave the Bluetooth on in the app will I still be able to operate all sound options from the app or if not, what will I get? Its an 8 pin decoder for info.

If you set the loco to DCC in the app then it will only work with DCC commands from your Elite. If you did want to go back to using the app you would have to select the BlueTooth setting.

[MistaMatthews]

Can anyone comment on these stay alives? I’ve read somewhere before that the Hornby power bank is more than just capacitors and that other stay alives may not be suitable. This one however is stating that it works with HM7000 decoders.

 

https://www.dccconcepts.com/product/ae-model-2-wire-stay-alive/?fbclid=IwAR2ntQO8UnNWZLHxjj_sHUr40GasrENY55waKglMJnvCHnq4aMWhryic5mA_aem_AW4iZH94zsnn-eJt-CXoNhujlHK9ede5npSKftW0BL6fTGhyMU5PsKfP-n3IrMmKvCo