303013 Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 (edited) the only thing I couldn't figure was how to raise the pantograph didn't want to pull too hard on it incase it broke so if someone figures it out let me know. I saw the model yesterday and the patograph just needs a firm (but careful) push to the side to unlock and raise. The Pantograph looked good, white 'fins' and all, but I am no expert. Just one thing, what is the livery finish like generally? I say this because the example I saw seemed to be dirty at the ends of the coaches where the body slants inwards on the bottom half of the body on the trailers (if you see what I mean). Also, the blue was not crisp in places. I hope this isn't a common feature as the rest of the model looked good. Edited November 23, 2011 by 303013 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Ron Ron Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 It has to be remembered that Hornby decoders are made for them by a well established decoder manufacturer I believe ESU ( Electronic Solutuons Ulm , Germany)....... Sorry Steve, I think you're mixing up Bachmann and Hornby there. Bachmann use a couple of ESU made decoders (the LokPilot Basic in the guise of the 36-553 & 36-554), but Hornby don't use ESU. Whilst the exact Chinese source of Hornby decoders is yet to be properly identified, it is thought they may come from the source of Hornby's other digital electronic products (Scalextrix & DCC), SGAI Tech of Hong Kong. SGAI Tech is a joint venture between Cambridge based Sagentia (formerly known as Scientific Generics) and Hong Kong based AML. Scientific Generics (now known as Sagentia) developed the digital products for Hornby. Back to the Desiro..... Did anyone lobby Bachmann reps at Warley, with a request for the 450? . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevelewis Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 I am experiencing a slight glitch Sorry Steve, I think you're mixing up Bachmann and Hornby there. Bachmann use a couple of ESU made decoders (the LokPilot Basic in the guise of the 36-553 & 36-554), but Hornby don't use ESU. Whilst the exact Chinese source of Hornby decoders is yet to be properly identified, it is thought they may come from the source of Hornby's other digital electronic products (Scalextrix & DCC), SGAI Tech of Hong Kong. SGAI Tech is a joint venture between Cambridge based Sagentia (formerly known as Scientific Generics) and Hong Kong based AML. Scientific Generics (now known as Sagentia) developed the digital products for Hornby. Back to the Desiro..... Did anyone lobby Bachmann reps at Warley, with a request for the 450? . Maybe I am confusing it with the SOUND Hornby Black 5 which i beleive does use ESU Decoder, ig my memeory of the documentation with the loco is correct. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevelewis Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 (edited) I am encountering a small problem with mt Desiro, now please dont take this as mt doing a bit of moaning cos I am not, I am simply reporting it to see if anyone else has noticed the problem and perhaps help with suggestions if they have. The Desiro runs brilliantly smoothly and quietly with a good controllable very slow speed and a good 'cruising 'speed. It runs equally as well as the other Bachmann 2 & 4 car EMUs on the layout. However we have noticed a tendency for it to stall at low speeds on curved track and we beleive that power pickup may be the cause. The unit collects power from both bogies of the power car...... The power is transferred to the PCBs in the car via vertical rigid brass sections which press upward on horizontal l sections of Springy brass in the car floor................, now as the bogies turn on curved track the vertical section on the bogie moves from the centre line of the Horizontal brass strip where the 'spriginess' is not as strong and this coupled with the natural up & down movement of the bogie seems to cause interruption of the power flow. Having checked as far as possible without dismantling the POWERED bogie (which is not something to do lightly on these units!!) it is thought that the unpowered bogie is more likely to be the cause of the problem. As the springy pressure at the powered bogie does appear stronger. We have tried a few fixes such as adding some additional weight at the non powered end, but this did not seem to help. We are now considering 'hard wiring' the unpowered bogie to the PCB which could easily be done, just a case of 4 soldered joints and a couple of lengths of cable. The strange thing is the wiring & pickup system in the 350 is almost identical to the CEP & EPB, on which this problem has never occured. I would add that all the usual checks have ben made to ensure that power is being collected by all 8 wheels on the power car. I just wish to repeat I am in no way 'knocking' the Desiro, it is a briliant model, well its cost, and I will have no hesitation in buying other versions when available. Edited November 24, 2011 by Stevelewis 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Ron Ron Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 (edited) Maybe I am confusing it with the SOUND Hornby Black 5 which i beleive does use ESU Decoder, ig my memeory of the documentation with the loco is correct. Yes you are correct about the sound fitted models; they (Hornby) openly use ESU sound decoders. I should have clarified that I wasn't including sound decoders as they're not a Hornby DCC product. The way you worded your post, I thought you were referring to Hornby's own branded chips and suggesting they came from ESU, which they don't ! . Edited November 24, 2011 by Ron Ron Ron Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium newbryford Posted November 24, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 24, 2011 (edited) However we have noticed a tendency for it to stall at low speeds on curved track and we beleive that power pickup may be the cause. We are now considering 'hard wiring' the unpowered bogie to the PCB which could easily be done, just a case of 4 soldered joints and a couple of lengths of cable. Sounds like a similar problem to the contacts on a 150 - I've hard wired them all................ Cheers, Mick Edited November 24, 2011 by newbryford Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevelewis Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 (edited) Sounds like a similar problem to the contacts on a 150 - I've hard wired them all................ Cheers, Mick Hi Mick Thanks for the confirmation.......................................So its out with the soldering iron\!! Strange though not experienced the fault with any of the CEPs or EPBs Edited November 24, 2011 by Stevelewis Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
303013 Posted November 26, 2011 Share Posted November 26, 2011 What is the livery finish like generally? I say this because the example I saw seemed to be dirty at the ends of the coaches where the body slants inwards on the bottom half of the body on the trailers (if you see what I mean). Also, the blue was not crisp in places. I hope this isn't a common feature as the rest of the model looked good. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
metadyneman Posted November 26, 2011 Share Posted November 26, 2011 I'm not saying a word but the one I have got which I'm not supposed to open until Christmas day is crisply painted no fuzzy lines and looks very good. It's now back in it's box and out of sight until Christmas day! (not that it was out of it's box was it?) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevelewis Posted November 26, 2011 Share Posted November 26, 2011 What is the livery finish like generally? I say this because the example I saw seemed to be dirty at the ends of the coaches where the body slants inwards on the bottom half of the body on the trailers (if you see what I mean). Also, the blue was not crisp in places. I hope this isn't a common feature as the rest of the model looked good. Everything appears spot on on mine! Re my previous post about the occasional eratic running, that fault has now been simply corrected and it runs absolutely perfectly, just like Bachmann's other EMUs Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Roll on the 450 is all I can say! I did ask Bachmann if it was a possibility when the 350's were announced and was told there were (at the time) currently no plans. That said if enough people ask..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Ron Ron Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 I hope you don't mind me repeating you Charlie..... and for the purposes of the DDA (in keeping with the contemporary theme) I'll just make it a little bit bigger.... Roll on the 450 . 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete the Elaner Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 (edited) I travel in 350s every day (so will check for the shoebeams on the 350/1, which were there last time I noticed) so I welcome them very warmly. I am building an early 90's WCML layout so am very tempted to make it convertible to 2005-10 just to run these. Just ask yourself 'Why produce the 350?' Because it is a suburban AC EMU, which is hopefully a gap in a market. It can cheaply be converted to produce a 450, which will enter a proven market alongside the popular CEP & EPB. With those 2 points in mind, I have no doubt that a 450 will be available soon. I am disappointed they chose a named S/L 350. Units are fairly anonymous so you can run the same one up & down a layout all day & nobody will notice. You can't do it with a namer. This has stopped me buying one of these. I have an LM 350/1 on order & after the positive comments on here, I may well add an LM 350/2 as well. Edited November 29, 2011 by Pete the Elaner Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Martin Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 I am disappointed they chose a named S/L 350. Units are fairly anonymous so you can run the same one up & down a layout all day & nobody will notice. You can't do it with a namer. This has stopped me buying one of these. I'm disappointed about that too. I'm waiting for the Farish version of the 350 to appear and while the Silverlink unit being a namer wouldn't stop me buying, it would make me prioritise other purchases for a bit, until it became clear whether an unnamed S/L unit was on the way. Jim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevelewis Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 I'm disappointed about that too. I'm waiting for the Farish version of the 350 to appear and while the Silverlink unit being a namer wouldn't stop me buying, it would make me prioritise other purchases for a bit, until it became clear whether an unnamed S/L unit was on the way. Jim Just a bit confused here! What difference does the name make? In fact the name is quite inconspicuous on the model I had to look 2 or 3 times to find it AND it is only on one side! Or am I missing a point? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roy P Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 (edited) Roll on the 450 is all I can say! I did ask Bachmann if it was a possibility when the 350's were announced and was told there were (at the time) currently no plans. That said if enough people ask..... At the Bachmann stand at the NEC I overheard someone ask (I had no particular reason to enquire myself) about a 450. The reply was "I can only answer questions about the current models". That's not a "No" is it? RP Edited November 30, 2011 by Roy P Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete the Elaner Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 What difference does the name make? In fact the name is quite inconspicuous on the model I had to look 2 or 3 times to find it AND it is only on one side! Or am I missing a point? Fair point but it takes away the anonymity & it is much easier to add a name than remove one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevelewis Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Fair point but it takes away the anonymity & it is much easier to add a name than remove one. I think the name on the unit would probably quite easy to remove it appears to be a transfer ( in similar vein to the real thing which I am advised is a vinyl decal!) quite small in size and only on one side Incidentally the description of this item did stae that etched nameplates were included, however according to Bachmann it was decided not to do so as the original only had the above mentioned vinyl decal! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Evil Bus Driver Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Just one thing, what is the livery finish like generally? I saw one at Gaugemaster on Wednesday. The finish seemed fine, but then I only looked at it in a glass case. I'd buy one but it's a bit out of my era. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete the Elaner Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 I saw one at Gaugemaster on Wednesday. The finish seemed fine, but then I only looked at it in a glass case. I'd buy one but it's a bit out of my era. Out of my era too, but sometimes a model comes along which is so good it has to be bought. I have been wanting an AC unit for some time so I'll support Bachmann's venture into this new part of the market by buying 2. If it sells well, then hopefully more AC units will follow. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
YesTor Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 Awww... the LM liveried versions are now both delayed until March/April. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium newbryford Posted December 9, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 9, 2011 Credit card breathes a huge sigh of relief................................... Cheers, Mick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireman Sam Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 Credit card breathes a huge sigh of relief................................... Cheers, Mick Mine is doing exactly the same. It's still crying after it's day out to Warley. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete the Elaner Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 (edited) Awww... the LM liveried versions are now both delayed until March/April. I would rather it be delayed for corrections than rushed out with errors. I've been waiting about 20 years for an AC commuter unit too, so 4-5 months is nothing. Maybe Howes will have a loksound chip ready by the time these get released? Edited December 11, 2011 by Pete the Elaner Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brittannia Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 My desiro druns perfectly on all of my curves points etc also the paintwork is excellent,as regards to the named 350 it is only transfer and plus the unit Appollo lost its name in about 2007 on transfer of ownership Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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