Bachmann Class 40 32-475DC and 32-480DS

[Stevelewis]

A further  observation  on the  above  mentioned  'sound  stutter'   I tried  running  the  loco  very  slowly on speed  step 1  which  is VERY slow, to see what happened  when it  reached  the  point on the  gentle-ish curve  where the  stutter occurs,, nothing  happened  loco  continued  without  any  stutter   occuring, tried this  a few  times with  the  same  results,  BUT   then increased  speed to full  and  the  stutter  occured again,  its  a strange  one,  just  thinking  as  i  type  this  I will turn the  loco round  and  run  it  with  the other  cab  leading to see what happens!

 

Edited  later

further  to  this  post  see my  later  post  re  the  way  the connections to the  speaker is  set  up  by springy contacts in the  inside of the locos  roof,  this  may  have  a  bearing on   intermittent  sound  loss. 

Edited March 19, 2014 by Stevelewis

[railroadbill]

 

 

 

A nice clear picture of a body/colour combination not yet done on a 40 by Bachmann - D387 at Carlisle with carflats 16th June 1972   -   http://www.flickr.com/photos/96859208@N07/9648182736/in/photostream/

 

 

Stewart .

 

That's no excuse!!! D373 at 9 mins 30 secs....

 

 

Phil

 

Really good whistling sound - what is the sound chip you've used in the 40?  And as has been said before, great video.

[Jim]

For a V3.5  - 28mm round Loksound 100 ohm speaker (fits the holder)   - from SWD / Digitrains / DCC Supplies etc etc

 

  

Yeh, it's ok with slow movements over complicated point work, however there does seem to be a difference in speed between forward and reverse. Forward running, cooling fan, A end leading, runs noticeably slower. I've run it continuously for about half an hour but it didn't seem to "free up"

I know most model locos have a "tight" direction but this one is more noticeable.

Anyway, as soon as I think it's settled down, I'll be adding Howes sound to it.

That reminds me, on the model, under the cooling fan, there seems to be a ready made speaker "holder". It looks like its for a bespoke speaker who's contacts are provided by the "holder" to the pcb.

The first 40 141 I've had, I soldered a speaker with wires directly onto the speaker terminals on the pcb.

I was wondering where you can get speakers that utilise the "holder"?

Mind you, I need 100 ohm speakers as I'm still using Loksound v3.5s

Jim

Thanks for that. Unfortunately Howes had sold out of round speakers so I soldered a rectangle 100 ohm speaker in.

I decided to remove the bogie side frames to remove the excess grease and re-lube with electrolube.

It had been running fine with the Bachmann non-sound decoder but when I installed a sound decoder, any interruption in the supply becomes noticeable.

 

What I did find was that the engine was a bit "stuttery" when moving slowly.

I decided to drop the bogies out and found that one bogie felt a little stiff when manually turning the drive shaft.

I removed each wheelset and checked how it felt. I traced the stiffness down to the plastic "cap" that fits over the worm drive. It seemed to be pressing down a little hard on the worm bearings. I lightly filed the area where the cap meets the bearings. It worked! A lovely smooth running engine!!! And............the speed differential between directions has markedly reduced!!!

 

I've a couple of other engines that I'm going to look at in the same way.

 

Jim

[Phil Bullock]

Really good whistling sound - what is the sound chip you've used in the 40?  And as has been said before, great video.

Hi Bill

 

Those are Howes sounds on a loksound V3.5 chip with a standard round speaker in the body

 

And D200 will be heading to Howes when finished for a reblow.....

 

Cheers

 

Phil

Edited March 11, 2014 by Phil Bullock

[tractor_37260]

   Thanks for that. Unfortunately Howes had sold out of round speakers so I soldered a rectangle 100 ohm speaker in.

 

Jim

Many, myself included, find the 28mm round speaker sonically superior to a rectangle 20x40 ?  My own 141 has a Howes 8pin V3.5 used with an 21/8 adaptor and a 28mm round Loksound speaker,  and it sounds excellent, with more than enough volume available. 

[TimP]

Have you tried adjusting CVs using the comprehensive advice in the Loksound V4 site referred to in the documents that came with the loco? Just read the CVs on the Read programme and record them before adjustment, and you can always reset them later if you do need to return it.  Maybe we and others can exchange thoughts on optimum settings. I think the sound is great for the low speed work around shunting, coupling up and pulling away, etc. I also enjoy selecting speed 1, waiting for the sound to start revving and then reselect zero speed. Sounds like the driver is bored and itching to get started! Also, there might still be a bit of residual grease coming out after some running. I don't have any of the Isopropyl Alcohol they use in the #730 photos, but a touch of malt vinegar on a fine paint brush seems to work if I need to degrease things sometimes.

 

Good luck.

 

aac  

Thanks aac - its def a pickup problem not a cv problem - and i will try a quick clean as you suggest.

[Stevelewis]

RE MY POST#803,  I mentioned  that  the  loco  had  a  momentary  sound 'stutter'  on one  part of the  circuit it  is  being  tested on,   the  incident occurs in exactly the  same  place on an approx 30" radius curve,  the  sound momentarily stops for a very short  time perhaps 1/4 second  then resumes  also  the  lights including  cab lights flicker at the  same  time, but the loco's running does not falter

 

I have  now  tried the loco running  both  clock and  anti clockwise, with no 1   or No 2 cab leading  and the  fault occurs regardless,   if the loco moves  slowly  speed setting  1  to  7  the  fault does not always occur,  at  higher speeds  it occurs every time,

 

The 0n30! layout  which i am testing  it on  has  a continuous run  of around 36'  and  some sections  are  rather  more tightly  curved than the 30" rad  curve  where the   above  fault occurs.

 

I  have not  noticed any discernable difference in speed with the loco's running  in either direction

[Stevelewis]

Apologies  for  going  on  a bit!!!!!   But  something else  which  may be  of  value/interest,

 

I noticed   another  strange occurance  whilst  testing  the Class 40  this evening,   When selecting  lights  on ( not cab lights running  lights)  whilst the loco was stationery they did not always respond,  but did so when the loco moved off,  BUT  above a ceratain speed step  usually 7 or 8  the lights  went off, only to  come on again when the speed step was  reduced to a lower setting.

 

According to the  list of CV settings  i noted that  CV 29 is  listed  as  having Railcom enabled (  decimal value  of   8  in CV 29's various value sum)

I tried  disabling  Railcom  and  the  lights  immediately  worked correctly, staying on constantly when selected,  and  the sound  stutter  mentioned in previous  posts  diasppeared.

 

I have no idea  why  this  should happen  but  it has, perhaps someone out  there  has  a suggestion.

Edited March 11, 2014 by Stevelewis

[railroadbill]

Hi Bill

 

Those are Howes sounds on a loksound V3.5 chip with a standard round speaker in the body

 

And D200 will be heading to Howes when finished for a reblow.....

 

Cheers

 

Phil

Thanks, Phil. I'm hanging on for a blue 40 with discs which ain't one of the first releases so hopefully will be produced soon.  Originally thought I wouldn't have a sound one because it would sound too similar to the 37 I've sound chipped but having heard the Bachmann Mauritania running and now your video one, those whistling turbo chargers are very distinctive and I'm hooked. Your Howes sounds are good...

 

cheers

Bill

Edited March 12, 2014 by railroadbill

[DIRTY DIESEL]

Just had my 141 back from Lee,blueeighties on here,

WOW!!!!

What a transformation I had it weathered while it was in the North East but the quality in running since the pick up mods have been done is amazing.

I cannot get it to stall anywhere on my layout even at speed step 3 it just crawls around without a problem.

Lee have you fitted slow speed control or something as the 40's did not have them!!!!! :wink:

 

I've also just received D211 from Hattons & that seems to be a lot better runner than 141 it will loose sound on bad track (occasionally) but the radon stalling has not been a problem with this model (fingers crossed the problem does not return when muck gets in the pickups).

 

In due course it will end up in the North East for the mod & dirtying up...

 

Steve,

My D211 also shot off at speed when I first put it on my track with the horn sounding, I put this down to Bachmann testing it before it left them and just taking it off the track without letting loco spool down like we would normally do.

I did notice a slight stutter at slow speed which I stopped by that black art of setting CV54 to 0 (I think) then pressing F1 and watching the loco shoot off and sort its own motor control out. I Googled this and found it on here but best check first as not all chips are the same.

 

Two other slight problems I had, was the headlights would only work in one direction but tailamps were ok, I slackened the screws off at that end of the loco and it seems to work fine since.

Also I cannot fit a blanking headcode disc over the middle lower led as there is no hole to push disc into. Has anyone else had this problem?

 

cheers

 

Stu

[geoffwba]

Regarding previous posts on the CV settings for D211, I have tried different CV values and have not yet found a combination which is completely to my liking. Sometimes the loco will unexpectedly notch up and takes ages to notch itself down again. It would be useful if folks could post their settings on here, particularly those using the NCE Power Cab.   Although Bachmann provide a link to the ESU Loksound 4.0 manual (which incidentally is the old 2011 version), Bachmann themselves do not publish anything on their website.  You need to go directly to ESU's website for the latest manual.   The ESU manual is a long read and in parts difficult to understand as I am sure other people may have found.  One thing I did notice when I first ran the loco is that CV63 (master sound) was set far too high and so I set that to a more bearable level.

[ThaneofFife]

The shrill of class 20s and 40s is likely to give most folk a headache after 30 mins methinks so duff sound aint such a bad thing in these locos.my class 20 volume was never set very high.....

[johnd]

Regarding previous posts on the CV settings for D211, I have tried different CV values and have not yet found a combination which is completely to my liking. Sometimes the loco will unexpectedly notch up and takes ages to notch itself down again. It would be useful if folks could post their settings on here, particularly those using the NCE Power Cab.   Although Bachmann provide a link to the ESU Loksound 4.0 manual (which incidentally is the old 2011 version), Bachmann themselves do not publish anything on their website.  You need to go directly to ESU's website for the latest manual.   The ESU manual is a long read and in parts difficult to understand as I am sure other people may have found.  One thing I did notice when I first ran the loco is that CV63 (master sound) was set far too high and so I set that to a more bearable level.

I noticed that about the sound volume, it drowned the sound from other loco's. One of the first things I did was to reduce the volume, it's a lot better now, great when double heading another 40.

[David69]

This is my first post on the forum which I follow and find to be very informative and helpful. as such I thought I'd offer my view on the new Bachmann class 40.

I usually have Digitrains install zimo decoders and their sounds into my dcc locos. I purchased class 40 " mauratania" from them as I want to convert it to d299 as that was the only loco my father never saw in his train spotting days!!

My review of it is that it runs ok with the sound tending to cut out for a split second occasionally, mostly over points, although the loco doesn't stop running. Master sound is very high and has been changed to a much lower number via CV63. Out of the box it runs ridiculously fast and so CV53 has been changed to 85. It now runs at a better speed but the notching up and down is delayed at higher speeds. Finally I am getting no random sounds (compressor and fan) at all, has anyone else noticed this?

I am running a NCE power pro 5amp system with 4 procabs and think a trip to Lincoln for a "reblow" of the decoder may be required.

 

David

[tinsley-toton]

Did you have F9 on ? Wheel flange squeel.

 

 

 

Well yes, hats off to Hattons - received mine this morning after yesterday's e-mail confirming despatch, and all at the pre-order price of £128...!

 

But, unboxed and onto the track and the noise started straight away... but a loud screeching, nothing a class 40 ever made....

 

A quick re-address of the chip, all quiet then the same screeching again...

 

Not wanting to risk serious damage, removed from the track...did I perhaps note a slight burning electrical smell as well ?

 

Anyway, will be sending it back - Before reboxing, I did take a look around the wheels, etc, no sign of white grease, but possibly light oiling - Has this already been 'remedied' yet it's still faulty...?

Edited March 15, 2014 by tinsley-toton

[Stevelewis]

David 69

Take  a look  at  my  posts  earlier  ro  the   sound  loco,  mine  runs  perfectly  now,, as i noted  there  was  also   an occasional sound  break,,  this  has been corrected, be  aware  connection  to the  speaker  is  not  hard  wired  but  via   2 spring  contacts   from the roof mounted  speaker / fan assembly  to  the  PCB    this method  relies  on GOOD contact  and   cleanliness, so ensre that there is no oil in that  area it could occur if the loco has been stored upside down,  also  ensure  the  8 body screws are tight to ensure  good pressure on the  contacts.

 

WE had 2 of these locos, the  first runs  fine  as mentioned in my posts,  No2s sound  decoder  has been transferred to another loco  and  works perfectly

 

I would not consider  having  the  sound decoder re blown it shouldnt be nescessary.

[Gilbert]

If this is covered elsewhere I apologise - how many wheels are meant to pick up?  - my new Mauretania is just 4 axles picking up - the "centre" axles do not appear to have pick ups

Thanks

Chris

[johnd]

If this is covered elsewhere I apologise - how many wheels are meant to pick up?  - my new Mauretania is just 4 axles picking up - the "centre" axles do not appear to have pick ups

Thanks

Chris

That's exactly like mine and it works just fine, it's long bogies and it's length seem to give mine a good pickup.

[steviesparx]

Did you have F9 on ? Wheel flange squeel.

 

 

 

 

Having a very basic Hornby Select, I don't even get the option of F9, but no it was a more serious issue than that....

 

But Hattons replaced it within a couple of days, well done them...

 

The sound is pretty much the best I have encountered yet on a DCC sound model, diesel certainly.

 

However, I too am experiencing some of the sound cut-out suffered by others here, but am yet to (re-) clean the wheels so will reserve further judgement...

 

Also one pair of wheels were not in contact with the rails on initial removal from box - took some gentle tweaking, but they soon 'clicked' back into position...

[gridwatcher]

Many, myself included, find the 28mm round speaker sonically superior to a rectangle 20x40 ?  My own 141 has a Howes 8pin V3.5 used with an 21/8 adaptor and a 28mm round Loksound speaker,  and it sounds excellent, with more than enough volume available. 

The 28mm round makes more din than a 20x40.... fact

[ThaneofFife]

Good to hear that that boxshifter Hattons act quickly with cl40 problems.im sure some here have panned the boxshifters on the assumption you get what you pay for in the context of whether you support local model shops in the belief the service will be any better.

[Gilbert]

If this is covered elsewhere I apologise - how many wheels are meant to pick up?  - my new Mauretania is just 4 axles picking up - the "centre" axles do not appear to have pick ups

Thanks

Chris

I can answer my own question - Bachmann confirm it is only 4 axles that pick up - the info about the connection to the speaker provided by Steve above may actually be another cause of the problems I thought were down to the pick ups.

Chris

[Stevelewis]

Rails  sent  newsletter  today  The  Sound  version reduced in   price ( £196)  and  a  £10 ONP voucher! 

 

( ONP off next  purchase)

 

l

Edited March 18, 2014 by Stevelewis

[tractor_37260]

Mauritania  docked this  morning........ courtesy of  Tim  at  Arcadia  Models  ( superb service  as  always)

 

Some  observations:

 

I placed the  loco on the  already powered up track,  It  blew  its  horn  and  gently accelerated to around 40mph the  Fan  working  but no  engine  sounds,  I then  switched on the  DCC handheld ( Gaugemaster Prodigy)  selected '3'   ran the speed setting up to max  then back to zero, loco continued  on its merry  way.  So placed the loco on programming track set  address to  2  and  tried  it  again,  following  the  suggestions in the  Bachmann instructions,  the  sound  powered  up from  cold  start, then settled  down  to idle  rythm, I moved the  speed control to around 50% max,  nothing! Sound  continued  but  no movement,  tried  this  a couple of  times, during  which  all sound  functions were tested  as  working, but  still no movement.

Next  stage  use ones own digital experience to sort  it  out,  turned off sound  completely, selected  50% speed on the  throttle  loco moved  of  and  ran  no problem,  then  switched on  sound (f1)  loco continued OK,  stopped  loco,  switched  everything  off,  then  tried  again  and  the   sound but no movement prob. happened  again.

 

So  next action  was to  reset the  decoder  Value  8  in  CV 8.,  tried the  loco again  everything  worked correctly.

 

A couple of  other  observations,  Maximum speed  is  very  fast  guess around  200 scaleMPH,  I like  locos  to  have a much lower  max  speed,  Bachmann state  the  MAX setting  for  CVs 5 & 6  ( Top  & Medium speed)  is  64.  I think this  is  incorrect,  because setting the  value for  these 2 CVs to a value of 40, resulted in a  maximum speed of  around 30 scale MPH,  I eventually  used  a setting  of 120  for  CV5  and  100 for  CV 6,  which  results in  a top  speed of  estimated 75 Scale MPH  which  suits  me. 

 

As  far  as  actual running  is  concerned  the loco  seems to be   nearly OK!

I am running it on my 0n30 layout at the moment!!  there  is  one  curve  quite  gentle about 30" radius  where  the  sound on the loco stutters, indicating perhaps a short  break in power collection,   but on  another  part of the  layout with a 15" (possibly a bit less) radius  it  goues  around perfectly, demonstrating  rather  a lot  of  overhang!!

 

Hope  this  is  infomative  whilst  writing  all this  the loco has  been  goin' round in circles on the 0n30 line!

Interesting comments. I found that on first using D211, it ran well with no problems - so far,  however the default CV settings of CV3/4/5/6 "out of the box" were far from ideal.  With the loco idling, using the 16/128SS button it moves off too quickly and ends up thrashing in 2-3 feet or less, and if the large brake button (Lenz) is then used, it ends up stopped with the engine still thrashing away. As shown below, the braking was set higher than the inertia as supplied.

As supplied    CV3 = 100 (range 0-255)  changed to  255

settings:         CV4 = 120 (    "     0-255)     left at        120

                      CV5 = 255 (    "     0-255)  changed to   128

                      CV6 = 128 (    "     0-255)          "             64

What is strange is that both the Bachmann loco leaflet and the Lok 4 manual show CV 5 & 6 as having a MAX value of 64. However on reading these CV's "out of the box" CV5 was 255 and CV6 128 - hence the near scale 200mph ? max speed. Perhaps this is an error in the Lok 4 manual, and Bachmann have simply just copied it ?

 

Nice sounds/multi start etc, although personally I don't like the air brake and the train brake ? linked on the one F key using on/off.

Anyone else notice a couple of small issues on this model - no hole (both ends) in the light housing for the lower centre headcode disc to fit, both buffer beams also appear to have one (same) pipe missing - and these are not included in the detailing packet either.

[Ajax50046]

Noticed on Olivia's website this morning, I had wondered if this might happen:

 

Bachmann 32-482Y. Class 40 145 “East Lancashire Railway” In BR Large Logo Livery.

Olivias Trains > Model Railway Trains > Bachmann Diesel & Electric Locomotives. > Bachmann Class 40. > Bachmann 32-482Y. Class 40 145 “East Lancashire Railway” In BR Large Logo Livery.

Limited Edition Exclusively for Olivia’s Trains.

Cancelled 15/03/2014.
We are very sorry that we have been unable to do this Limited Edition because we have been unable to reach an agreement with CFPS for the copyright . We are speaking with Bachmann for suitable alternatives we state this to a revised Class 40. If you have pre-ordered this we will get in touch early next week. This does not affect any of your Statutory Rights.