RtR Hornby Class 31 R3144A From DC kits

[LULFAN]

Hi All

I've just taken delivery of a Hornby Class 31 R3144A, ready to run - with sound from DC Kits

I put it on my track, selected F1 for sound, up it came, sounding very nice

Time to move it forward - nothing

The engine note changed a bit but no movement. I left it on idle for a bit longer and tried again - no movement

So I gave DC Kits a call. They assured me it had been running fine for 3 days. Must be a fault at my end, I was told

I tried again but this time with the sound switched off. And the video here shows the result

 

 

http://youtu.be/Tgiujb8q8YA

 

Now, I'm no expert on these things but to me it doesn't sound right.
So I sent a link to the video above link to DC Kits, they tell me the fan's been removed to fit a bigger speaker,

yet the fan can still be seen and I shouldn't expect any better performance in terms of speed because all the ESU chips are like that

I was also told - anyway - real Class 31's don't go very fast

I do have another Class 31 and it doesn't buzz and screech like this one

But DC Kits say that's because it doesn't have a ESU chip in it

I have returned the loco today but I'm interested to know the opinion of others

Is the loco defective and DC KIts are spinning me a yarn ?

or is this what happens when you put a sound chip in a Class 31 ?

I look forward to reading other people comments

 

 

[cassey jones]

I would give Charlie or Biff a call - it sounds like something is catching as the motor runs, maybe loose wire, it does sound rough?

Take the body off to take a look, but there is a problem with it!

 

As for DC kits DS 31.....I have a 31 off  Biff and it does sound very good in deed - although you do need a decent size speaker for it.  

[charliepetty]

We have been talking, see the E.Mails from my end.

 

Email 1:

The fan as mentioned before has been removed to fit in the larger speaker.

These steps are not set at silly Hornby & Bachmann speeds, but are way slower as are the 'Real Locomotives' the speed steps are pre-set lower to allow the best use of all the functions & recordings on the decoder.

On starting up, the decoder/loco has to build up air in the system (approx 1 minute) before the loco is allowed to move. (The real locomotives take about

5 minutes)

Take out the 4 Body Screws and check how it runs and if something has become dislodged in the post, the only thing I can think of is it could be the actual decoder which has been tucked under the circuit board, could be catching on the carden shaft.

E.Mail 2:

As a Class 31 (The real loco) is slow starting, thus our sounds are correct for that loco.

Have you never adjusted speed steps on locos before, as that is why they are there.  To adjust the speed.

Why do you want a Class 31 to shoot off quickly, as the real locomotives do not do that. That is why the loco is in sync with the sounds.

 

Charlie

 

Lets hope we can sort it out as the problem seems simple really, something is catching and we have a BUZZ.   Its here shortly so lets see.

 

Don't understand the buzzing, ANYONE had a Buzzing before with ESU & a Dynamis please.

 

Charlie

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi All

I've just taken delivery of a Hornby Class 31 R3144A, ready to run - with sound from DC Kits

I put it on my track, selected F1 for sound, up it came, sounding very nice

Time to move it forward - nothing

The engine note changed a bit but no movement. I left it on idle for a bit longer and tried again - no movement

So I gave DC Kits a call. They assured me it had been running fine for 3 days. Must be a fault at my end, I was told

I tried again but this time with the sound switched off. And the video here shows the result

 

 

http://youtu.be/Tgiujb8q8YA

 

Now, I'm no expert on these things but to me it doesn't sound right.
So I sent a link to the video above link to DC Kits, they tell me the fan's been removed to fit a bigger speaker,

yet the fan can still be seen and I shouldn't expect any better performance in terms of speed because all the ESU chips are like that

I was also told - anyway - real Class 31's don't go very fast

I do have another Class 31 and it doesn't buzz and screech like this one

But DC Kits say that's because it doesn't have a ESU chip in it

I have returned the loco today but I'm interested to know the opinion of others

Is the loco defective and DC KIts are spinning me a yarn ?

or is this what happens when you put a sound chip in a Class 31 ?

I look forward to reading other people comments

The E.Mail actually said:

[LULFAN]

Hi

 

I did call charlle he feels that it runs slow cos the real ones do and did not pass any comment about the odd noises

 

Having spent £200 on the model as RtR I am not keen on opening it up to fix a fault not of my making and maybe doing damage to it that I would be charged for

 

As for changing speed steps I got an email from charlie in it he wrote

 

"ALL locos are set at the ESU Pre-Set speed steps and have not been touched by me"

 

 

"The fan as mentioned before has been removed to fit in the larger speaker"

 

What then is the red thing with blades that are not going around under the grille on the roof of the loco in the video?

[kevpeo]

I think Charlie means the fan ''drive'' mechanism has been removed. The dreaded rubber band!  You do sometimes get a distinct ''buzz'' at low speeds with ESU decoders although in my fleet it's worse in Bachmann 37's!  But that knocking should not be there. HTH, kev.

[LULFAN]

You may be right about the fan it is not clear in the emails i got from him  but I think that has been the problem he seems to be fixated about the slow speed rather than looking at the video to see why it might be slow

 

My guess is the loco was well tested with the body off then when the body was put back on it was sent to me without a final test with the body on

 

I only hope when the loco comes back the speed is right and not changed so it runs like the TGV on a good day !! still if it is not right it will have to go back again

 

I also hope I get my return postage refunded

 

When I first put it on the track and hit F1 it did sound very good I was well impressed, you can imagine how I felt when after waiting a while I opened the speed control and it did not move at all

[legomanbiffo]

I believe a decent size speaker was fitted at the customer's request, this is why the fan mechanism was removed. Rather than leave an obvious hole where a fan should be, the plastic fan blade was cosmetically refitted. Many people with Hornby 31's and 56's do this as a matter of course for better sound.

 

The slight hum from the motor is normal for the Hornby model (and many others). The motor settings for the ESU chip have been tuned specifically for the Class 31 mechanism in this case.

 

Regarding the speed; Class 31's had a notoriously poor power to weight ratio and were very slow to accelerate. They weren't called 'peds' (pedestrian) for nothing! I have therefore set the chip up to reflect this. Like the real thing the top speed is fine but it takes a while to get there...

 

Charlie assures me the loco was tested before despatch and ran fine without the rubbing sound. Clearly something has been dislodged in transit. As is his perogative, the customer declined to open the loco himself and is returning the loco for test / refund / replacement at his request.

 

Bif

[LULFAN]

Hi

 

thanks for your reply Biff

 

I am not so silly to think that there should be no hum but when the loco reversed at the far side of the layout in the video the hum was well audible it filled the 12ftx12ft room

 

When I found the loco would not move at all when I first tried to run in with sound on and rang up DC kits I did suggest it could have been damaged in the post I was told quite sharply "how could that happen" I run mail order myself royal mail are good a damaging  items sometimes

 

I was only when I posed here about the odd noises problem did it get mentioned in the emails from DC despite me describing it in 2 emails and sending a link to the video with the sound fault on

 

I really hope something happens to restore my faith in this model and DC, I had read such great things about your sound files and a RtR with them fitted seemed to fit the bill

[LULFAN]

I believe a decent size speaker was fitted at the customer's request, this is why the fan mechanism was removed. Rather than leave an obvious hole where a fan should be, the plastic fan blade was cosmetically refitted. Many people with Hornby 31's and 56's do this as a matter of course for better sound.

 

The slight hum from the motor is normal for the Hornby model (and many others). The motor settings for the ESU chip have been tuned specifically for the Class 31 mechanism in this case.

 

Regarding the speed; Class 31's had a notoriously poor power to weight ratio and were very slow to accelerate. They weren't called 'peds' (pedestrian) for nothing! I have therefore set the chip up to reflect this. Like the real thing the top speed is fine but it takes a while to get there...

 

Charlie assures me the loco was tested before despatch and ran fine without the rubbing sound. Clearly something has been dislodged in transit. As is his perogative, the customer declined to open the loco himself and is returning the loco for test / refund / replacement at his request.

 

Bif

 

 

 

Following further updates from DC I have decided to ask for a refund Once that is done the matter is closed as far as I am concerned 

[pheaton]

I might be wrong, i cant remember if 31s had them but......if you turn it over LUL fan is there any packing screws left in the chassis? I had this once with a 56 making an odd noise, took me ages to work out what it was and it was a packing screw digging into the flywheel!

 

The packing screw sits between the the bogie end and the battery box.....but like i said i cant remember if peds had them.

[LULFAN]

Hi

 

Thanks for your suggestion but DC now say that a wire and a piece of tape were loose and flapping in the loco which was causing the noise, and of course, if the wire was rubbing on the motor that would also slow it down

 

But things haven't been very straight forward. DC have claimed that it could be my Dynamis Pro controller causing problems with an ESU chip, which is odd since all my other sound locos have got ESU chips and they run just fine

 

There's lots more I could say about this purchase experience but I'll refrain - apart from saying - I'm sick of the whole thing and have requested a full refund and cancelled the order

[LULFAN]

Well, it was a case of all's well that ends well

Eventually I got my refund for the troublesome model and a refund for the cost of the return postage from DC

I really did want a Class 31 with sound so when I discovered Olivia's Trains had them in stock, I ordered one from them
You can see how the Olivia's model ran, with the sound chip switched on and with it switched off, here

 

Comparing this model to the DC one, it's appears that the DC one was a very poor specimen.
In their e-mails to me, DC always maintained it was because Hornby motors, ESU chips and Dynamis controllers don't work well together that the model made the buzzing sound.

That's obviously not so With the sound switched off, there is only a slight buzz that doesn't change in volume and doesn't fill the room

I think some work still needs to be done on the DC model to get it right

I've still got some locos which need sound chips fitting, which I'll have done over time - Olivia's will be my first port of call