Izzy

Hi, Any chance you could elaborate on that a bit please ? i.e. Whether this applies to all Zimo decoders/just sound ones/only those with built-in stay-alive circuitry/ past a certain software version, or indeed a mix of those. Any info would be quite handy to have and might save a lot of possible confusion. thanks, Izzy

I always remove the pcb from 03/04/08’s etc - they are just soldered onto the motor tags - as I have never been able to get them to run well with them fitted whatever the decoder make - I tried a few before discovering they were the issue. Izzy

Machine Mart do a 10 piece diamond needle file set for £8.39. I got a set a few years back so just checked they still sell them. Okay, not as fine as some others I have, quite coarse by comparison (they are usually classed in grit sizes), but don’t be fooled by the price as for many jobs - like the one being discussed, they do the job needed. If you have to use a cutting disc in a mini-drill then hold the end of the motor shaft in either a pin chuck or a vice. They will act like a heat sink and keep the heat level of the shaft down.

If I need to cut a motor shaft these days I now always use a diamond needle file of some shape. Cuts quickly and neatly but generates no heat. Izzy

You can test any loco on DC just using a simple battery, a 9v PP3 is ideal. It would prove whether the loco works without a decoder fitted or not. If it does then the wiring from the 8-pin socket would be the next item I would check. Poor soldering is often found at these locations giving shorts under DCC that don’t show under DC. Izzy

Oh dear, what a really mixed bag these locos are. These designs seem to be 4mm versions of those used in some Dapol N gauge locos such as the pannier, which appeared while DJ was there. Similar issues exist when the motors fail and need replacing as they are glued into the bodies according to threads I have read..... While I do hope it works out I wonder whether the small 10x15 Mashima, which is often used in N to re-motor UM tender drives, will have enough oomph to power the loco even coupled to a 60-1 roadrunner +. Izzy

This site will give info on 13029, built 1953, this number being carried until 1957 when it was re-numbered D3029, and might well have been repainted in plain green at this time. Choose a different number and you may be able to find one located in the area you model. http://www.brdatabase.info/index.php Izzy

Hi Carl, Thanks for the kind comment. No, just my standard combo of a Swann Morton No 11 blade in a No 3 handle. My wife, (into card making in a big way), did look at digital cutters a while back but found them wanting in several areas. We do get through fair quantities of SM blades though (the non-surgical variety) so buy them in boxes of 20 packs a time (5 blades a pack). I have finished the second building now, it's twin to sit on the opposite platform. Designing the canopy between the two is next. It should sit height-wise between the two horizontal stone strips. Izzy

With regard to current draw I believe it is not just the current draw when running that needs to be less than the maximum the decoder can handle, but that drawn when the motor is stalled, which limiting the top speed of the loco won’t reduce. Izzy

If you want to discover what actual cv’s exist on any decoder whatever the make or model, then choose the NMRA profile from the top of the decoder profile list, then the cv tab, and ‘read’ all cv’s. This will then find and list all the cv’s on a decoder that exist, and their individual setting. During this process, if any cv does not exist, then DP returns ‘loco not found’ before moving on to finding the next one that does. Just leave it until it has fully finished, which might take some time if they reach the many hundreds, which of course they can. Doing this can be very useful for unknown decoders or double-checking against any particular profiles if you are having problems of any kind. I think It has to be accepted that JMRI is free, run by volunteers, and the profiles depend on some individual, anyone with the time and knowledge, generating them, which is why sometimes they don’t either exist at all, or are not the latest versions. I believe the recent TTS sound decoders are just now getting added because someone on RMweb has been compiling them. Izzy

The suggested inside measurement between 2mm bearings is 11.5mm, and with the two 0.25mm flanges on them 12mm between the inside of the w-irons. This is what my 2mm chassis seem to be - those I have just checked to be sure! I say this because when I use this method of re-wheeling Farish wagons I often find that I need to mount the top-hat bearings in small squares of plasicard packing as spacers which are then glued to the w-irons to get the right bearing distance. In doing this I find I rarely have to drill out the Farish w-irons as usually what's left of the bearing body poking out of the spacer fits centrally into the axle hole since the Farish axles are 1.5mm and thus the hole is fairly large in comparison with that needed for the 2mm 1mm dia axles. Might I suggest you measure the inside distance of the Farish w-irons and add the spacer thickness needed first. Izzy

Hi John, Before you tackle putting the wheel sets together could I suggest you check the crank position on the axles. My experience has been that although you would think that they need to be hard up against the axle shoulder, as you have done - which them means trimming back the ends of the axles for clearance for the coupling rods - the cranks need to be at the end of the axles to provide sufficient clearance for the frames to sit between the wheels and cranks. Hate for you to trim the axles and then find you need new wheels because of the above. Regards, Izzy

They are fairly small since all they counter are the rods/cranks, and is why they are directly opposite them instead of offset as is more often the case. All due of course to the loco being a DE with traction motors on the front/rear axles, and mostly hidden behind the frames as well. Izzy

It might help to understand, if you don’t already, that switches/blades come in a range of sizes/types, the most common classified by there planing angle, I.e. A,B,C etc. A wide number can be used in Templot if needed. The ‘set’ put into the diverging stock rail along with it’s subsequent straight length is to match this planing so the blade sits properly against the stock rail. A blades have the sharpest angle at 1:24, B’s are 1:32. These are the most commonly used in general model track work, C/D/E getting progressively shallower and longer. Turnouts are usually classified as say A5/A6/A7 or B6/B7/B8 etc, the second numeral being the crossing angle. The curvature between the crossing and blades will thus vary depending on the combination used. Izzy

After 'going round the houses' with point motor control I have now reverted back to the basics used in the past with rod movement worked by dpdt switches, the latter of course changing the polarity as well as providing movement. They also allow a simple level of colour light signal inter-locking so they won't show green when the points are set wrong, those (quite often!) whoops moments I have these days. Of all the motor systems I tried - I did purchase a Cobalt as a test and didn't like what I found in terms of size/ease of fitment (in respect of 2mm use especially) - the last efforts using 'hacked' servos proved the best/cheapest/simplest/most reliable. There is a thread on here with the last versions I made. They still work quite okay, as do the previous versions made, all of which I still have, they just need another layout on which to be used. I think Mick Simpson has used a similar system on Callaton and might have more insight as to ease of use/reliability/worth using. I used them for working un-coupling magnets as well as points. I'd be happy/pleased to see either Foxcote or Tucking Mill in the flesh, something I have still not managed so far. I had hoped to get to Southwold this year but it didn't proved possible. One day..... Hope you find a solution that suits what you need. Izzy

I meant it was the last/latest post on the thread, nothing more. To save anyone trawling through it looking for info. Izzy

Thanks for posting the images and sizes. The basics look similar to other makes, but the head seems smaller but squarer than others. For comparison the Berko heads are 5mm wide/7mm high at the faceplate, but the rear box is smaller, 4mm wide/3mm deep. I often trim the Berko faceplate down a bit which makes some difference. Izzy

1. The backlit screen is the latest spec. Not sure that all handset versions have them yet though. 2. Yes Izzy

For the latest info, a post by the manufacturer is the last one, you might want to visit here: http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=36870.msg526640;topicseen#msg526640 Izzy

Thanks Jol, I have got it from there in the past the odd time. Usually it's where I see it first, mostly Clacton (my nearest WHS) which always seems to have plenty, as does Bury St Eds. I know WHS takes a lot of flack but they do stock a lot of the smaller publications which the supermarkets won't, only wanting the big sellers or special deals/bundles. Used to get it via subs for the first couple of decades but then somehow stopped. Haven't used a cheque etc, for donkeys years. After John Hughes remarks I am even more intrigued! But trying to temper my expectation as to the particular loco type as a few spring to mind. Izzy

As I often travel over the still existing bridge on the line between Cockfield and Whelnetham the ‘Cockfield Thunderbolt’ intrigues me. Sadly the WHS I visited yesterday ( Ipswich) was sans any copies. Don’t often visit town centres these days, where all the WHS seem to be in this area, no one else seeming to stock MRJ, so I’ll have to be patient and wait a bit longer, another week or two. I have little doubt it will be worth it. Izzy

Meant to add, just in case you aren’t aware, do use a 25v capacitor, it’s the minimum voltage the MX644D’s circuit can use, unlike the MX645D ( which can use 16v). Usually Zimo/Rail Exclusive provide the correct voltage with the sample cap they give. If you use 16v then you must add the standard resistor/diode circuit as per normal. Izzy

They are nice speakers. I have used them in a J15 and 08. The wires are attached to the spring contacts on either side. I always solder them on. Doesn’t matter which way around the wires go, but as you can see from the YouChoos help/guide it’s absolutely crucial with the stay-alive ones or it all goes pop/bang - along with all you’ve spent! Izzy

This guide is very useful - http://www.youchoos.co.uk/Index-Detail.php?L1=Detail&Item=MX644 You do need to attach the stay-alve wires before fitting the decoder as they are on the side that faces the PCB. There should be pads on the loco PCB for the speaker wires somewhere. No doubt someone with a 37 will be along with the info/pics to help you. Izzy

I fully understand your dismay. It is never nice when confronted with things like this having spent a considerable sum of money. If I am correct I believe the problem may lie with the Heljan diesel loco that you used. I understand that they have a reputation, certainly the early ones, for drawing high levels of current, much more than most RTR and way above the safe limit levels of most/the average DCC decoder, but which can vary between different ones anyway. If you have a spare length of track, and a different loco (perhaps non Heljan?), could I I suggest that you give it another try just using this, to see if you get a different result. Izzy