Izzy

Just get a sprog 2. Will do all you want simply and cheaply. Izzy

I'm afraid I haven't tried the class 31 TTS decoder in a super-dooper Hornby 31 as I don't have one, but remarks on other TTS related threads appear to suggest they run just fine. The jerky running issues I encountered were with a Bachmann class 24 I tried one in, just as an experiment. I do like to see what is/might be possible. I suppose piggybacking these TTS types does require that the decoder used for basic motor control must have a reasonable performance in respect of not going off like the proverbial rabbit, which sadly in my experience is what many provide even with much cv wrangling. The basic ones I use are Zimo MX600's which probably have better motor control than most/any other makes save CT. I have fitted a Bachmann 36-557 21 pin into a Heljan W&M railbus as a trial, and only got barely acceptable slow speed takeoff by using 128ss and setting a bespoke speed curve in JMRI/DP with a lot of acc/dec dialled in. But on ss4/5/6 it's still way faster than a standard Zimo produces on just 28ss and just about acceptable as a stop-gap measure. However, the basic issue appears to be that your system, like some others, sends out command signals in what I can only describe/understand as a non-bi-directional way, and these TTS decoders can only 'see/read' these commands when place on the track in one direction whereas most decoders can read them whatever way around things are. They are like this with my elderly Sprog II but work fine with my main Gaugemaster Prodigy system. As I have remarked before in a thread somewhere I don't think being able to use these decoders should come down to luck as to what DCC system you have, but what the answer is I am not sure. All I am clear about is that I cannot justify £100+ per loco for sound however much I might quite like it, and these TTS decoders do fill the basic need that many such as myself have. cheers, Izzy

I paint the sides of the rails and chairs - both inside/outside - with Rowney poster paint these days before removing the construction from the paper template, using white spirit as per Hayfield's suggestion. This ensures the chairs key to the rail in their correct position. Still needs handling with care but then becomes a bit like laying set track. Quite useful if like me you like to lay the track into a thin screed of pva and ballast it at the same time. I have thought at times of trying the method used by Peter Denny for all his track, built onto sub-boards of thin ply ( I think it was ply), ballasted after laying the sleepers and before the rivets/chairs/rail were added. Then laid down and the joints between the sub-bases blended in with pva/ballast after wiring up and known to work okay. Izzy

When it first arrived - around the same era as the first few Expo EM's IIRC (hands up those who remember the Commonwealth institute or GWR hotel Paddington) - the basic aim was I believe as an annual get-together for S4 members to meet up/exchange ideas/show models etc as well as generating publicity. Raising funds was not part of it, indeed I can't quite remember if it was subsidised from S4 funds originally (might still be), and these generally account for how the entrance fees originally arose. Nothing ever stays quite the same, and adaptions to suit changing conditions are always needed, but these have existed as they are from the off, and I think it would be a shame if the general principles had to be changed given how long it has been going, and the number of multi-scale/gauge finescale shows based upon it and Expo EM which now exist and which might help explain the lower footfall. Izzy

Or even here; http://www.hattons.co.uk/313853/Hornby_R3428_HD_Class_W4_Peckett_0_4_0ST_11_in_Manchester_Ship_Canal_green_Pre_owned_detailed_/StockDetail.aspx Izzy

These are some I put together quite a few years back, probably the original kits, but it does I hope show that they are worth any time/effort/money spent on them. Izzy

If you have tighter curves then with some autocouplings that use an offset hook you either need to allow extra length or curve the bar to ensure the hook on the outside curve can reach the bar. Like many I use DG's in 2mm and have found that these can cope with quite tight curves because the general principle is that the hook is fixed in the middle and the bar is a loop that is wide and rises/falls, the reverse of many designs. Those one ended designs with a central hook - Dinghams?- should work okay but then you hit the 'only use one way' system I am not keen on, but then many use DG's/S&W that way as well. Izzy

I believe that the PCB will have resistors and diodes in the lighting circuits to protect the LEDS and decide which ones are lit according to the direction of travel. Izzy

Heljan Class 15 New fuel Tank and buffers One of the first locos I acquired for All Saints East was a class 15 from Heljan. Apart from machining the wheels for P4, and adding the provided headcode discs and pipes and hoses for the bufferbeams, I thought that was it, the loco being to a decent standard as regards detail and finish. I did also re-number it to one that I knew had run on the Walton-on-Naze branch, D8224, and fitted a crew into the cab. However, as I used it I kept getting the feeling when looking at it from different viewpoints that something wasn't quite right. Partly this was because I had in recent times scratch built a 2mm version - a bit of a size difference - but it still took me a while to figure out what it was. Another little issue that arose was with the sprung buffers fitted. Not only were the heads plastic mouldings but the springs were very soft meaning that most rolling stock 'bounced' back and forth when being pushed and it all looked horrible and wrong. So I turned up some replacement heads in steel and found some stronger springs to fit on them with brass tube rings as retainers soldered on the ends after fitting into the buffers. Much better all round. Here is a shot from this thread which has a few more of the original version of All Saints East in it, some significant alterations having now taken place. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/116233-theatre-indicator-on-platform-starter/ Anyway, the penny eventually dropped, the fuel tank was too small, leaving a largish gap between it and the inner ends of the bogies. Quite why this is so I have no real idea but I also discovered that the outer sandboxes were wrongly sized. So I made replacements from mainly black plasticard. The tank pipes and fillers were added in various sizes of brass wire and tube soldered together. As the original tank plugs/clips onto the underside of the chassis to allow access to the body retaining screws I filled it with some lead sheet and then used D/S tape to keep it in place but allows quick and easy removal. The whole lot is fairly crude and simple as with most of the modelling I do but seems to have worked out okay and does look better being the right size. Here it is with one of the new Parkside Toad E's, which needs finishing with some transfers and weathering, which I need to do to most of the stock. Izzy

Having used a sprog (II v 2.7) + JMRI/Decoder Pro for some years with a variety of computers, Win XP/7 and Mac I would say that it is I feel the best and safest route while also being very flexible and quite easy to use. Well worth the investment IMHO. I remain skeptical of the NCE programming mode. The problem seems to be the different ways the NMRA recommendations are being interperated. Yes there is nothing wrong with have full voltage track power, the issue being to my mind that while this is delivered at a lower amperage it is not momentary as per the NMRA specs of 100ms, but continuous. 250ma at any continuous voltage between 7-22v is more than enough to run many motors at quite a speed, and to my mind capable of frying electronic circuits when flowing the wrong way due to a short etc. Just my take on it, not being a NCE user. Izzy

If you are thinking of using Gibson hornblocks to allow split axle current collection - that is the basic reasoning isn't it? - then I would say that in my experience of using it in 2/4/7mm scales, split-axle current collection through enclosed brass bearings isn't any more reliable than wheel rubbing collection, and often less so. In 2mmFS most add what have become known as 'Simpson' springs, fine sprung wire rubbing directly on the axles, to ensure reliable current collection. I have used Gibson hornblocks on and off since they first arrived on the scene - in fact I alerted users that the first/original hornblock mouldings weren't symmetrical and allowances had to be made for this - and as others have mentioned these hornblocks are of the spring-assisted type as are most others for the reasons given of the difficulty in obtaining springs with usable spring ratings that can both support the weight of a loco but give under it at the same time. CSB's are a method that has arrived to try and overcome these issues. If you fancy split-axle collection then using the Gibson hornblocks sans springs and with stiff sprung wire as joint current collection/csb's - bearing straight onto the axles otherwise there is no advantage - would be my suggestion, but as ever it's a question of each to their own. Izzy

I have no experience of using stay-alives, but is there any chance it was no.4? That removing the chip with the stay-alive connected - if it had a charge in it perhaps? - could have caused a short that fried the decoder. What, if any, tool did you use to ease the chip from the socket, I find I need to use something, the NEM 652 8-pin being quite tight when fully inserted unlike the Nem 651 6-pin type. If it was metal? It's just a thought looking at the list. Izzy

In a Mac Chaz, a 15" macbook pro from around 2010 my son gave me. As I understand it, not having one to confirm this so perhaps others can, Java can't run on i-pads nor can the software for Macs, they are different. I'm thus not sure if either a sprog or JMRI can be ran from an i-pad or similar, andriod tablet etc - I don't think they have any suitable connections either, usb etc. I know that they can using raspberry pi but that is another kettle of fish so to speak, of which I am equally ignorant. Izzy

Full details are here: http://winebottler.kronenberg.org/ I have the latest Java version installed with no problems - it's a free download. Izzy

The pair of outer locations are set at a distance twice that of the track gauge being used, so for 21mm track, 42mm between them. Don't have a 4mm OO/EM/P4 one to hand, but this is a 2mm 2FS one. The distance ratio relationship between the leg positions is the same however whatever the gauge/scale used. You don't of course put the single leg on the outside of a curve, that way gauge narrowing lay..... Izzy

You don't have to run Windows on a Mac to use many windows only based software. I run quite a lot via the (free) winebottler, Templot, Anyrail etc, and it all seems to work okay. Izzy

With the diesel class 31 decoder - I don't know about the other diesel types - you can change the notch level increments via cv's and details of the cv's and default settings are given. I assume they are set in relation to the gearing ratio a loco has and thus it's speed at any given setting. I understand you cannot alter the steam decoder chuff rates, which i guess mean they don't have a similar option. Izzy

Would I be right in thinking, based on what Nigel has written, that due to the way it operates, the NCE programming track option isn't really the totally safe option that using a program track infers? That locos can have their decoders fried simply by being placed on it if there is short circuit in the wrong place? The Gaugemaster/MRC Prodigy system has separate program outputs. Be careful though. In the early days of not knowing anything much about DCC, and being the idiot I am, I thought I could join both outputs together to the track, and only that which I chose would be 'Live'. Wrong! So within a short time of getting it........ it went back to be repaired, having blown the program track outputs. Oh dear. Credit to Gaugemaster for doing this under warranty without the slightest quibble. It only took a few days, but thinking at the time it would be much longer that's how I ended up with a sprog II as an alternative. Probably the single best thing I could have done as regards DCC as it makes programming decoders so much easier to my mind. Izzy

I have run a sprog II v2.7 on a Macbook pro with Mavericks since 2014 without any problems. Izzy

Could I direct you to my post here #28 http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/125527-ECoS-and-latest-tts-decoders/page-2&do=findComment&comment=2849246 It sounds (ouch!) very similar to the problems I have experienced playing around with a class 31 chip in a Bachmann 24 - one of the early 8-pin versions. Izzy

It might be an extra bit of mis-direction to enhance all the fun and games - but the silhouette appears to show that the loco has salter valves on the dome. Although I always think of this as a mainly Midland trait others did have them in the early years, but it might narrow the potential field a bit. Izzy

I would agree with all you say about the TTS decoders not being as good as others such as Zimo etc but when you consider their price it is probably not surprising. It is only in recent times that the Zimo MX600 and MX622N have been sold at lower prices while most others still carry a hefty premium, one that I have reluctantly paid for the superior motor control. This applies equally to the CT's I mainly use in 2mm. Having now played about/experimented with using the class 31 TTS diesel decoders in a number of differing locos it is quite surprising how varied the motor control is, ranging from quite good/acceptable to unbeliveable and no good at all. In a Heljan class 15 it's almost as good as a Zimo. This also applies to a Bachmann 08 fitted with a Mashima 1833 ( the original motor failed after just 3 months and I had the 1833 spare). However, it can't control a Bachmann class 24 at all, whatever I try in respect of motor control settings. One minute it's fairly smooth, then it's jerking all over the place, just like a human having a seizure/fit. Turing off DC running - just in case it was getting conflicting signals - makes no difference. So I 'piggybacked' it, treating the TTS like a function only decoder, adding it to the MX600 normally controlling the loco. No problems at all, works fine, so... if a TTS class 24 ever appears I know what to do. At £20 for the MX600 and £36 for the TTS decoder it would still be quite a bit cheaper than the cost of a normal sound decoder. It might also be an answer to anyone with a Bachmann 40, 37 or 20 who wants to fit a TTS decoder and hits the same motor control issues. Just need the space inside the bodies for the two decoders as well as the speakers.............although if lighting is fitted past F0 for simple on/off and uses other funtction keys then conflicts could arise. It's all good fun I keep telling myself......... Izzy

The TTS decoders I have work fine in both directions on my Gaugemaster/MRC PA2 system and program without issue using POM - I never hook up the PA2 program outlets - but as others state can only be seen and programmed using my Sprog/JMRI in one direction, the other way around all that happens is that error messages are generated. I believe that the reasons why this may be happening has been mentioned in a post somewhere and due to the differing ways particular systems communicate with decoders, the signals that are used. I think that perhaps I am just lucky I have a system that works with them, but frankly it shouldn't just be down to luck and I hope it gets resolved one way or another. Izzy

Hornby Railroad class 31 Body Details As I mentioned in an earlier post the body is a simple one piece moulding just fitted with glazing and plastic handrails. The quality of the detail is quite high with a good degree of finesse in many areas, but moulded or plastic handrails always look well, moulded and plastic, so these were prime candidates for removal and replacement with wire ones. I also felt the glazing fell down a bit with the cab windows - the inset bits looking like they have shrunk in the openings - so decided to make replacements. These were cut and filed up from flat off-cuts of acrylic sheet saved from the clear packaging which many products are bought in these days. I now have a range of thicknesses and colours to choose from - some are clear while others have a slight bluish tint. These were glued into place by running a very small amount of Plastic weld glue around the edges applied with a fine brush. None of this was particularly quick to do, for example there are 9 windows for each cab, all different sizes, as well as 3 down each side, 24 in total, so all of this was slow and time-consuming work. They are far from perfect as I am sure are clear from the photos but I feel worth the effort in the long run. But first, the roof fan. It is possible to get replacement etches for the fan and from what I have seen they look nice and detailed, but as this detail doesn't really seem to show much past close inspection I decided to stick with what was there after trying a bit of painting to bring out the fan detail present in the moulding. Firstly I gave it all a coat of bufferbeam red, and then when fully dry, a dry brush coat of matt black. This seemed to give enough of a 3D effect to suit my needs. Perhaps I am easily satisfied, but if fell in with my low cost needs. I then cut off all the roof handrail mouldings, drilled a few 0.3mm holes, and fitted 0.33mm brass wire replacements bent up with some small snipe nose pliers. Say it quickly and it doesn't seem so bad...... there's 27 of them..........a bit of MEK-PAK fixed them in place. It's surprising how noticeable they are at many angles, so worth the time taken in the end. Removing the plastic cab handrails - I cut them off with a scalpel - revealed that they were glued into biggish holes in the body, around 0.7mm. So my basic idea to just bend up some fine N/S wire to shape and poke them in the holes vacated by the plastic ones became a non-starter, handrails that thick being no better than the plastic ones in terms of looks. So I plugged the holes with short lengths of Albion Alloy's 0.8mmOD/0.4mmID brass tubing and then soldered some fine N/S wire into them after bending to the required shapes. Because I had to make the tube lengths a bit longer than the thickness of the sides - the handrail locations are recessed into the body sides and the moulding only 0.5mm thick here, I had to file clearance slots in the chassis so the body would slide down into place over it, the tubes being about 1.0mm long, the shortest length that I found would glue into the holes and stay put and thus stick out a bit on the inside. As the boiler hatch access recessed steps/rungs were shallow and moulded I cut them out, put a 10thou strip at the rear, and fitted hard brass wire rungs. These were pushed into the opening and secured with a wash of MEK. The top rung on the roof I managed to open out with a scalpel by removing the plastic behind. All looks a bit crude in this shot, but better once painted. Apart from the bufferbeam cowlings it is perhaps the lack of much/any front details that stands out with this loco, given that it represents one of those fitted with headcode discs. Once again what is present is moulded on, so it all came off, to be replaced with wire handrails, lamp irons, and metal headcode discs, all homebrew efforts. I also made up some wipers, again from wire, a mix of 0.33mm for the blades and 0.45mm for the arms. Not very refined, etched ones would be far better, but cheap! The lamp irons used some small N/S strip bent to shape with a cross arm from the 045mm wire soldered in, the idea being that these could be fitted/glued into drilled holes, past experiences showing that lamp irons just surface glued on tend to come off. The headcode discs are from thin shim brass sheet. Again etched ones are produced and most probably markedly superior, but where's the fun in that...........and they are slightly better I think than the moulded plastic ones that come with most RTR locos these days. I was going to say that was pretty much the job finished, but the shots of the cabs have reminded me of a couple of other bits. Firstly the bars along the engine room windows. These are N/S wire soldered up and glued in place with more MEK. And this shot also highlights another quite important addition, the cab interiors. These were made up out of plasticard to fit between the chassis insides but fixed with D/S tape to the body. This allows for removal if needed. I found I had to reduce the height of the front of the chassis to allow them to sit down into it. Plastic strips were fixed to the body to locate the cabs. There is a gap between the cab interiors and the body sides into which the chassis sides slide. I did not wish to trim the chassis side down too much in case this weakened the chassis moulding and caused the bufferbeams etc to sag. A couple of Bachmann engine crew were used after some orthopaedic surgery to get them to fit the space. I do think that is all now. This is another shot of the loco on All Saints East. Like most of the other stock I have built for it, a bit of weathering needs doing sometime. Nothing too much, just some gentle in-service wear and tear. Anyway, I hope this helps give others ideas about what can be done with this loco, probably better than I have managed, although I am quite pleased with the end result. Just thought I would add another shot, this one showing the overhead warning flashes. Wasn't really sure if they were fitted during the period of the livery, before yellow warning panels started to appear, but found a couple that showed they were. Izzy

Hornby Railroad class 31 The bufferbeams Perhaps one of the biggest letdowns with this particular model is that the cowlings surrounding the bufferbeams until their later lives are not part of the moulding. How to make and fit some took me a while to work out. At first I thought of making the sides and centre as separate sections joined together but test pieces just wouldn't work together because of the curves and angles involved. Eventually I managed to generate a composite shape in Photoshop from the loco drawing and cut this out of 10thou plasticard four times over. Each shape was bent in the corners and then they were sandwiched as pairs to give a basically correct shape in a decent thickness of material. As the centre portion dips in the middle leaving a gap to the bottom of the beams another 10thou layer was glued behind. Although far from perfect and not totally correct they look reasonably okay, especially with a coat of paint to hide the worst of the imperfections. Regarding paint and touching up the added bits I have to say I was very lucky here in that I found an old tin of Humbrol enamel railway colour - HR104 - good as the day I first bought it, (far longer ago than I could begin to remember), and probably as close a match for the base colour as I could get. I did consider changing the buffers, Hornby sprung ones from the full fat 31 are available as spares, and I may well still do so at some stage in the future, but left it at thinning the face of the plastic buffers with needle files, not being quite sure how I would replace them easily and without causing damage, and just adding a scrap of plastic on the tops of the housing. All the hose's were made out of various thickness of hard brass wire, 0.33/0.45/0.7 etc, some wound with fine florists wire others just with blobs of solder on the ends (very crude), and Smiths screw couplings complete the line-up. These aren't perhaps quite as fine and scale looking as others, but suit my now less than perfect eyesight as does the rest of the detail. Izzy