Jim

Let us know what Biffo suggests. I’ll email Brian. He replied last night with the excellent idea of downloading the manual. Its early days with these v5s but I feel they’ve introduced more capabilities but stepped back in the tweaking area. jim

Well that’s a few hours bashing my head against the proverbial brick wall. I’ve kinda worked out the relationship between cv3 and cv23 but still can’t get it right. I really think these V4s and 5s are not compatible. I cannot recommend these v5s if you run V4s and want all your locos to be trimmed with each other. So now I have an engine that can’t run with the rest of the fleet and sounds different Very disappointed.. Jim Edited for further info.

I’m using Howes. I use his sounds for all my locos with no issues. I can’t find any way of altering the max diesel sound. I’ve even tried to mess with cv57/58 steam chuff sync as a desperate move...! Im battling with this decoder as I write this. I've set cv3 to 252 and cv4 to 120. The same as my v4 locos. I can match the maximum speeds and the intermediate steps seem close. But I can’t fine-tune the acceleration. since cv6 can’t be altered. At lower speeds it accelerates quicker to each step and runs slightly slower then at higher steps it almost matches the other locos. So I can’t use the loco in a consist. Jim

I’m wondering the same thing. Im just about to start fiddling with CVs on my Crompton to try and match it with my others with V4s. I am a little concerned about the actual “max speed” diesel sound as it sounds like a wasp on speed..! i normally reduce CV60 a little to slow the sound down but this decoder is reproducing the max sound very strangely. cv60 is no longer an option on the V5. ahhhhhg! jim

I’ve just got a loco with a V5 decoder. im having similar issues with the acceleration and matching my V4 locos. On the V4s, I set cv 3 to 252 giving a really nice slow acceleration. I have found on the V5, that setting CV3 to 252 does nearly match the V4s but it’s the cv6 setting that I need to set, which I can’t access. I normally set cv6 to a midway value. The other thing I do is on a class 33 sound is reduce CV 60 to 100 from 128 to “slow down” the full power engine speed sound. This I have done on V3.5s and V4s. However, I can’t find a way of doing this on the V5, there doesn’t seem to be a CV59 or CV60 listed in the manual? is three a way of slowing the maximum speed sound? This I feel I need to sort I will experiment with the cv23/24 in relation to acceleration and braking. Here’s a link to the English manual I’ve found today: http://www.esu.eu/en/downloads/instruction-manuals/digital-decoders/?no_cache=1&tx_esudownloads_pi1%5BdownloadItem%5D=0ca34842dad5f01e2f8cc3d52aad32a5 Thanks for the advice so far jim

Many thanks Davexoc Jim

Hi, Could anyone tell me how long it takes to discharge 45t TTA tanks of diesel? I’ve built a small storage facility that discharges two TTAs at a time. Thanks Jim

That's an interesting experiment... I've just got to work out how to use or even if my NCE has a DC option. Can you leave DCC locos and other on the track whilst using DC? Jim

That’s very interesting....I did notice the rear of that speaker was quite warm after the audio failure.I’m also going to unplug the bulb connectors just incase they give trouble. What is the issue with the bulbs is not the wiring itself...is it the filaments? Another issue I have with one particular Heljen 33 is sudden surges in speed. I’ve tried several decoders with the model and it sporadically does it with all of them. It mostly occurs when accelerating but sometimes at set maximum speed. Could the problem be the motor circuit is intimitantly getting full rail volts from some problem on the pcb or bulbs? Cheers Jim

Hi,Did you have to use a resistor in line? Jim

Hmmmmmm...That’s a thought. Is it the possible exposed wireing at the bulb end that causes the shorting issue? Jim

Cheers...I feel more confident with the volume and heat now. I’ve also found that Heljen PCBs do need some insulation work. The contacts either end and also the underside of the 8 pin connector. I had a strange fault where both lights were illuminated and the motor hummed. This was due to one of the underside contacts scratching the chassis. Another issue is with the wiring to little bulbs at the bulb end, I just put some black tak in the wire channel to insulate them. Cheers Jim

Hi, I've been using sound decoders since 2008. All are ESU V3.5s or V4s. I recently "blew up" a V4, 8 pin harness. I was installing it and when I tested the loco, the sound was correct and the loco moved. I secured the body then started the sound. It came on then got higher-pitched and quieter then faded away to nothing. The loco still moves and lights still function. I removed the decoder to find it very warm along with the speaker. I also noticed a couple of components that looked like they'd got very hot, presumably the amplifier. So that's a £100 down the swanny...! My theory is that the metal speaker body touched a large soldered contact on the loco's pcb. It was a Heljen class 33, blowing the amp. Now I'm a bit paranoid about how warm sound decoders get, and how it damages them if running at a high volume. I've been running my decoders around 60-80% volume. Cheers, Jim

Thanks for the excellent replies guys..! Really helps Cheers

Hi, I'm just shuffling my diesel depot about. I've also "shut" a remote two-road DMU depot and moved them into the diesel depot. I've built two new roads in the depot and placed the Bachmann two road train care shed over them to provide for carriage cleaning and light maintanence. So my question is, would this have happened in prototype? Cheers

Hi, What is the run round procedure at Swanage? In terms of shunt signals and who operates the points...box or Shunter/guard and ground frame? Is there a shunt signal to control movements from the stops of the run-round road conflicting with the crossover from the platform stops end? Sorry to slightly hijack the thread..! Cheers,Jim

Thanks for the info...!

Hi, I keep getting asked what the small signs/indicators are on platform faces are. I know they have info about the track in that location but have no idea on the detail. Can anyone help? Many thanks Jim

Just like Peco Flexi...! Jim

Bloody things...! Following one up the Maidstone on a Sunday.... Jim

Ha..! Proper old school..!BP-Bromley South CU-Canterbuy West Jim

Barley Mow...! Ex Priory or Marine man?

Cheers guys, Some useful info there. I remember the loaded Betshanger, 2xEDs and MGR wagons, thundering through Bearsted and Maidstone East with a cloud of fine coal dust following it...! Jim

Super stuff..!

Hi, I've been trying to find details of what the maximum loads a single Crompton or ED would be expected to haul. I can't seem to find any detail. I've asked a few of my older colleagues they seem to think around 1100 tonnes for a single Crompton. I just wondered how, even today, they work out what loco and how many to put on a train. Cheers, Jim