ianLMS

Hi Pete. It seems to run just fine. Not had chance to adjust the CV's yet but slow running was fine. Not too noisy either. The was no room at all for a de oder in the loco without removing chunks of metal from the chassis. I will stick to tbe DCC 26 Decoders for now. They seem to work fine with my layout and z21 control system.

Good afternoon folks, I have just successfully converted my old Bachmann (Mainline) Split-Chassis Jubilee from Analogue to DCC. It was a challenge but through lots of research, especially RMWeb, I managed it. I used a Gaugemaster DCC26 compact 4 function, 8 pin decoder, cut off the pin PCB and then located it in the tender. Wires were hard-wired to the motor and chassis. After dismantling everything, I removed the bushes, isolating the motor and soldered two wires, one to each tag on the motor. For the chassis connection, I used two self-tapping countersunk screws into the top of the chassis block (one on each side) to solder the other two wires and that's it. Re-assembling the chassis was the most challenging bit. Making sure the gap was insulated, but the two halves closed up enough so the body fitted over no problem and making sure the white nylon spacers where in the correct position where the hardest part of the whole job. A bit of heat-shrink to isolate the wires from each other, and black tape to hold it in place as the wires carried over the motor and down behind the firebox and I was then able to re-assemble everything. In the end I mounted the decoder in the tender - looked like I would need to remove a lot of metal from the chassis to accommodate the decoder, so the tender was the easiest option. I filed some of the lower body section away under the cab so the wires fed through without fouling the wheels and routed the wires underneath the cab, and into a hole I drilled on the front of the tender. The wires then passed under the front wheel axle and into a hole in the floor, up into the tender space. I used a piece of heat-shrink to hold the wires together between the loco and tender and hide there bright colours. A test run ensured all worked well, but you need to leave enough slack in the wires or the tender wont bend round tight bends. Next up - 2 x Mainline Jubilees, Hornby 3F Jinty, Airfix 4F, Bachmann Royal Scot, Hornby Fowler 2-6-4T. Any tips greatly appreciated!! Especially on the Airfix 4F. Thanks Ian

Update on using the z21 - What a piece of kit - so easy to use and I am enjoying controlling my trains much more than before. I still haven't got around to fitting the Gaugemaster DCC 30 accessory decoders yet - too busy ripping up and re-laying the fiddle yard to now include 6 lanes, all slightly longer and using electro-frog points. I will be using the Gaugemaster DCC 80 auto-frogs with these points. I already have a separate topic thread covering that one. The only issue I have had so far is the deletion of my loco photographs - Chip codes etc were still there, just the photo's disappeared. I also had an issue deleting unnecessary pages I had created for controlling the points. In the end, I had 7 pages where I tried photographing the layout, photographing sections of pointwork and in the end, photographing the schematic I use on the control panel. This seemed to resolve itself at the same time I lost the loco pics - somehow, all of the pages were deleted. I am just glad I hadn't spent them time creating the 30+ points, numbering them and coding them before I had managed to back-up the layout. Lesson learnt - back up, back up and back up again!! More to follow, but I cannot stress enough how pleased I am with my purchase!!! Ian

The ballast work and "grot" are so amazingly realistic, along with the rest of the layout. Truly impressive and hop to catch it at Warley next year!!!!

Thanks Gary. Your tree does look amazing, and that rock face is superb!!! I wished I had the patience to make the trees like that. I cheated. The bigger trees are twigs with 2 or 3 sprigs on them. I then drilled holes in the sprigs to accept small pieces of seafoam, then added foliage. The trees near the church are just rows of twigs with one piece of netting over the top, sprinkled with differing foliage to give the impression of several trees. You can only properly see the first two or three anyway. The trees against the backscene are low relief. I used carpet glue, sprayed a tree shape on the backscene, glued a stick to it and then glues woodland scenic undergrowth, bushes and clump foliage to give it 3D look. Enjoy and hope to see more of your layout Ian

I also use 3M to attach the foliage to the seafoam/tree. After sprinkling the scatter, fine, medium and/or coarse grade, I then coat the tree in a cheap hairspray (Extra Hold). 3M isn't cheap, but it does not string! https://www.amazon.co.uk/SprayMount-Adhesive-Spray-200-Transparent/dp/B000J68HBO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1499950011&sr=8-3&keywords=spray+adhesive Trees below all done via this method.

I used Woodland Scenics Realistic Water with added Woodland Scenics Water Effects. The main tips are: if the rive is running to the edge of the board, plug the end with plasticard. It can be peeled off when its dry, and two - don't layer it too thick or it wont dry. Mine also cracked on the surface because I painted it too early and used solvent paint instead of acrylic. I hid the cracks with the Water Effects so no issue there. Very impressed with it though. I previously tried clear silicon which was ok, but difficult to smooth over.

Thanks Coops. I'm hoping my planned work will improve the area i was least happy with. Hope to get more pics uploaded next week.

Airfix LMS 4F modified with Brassmasters detailing kit and splashers. Fence in foreground is Scalemodelscenery OO gauge laser cut fence posts with wire I had at home. The wire they use is way too thick for fencing, more suited for over-head telephone/power cabling.

I cant believe its 6 months since my last update on how Jencaster is coming along. Well, I have been extremely busy with the layout, and the project list just keeps getting longer and longer and the kit box is getting bigger and bigger. So, here is what I have been up to: 1. Converted to DCC - Roco z21 with Multimaus handset, Wi-fit router and Samsung Tablet - very, very happy with the system 2. Re-wired layout - now powered via a BUS 3. Fitting decoders - 8 locos DCC ready - 2 fitted wit Hornby chips, the others fitted with Gaugemaster chips. Again, very pleased 3. Converted my first non-DCC ready loco (Bachmann Jubilee - Split Chassis) - it was a challenge and ended up fitting decoder in the tender, but it works 4. Detailing loco's - Most modified loco - Airfix 4F - new Brassmaster splashers was the biggest challenge. Fitted the Brassmaster detailing kit. 5. Installed ScaleModelScenery fence posts and extremely thin wire (came from a cable which must have had 100 copper strands - so thin you can hardly touch it without it snapping) 6. Ripped up the back left corner of the layout along with the river - the curve was far too tight and I needed to extend then fiddle yard. Now 6 roads and 12" longer on all roads. The sunshine helped - I accidently left the blind open and the sun warped the section of track I wanted to replace! How lucky was that!!! So, the railway is in a state of disarray, the model room is so untidy its dangerous and I cant find anything I am looking for, and I am now working a commission to build a large oil tank for a demonstration model!!! I haven't taken pics of recent work, but when I get chance I will upload a few: Ian

Ahhh, the master of dereliction, rot, degradation and decay has struck again - well done Allan!!! If only my modeling could reach half way to your levels of authenticity!!! I am sure even in the 1930's which I am modeling there must have been a lot of depravation and neglect about - just need to find good pictures for reference material!!!

Thank you Shroomy - this is very positive and promising. Hopefully I will have the same experience!

I am still in track laying mode in the re-modeled fiddle yard so might be a week or so before I get chance to test them. Having looked on the other Model Railway forum, I found a post where this exact question was asked and it seemed quite a few folks had used the DCC 80's with a Double Slip and they work just fine. Lots of discussion on pro's/cons of using them but no helpful diagram like John had provided us!!

Thanks - I must have missed that one. Alan Gibson and other small traders would benefit as well I'm sure. Even something like renewing my LMS Patriot Project membership is a hassle when you have to send a cheque as they don't accept card or Paypal. Finding the cheque book is the fist hurdle as its been 12 months since I last used it, then having to go to the post office to get a stamp in case I used the wrong size envelope, having to park the car in a crowded street because the local post office is closed down and is now just a unmanned counter in a local mini-market, then fighting with other shop-goers who don't need the Postal service, just a pack a fags and a 4 pack for an eventful evening, then waiting 3 days hoping they get the envelope, then wait another 5 days for the cheque to clear, then a further 3 days while they send the items. All this could be avoided if they simply accepted Paypal!! type a few keys and enjoy modeling in the spare time I have accrued and not risked life and limb just to send a cheque. Isn't technology wonderful!!!!

Thanks - I see they recommend just isolating the "V" not the whole point, which is fine on standard points, but double slips a little more "interesting". I know conventional wiring practices for a D/S is to isolate the whole thing. Again, using the Autofrog and the frog droppers in the main question. Ian

Good afternoon and my apologies if this has already been "frogged" to death, but my search didn't come up with a definitive answer. Question: How do I wire up two Gaugemaster DCC80 autofrogs to a Peco Electrofrog Code 75 Double-slip? When conventionally wiring a double slip using a Peco micro-switch, you would take each of the the frog dropper wires to the opposite point motor micro-switch. As the autfrog is connected directly to the Power BUS, I assume this no longer matters, and you just wire them both up independently from each Frog and both to the BUS and away you go! Am I correct? Is it really as easy as that? Do I still need to fully isolate it from all connecting rails, and just power the outside rails of the D/S from the PowerBUS? Will is cause a short which will prevent the DCC system from running (Roco z21) To help, here are some of the limiting factors: 1. No room underneath for under-mounting point motors (baseboard support joist)so will be surface mounting using Peco PL-10's which I already have, including mounting plates. 2. Double Slip is in hidden fiddle-yard so surface mounting not an issue. 3. No pin extruding from bottom of point motor so cannot use PL-13 accessory switches (must be old point motors), or micro-switches. 4. Have previously wired up a double-slip on main layout for DC, using under-mounted point motors and micro-switches - Now using DCC and it still works fine 5. Using Roco z21 DCC system. Currently CDU operated point motors via analogue switches, but intend to move over to DCC point control (Gaugemaster DCC 30's) As a side note: I am changing all of my Code 100 fiddle yard to code 75 with Electrofrog points and this issue will apply to all points. Cost to change all 9 point motors for extruding pins plus 9 PL-13's - £65.00; Cost for 9 x DCC80's - £36! Hence the reason I am choosing this route! Thank you one and all. Ian

I have come across a few small businesses such as brassmaster and alan gibson who dont accept electronic payment. I guess its the fees they cant justify. I would be happy paying 10% more for the convenience of using paypal instead of posting cheques. At least Brassmaster takes direct transfer through the bank.

I will take another look over the weekend and will reboot the tablet. I only had 8 locos loaded so it wont take long to put back on. I will then back it up to my laptop so if it happens again, its easily retrieved. Thank you and I'm still loving the z21!!! Currently re-building the layouts fiddle yard so will be busy with that for a little while.

Much appreciated. I wish now I had gone for an iPad instead of a Samsung Galaxy. I will re-load the photos and route setting pages and see what happens.

I had an interesting situation narise last night. I hadn't touched the layout or Android Tablet for a while. Battery was low, so charged it up. When I opened the z21 App, all of my loco photographs and the pages in the layout section had disappeared. All gone - vaporised into thin air!!!! Very handy, as now I don't need to worry about deleting those unwanted pages. I can start again!! Only down side is re-photographing the loco's but I only got up to 8 so far in my DCC conversion so not too bad. I wish I knew what happened though as this will now concern me for the future when the layout is fully populated with DCC points etc. Ian

I will be interested to see the response as I have a 3-way point in my fiddle yard. I had planned to treat them as two separate single points in the z21 app and operate them separately to choose the correct route. Just need to work out which setting for left, straight and right. I believe one of the blades can stay put for two of the settings, so only one point motor needs activating.

No problem. Let me know what you decide and especially if you go with the z21. I am still in the vertical learning phase with DCC and the z21. I have just purchased some Gaugemaster DCC30 accessory decoders and will be installing them later this week to operate the points so will report on progress. Thanks Ian

Z21_white_EN.pdf I looked at the Dynamis and looked at various comments on RMWeb and others, then compared prices, functionality etc. I also looked at "Simons Shed" on You-Tube which showed how easy it was to operate, plus http://www.z21.co.uk/, and Roco's own website. The cost really swung it - £145 all in for the z21 with Multimaus hand held controller, Wi-Fi router and control box, versus well over £200 for the Dynamis (both available from www.scograil.co.uk. There was also a concern that the Dynamis is affected by Fluorescent tube lighting. As I have fluorescent tube lighting, I was not going to chance it. I am 100% convinced going with the z21 was the right thing to do. I have been nothing but impressed on how easy it is to set up, operate, and program. My only issue is using the tablet for operating points. There is no delete function. However, you can download other operating systems which may operate better. For a programming track, I simply isolated a siding and added in a SPST switch so I can isolate the main track while I programme a loco, then flip the switch and drive it onto the main track. The Black Z21 has a few more functions that quite frankly I would never utilize anyway. If you want to use a different app rather than the z21 app, you can download Digitrains. If you want to use a PC you can also download iRoc, padRoc ,Rocrail®, iTrain®,TrainController®, etc. which may be easier to use or give more functionality. However, I am happy with the z21 app. Hope this helps. Ian

Cheers for that - hope someone from the z21 app design team reads the post, maybe they can add a "delete page" option for the track section, or allow the transfer of loco's between layouts. I'm not a programmer, but for these experts, I'm sure it wouldn't be that difficult. Ian