geoff

Only if the information on how to remap functions has been provided, either by experimentation, or from Hornby.  

 

I wrote the original TTS files for DecoderPro which Brian has now extended and enhanced to cover more recent models.   At the time, there was no information on function remapping from Hornby, so it couldn't be done manually on a DCC system, and thus couldn't be done by DecoderPro (because DecoderPro can't do magical things).   

Its important to realise that all that DecoderPro does is a lot(*) of CV reads and writes, then presents the results for the user.  You can do exactly the same with manual read/writes on your DCC system and a big bit of paper to record the results. 

 

(* lot = tens, often hundreds, and in a few decoder models, many thousands of reads and writes ). 

Yes, thank you Nigel. I understood that from your reply to my previous question on this subject. I just wondered if, since he has done all this work on TTS definitions in JMRI, Brian had managed to get the information to enable re-mapping. Perhaps I asked the wrong question or the right one in the wrong way.

Geoff

Decoder file updated 1/10/18 to include Merchant Navy and King Class Locomotives. 

This file has now been renamed HornbyTTS.xml  to allow it to replace the existing decoder file rather than adding as an additional file.  More info on how to do this will come in a future post.

 

Merchant Navy

https://www.Hornby.com/us-en/servicesheets/index/download/id/1963/

 

King Class

https://www.Hornby.com/wp/wp.../11/4-1510A-King-Class-TTS-Sound-Manual.pdf

 

 

Still looking for TTS sound manuals for the following:

 

Castle Class

A1 Tornado

Coronation Class

 

Although I have the function lists for these, I am not willing to add them until I have a copy of the appropriate manual to ensure all the volume level entries are correctly identified.

 

Brian

Brian, 

Thank you for all the time and effort you are putting into this. Will these new profiles in JMRI enable functions to be remapped? Hitherto I understood that it wasn't possible to remap functions on these decoders because the information was not available to Decoderpro.

Thanks.

Geoff

A trip out today to see how the work is progressing along the Ise Valley between Burton Latimer and Wellingborough.

Geoff

IMG_6093 by Geoffrey Robinson, on Flickr

Looking north at Harrowden Junction.

IMG_6095 by Geoffrey Robinson, on Flickr

A longer shot looking north at Harrowden Junction to Finedon Station Road over bridge. The re-instatement of the up slow line is still being delayed by outstand S&T work to repostion signalling.

IMG_6098 by Geoffrey Robinson, on Flickr

Looking south on the up slow side at Harrowden Junction. The PW gang will not have the luxury of driving to site once the the up slow line has been re-instated. In the distance the new Bush Bridge carrying a bridleway across the line can be seen. Three masts away from the bridge is the lookout for the PW gang. His horn can be heard very clearly from the road bridge and it was interesting to experience the system working as a train approached out of site to the work party, the lookout sounded his horn which was acknowledged by the the waving of a blue and white chequered flag by the gang who then cleared the line. The approaching train sounded its horn which was also acknowledged by all members of the work party raising their arms.

IMG_6100 by Geoffrey Robinson, on Flickr

IMG_6106 by Geoffrey Robinson, on Flickr

222003 dashes northwards along the Ise Valley with 1F21, 1002 St Pancras International to Sheffield service. Furnace Lane cottages stand in the background as the train nears the site of the former Finedon Sidings which were on the up slow side of the line, a site now occupied by the coumpound for the offices and material storage for the electrification work.

IMG_6115 by Geoffrey Robinson, on Flickr

Looking south from the Finedon Station site road bridge. The site compound where the offices and materials store for the electrification work and possibly the track renewal is seen on the left of the slow lines.

Here are a few snaps of the progress in Glendon cutting and through Kettering North Junction.

Geoff

IMG_5918 by Geoffrey Robinson, on Flickr

43048 leads the 1D22, 1034 St Pancras International to Nottingham service through Kettering North Junction two minutes early on Tuesday 31 July 2018 with the new masts and outriggers for the electrification to Corby in place along the Manton line tracks.

IMG_5914 by Geoffrey Robinson, on Flickr

43423 in revised livery and complete with buffers brings up the rear of 1D24, the 1005 St Pancras International to Nottingham service as it accelerates away from the Kettering stop through Glendon cutting.

IMG_5931 by Geoffrey Robinson, on Flickr

222017 rolls through Glendon South with 1P35, 1141 Corby to St Pancras International underneath the new masts and outriggers for the approaching electrification.

IMG_5936 by Geoffrey Robinson, on Flickr

73964 scoots along the main line past the new masts for the electrification of the line to Corby on its way home from Dr Brush at Loughborough. 0Z73 1024 Loughborough Brush to Tonbridge West Yard Gbrf. 10 minutes early.

IMG_5954 by Geoffrey Robinson, on Flickr

NMT HST powers through Kettering North junction with the late running  1Q52 09:00 BURTON OT WETMORE SIDINGS - 15:53 BURTON OT WETMORE SIDINGS .36 minutes late at 1519 on Thursday 2 August 2018.

A trip out to Glendon in the sun on Tuesday brought a surprise in that a significant amount of tree clearance had been carried out at Glendon Bridge. Could this mean that the wires will extend past this point on the main line? Base foundations for masts can be seen on the slow lines at this point.

Geoff

IMG_5529 by Geoffrey Robinson, on Flickr

Tree clearnce at Glendon Bridge reveal new sight lines as 222011 forming the 1M31 12:01 ST PANCRAS HIGH LEVEL - 13:09 CORBY heads to corby on the last leg of its journey.

IMG_5532 by Geoffrey Robinson, on Flickr

Mast foundations between Glendon Bridge and Glendon South Jcn.

That can be done, we find the LoK Programmer ideal for that.   Charlie

Thank you Charlie, that is what I expected.

Geoff

They are a US Only product that is available in factory fitted models such as Bachmann, Rapido Trains & Realtrack.  To answer your question honestly 'ESU Stockists are not allowed to sell this product in Europe' But Bachmann sound locos with factory fitted 'Select; decoders are approx £100.00 above the price of Non Sound locos, Rapido only had the APTe but more recently Realtrack Models new Class 156 DMU's are fitted with 'Two' select decoders inside the model (One in each carriage) for £120.00 above the non sound model. That's £60.00 for each 'Select' decoder.

Thank you Charlie, that clarifies the situation nicely.

Do you know whether it is possible to re-assign functions on the Bachmann and Rapido models using a Lokprogrammer or JMRI as we can on the standard V4 and, as I believe, on the US Select decoders?

I believe Matt Herman has stated that ESU do not sell any decoders with specially adapted functionality for OEM fitted versions, ie; they will perform just the same as any other Loksound with regard to function assignment.

Geoff

I should have sail 'You cannot reblow them with any UK Sounds'  DC Kits to offer a Trade In against a V4 Decoder with UK Sounds.

I wonder why they are so popular in the States and yet it seems no-one has tested the water over here given the cost saving. Perhaps if they were available with British sounds there would be a price challenge against Hornby's offering, some of which seem to be gathering a small following.

Geoff

All current Bachman sound decoders are the cheap Non Reblowable ESU Select Decoders, sadly your stuck with the sound unless you trade it in.  Charlie

This is not strictly correct but as far as I know no British sound files are offered by after market providers for the Loksound Select decoder. It is necessary to have a file written specifically for the Select to be able to load it. There many  files available for modellers of the American scene as Matt Herman, the Loksound head honcho in the States, has attempted to cover as many variations of loco sounds as possible and the files are available from the ESU website. There is a demonstration of this on Youtube. Also from the ESU web site there is this notice. 

Geoff

Just found this Network Rail video on Youtube.

Geoff

Today, Friday 9 March 2018 we found 37407 accompanying Caroline up and down the Manton line between Kettering and Corby at the Glendon Iron Coy's bridge.

IMG_5474 by Geoffrey Robinson, on Flickr

37407 heads back to Corby on its second trip along the new down line running as 2Z02 11:11 KETTERING - 16:44 DERBY

IMG_5478 by Geoffrey Robinson, on Flickr

37407 heads back to Kettering for the second time running as 2Z02 11:11 KETTERING - 16:44 DERBY booked off Corby at 1203.

Geoff

A couple of pictures from Saturday. Not entirely related to the electrification but showing the new down line in use and the new signalling arrangements for the main line at Kettering North Junction.

IMG_5417 by Geoffrey Robinson, on Flickr

1Z57 0610 Ealing Broadway to York, 70013 Oliver Cromwell accelerates away from Kettering North junction passing the decommissioned signal bridge for the Leicester line on the newly re-instated down Manton line, 5 minutes late at 0958 after an early arrival at Kettering and a 1 minute late departure.

IMG_5419 by Geoffrey Robinson, on Flickr

1Z57 0610 Ealing Broadway to York, 70013 Oliver Cromwell accelerates away from Kettering North junction passing the decommissioned signal bridge for the Leicester line on the newly re-instated down Manton line, 5 minutes late at 0958 after an early arrival at Kettering and a 1 minute late departure.

IMG_5423 by Geoffrey Robinson, on Flickr

The new signal bridge on the Leicester line protecting Kettering North Junction.

Geoff

Some photos of the new signalling at Kettering station following the commissioning of the down line to Corby.

IMG_5424 by Geoffrey Robinson, on Flickr

The old signal bridge at the north end of Kettering station stands forlorn and devoid of signals awaiting its fate while the new one commands the now operational down line to Corby and Manton Junction.

IMG_5426 by Geoffrey Robinson, on Flickr

The new signal bridge at the north end of Kettering station.

IMG_5425 by Geoffrey Robinson, on Flickr

One of the new LED Banner repeaters at Kettering. This one is on platform 2, on the down slow, for reverse running.IMG_5438 by Geoffrey Robinson, on Flickr

One of many new platform indicators installed on Kettering station, this one on platform 4, the down main.

IMG_5457 by Geoffrey Robinson, on Flickr

222011 Sheffield City Batallion 1914-1918 pulls out of platform 2 at Kettering signalled for the new down line to Corby.

IMG_5461 by Geoffrey Robinson, on Flickr

One of the new LED Banner repeaters at Kettering. This one is on the down slow, for reverse running, on platform 2. 222011 runs into platform 1 with the 1116 Corby to St Pancras service.

Geoff

Also, with regards to assigning handsets, what I was trying to say was, get a sticky label printer, and one set will have a label for up main, one with down main etc. That handset will control the engines on that line only until it passes to another district. I realise any set will do any track, it's my minds way of keeping things simpler for me to contend with

You really need to ditch the idea of assigning handsets. The very reason I changed to DCC was to get away from switching from one controller to another when moving from one track to another. The handset/ controller controls the loco wherever it goes. If you can get to North Northants pm me and we can set up a visit for you to play with my trainset.

Geoff

There are no published CV's to make such changes.

Thank you Nigel that helps me decide to stay with Loksound or Zimo which have that facility.

Geoff

Ladies and gentlemen, does anyone know if it is possible to re-assign sounds and functions to different buttons on a Hornby TTS decoder, specifically the class 31?

Geoff

I've fitted a whole host of chips (well, pushing on 15), so I'm not a pro, but I understand what I'm doing.

 

I hard wired the decoder into a train (Bachmann Emily) connecting everything as usual.

 

Put it on the program track and gave it a number - 12.

 

Stuck it on the layout and applied power.  The train buzzed very quietly but didn't move.  After applying a little pressure on the top, it did move, but barely a millimetre.  It's like it wants to move but it can't.

 

I didn't particularly check the connections but I'm confident they're okay.

 

Here's some info:

 

•  

   

• OO Gauge Train

   

   - Ran fine on DC.

   

   

• DZ123 chip

   

   - meant for Z gauge but I needed a small chip.  Someone recommended this.

   

   

• I removed the circuit board as usual

   - It had the normal 2 resistors on it, although this version is very slim compared to others in the range that I've converted.

   

   

   

• I only need motor functions

   - There's no lights or anything to worry about.

   

   

   

• Haven't read the manual as yet

   

   - Have printed it and will go through it, but I see there's two versions of this chip.

   

   

• Bought the chip off ebay

   

   - The seller wrote "A Digitrax DZ123 DCC Decoder, 8 pin connection lead and plug.  Small size, suits N and OO Gauge.  Complete with user instructions.  Excellent condition.  Set to DCC address 3."

   

   

• Haven't changed any CV values

   

   - not needed to before (10+ other locos are all on the default settings and work fine).

 

 

Before I delve into the manual, is there anything else I should do or is it simply a case that the chip doesn't have enough clout to move a OO gauge train?

 

I sort of hope that's not the case as it was one of the most difficult I've completed because of the low space and the way the motor is laid out.  I mean, I've read about low space in some locos, but this is really tight.

The Digitrax DZ123 is a 1 amp decoder and should be more than adequate for your loco. I think you may need to check that nothing is binding inside the loco first, trapped wire or something. If there are no indications of this it may be that you need to retune the BEMF, Scaleable Speed Stabilisation in Digitrax Terms.

Geoff

I know there is a way to remap Zimo sound functions using Decoder Pro but have forgotten how. (Old age!!) as haven't used it for some years.

Can someone point me in the right direction please.

 

Ta

 

Nick

Take a look here Nick.

     The ZIMO 'Swiss Mapping' Thread    

Geoff

Just a couple of pictures showing progress at Harrowden Junction.

IMG_5384 by Geoffrey Robinson, on Flickr

The beginnings of a connection between the new up slow and the existing down slow at Harrowden Junction.

IMG_5387 by Geoffrey Robinson, on Flickr

Sleepers laid ready for rail stretch south from Harrowden Junction through Bush Bridge and on towards Wellingborough. Wellingborough Up TC sidings, formerly Neilson's sidings in the background.

Geoff

Here is a link to the latest item regarding the track up grade.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-42837792

Geoff

BBC local news for Northamptonshire has an article about the closure of Cottingham Road bridge in Corby for seven months starting January 19th. This is the bridge situated immediately to north (Manton end) of Corby station. the bridge is to be rebuilt to allow for the electrification as units will lay over in the sidings on the Manton side of the bridge.

Geoff

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-england-northamptonshire-42585942?ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter&ns_campaign=bbc_live&ns_linkname=5a561f15e4b0ebf516d9deae%26Corby%20bridge%20to%20close%20for%20seven%20months%26&ns_fee=0#post_5a561f15e4b0ebf516d9deae

Lovely, lovely shot Geoff! Trying to place it - just south of Wellingborough I think with the train heading north on the Down Fast, the stop block being the neck of the sidings on the up side where the Morris Engines factory used to be...?

Thank you Rugd 1022. Yes it is just about to pass under the Irthlingborough Road bridge.

Geoff

Except it is not 47512, because as D1958 it appeared in standard BR livery on being renumbered. As far as I know there were only two of the class renumbered and still keeping their four BR arrow symbols under the cab windows. They were D1956 and D1960, becoming 47260 and 47514 respectively. 

 

I believe the loco here is 47514. 

 

It is indeed 47514. In my notes I don't have the last digit recorded so I cannot account for why I described it as 47512. The number can be clearly read off the original when enlarged. Thank you for pointing it out.

 

Geoff

 47514 Hastings Lab Test Train 15:22 14/8/75 by Geoffrey Robinson, on Flickr

Geoff

Edited to correct the number. Geoff