Sir TophamHatt

Although I did get a relatively good deal from e.on next.

Was forced on to them after my previous company folded.  However Martin Lewis tweeted they had a good deal (1yr or +£100 more for 2 yr fix) that was just above the price cap coming in April.  That means if you took the deal, any further price increases in October (likely), you'd be protected from.

Took the 2 year fix, which is exit fee free anyway.

Still double the amount I was paying nye on 6 months ago though

However as part of the deal, they want to fit a smart meter.
I don'd mind having one, despite putting it off for quite some time but the "I can see my usage in pounds and pence" is lost as about 10 years ago, loads of companies gave away free energy monitoring equipment anyway - they didn't catch on.  I don't mind reading the meter every month - mine are both in the house so takes less than 2 minutes to do.

Will put them off still as I want to make sure the smart meter I am getting is the best available.

On 28/02/2022 at 08:55, hayfield said:

Having a smart meter allowed us not only to have  our solar panels but I get paid for the excess power I use. Plus I can see on a daily basis how much energy I am using and no more estimated bills

Not sure how people get estimated bills...

I read the meters (that are in my house) once a month, send the reading through the app, I get a bill and that's that.

I also recommend Heathocte Electronics boards.

When you get a few in combination, they're really handy for automation of signalling.

You need a MAS-Sequencer as the "master", which comes with a timer on the board, so you can set it to change the light from red, through yellow. double-yellow to green automatically after X amount of seconds from the train passing.

If you add some (any number) IRDASC-4, the MAS-Sequencer will communicate with these and change the lights in the right combination.

Well worth the investment.

Start with a MAS-Sequencer to see how it works.

2 hours ago, melmerby said:

What's the mercury stuff?

Flux?
It's like grease.

Forgot about the Class 755 until I saw the announcement about the Class 175 and 180.

I can imagine Hornby putting the motor in the motor car, but would prefer it in either end as I don't really like pushing things around.  Although the Bachmann Voyager seems to do okay.  But then I wonder if Hornby don't see the need to use electrical couplings (like Revolution's Class 180 will have), as people will buy whatever they produce.

I also worry a little about availability.

Happy to wait if/when prices drop a little - certainly at these RRPs - but with the latest trend of (very) limited editions, I also don't want to miss out or pay inflated prices via ebay.  There's a few places online that are selling less than the RRP so will look at those keenly.

What's the best size of solder I should get?

I think my current one is 0.8mm.

Does that also mean I should look at getting rid of the current solder (0.8mm 35G 60/40 rosin core tin lead roll) and flux (mercury 703.003 solder flux tin)?

Sorry no actual links as they were both bought in 2017 - no active amazon pages any more.

Well this is welcomed and I hope they sell like hot cakes to show that modern units really do have a home.

They're not really something I'd be interested in initially but I'll be keen to pre-order both.  Just hope I can afford both in a couple of years...

It's just the question of which liveries.  I like the GC 180 but I think First will win my money.

Can I use those same wheels on the powered bogie too?

I'm pre-empting here as I haven't actually checked to see if they have the teeth on the powered bogie.

Hold on!

The soldering iron is corded?

Maybe I have gotten confused with different types of solder...  I thought corded was sort of hollow and had flux in the middle of the solder making it flow with ease.

If I wanted to create a flat TMD sort of area, does anyone have any advice on how to do this?

I've seen some videos of people just spreading filler all over the track, although unsure how the edges of it turn out.  Then use a screwdriver when the filler is half dry to channel out the flange area of the rails so trains can still run.

Fully appreciate any advice, even down to what filler to use!

Or other suggestions of what I could do with some siding areas on a modern layout (although due to Master Topham Hatt's fingers, entombing the track seems like a good idea.

Hello all

Yes, a little smoke.

Most components are new wires.

Not cored solder - the sample I got with some soldering stuff was and actually worked really well.

Most likely not enough flux.

Does [flux] have a shelf life?  Mine will be 4+ years old.

I can add weight, although I need to investigate extra pickups as I think it would benefit from those.

Again, I think I have the stuff to do it, just a case of how and where and as one side has traction tyres, seems a little pointless until those are removed.

Is there a part number for the HST wheelsets?

Have you asked Hunt Couplings?

Mine fitted okay.

I know Peter's Spares were doing some replacement wheelsets but I don't want to spend a huge amount of money as this HST is purely for pulling one or two coaches around the layout for Master Topham Hatt to watch - he loves the HST

But it's more in an effort to get rid of the traction tyres on the HST.

Is there any documents covering this?

I've already chipped it to DCC and popped in some LED lights I had around so this is the last bit to have it good enough to run really.

A bit two in one but I wonder if they're connected.

I have some, what I assume 60/40 solder although it's unbranded but nearly every time I come to use it, the solder just pools like a raindrop and the tension doesnt seem to want to break and thus connect everything.  The amount of little balls of solder I have around the place is staggering (okay, it isn't that much!).

I wonder if my soldering iron isn't hot enough?  I usually set it to 300-350°C.  Admittedly, it does work better the hotter the iron.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

23 hours ago, SamThomas said:

Probably the equivelent of all those TV's & other stuff left on standby........................

Except that's not a huge problem any more.
Modern TVs use such little power, it's almost not worth worrying about.

Kettles and ovens - that's where we need to look at improving.

On 04/01/2022 at 12:11, cctransuk said:

DCC was touted as an foolproof, ultra-simple two-wire system - now it seems that all manner of electronic gizmos need to be added, not to mention the constant enquiries about different decoders, CVs, etc., etc.

I really don't know why people bring this up again and again.
That marketing line must be well over 10 years old.

1) Things evolve.  DC cannot but DCC can and is doing still.

2) You CAN run a DCC model railway with two wires - just like DC.  Many choose not to.

3) Nothing else is needed apart from those two wires.  But many choose to add more for better reliability.

Just find it a bit strange that people, even all these years later, still seem to think it's relevant in the here and now.

Cars were marketed as getting you from A to B way back then.  Now, I rarely see any adverts telling me how reliable the vehicle is, or cheap for repairs or anything like that - it's all about the in car features and entertainment.

It's almost like some people feel they were mis-sold DCC and still see it as a problem now.